Short Story 3: Everyone Needs A Manual

Nearby an opened door of the kitchen, a knife swung, scrapping little bits of the doorframe, leaving a mark. The sharp object hovers above its beholder. The messy hair boy took a deep breath as he turned around to face the door. A wide smile appeared on his face, exposing his teeth. His hands were shaking violently. His eyes closed for a moment before they snapped back open.

"Alhamdulillah! I finally...." He said. Facing the door that was covered with similar markings, he pointed at the newest mark he gave and said, "Grown an inch!!" He excitedly threw his arms up, accidently thrown the knife away in the process. "Yeah!!" He shouted. Suddenly, two balls of light shot out of his hands, hitting the ceiling.

"Oops." He simply said as he looked up to the newly formed holes on the ceiling. "Looks like I have to get that fix." Two cats' head appeared on the hole. Qit was on the right while Anisa was on the left. They meowed in a confused look.

--

Later that day...

After the fixers repaired his ceiling, Halim started to clean up the house. Looks like the repairmen did more than just fix his ceilings. While he was busy sweeping the floor, a knock on the door was heard. He raised an eyebrow. "I wonder who that could be." As he opened the door, he saw a smiling Lay Mamery standing in front of him. She was holding a large book. His cheeks reddened at the sight.

"L-Lay?" He said in a stuttering manner.

She giggled when she saw him covered in dust. "What's up? She asked.

"Oh....Just cleaning the house." He simply answered. "You're here because....?"

"Just dropping by to give you this." She said as she handed over the large book. Surprisingly, the book was light. Helding the book up, he saw the title printed on the cover. "The Keeper's Manual?"

"Yeah, it's the manual on how to be a good monster keeper." Lay explained.

Halim then nodded in understanding manner. "Thanks."

Smiling, she bid farewell as she said, "Well I'm off. See ya!" Halim smiled as he waved. As he was about to go back inside, he stopped in his tracks. He looked around, as if he was searching for something. The feeling of discomfort ran through his mind. Chills went down his spine. However, the feeling soon died down. "Must be my imagination." He shrugged and closed the door behind him.

--

After he finished cleaning up the place, Halim went back to his room. He took a seat on his soft bed, putting the book at his lap. When he flipped through the cover, he saw a small white enveloped neatly placed on the page. Something was written on it. "To HALIM GHAFUR". Gently, he tears the top of the envelope and took the letter out. It was yellowish in colour with golden frames on the sides.

He started to read the letter;

"Dear Halim Ghafur, you are invited to join the Keeper's Lessons class in the Ancient Armory to further your studies in becoming a Monster Keeper."

He cocked an eyebrow "To further my studies of becoming a keeper? Since when did I start?" He said dully. "Meow" Anisa jumped on his lap and purred at his body. Smiling, he gave the creature a gentle rub. "Subhanallah." He said with a smile. Putting the letter away, he then flipped the book to the next page.

--

Mamery's house

Inside the Mamery's home, Leniley and Zay were seen laughing with each other when they heard the door creaked open. Lay just entered. With smile, Leniley asked, "How was it? Did you give him the book?"

"Yeah." Lay said simply with a smirk, arms crossed.

"Hopefully he accepts the invitation. The High Council of Bibbur-Si said he has high potential as a Keeper." Zay commented.

"I think he will, grandma." Lay said. "Ins-allah. Her eyes started wonder like her mind. "Is that how he said it?"


Phew! Done another one, Alhamdulillah! Expect another one soon!

Arabic Words

Subhanallah~ P: Sub-ha-nal-lah (M: Glory be to God)