Hey guys... It's been a while since the previous chapter. Three weeks maybe... well, I'm not 100% sure.

Anyway, two days ago was a big day for my religion... it's Eid al-Fitr, a festival that marks the end of Ramadan. All Muslims in the world celebrate, including in my country. That's why, I was only able to update this story after the celebration was over. I mean, on that day I really got off my laptop and gathered with my big family once a year.

What do you think about Eid al-Fitr? Is there a neighbor or someone in your neighborhood who also celebrates it?

Then, I'll stop talking and... happy reading...


Two months ago...

Emy's POV

In a bookstore as quiet as this, there's no way someone will recognize my face. Hooded jacket, mask, black glasses... my disguise is perfect.

There are only a few visitors who are standing near me. They're looking for history books in the west, where general-knowledge books are also located. Whereas fictional books are in the rows of bookshelves to the north, that means I just have to walk past them slowly... no, that's unnecessary! They are too focused on looking for books. Walking normally is enough in my opinion.

"Emy?" the mysterious voice that called my name suddenly appeared from behind my back.

'Wha-? Someone just called my name... who? My disguise was very closed though...' my sweat immediately blurted out... nervous and shocked.

I slowly turned around, and looked at the face of someone who just mentioned my name...

'Huh?! Aryna...' I whispered to myself after knowing the culprit, 'I never thought I'd meet her here.'

"This is not like you to come to such a place. What are you doing here?" Aryna immediately rushed into the questions as if she believed that this hooded bird was me.

I desperately thought of a way to avoid this situation. My disguise is... or was perfect. Maybe if I act stupid... she would think this hooded bird was someone else...

"Ah... pardon me, madam... who is Emy?"

Instead of answering, Aryna instead walked over to me and attacked me with another question, "Have you found Hyacinthum G's new book?"

Damn... it's useless...

"O-oh Aryna, eh... I didn't realize it at all..." I took off the mask and my glasses, and nervously tried to explain my visit at this bookstore, "I- I came here doesn't mean I'm looking for Hyacinthum G's book that was published this summer... haha... "

Goddammit... even when I laughed I was still stutter... I really am not an expert at lying...

"I told you about the book, didn't I?"

"H-huh...? Eh... is that so...?"

'My plan this morning was messed up... is she a witch who's able to read other people's thoughts, huh...?!' I grumbled in my mind.

"This is a new program for you..."

What is this... suddenly Aryna gave me a brochure.

"Maybe you sometimes want to try writing a book with someone else. Even though you prefer to work alone, it's good to try to work in a team."

I reached for the brochure she gave, "Fine..." I simply answered. From the information contained in this brochure. A special winter book. A book both fiction and non-fiction that must be written by at least two authors will be published in the coming winter. This is just like the Hyacinthum G book that was just published this summer. A book written by Hyacinthum G and J Gemma. Out of curiosity so I intended to buy it, until this witch came...

"I already have the book." Aryna then said to me, a few moments after I finished seeing the contents of this brochure, "If you want... let's come to my house. We drink tea together while reading the book."

A few moments later...

"This book is really satisfying...!"

Without realizing it, my voice loudly echoed in Aryna's house... closed this Chapters of Life after finishing it. Luckily I received an offer from Aryna... being able to read such a book after years... I felt like something flowing back into my heart.

"It looks like you get something very interesting, huh..." Aryna, who was sitting in front of me, smiled seeing me just doing an action she might never have imagined before.

"Yes..." I nodded, smiling at her, "Hyacinthum G is finally back..."

"I see..." Aryna replied to my smile, "I didn't think you would finish it today... even until sunset..."

"Haha... sorry. I hope I'm not bothering you..."

Oh right... I've been here for hours. Reading Hyacinthum G's book nonstop until the sun disappears on the western horizon.

"It's okay... I live alone, after all. In fact, I'm happy if someone wants to accompany me." Aryna answered, then drank her last cup of tea.

"I just can't stop reading this book. Hyacinthum G... he's finally back..." I said, smiling staring at his book lying in front of me, "Same as before."

"Same as before? You've met him before, eh..." Aryna looked at me in surprise.

"I haven't told you, have I..?" I said. Then... I started this story of my past that cannot be forgotten, "When I was five... I came to a nursing home with my family to visit my grandma." I slowly began to tell my past to her, "We visited our grandma to celebrate Christmas with her. And at that moment, for the first time I met him. The nursing home held a kind of entertainment program to be enjoyed by all visiting families. And he was one of the many people who participated in the event."

"Hyacinthum G participated in an event?" Aryna interrupted my story, "Then, you were as well?"

"No... I met him indirectly..." I replied, then continued the story of my past, "I became an audience on the show, but unfortunately the show was too boring, as a result I almost fell asleep..."

"You really are a child who gets bored quickly, aren't you?" interrupted Aryna again, with teasing tone.

"Just let me be...!" I grumbled, because she always interrupted my story, "At least let me finish my story first...!"

"Fine... fine..."

I sighed, then continued, "I admit I am indeed a child who gets bored easily. And to be honest, I didn't really like coming with my family to visit my grandma... but thanks to him, I was able to say at that moment, 'Luckily, I went to visit grandma.'" I stopped for a moment, remembering at such a moment, "Between my sleepiness, I saw a little boy who walked up the stage nervously. This clumsy child somehow made me nervous as well when I saw him from a distance."

"Really?! I didn't expect young Hyacinthum G to be like that..."

"Yes..." I continued, "his clumsy behavior made the people who saw him laughed... even so, he still walked forward... pulled out a small note from his pocket which was also small... words, sentences, intonations and sound... all of that instantly freezes the atmosphere. When he began to recite his little poem it felt like it emitted seven colors of rainbow. They never thought that a child his age was able to make such a complex yet beautiful sentence... my sleepiness was completely gone at that time. But instead, for some reason the poem was able to pierce my heart and make my tears flow until a few moments later... I cried very loudly."

"You were crying...?" Aryna interrupted again, and chuckled at my story just now.

"That's really embarrassing, I know..."

"Young Hyacinthum G must be more nervous..."

"U-uh-huh... my tears caught the attention of the people around me as well as his. Even when he finished reading his poem, he walked backstage with a disappointed face."

"Poor little Hyacinthum..." even at the last moment, her response was only a small laugh after hearing my story.

"But, you know what..." but I still haven't finished my story at this point, "Aryna... I'm very grateful to be a writer...!"

I saw Aryna's response was simply smiling... nothing else.

Besides that... he also taught me something...

Through his book... Chapters of Life... he instilled all his gratitude, regret, sadness, and loneliness in every word... shouting to the world, hoping these would reach them...

Can I do as he does? Can my book also reach my mother after the tragedy that happened to her that night?

Ahhh... maybe sometime, I will write my own Chapters of Life...

.

Present time...

Blu's POV

.

A cold afternoon in November, two days after dealing with my busy writing time...

'Okay, okay, okay... you just gonna visit her and say 'hi' and 'how are you?'' I hesitantly try to convince myself to go into the hospital where she's still being treated there, 'This is natural, isn't it? you are both her mentor and her partner in writing-stuff...'

Standing at the entrance to the hospital made me look like an idiot who planned evil intentions, especially because I kept talking to myself... fortunately, at that time the atmosphere around the hospital was calm and quiet. But... for some reason... the more days, the more difficult it is to come and see her. Without realizing it, there was an instant gap between us which was getting wider and wider.

I then turned around, and began to walk away from the hospital...

'I've always been like this... always looking for an excuse to meet her... a reason not to see her.'

("She needs you...")

'But I guess... she needs you more, you know... '

I should be more self-aware... I'm just a substitute character... a substitute for him when he isn't there when he needed...

'Yet I really want to see her... '

A sentence came from my little heart which turned out to be able to whisper... whispering wishful thinking that was impossible or would never materialize. Again and again, this hesitation...

"*Ouch!*"

'Huh? What is that?'

As a result of thinking too much about this hesitation, when I was calmly walking on the side of a lonely road, someone or something was throwing a pebble at my head...

I stopped and looked around...

It's really lonely, there's no one here... beside my left there's only a dense forest that seems endless, and my right is just a lonely road that sometimes passes by one or two vehicles. Likewise with this sidewalk, there are no other pedestrians except me...

Then the strange thing happened again, this time worse than the first...

"Wha-!"

A large spider seemed to fall from the sky and landed right above my head...

"Arrrggg!"

I immediately shouted... and got rid of the disgusting thing from me...

I was made angry by anyone who could do this to me. I did the 'conservation' once more, especially towards the forest. Even though I say if the forest is thick, but not as dense as the Amazon rainforest, after all these trees are not big enough for a large spider lives there.

I then looked at the spider that was lying motionless on the ground, 'Is that thing dead?' I asked myself. Dare myself, I observe its body and a surprise to me... the spider turns out to be just a toy... a spider-like doll more precisely ...

'Is this some kind a joke?!'

The only thing that made me suspicious was a tree beside me. The trunk widened to cover my head. It could be someone throwing these pebbles and the spider from up there...

But, when I looked up to make sure that my hypothesis was correct...

*Bump!*

It happened so fast that I didn't really know what had just happened... which I knew, when I opened my eyes and lay on the ground... a little girl, maybe around twelve years old. This scarlet girl lay unconscious above me. Maybe because of our heads colliding with each other...

Then...

"Glu... what have you done?"

I think I made a mistake of bringing an unconscious girl to her house, and stupidly I said if this place is safe to visit in a situation like this...

How could I not... just a few seconds I put the scarlet girl on a sofa, in her living room, Sis Mi had started to think weird and prejudge me. I was forced to take this girl to her house, because this house is closer than the hospital from the scene... after all, I think the wound that this girl received isn't too severe.

"I- it's not like what you think...!" I exclaimed once again, trying to convince her if this was just an accident, "This girl suddenly fell from above and hit me...!"

"But still, you bring a bad influence on Mirai..." Sis Mi continued, looking suspiciously to me.

"Influence...?" Mirai suddenly appeared from behind her mother, "What is influence?"

"Oh... it's Glu... he has grown into an adult bird..." Sis Mi answered the innocent daughter's question.

"Stop thinking about weird things!" I snapped at her, "You are the one who gave a weird influence on your daughter!

Maybe because my voice was too loud, the scarlet girl regained consciousness and opened her eyes. She then got up, sat on the couch while looking at the strange environment around her, "Where am I?" she said, dazed.

"You're finally awake..." Sis Mi was the first to greet her kindly, "You just fainted on the road. And this blue bigbrother brought you here."

The scarlet girl was silent, instead of thanking me for saving her, she didn't even look at me at all and just stared at Sis Mi with a face that seemed to be recognizing her appearance.

"Oh... if you pay close attention, you're cute..." Sis Mi continued, slightly teasing her, then she also did the same to me, "Your taste is not bad, Glu..."

"Stop teasing me!"

But fortunately, this scarlet girl ignores all her words...

"Ah... by any chance..." the scarlet girl began to move from the sofa and approached Sis Mi with a zealous face, "Are you Mimi? Mimi the novelist?!"

I was surprised she can recognize Sis Mi as a novelist. Though she never wanted to be covered by the mass media, even a few people knew her real face...

Sis Mi was just shocked, unable to say anything for a moment...

"Oh right... I haven't introduced myself. How rude I am..." the scarlet girl stepped back, then introduced herself," My name is Lisa. Grade seven of Sahyta Academy..." she then stared confidently at Sis Mi.

"Sahyta Academy?!" Sis Mi looked surprised when she heard that name, as well as me, because... well, it will be explained later, "Isn't that academy famous for its classical literature? You're great at being able to study at such an academy..."

This scarlet girl, who called herself Lisa, looked at Sis Mi with a sure look, "I want to be a writer. Therefore... I beg Mimi the novelist, make me your student...!"

Request... submission... steadfast hope from her made Sis Mi nervous and confused about what to answer...

'If she wants to be a writer, what did she do on the tree?' I whispered, commenting on what happened in front of me.

"Ah... well... I... I can't. I feel uncomfortable with your teachers. After all, your teachers are all great, aren't they?" Sis Mi's nervous reply was not enough to clamp down her determination.

"They're great but not as great as you are!" Lisa said, "Plase... make me your student..."

Sis Mi was speechless... didn't know what to do until she got an idea after looking at me...

"Okay..." she said, "What if you show your skills first. After that, I will decide."

"Fine..." Lisa answered, accepting the challenge.

"Make a horror story. There should not be more than two sentences."

"Hey... isn't that too much for her..." I said, responding to the rules of challenge that Sis Mi just mentioned.

"Okay..." Lisa with a calm face accepted the challenge with her strange rules.

I'm honestly curious about her abilities as well. Seeing her calm mood gives a plus from me. As if she really is a professional writer.

Sis Mi gave her a piece of paper and a pencil... then the scarlet girl sat back on the couch and thought of what two sentences she would write. Two sentences that are enough to make people who read them freak out...

A few minutes later...

"Done," Lisa moved from the couch and handed the paper sheet to Sis Mi.

'Huh... it's faster than I thought.' my inner comments appeared.

"Let us see.." Sis Mi grabbed the sheet, and I saw it from behind her back, "'There was a picture in my phone of me sleeping. I live alone.'" Sis Mi reads two sentences story she just made.

Both Sis Mi and I were silent for a moment...

'Okay ... it really gets me.' I whispered to myself, remembering if I lived alone in a fairly spacious house.

"I'd expect no less from Sahyta Academy's student." Sis Mi gave her response to her two-sentence story, whether it succeeded in scaring her or not... who knows... "Are you really seventh grade?"

"So... am I accepted ?!" Lisa asked Sis Mi with hopeful eyes.

"Hmm..." Sis Mi, while thinking about something, must have always had something to do with me, "Alright... you are accepted."

"Really?! Yay... !" Lisa's hopeful eyes now turned into a happy and grateful face after hearing a direct answer from her.

"Congratulations, Lisa." I congratulated her.

"Glu..." however, it seemed that my gut was true... Sis Mi then called me, "You teach her."

I turned to her, "Yes?" I decided to hear her statement once again.

"You teach her."

How could Sis Mi casually say something like that right in front of my face. As for me, that sentence... that statement really weighed in my mind so I needed time to process the meaning. Until it's time for me to understand what the simple words mean...

"What... !" I shouted hysterically.

The next day...

'How could she decide arbitrarily. '

Walking while grumbling at Sis Mi's arbitrary decision yesterday, yet carrying a parcel on my wing... I found myself, once again, standing in front of the hospital where she's still being treated.

I do plan to go to Sis Mi's house because from now on I am an arbitrary informal teacher sent by a famous novelist... but before going there, I want to meet someone specific...

'Alright... today I'll see her.' I stand uncertainly in the same place as yesterday, 'You can do it... today I even bring her favorite ice cream. I've bought it, so it will be wasted if it's not given to her...'

While carrying a suitable excuse I finally managed to step into the hospital and arrived at a corridor that was familiar to me, 'I am her mentor and partner. So it's natural that I'd come to see her...'

Coming and going... I'm always searching for an excuse...

"Really? Jeremy accepted the challenge?"

When I arrived in front of her closed room, from behind this door I could hear her voice appearing to be chatting with someone. My intention to knock this door was abandoned instantly...

"He did... but fortunately he managed to hit a soccer ball using his bat and even made a homerun!"

The other voice... there's no doubt, it's Roberto's. They both seemed to be chatting pleasantly.

"Woah... his swing was really strong, then..."

"Yeah, cool right...? he's really a mainstay hitter of our school team, you know... unfortunately though, his wings were dislocated due to doing that challenge."

"Oh no... is he okay?"

"Don't worry too much about it. He only needs one day to recover."

Then...

'What are you thinking, bringing ice cream to the daughter of an ice cream shop owner.'

In the end... even today... I still can't see her. I walked desperately under the darkening sky. Alone on the same sidewalk when I left the hospital yesterday...

'Thanks goodness I didn't give it to her... I'm such an idiot, bringing such a cold food in autumn...'

Suddenly... far from my guess, my cellphone in my pocket rang. That really surprised me. I took it out, and checked who called me at a time like this, "Who's this?" I didn't know the number. I still answered it anyway.

Just as I put it in my ear, suddenly... a loud, angry voice came from it...

"Do you really have no heart, huh?!"

If I didn't reflexively move my cellphone away from my ear, I think I'd be deaf... but this voice...

"Roberto's always coming to see me, so why you don't you ever show up?! Heartless bird...!"

No doubt, It's Jewel's voice...

"Huh? How? I never gave you my number..." my astonishment forgot everything she just said. However, I haven't finished talking when she suddenly interrupted.

"I was just thinking that I hadn't heard your voice lately. Oh... you're eating something right now, aren't you?"

Well, the only thing I'm eating right now is this frozen food, "Ah... yeah... coffee ice cream..." I replied.

"Ahhh, I really envy... I wish I could have one..."

I didn't expect it. So, she wanted me to bring her one, huh...

"Then, I'll bring you one, sometime."

"Really? You're not lie, aren't you?"

"Uh-huh."

That night... you were trying to approach me, playing around with me as if you were trying to share the pain you're going through... that's why I feel so comfortable when around you...

"I'd like to eat my dad's coffee ice cream. Would you bring me one?"

"Sure."

"That's a promise, okay?"

"Okay."

An ice cream eaten at night has a slightly bitter, gentle taste...

.

A few hours later...

3rd person POV

"Ice... Ice... Ice..."

In a lonely hospital corridor in a quiet night, the sound of Jewel's humming echoed in it...

"Everybody wants an ice cream... for winter and for fall..."

The humming which followed a small cheerful song, Jewel walked cheerfully in the quiet and dark corridor when all the patients were resting in their respective rooms. For her... she felt midnight was the right time to get out of her boring room and hum a simple song by herself. What's more, after knowing if Blu will bring one item that is become the subject of her little song... she can't wait until tomorrow...

But maybe... her happiness will be stopped any moment now...

"Ow...!"

Jewel fell for the second time without any obvious cause. Her head hit the floor, but this time she managed to prevent a hard impact on her head for she immediately raised her head and sat down on the rubber floor.

"Huh?!"

Even so, she felt something else. One reason why she was still sitting flat on the rubber floor... she couldn't move her own two legs. Her legs felt weak and stiff at the same time...

"Wha-?! It's so weird..."

Likewise with her shoulder. She tried to get up with the help of her wings, but her shoulder and upper arms also felt weak and stiff...

Jewel tried not to panic. She looked around for anyone who might be passing by in this corridor. But unfortunately... the night is too late. This is a hospital after all... a calm atmosphere at night is needed by patients to rest.

Her alternative choice is the wall next to her...

With great effort, and almost consumed all of her energy, Jewel crawled towards the white wall of the hospital corridor. Both of her wings grabbed the wall and used it to help her two wings lift her body... but unfortunately... it didn't work... both of her wings were too weak to lift her body... and in the end... she sat drooping down again...

Dark and silent... in such a situation... fear, worry, and panic slowly enveloped the atmosphere around her...

Jewel stared at her two feet drooping limply on the floor, "Stand up! Stand up! You are my leg, aren't you?! Stand up! Stand up!" frustrated, she hit both of her legs which began to wet due to her tears...

A futile effort resulted in frustration, anger and fear getting stronger. She had stopped hitting her legs, but her face... her face showed as if she was about to express a feeling that couldn't be explained by words but a scream...


Chapter 31 : A Reason to See Her


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"AAAAARRGGGGHHHRGHGHGHHHGH...!"