Don't Touch My Hand Or You Will Die

Summer 2013.

Zalina Roston had just finished breakfast when there was a knock on the door outside her house. She immediately ran to the room to quickly tidy up her appearance.

"That must be Sofia coming, Mom. Please tell her I'll be ready in five minutes!"

Mrs. Roston could only shake her head, seeing how her daughter was always doing the same thing. That girl would surely make Sofia grumble in annoyance at having to wait any longer.

Mrs. Roston immediately cleaned up two of their breakfast plates. In that house, they lived both of them after her husband died when Zalina was ten years old.

Zalina stood in front of the mirror to comb and tie her hair. She rubs lip balm on her innocent, angel-like face. She heard her mother's voice talking to Sofia. After finishing, Zalina immediately took a sling bag and went out to meet Sofia directly.

Today, Sofia and Zalina are planning to visit a historical museum. They deliberately came to the museum for school assignments before the summer vacation was over.

While chatting, Sofia and Zalina walked down the street, watching the leaves drift down before arriving at the bus stop. The museum in question is located in the city center.

Luckily, that day's weather was perfect enough for them to go outside. After an hour's bus ride and walking about a hundred meters, they finally arrived in front of a museum and art gallery.

"If it weren't for school work, I would never have set foot here. I think a museum is a boring place," Sofia said before they entered.

"At least it's better than us sleeping at home in this beautiful weather."

Sofia pursed her lips and responded to Zalina's words. "Well, sleep better, I think. Because even here, I'll be sleepy."

Because cameras are not allowed inside the museum, Sofia and Zalina prepared a small notebook. They must note some important things they find from the historical objects there.

Zalina is more interested in paying attention to antiques, and ancient fabrics, while Sofia is going somewhere because the girl doesn't like to stare at an object for long.

After almost an hour, Zalina realized that Sofia had not returned to the place they had promised. This is a bit odd, considering Sofia doesn't like museums.

"Could it be asleep somewhere? Ish, she said she didn't want to be here for long but still hasn't come back." Zalina grumbled to herself while looking around the room for Sofia.

It turned out that Sofia was in a room that displayed various ancient paintings. There were about three people in the room. The atmosphere was quiet and calm.

Zalina hit Sofia's head with a pen while grumbling in a whisper.

"Aw... What are you doing?" Sofia exclaimed while holding her head.

"Let's go home. Aren't you bored here?"

"Zalin, look at this painting!" Sofia did not respond to Zalina's invitation. Instead, she pointed to a painting in front of her.

Zalina looks at the painting, which is thought to have been made in the mid-17th century.  It contained the title "sacrifice" of the painting, but it is unknown who made it.

The painting depicts a large, hairy, tall creature with a sharp weapon drawn on its chest. The creature's face was ghastly, as if it was groaning in pain.

What is interesting about the painting is the figure of a beautiful girl sitting on her knees in front of a furry creature. The two creatures of different types look contrasting. However, there is one thing they have in common, namely the sadness reflected in both of them, painful sadness.

"This is weird," Sofia said after Zalina was silent, looking at the painting.

Zalina turned and replied, "There is nothing strange. Paintings like this are common. This is only a fictional painting created by the artist's imagination."

"That's not what I meant. Look at the woman in the painting!" Sofia said seriously.

Zalina looked back at the painting more carefully. In a few seconds, her face suddenly changed because she had just realized something.

"That woman... is very similar to me."

"Exactly. I've been staring at the painting ever since, to make sure that the woman looks like you. It's just that your hair color is different, and she has a titian hair color."

"Incredible. Could she be one of my seven twins? It is said that we have seven non-blood twins in this world."

"Yeah, it's possible. Let's go. I'm famished. Let's find something to eat before we go home." Sofia answered as she walked away from Zalina.

Zalina was still amazed by what she saw. She continued to look at the painting. It's too bad they weren't allowed to take pictures there, even though she was able to show the artwork to her mother.

Zalina's gaze then turned to the furry creature.  "What kind of creature is he? Monster, Bigfoot, werewolf, or just an abnormality?"

The furry creature in the painting has copper-colored eyes that appear to be shedding tears. As if enchanted, Zalina slowly touched the picture by rubbing the two objects.

And suddenly, Zalina felt a strange vibration in her hand. Zalina flinched until she took two steps back like she was floating until she didn't realize someone behind her was holding her body.

"Are you ok?"  A man asked while holding Zalina's shoulders.

"Oh, sorry."  Zalina was even more surprised because she didn't expect that there was someone behind her. "Nothing."

The man just looked at Zalina, making the girl confused.  Because she was in an awkward position, Zalina immediately followed Sofia, who came out first. The man was still looking at Zalina until it disappeared from his sight. This time it was his turn to look at the painting, "Sacrifice."

Before boarding the bus, the two girls decided to buy some fast food not far from the museum. While chewing the food in her mouth, Zalina recalled the incident in front of the painting.

 'Not. I don't believe in myths and superstitions.

However, Zalina's view changed after returning from the museum. The first time she felt something strange, every time her hand touched another person, she was amazed by what she witnessed.

It was a magical thing because Zalina could see what would happen to a person if someone touched her hand.

A week after realizing something strange about her, Zalina returned to the museum to see the painting "Sacrifice." But apparently, the painting is no longer there.

Zalina returned home covered in a big question mark. Despite the confusion, Zalina felt this was a miracle for her. Looking at her hands, she smiled.

"It's great to have a miracle like this!"