Invitation

"Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it."

―Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom

♠️ Invitation ♠️

Dr. XAIUS

Dr. Xaius refused to get up on his bed as the sunlight greeted his face. He turned his head away from the window and covered it with a spare pillow at his side. It was his day off, and there was no way that he would bother himself to rise anytime soon.

He painfully squinted his eyes as his slumber was disturbed when noises of falling glass bottles, vials, and boxes of medicines came from somewhere near the medicine nook. He muttered a curse under his breath for the very much-unwelcome alarm clock.

The first thing that he saw were shards of bottles that littered the floor, as well as the mixture of liquid medicine and capsules. Before him was an utter mess.

His gaze landed on an animal lying limp and unconscious on the ground: a black cat. He attended the poor creature at once, and there it lay, with huge cuts; one on its right hind leg, and the other looked more severe on the abdomen. Crimson blood already pooled on the floor, enough to tell anyone that the cat got itself into an awful situation.

"How does the animal get into the house?"

It was strange. Xaius was sure to lock every window and door before he slept.

He brought the wounded animal to a makeshift clinic−a vacant room on his house where minor procedures were conducted for emergencies. He's a veterinarian. Taking care and saving the lives of animals were his passion, and now, he could not just watch the creature succumb to death without trying his years of expertise.

Some anesthetic drugs were injected into the poor cat before he started sterilizing the wounded parts to avoid possible infection.

The medical tools that typically scared people proved themselves reliable in sterilizing the cuts and stitching them up. The cut in the abdomen did not harm any vital organ yet the cat was still badly wounded.

Tough luck.

He was worried that the cat might not make it due to extreme blood loss. And it was bad timing since his newly ordered stocks of blood bags were yet to arrive. Blood typing and transfusion would be futile for any routine and emergency surgeries because of the lack of sufficient bags. He laid the unconscious cat in one of the empty cages. It was open at the top for sufficient ventilation.

After an hour of tidying the mess, Xaius checked on the poor thing, and found it missing.

"Shit! Where did it go?"

His eyes followed the small trails of blood on the floor, which led to a small window with a screen. It scared him that the cat might have impossibly regained consciousness and made its way out, but what made him doubt his sanity was that how could a cat unlock the screen that was covering the window? He was so certain that even the screen of the window was given attention and was securely locked.

Xaius scurried outside and looked for it around his house. It was rather terrifying to find it awake and very much alive than feeble. The mere hypothesis that the severely wounded, unconscious cat might have awakened so soon and was able to escape the window, was utter insanity. Not to mention, the screen of the window was unlocked from the inside.

Had someone broke into his house and stole the cat instead? That might be the only plausible reason for the sudden disappearance of the unconscious cat.

He roamed the outside area of his house but never did he find any cat, dead or alive.

Splashing water in his face did not clear his thoughts; thinking maybe his mind was just fucking with him.

Xaius dialed his friend's number to let him know that he was waiting for him. He remembered that they talked yesterday about his friend planning to pay a visit...initially, he was not quite sure if he wanted any visitor since he perceived that today should be his total rest day, but then, careful not to appear so dismissive at the idea, he promised to holler back at his friend once he decided.

He put a pin on the mystery and dialed his friend's number. After some unattended calls, he quit trying. Besides, the inbox already confirmed his friend's visit (regardless of Xaius' availability) with a text message he received half an hour earlier:

[Hey man, be sure to prepare snacks for me.]

His face took a swing towards a wall clock. He should be here by now. Right after that thought, came his doorbell ringing. He opened the door to greet his visitor but he wasn't expecting this person's presence for today.

'Jenny? What is she doing here?' His surprised voice echoed mentally.

Skipping pleasantries, the girl bluntly said, "Please be my date, Dr. Xaius."

'What did she just say? Why all of a sudden?' He thought.

He blinked about three times, allowing his mind to process it right. How long has it been before she became this straightforward?

He was momentarily undecided whether to grant or turn down her request. The look on her face showed no inhibitions there, plus, he knew when to be a gentleman especially when their numbers disappointingly dwindled this modern era, and so the good doctor agreed.

"I'd love to be your date. What's the occasion by the way?" he calmly asked.

The taut and awkward atmosphere that fogged his thoughts was that, Jenny was not just an acquaintance. She was one of the girls he used to hook up with. Used to. She was once one of the busty interns that always swooned whenever Xaius visited his friend that was the Head of the Orthopedics Department in the hospital not far from his clinic in town. Jenny was young and very persistent for his attention.

Well, he was not a saint. He was a man with needs to fulfill sometimes. If a tasty morsel willingly offered herself in a platter, what could he do than oblige? He bedded her with no strings attached, of course. Besides, she made it clear to him that she merely wanted a bedroom experience every once in a while. After becoming a nurse, she started boasting that she was able to win a spot in him, even if it was just in his bed.

That kinda threw him off. He might have slept with his dates and had countless hookups before, but he still opted to preserve both parties' privacy. Honestly, sometimes he wondered if people envied or pitied her since she used to be another woman comprising his list of unofficial exes and flings before. Not that he was proud of his old self.

But all this carnal exploration was in a sinful past now. Xaius could not say that he was an advocate of celibacy now but he already limited his sexual escapades with whoever woman he was dating. And currently, he had none. Because after years of loveless hookups and failed relationships, he eventually grew tired of it. And even if sometimes, his playful nature reappeared, it was only restricted to harmless flirting.

"It's a party, but wear formal attire. Tomorrow, 7 P.M. No need to pick me up, someone is going to be here to take you to the party. Let's just meet there," she narrated unnaturally. Like a rehearsed speech or report.

He was supposed to invite her inside, have some coffee and catch up with each of their lives but she already turned her back and left at a brisk pace. The blankness of the nurse's eyes never escaped his observation though. It was as if she has been drugged. Those sightless eyes.

However, with the missing cat still bothering his mind, he let the nurse's oddity slide.

***

The next day, Xaius was all set with his tuxedo. His manly array reminded him of his promenade way back in his teenage days; and proms meant no other than the pleasing cleavages of the ladies, dirty dances on the dance floor, and naughty playmates when the lights were off. How youthful and adventurous he was back then.

"Ah, memories."

He had no idea who would pick him up tonight. He should have asked her about the party's location and just meet her there. It was also foolish of him not to offer a ride to Jenny. Chivalry best complements the art of flirting, or in their case, past superficial liking. He should have initiated to drive her instead. And realized that the unusual event last night with the cat was not enough to be an excuse for his stupor.

The doorbell rang and he glanced at the wall clock ticking soundlessly. The hour hand straightly pointed at the digit 12 and the minute hand at 7.

Exactly seven in the evening.

Dr. Xaius strode for the door and opened it. Gladly, his face was devoid of any emotion that was threatening to slip upon it any moment now. He wholeheartedly expected a chauffeur sent to pick him up tonight, but what he got was a well-dressed, elegant woman upon his door...there was no way in hell that this is Jenny's chauffeur.

Now who's this lady?

Questions started to swarm his mind but he didn't voice out his confusion, yet.

The lady was clad with a violet, velvety gown that stretched down to his floor. She was adorned with gems and stones with a subtle glow in them. Her hair was also neatly pinned and decorated with jewelry. His staring only lasted for few seconds but he already noticed that never did her mischievous grin waver. As if it was affixed on her face as an accessory to finalize her playful aura. Like a default expression. She somehow reminded him of his younger sister residing abroad.

"Why hello, Doc. I brought something for you." The beautiful stranger handed him a rolled scented paper with a dried thin vine to keep it sealed.

He untangled the little vine and the neatly rolled paper stretched upon his hands. The material was soft to the touch, impeccably decorated with swirls as its borderline, and the fine strokes of its contents seemed to flicker under the light.

As he further read it, he was enlightened that it was an invitation: a majestic yet quite uncanny invitation.

♠️♠️ Endless bites for the children of the night!

On the first night of the full moon this year, Dance and celebrate with us under the moonlight.

You are invited to the most grandiose and regal party of the century.

It is the time when Her Royal Highness continually reaps and sips,

In a place all the shadows and blood get lost in reverie.

We greedily hope to have you here, visitors,

The pleasure will always be ours.

And as worthy as you are, I shall bleed.♠️♠️

***