PMA No. 19

His head held high with his spine straight and chin forward. Nicholas looked confident with his posture. His knees were slightly bent giving the illusion of him slightly bouncing as he moved his feet. He danced fluidly with the female skeleton in his arms.

He wasn't smiling. He had this serious look on his face. He looked like someone who just caught his lover cheating with his sibling. Pain, anger, and the feeling of betrayal reflected from the way he swayed his hips, jerked his head as if to avoid his lover's gaze, and the way he flicked his limbs in a precise and controlled manner. He was telling a story.

Henry was mesmerized for a second then he remembered what he came for.

"Ahem!" He cleared his throat. Trying to get his older brother's attention. But even that proved to be useless. So he sauntered across the study and into the desk and turned off the cassette player. And that finally did the trick. Nicholas was back to the real world.

"Oh! Brother! I didn't know you were here. Why didn't you say anything?" Asked Nicholas as he slowly put down the skeleton to the side, carefully. "And why did you break my door?"

"I am leaving, Kulas." Henry didn't beat around the bush. "And while I'm gone, can you take care of the business?"

"Oh my! Where are you headed to? And for how long?"

"I don't know. Probably for quite a while. I can trust you, right?"

Nicholas smiled at him. "Of course, Henry. I am the eldest after all. I even wonder sometimes why papa made you manage the business when he has me."

'You'll know if you just pause and think about it, Kulas.' Henry thought to himself.

"Okay. I trust you. I'm leaving then." And he left. Time is precious. And he didn't wanna waste any more of it than he already did. He headed to the basement next. Into his sister's 'No Entry' room.

He took out two papers from his pocket that were neatly folded. One was the torn page from the book of prophecy his father left. And the other was Lucia's letter.

At the back of the letter were her three absurd instructions if ever he wanted to give her and his children a hand.

The instructions were the following:

Go to my room in the basement and take the following with you: [A mourning candle (I put it inside the music box and please handle it with care. I worked very hard to steal that.)] [The yellow tinted eyeglasses hidden inside the third book from the first row of the bookshelf. (P.S. RETURN IT WHERE YOU GET IT AFTER.)] [And lastly, bring Hamlet with you. He was the cat besides the typewriter. He's a nice cat. Get along with him.]

Make sure nobody sees you when you do this. Go to the Bonaville North Cemetery. Light the candle and speak to the old man named Fobela Taki-Taki. (I'm sure you know him. Find his statue before you do that BTW.) Be nice to him. He's a very sweet old man. Tell him you wanted a graveyard residency. Do your best to convince him. Good luck!

From the gate, walk straight until you reach the river. You will find a woman there named Matilda.

P.S. BURN THIS LETTER AFTER READING THIS.

Henry took all the three things in the instruction and he now stood at the entrance of the Bonaville North Cemetery.

He entered with only the moonlight guiding him. It didn't take him long to find the statue Lucia was referring to.

Using a match, he lit the candle. Even with the wind blowing against his direction, the fire didn't falter. It remained still and burned brighter than any candle Henry had ever seen.

And exactly after that, gray smoke exploded and enveloped the area. The rusty gate became new and now shone in its coal black color and reflected Henry's reflection. The overgrown grass looked like it had only been mowed a few hours ago.

And as the scent of paraffin wax made its way into his nostrils, he started to feel funny. As if someone was tickling his soul, making him laugh. His voice echoed throughout the cemetery.

It was a peculiar thing to feel. He didn't know why he was laughing. He just suddenly had the urge. But that laughter soon died down when an image flickered in his head. An image of his son, George, bathing with his own blood, lifeless. Beside him was Lucia, head decapitated. And Owen was trying to reattach it.

Strength immediately left Henry's knees and he plopped to the ground. Next thing he saw was a pair of pointy green shoes tapping on the ground, facing him.

"Oh? Ohoho? Look who we got here. A living human with a Manda-Taki! Why? Oh why indeed?" Said the voice.

Henry raised his head. An old man, short and plump, cheeks flushed red, and thick lashes that would garner the jealousy of every woman on the planet. That was what he saw.

Pushing the thought about the horrifying image at the far back of his head, Henry asked the old man. "Ahem! Are you the man called Fobela Taki-Taki?"

The old man shook his head.

"No. No. Not Fobela. The name's Kawali Taki-Taki. Nice to meet ya."

"Oh! Is he nearby? I mean… no. Can I speak to him?"

"Ohoho? To Fobela? Sadly you cannot. He's currently having a meeting with the council."

"I can wait. The meeting shouldn't take long, right?"

"Right! It shouldn't take long. Normally, that is. But this case is not normal. No. Not normal at all." Then Kawali nodded his head. "Not normal at all indeed. So you can tell me instead. I'll deliver your message."

Henry thought for a while. 'This is unexpected. Lucia didn't say anything about this but it should be fine, right?'

"Okay. Uh, I want a graveyard residency."

"Ho? Ohoho? A graveyard res— ha?!"

"Is that a no?"

"No! I mean, yes! Uh, wait a moment." Then Kawali turned his back and flipped through the abridged edition of his manual.

On page six titled RESIDENCY FOR THE LIVING. There was only one paragraph and it says:

(A living man may acquire a Graveyard Residency under the PMA No. 13. However, they may only stay for a week at most or they will lose their rights on both worlds. One must gain a merit large enough to exchange it with the Certificate of Residency. The living must also pledge complete secrecy to other living lest he pays the price with his life.)

"Is anything okay? Uh, Mr. Kawali?" Henry asked when the old man was taking too long.

"Huh? Oh! Yes! Yes! Everything's fine! Allow me to explain the prerequisites to you."

[PMA= Phulas Monarchy Act]