Born In The Wrong Era

Renee blinked at the mysterious human.

She was still grappling with the raw pain of her loss and gazed at the stranger with wariness and confusion. His uncanny gaze seemed to pierce through her sorrows, as if he could see right through her suspicions, and she didn't like this feeling at all.

Renee's brows furrowed, torn between the grief and the unsettling question this mysterious stranger poised. Her parents, well known for their talent and intelligence, had dedicated their lives to groundbreaking research on the BRC, and the idea that it ended in a mere accident seemed inconceivable.

Shaking her head, Renee admitted in a whispering voice, "I don't know what to believe anymore."

The man suddenly leaned in, his eyes flickering with an intensity that held hers captive. A silky strand of silver white hair fell at his face due to his movement, and even with his face concealed, Renee could see for herself that this unknown man had to be incredibly handsome, cause he was already emitting the appearance.

"Perhaps there's more to the tragedy than meets the eye." He tilted his head, "the government's vague statement and the secrecy surrounding the incident – don't you find it all too convenient?"

The man's voice was attractively bold and deep, as enigmatic as his appearance, but his words made sense. The government's evasion of the truth only fueled her growing suspicion, because her brother had used his formidable sources to try and reach the government, hoping for some answers to explain how a secured company like the BRC would face such a disaster, with not a single soul alive, but none came.

Her parents have been occupied with some sort of experimental project the government had assigned them with, but she never thought much about it back then – her parents don't talk about their job either. Now that she pondered on the experiments her parents were involved in, the classified project had been shielded from public knowledge.

"Sometimes, even the deepest answers lie in the shadows, waiting to be unveiled by a certain someone." The man's hand reached forward to gently wipe off the tear that escaped her eyes. His touch was cool, maybe due to the weather? But why was it eerily comforting? She didn't know.

The gentleness in his eyes didn't match the venomous aura he exuded. He was exactly the type of man her mother warned her to stay away from. Moreso, who would walk up to a stranger and dry their tears as though they had formed some kind of bond? Because that's exactly how he stared at her, as if he knew her.

"For how long will I wait?" His golden eyes flickered with unsaid emotions, and his voice, the last time she's heard someone speak so lovingly to her was during her schools contest, except the guy back then wasn't even talking to her to begin with, but he was talking to the girl behind her.

"What?" Renee blinked at him questioningly, her face subconsciously recoiling from the comforting hand that lingered on her cheek. She didn't understand his question, and as though he sensed her confusion, his hand awkwardly returned to his side, and he rose to full height.

Renee failed to fathom why the inexplicable warmth his presence brought, suddenly vanished along with the distance he made. It felt as if this distance was wrong, and that made her frown, cause she hasn't felt such confusing emotions for a long time now… and with a stranger?

The masked man looked at her and quipped, "I hope we meet again before the world ends." Was his last phrase to her before he turned around and walked away with his umbrella.

Cyrus, who was returning to his sister's side, brushed past the stranger, and the oppressive energy that emanated from him made the young man halt, so much so that he had to look back to see who bore such an uncanny aura. He didn't stop staring until the masked man in a hoodie exited the cemetery through the archway.

He doesn't remember inviting someone so mysterious to the funeral either.

"Renee." Cyrus reached his sister's side and gently helped her to her feet. He noticed his sister's mindful gaze was still fixed on the path the strange man had taken, and his brows threaded with concern.

"Did he bother you?"

"No." Renee shook her head and brought her attention back to her brother, "can we go home now?"

"Of course, come." Wrapping an arm around his sister, he led her out of the cemetery. As they headed towards his car, Renee's gaze still scouted the area, as if she would spot the man she had conversed with earlier, but there was no sight of him.

Shaking her head and pushing the weirdo at the back of her brain, she got into her brother's car. When they were both seated, her brother made a reverse and was soon wounding down the quiet street of duskwood.

When they made it to their home in the suburbs, Renee took off her black coat and hung it on the hanger. Her brother followed suit, and they took off their shoes at the entrance before walking into the decorated living room.

"Are you hungry?" Renee turned to her brother who was already heading up the stairs to change. He shook his head in response to her question before vanishing from the staircase.

She didn't like how her brother has been refusing to eat anything since the death of their parents – it's already been a week now, and what if his health gets affected? She understood his perception, eating on the night after their parent's funeral must be odd, but what if he falls sick again?

Regardless of what he said, Renee went upstairs to change before returning later on to the kitchen to warm up the meal she had saved for him this afternoon.

When her brother came down the stairs in his ash-colored sweatpants and a matching top, he found his sister already setting up the dinner table. He walked into the kitchen, and she managed a smile his way.

"But I said–"

"I know what you said, but you haven't eaten anything for the past few days." Renee cut her brother off before he could object to her food, "you're becoming thinner than a broomstick, and your health is deteriorating considering how many times you've skipped your meals. What will people say at your workplace if you return looking so skinny? That your sister isn't capable of taking care of you? Come, sit down."

Standing behind her brother and pushing him forward, Cyrus pulled out a chair and finally took his seat at her persistence. He wouldn't want to do anything that would worry her further, she must be feeling worse than him since their parents were literally her world.

Even if he had no appetite for food right now, he was willing to down his plate for the little brat's happiness. He saw her smile when he took his seat, and his frown softened. How can he possibly stay mad at her for caring about him?

Renee took her seat beside him and brought out her phone from her pocket. She unlocked it with her fingerprint and allowed herself to be momentarily fazed when her phone screen lit up.

Her eyes squinted, searching for the call log. Her brother had shown her once where the call log on her phone was, but her stupid brain–

"Don't tell me you're still learning how to operate your phone?" Cyrus had stopped eating after watching how his twenty-two-year-old sister was deeply concentrated on her phone. He took the phone from her grip and muttered underneath his breath.

"Sometimes I wonder if you were born into the wrong era, what are you searching for this time around? And don't say call log."

Renee sealed her lips when his green eyes met her crimson ones, and she smiled wryly. To her brother, his words were nothing more than a tease, it was their personal way of having a 'sibling communication' but deep within the walls of her heart, she wondered how he would react if he knew his statement wasn't completely wrong, because unfortunately, she was a testament to his playful prediction.

She was indeed born in the wrong era.