Andrew Cranel

ANNABELLA was surprised to see a man dressed in strange clothes in front of her. The man was holding a sword. She could see a blue aura enveloping the man's body. What a great visual impression.

"You okay?" The man voiced.

"Err... Yes," Annabella replied hesitantly.

"I have some very useful advice for you."

"What?"

"Keep yourself away from here. If you don't, you may be cut off..."

Before the man had finished his verse, the werewolf attacked him but he managed to dodge it with a proper move. The sword was drawn towards the wolf. The creature had already suffered a rather deep wound from being hit by his sword.

"I'm getting bored looking for you. You seem to be hiding here, don't you?" the man said to the werewolf.

Annabella who was sitting on the ground was only able to be an observer of the strange man's fight with the wolf. However, she could not capture their movements because they moved too fast. She saw that the creature already looked exhausted and there were many wound marks on his body.

Then, the strange man took the opportunity to attack the creature. The werewolf was split into two after being hit by the man's sword. Moments later, the creature turned into the black dust that flew in the air. The blood that came out also became black dust.

Annabella was shocked when she witnessed an event that had never occurred in her life. It felt like a dream. She tried to get up but her aching legs prevented her from standing.

She sat back down on the ground. The wounds from the wolf beast's grip were becoming more and more painful. Her vision was already getting blurry.

"Hey!"

He scratched his head when he saw that the young girl has already fainted. It seemed that he was forced to take Annabella home. It was fortunate that she knew where the girl lived while completing her mission last night.

***

ANNABELLA opened her eyes slowly. The sunlight streaming into the room dazzled her eyes. She got up from the bed.

Eh? How is she in the room?

Not last night...

Last night she was attacked by a snarling werewolf. What had happened exactly? Or was she just dreaming?

Legs! The feet that were covered under the blanket were examined. There was no impression of injury like the hoof grip of the strange creature last night. Why did she feel pain from the creature's grip? Did she was dreaming again?

For the past two days, she had been dreaming about the fantasy world.

"What time is it?"

The clock on the wall rang. It was already 10:00 am. She had been asleep for a long time. Probably too tired from work she guess. Annabella lay back down on the bed to continue sleeping. She shut her eyes again.

After only a few minutes of closing her eyes, her nose smelled something delicious.

Charred meat after being smoked with spices.

Annabella opened her eyes again. The smell was enticing her appetite plus her stomach was already clamoring to be filled.

She decided to step out of the room. Who knew Mrs. Flynn was back from vacation and making breakfast for her? Ever since her father passed away years ago, Mrs. Flynn had always taken the brunt of it. Every weekend when she wasn't working, she always cooked for her.

Her feet were set towards the kitchen. The delicious smells were getting stronger in her nostrils making her stomach grow hungry.

Her body stiffens. Her hands rubbed her eyes as if she couldn't believe what was in front of her. A man dressed like in her dream.

"Good morning!" Greeted the man who had blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Arghh! Thief!" Annabella cried at the top of her lungs.

"Hey, hey, calm down! I'm not the thief you think I am."

"What else? An intruder?"

"Not really."

The strange man dressed like in her dream approached Annabella.

"Come near me and smash your face!" Annabella snarled.

"Calm down. I won't hurt you. Please sit down first." The man invited Annabella to sit down.

"This is my house, not yours!"

"Yes, yes, yes... This is your house. So, can we sit and talk first?"

"I'm not going to follow any word from a strange man like you. After all, you broke into my house!"

"I apologize for breaking into your house but I had to. Last night you were unconscious after the Demon attacked you. Remember?"

She remembered what happened last night. But... Wasn't that just a dream?

"Let's sit down first. I'll tell you what happened last night after breakfast. You're hungry, right?" The man tried to calm Annabella down.

Hesitantly, Annabella sat on the chair at the dining table. She drooled when she saw the perfectly grilled meat.

Breakfast like this? She never had it. What mattered was that her stomach was full.

"It's really hard to use your strange equipment. I spent almost two hours trying to use it. It's complicated!" the man complained.

What's complicated? Electric grill, electric pan... How confused is that? That's normal. He was the strange one. Dressed like a fantasy movie cosplay.

After breakfast, they sat down in the living room to talk about what happened last night.

"My name is Andrew Cranel. A warrior from the world of Sylvania. The creature that attacked you last night is called a Demon. Beasts that are influenced by an aura of evil or called Demonic Spirits."

Annabella was speechless. Her brain tries to digest what the man called Andrew Cranel said. But another her understanding of his word is...

"What? Sylvania? Do you mean Pennsylvania? Is there a theater performance going on? Or filming the new The Hobbit movie? Last night's wolf looked like a real one."

His explanation to the young girl was in vain. She didn't understand at all. Andrew scratched a head that didn't itch.

"Sylvania, not Pennsylvania. The Hobbit? I've never heard of that creature."

"Hahaha... Don't worry! I won't break your secret that you're an actor."

"Sylvania is a magical world where magic is the main source to the people of Sylvania."

"Some kind of fantasy story." Annabella chimed in but stopped laughing when she saw Andrew's serious face.

"You heard what I wanted to say, Annabella."

"How do you know my name?" Annabella asked.

"It's written on your forehead," Andrew deceived. Even though he was able to find out the girl's name last night because he had searched Annabella's house.

"I didn't think you could see me and Demon because ordinary humans like you are unable to see our existence. If you follow the rules in Sylvania, I have to kill you."

"What?" Annabella was shocked.

"I don't like making things like that. After all, I don't have the heart to kill a cute girl like you."

"I don't believe what you're saying. How can there be creatures that exist in this world? All of that is shredded. Even if it's true, it's just a fairy tale adapted into a movie. So, Mr. Andrew, please get out of my house."

"But..."

"I think you're sick. Maybe amnesia."

Annabella nudged Andrew's body to the door with all the strength she had.

"But it's all true."

"Please get out of my house."

The door was closed. It was a relief to get the psycho man out of her house.