Chapter Sixteen

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Saturday is supposed to be my day for chilling at home, doing nothing but sleeping. But here I am, surrounded by kids in the daycare.

You might be wondering how in the world did I end up being in the daycare so allow me to tell you the whole story.

This morning, I was enjoying my moment in my dreamland when I heard a voice whispering very close to my ears that made my eyes shut open. I was very surprised so my first instinct was to give the mysterious guy a punch on his nose.

"AGH -!" I heard the voice yelling as I punched him and sat up. "Why did you punch me?!" Although my eyes were blurry because I was not wearing my eyeglass, I could tell that he was in pain and that his hand was touching his nose, where I punched him.

I immediately pulled out my eyeglass that I placed under my pillow and wore it. "NJ?! What in the world are you doing here?!" I responded, glaring at him. I looked at my wall clock and added, "Don't you know what time it is? It's still 5 in the morning! And why did my mom and my sister even allow you to barge in?" I said, ending up with a sigh.

"Well, good morning to you too," He said.

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm," I said. "Don't you know that you just dragged me out from my beautiful dreamland? Everything's going so well in my dream."

"Hey, is that how you treat a guest?" He said. "Anyway, get up and get dressed. We're going somewhere."

"First, stop commanding me and second, where are you taking me early this morning?" I said. "Go alone. I'm going to sleep." Then I removed my eyeglasses and tried to tuck myself into my bed to drift off into my dreamland but I failed because before I got the chance to lay down, he grabbed the collar of my t-shirt then pulled me like I am an object.

"Oh, no. You're getting up!" He said. Out of the blue, he removed my blanket and threw it down the floor. "You're coming with me."

"I DON'T WANNA!" I yelled.

"You leave me no choice then," He said using a firm voice and suddenly carried me on his shoulder like I was some kind of a sack of grains.

"PUT ME DOWN!" I yelled and kept on punching his back, but he wouldn't budge. I struggled because of him, carrying me in a forced manner. It's like he couldn't hear me. He only kept on walking down the stairs without any response.

"I SAID, PUT ME DOWN!" I yelled again and he dropped me down, landing on our floor and made me yelp in pain, causing me to rub my back.

"WHY DID YOU PUT ME DOWN?!" I yelled, exasperated with the situation I am currently in.

"I thought you'd like me to put you down?" He said and I could see that he's trying to stop himself from laughing. Ugh. What a cruel man!

"I know but not like that!" I said as I got up my feet. I know that this guy won't give up 'till I agree to come with him to wherever we'll go so I said, "Fine, fine. I'll go with you."

"Great!" He reacted. It is still very early in the morning and my mom as well as my sister seemed to be still sleeping. There is no breakfast prepared. NJ noticed that too so NJ being NJ said, "Before that, let's cook some breakfast."

"Fine. Do whatever you want," I said and attempted to go to my bedroom when I felt his hand around my wrist.

"Who said you can go?" He said. "Cook with me. I don't know where your kitchen utensils are."

"Then don't cook. As simple as that," I said. "Why would you like to cook, anyway?"

"For starters, breakfast isn't prepared" He said. "Don't worry, I am not going to use all of your frozen food. I bought some frozen goods for us to cook." He said then winked.

"You planned all of these from the very beginning?!" I reacted. "And without telling me ahead of time?!"

"If I told you, are you going to say yes?" He asked.

"Of course, no! I hate waking up early in the morning every Saturday!" I answered.

"See?" He responded then chuckled. "Now, shut up and help me cook breakfast for kids."

I blinked twice and in confusion, I asked, "Kids? What kids?"

Is NJ married and already have kids? As if he could read my mind, he said, "If your assumption is that I am already married with kids, answer no. We run a daycare center and I am thinking of cooking for the kids."

I knew that NJ mentioned that he's richer than me, but I never knew that their family runs a daycare center. I am not fond of kids but I don't hate kids either.

"Do you like kids?" I asked.

Shrugging, he said, "Maybe?"

"That's a vague answer," I said. "I never imagined that Nicholas Johnson likes kids."

"Didn't I tell you not to judge?" He reminded me. Together, we walked to the kitchen after he grabbed the frozen foods that he bought. As we got into the kitchen, he prepared the frozen goods while I prepared our kitchen utensils. "How about you? Do you like kids?" He asked while we're in the middle of preparation.

"Yes and no?" I answered.

"That's a vague answer too." He said.

"Well, I don't hate them," I answered. "It's just that, I am not good with kids."

"Then maybe you'll be able to decide when we visit our daycare center."

Oh. So we are going to their daycare today. This was totally unexpected.

We cooked hamburgers, fried chicken and spaghetti for the kids. It's like we are preparing for a birthday party. Birthday party or not, kids are kids and most of them love fried chicken.

For our breakfast, we cooked omelet and fried rice.

We finished cooking at 6AM and now, we're setting up the dining table.

"That smells good," A voice said. "Never thought you'd prepare breakfast someday, B."

"I honestly don't wanna, but this guy's too persistent." I answered, pointing my thumb in NJ's direction.

When he saw L, he said, "Yo! It's a nice morning, isn't it?"

"With B helping out in the kitchen? It is indeed a nice day." She answered and began walking towards our direction. She's still in her PJ's and her hair is still messy. Seems like she hasn't fixed herself yet before going down.

"It would be nicer if someone here just let me sleep the entire day!" I said.

"Lazy bum," L reacted. "I think it's nice that finally, someone really got an initiative to make you an actual human being."

"I am a human being and a human being needs to get more sleep." I answered.

L just ignored me as I scanned the dining table. "So, what's for breakfast?"

"Omelet and fried rice," NJ answered. "Now come on and let's start eating. We'll go somewhere after finishing this breakfast."

"Oh, going on a date?" L said. "If I'm not mistaken, you took her out once. Don't worry, you have my blessing. You can take her out."

"Shut up, L! It's not what you think." I said, sounded defensive.

"Then ... what?" L asked, unconvinced.

"We're just buddies. Nothing more, nothing less." I said.

"Friendly date, right." L said.

"I'll bring her back before it gets too late. I promise." NJ assured her.

"Oh, it's okay even if you don't bring her back before it gets too late," L said casually as she began sitting on the chair. "You can have her."

"No he can't!" I said. "No one owns me, alright?"

L ignored that remark and turned to NJ with the question, "Where are you taking her?"

And with that question, NJ answered and explained where we were going to head for the day and finished our breakfast. After doing so, we're off to the daycare center to play and feed the kids.

We arrived at the daycare center at 7:30AM. As soon as we entered the glass door carrying the food we cooked, that one kid who saw NJ yelled, "Enn is here!" All of a sudden, the rest of the kids stopped playing and ran towards him.

"Enn! You're here!"

"What are we going to play for today?"

"Yes, yes! What are we playing? I'm pretty excited!"

"Oh, I know! Are we going to play hide-and-seek?"

"Did you bring anything? What's that?"

Suddenly, one of the kids grabbed his hand and pulled him to the center. "Come here, Enn! Let's play!"

NJ looked at me with an apologetic smile and then looked back at the kids then played along with them.

"Whoa, whoa buddies!" He said. "Settle down on your seats and stay still. We have something for you."

With that, he gave the food to the children and they began eating. NJ looked at me and called me. "Hey, buddy! Why don't you join in?"

"U-uhm. W-well, okay." I slowly walked towards them, making my way to NJ's right side.

"Who is she, Enn? Your assistant?" A girl kid asked.

"Maybe she's his girlfriend." Another kid guessed.

"That can't be right! I am his girlfriend," The girl kid said and glared at me. "Are you my love rival? I am marrying Enn, don't you know that?"

"I am not his assistant nor his girlfriend," I clarified to the kids. "And I will never be."

"Hey! That hurts my feelings!" NJ said. I rolled my eyes at that remark.

"Do you know any games?" Another kid holding a teddy bear asked. "Maybe you'd like to play with us too." Then smiled.

Do I know any games? I once became a kid so the answer is yes.

"Yes, I know a few games. I just don't know if you play it since it was a game I learned during my childhood days." I answered.

"Were the childhood days different then from now?" Another kid holding a robot toy asked.

"Maybe?" I answered, uncertain. I'm not really in the mood for playing games so I've decided to suggest a different thing to do.

"Do you like stories?" I asked. "Do any of you like hearing stories?"

Altogether, they answered, "Yes!"

Another kid said, "But no one would tell us a story. They tend to give us a gadget to play or a game which requires a lot of energy."

"I see. Then I can be your storyteller for today, if you want to?" I offered.

"Whoa, I thought you hated the spotlight?" NJ said, seeming surprised.

"Yes, I do," I answered with a nod. "But I can't resist the kids who wanted to hear a story. And hey, you know that I like writing. Might as well tell them my own story."

"You also write children's stories?" He confirmed.

"Please keep this as a secret but yes, I do." I answered.

"I guess you'll be in the kids' spotlight today," He said. "I'm giving you the floor then while I listen with them." NJ walked and sat down the center, leaving me in front.

At least, I am dealing with kids. Not with adults. I'm good with this.

"Alright, let's start. The story that I'm going to tell you is entitled The Magician and The Musician," I started. "This story is a children's story written by me."

The noisy kids fell silent as they sat down and wait for me to start telling my story. Well-behaved. I like them.

The moon cried blood as the little girl began playing her harp with a very sad harmony that anyone could hear.

She plays the harp every single night under the moon and beside the lakes. Her playing her harp made people hate her because first, as soon as she played her harp, followed were cries of the people who heard her song that could stab like a very sharp knife.

"Why wouldn't you stop playing your harp?" One day, a magician asked. "Can't you see the harm that you've been causing?"

"I never told them to listen to my harp," She said. "They could either continue listening or stop listening to my music. They have their freewill to choose."

"If you don't want to stop, do you think you can play a different song that is less harmful?" The magician suggested.

"Why? I think the music I've been playing is the most beautiful music of all!" She said proudly.

"If you call leaving scars to other people beautiful, sure." The magician said, totally disagreeing with her.

One night, under the moonlight, the magician found the musician playing her harp at the same usual spot - near the lakes.

Her music doesn't affect the magician at all because he was immortal and in addition, he casted a barrier on himself to prevent the sharp notes from hitting and getting him wounded. That's why he could listen to her music for as long as he desires.

The magician thinks that the musician's music is really beautiful, that's why it's really a shame that it is harmful. So harmful that it could even kill the listener.

He'd like her to keep playing but her playing will risk other people's safety and lives.

The best way that he thought of was casting a magic spell on the girl's harp. That kind of spell that could prevent the musician from harming other people whenever they hear it.

Not thinking of what the consequences might be, the musician agreed. She wanted to live her life playing the harp freely without hearing other people's cries.

Having her harp is a gift but it is also like having a curse for the main reason that it could hurt others and in return, others would hate her forever when all she wanted to do is to play her lullaby.

"I am going to cast a spell on your harp and after this, you'll be able to play it in ease without hurting others and hearing their cries." The magician stated. He placed his hand on the musician's harp and said, "Melody that could give hurt, be reborned and become gentle."

Mixed light of color pink and white suddenly appeared around the musician's harp then after the spell, the glow began to dim.

"Go ahead, try to play it again," the magician said. "You've got nothing to worry about because no one will ever get hurt."

Nodding, she said, "I'll try it," then began playing her harp. She was surprised to see the animals gathering around her and after a while, her music attracted humans. Suddenly, she wasn't playing in an empty place. She's playing in a place with animals and people listening to her.

There is a consequence that she must take for agreeing with the magician's terms moving forward.

"Are you ready for the consequences of your reborned harp?" The magician asked.

"Yes, I am." The musician answered. The magician felt dizzy and fell down into the darkness. Her body was left in the real world, sharing the beauty of her song while her soul is slowly drifting to darkness.

When I finished telling the story, everyone remained silent until NJ broke it. "You call that story a children's story?"

"What? It's a children's story," I said. "It's not like it's a dark story or anything."

"It really was a dark story," NJ said. "And I thought it was a children's story because the title is The Magician and The Musician. I guess, one should never judge a book by its cover."

"Hey! It's a children's story," I insisted. "Why don't you try to imagine it?"

"It's a pretty dark story to be considered a children's story." He said.

"You already said that, I heard ya!" I said. "And again, it is not that dark. This story was a moral lesson. Weren't you listening?"

"Tell us what the moral lesson is in the story of yours, then." He challenged me.

"First, selfishness and the second lesson is choosing to be selfless," I started. "The musician said no to herself while saying yes to others. This situation showed how selfish she was to herself. She never even asks for the magician's consequence." I explained and of course, I am not yet done. "If you're going to say yes to others, might as well say yes to yourself. Second lesson is about being selfless. The magician became selfless to others safety but the consequence is her own soul." I took a breath and continued. "I said that there are two lessons but let me add another one - acknowledging one's potential and wanting it to be shared to others."

"How come the third one became a lesson?" NJ asked.

"For starters, if you see that other people got potential, it won't harm to encourage them to show-off what they can do, right?" I said. "Yep. Encouragement."

"The magician's encouragement looked harmful to me though" NJ pointed out. "After all, the musician's soul became a sacrifice. Only her body works."

"You may be right about that but the magician was a bit encouraging," I said, in doubt. "I need more practice on this one."

"Agreed" NJ said bluntly.

The kids don't seem to hate my story. It seems fine to them. I was even asked to tell another story but unfortunately, I have an author's block.

"Don't worry kids, I'll create another story so the next time I visit here, I'll tell you another story." I assured them.

"You better do that, we'll wait for you!" A kid told me, sounded hopeful.

And honestly, it made me want to create another children's story.

Maybe a little less darker.

Well, NJ sees my story that way but personally, It's not that dark.

While we were talking and playing, a familiar voice spoke.

"Beauty?" It was a woman's voice. I looked up just to see Audrey, wearing a uniform. "Audrey? What are you doing here?"

"I work here part-time. Every Saturday," She answered. I never expected this event. NJ didn't tell that she's a part-timer in their daycare! "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"NJ forced me to go here," I answered with a shrug then looked at NJ. "He disturbed my sleep just for this!"

"You seemed to be enjoying your time here," NJ said. "You even offered to tell another story next time."

Well, he's not wrong about his statement.

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