THE UGLY DUCKLING

Blue had a hunch that someone would come to this island. She herself didn't know what made her feel that way, but her instinct seemed to tell her that.

The blue-eyed girl often had hunches of what would happen in the future, and her hunches were true sometimes. Even so, Blue wouldn't call herself a psychic because her hunches weren't always right. Perhaps all of that was just a coincidence.

Blue was in a hut where she had been living since yesterday. She was not locked up, not tied up, not tortured, but her movements were being watched. There would always be werewolves standing guard at her hut, watching all of her movements like a wolf watching its prey.

Either way, Blue wasn't sure if they were really on her side and wanted to protect her, or they just wanted to take advantage of her and would throw her away when her job was done.

She was given one week to consider, but she still couldn't decide at this point. But, she knew that she didn't need to rush because she still had 6 days before her time ran out. During those 6 days, perhaps there would be things that help her to make up her mind.

"Time for dinner."

A voice coming from behind made Blue flinch in surprise. She was lost in her thoughts while looking towards the vast sea in front of her, and suddenly a voice interrupted her reverie.

Blue's hut veranda directly faced the sea, and she had spent all day in that place.

The voice just now was Jack's. The young werewolf just came out of the house with a tray filled with some food. No, that was not human flesh. This afternoon, Jack just teased Blue by saying that she must eat human flesh. Perhaps Jack knew that Blue couldn't possibly want to eat human flesh right away.

Jack slowly placed the tray on the small table beside Blue's chair. There was nothing special about the food served by the man. It looked like it was just partridge grilled without seasoning. Jack cooked it himself, and Blue thought Jack's cooking skills were poor. She could judge it because she had tasted the food cooked by Jack before.

"Can you add salt to your cooking?" Blue asked as her blue eyes peeked at the food with an uninterested gaze.

Jack sat down next to Blue and then asked back, "Doesn't salt cause hypertension?"

Blue then turned to Jack and stared at him lazily. 'He is really innocent or just wants to make fun of me?' She thought.

Without intending to touch the food, Blue asked again, "How long will you lock me up in this place?"

Jack stared at Blue for a moment, but then looked forward again and answered, "We are not locking you up. We are just making sure you don't act stupid while you are here."

There was a pause after Jack answered Blue's question. Tangled threads seemed to form in Blue's head. She was dizzy thinking about all the things that were happening to her. She suddenly missed her life in the city, missed her school, missed her classmates who never cared about her, missed the head of the orphanage, and also missed Kevin.

"I remember that I haven't answered one of your questions," Blue finally spoke up again.

"Which question?" Jack asked.

"Your question about whether I really do not harbor feelings for Brother Kevin."

Ah, Jack finally understood. She must still remember his question yesterday. Yesterday, Jack was waiting for an answer from Blue, but the young girl remained silent until the end, so he chose to forget his question. Now, Jack looked surprised that Blue suddenly brought up the matter again.

"The two of us have been together since I was a baby. He was only 10 years old at the time, but he was able to properly nurture and care for me. He always accompanied me wherever I go, he always protected me when other children bullied me, he hugged me when I cried, and he promised that he would not leave me and stay by my side. I can't deny that all of that makes my heart feel warm."

Jack listened intently to Blue's story. Even though he was not facing Blue, but it was clear that the tall young man was giving all his attention to the young girl.

"I used to interpret that warm feeling as a feeling of love. Yes, about two years ago, I was in a dilemma because of my feelings. I thought I fell in love with him, I thought I wanted to have him as a companion for my life. I even avoided him because I was too confused about how to behave with him at the time. But, one day, I realized that I misinterpreted the feelings."

This time, Jack turned to Blue after hearing the girl's story. He asked curiously, "Misinterpreted the feelings? You mean, you didn't love him?"

Blue smiled a little as she replied, "One day, he hugged me when he saw me sad. He whispered comforting words in my ear, he said that he would always be by my side and make me happy. His words made me realize that I also want to be by his side, but I want him to be happy with someone he loves in the future."

The answer made Jack frown in confusion. "Why do you think like that?" The young werewolf asked again.

"At that time, I imagined how he was happy with someone that was not me, and I also felt happy. I realized that I only thought of him as an older brother and wanted him to be happy with someone he loves in the future."

The answer stunned Jack. It seemed that it was the first time he had heard such an answer in his life from a teenager who was not even seventeen years old.

"You are unique, Blue," Jack responded to Blue's explanation. At this time, he was no longer looking at Blue. "I thought you were just an innocent girl who only depended on Kevin, but I was wrong. Your way of thinking is more mature than other teenagers your age."

It sounded like a compliment, and Blue subconsciously smiled a little.

The two of them dissolved in their own thoughts, letting the waves be a song to accompany their story that they didn't know where it would end.

After a few minutes of silence, Blue finally decided to open the conversation again, "If I chose not to be on your side, what would you do?"

Jack looked back at Blue. "You won't be on our side in the end?" Instead of answering, he asked the girl back.

Hearing her interlocutor asked questions instead of answering, Blue then sighed. "I said 'if.' Didn't you pay attention to my question?" She asked again in a lazy tone.

"We will find a way to keep you on our side." That was the answer given by Jack.

Blue sneered at Jack's answer. "You guys will find a way to keep me on your side? That includes killing me?" She asked again.

Jack seemed to be getting tired because of Blue's endless question. "Listen to me, Blue," the tall man said. "Is it so hard for you to join us? Your true form is a werewolf, and you will always be a werewolf. You are not the ugly duckling in the fairytale that turned into a beautiful swan in the end. You will always be a werewolf and will never be a human."

Blue fell silent at Jack's analogy. The story of the ugly duckling. In her childhood days, the head of the orphanage used to tell the story to the children. It was her favorite bedtime story.

The lady did not stop advising the children so that they could live like the ugly duckling, who would overcome hardships and become a beautiful swan, not only physically, but also in the heart.

In the past, Blue was also very fond of that story, and she was also dreaming that she would have a happy ending in her life even though she started her life with difficulties, just like how the ugly duckling in the fairytale encountering a lot of hardships in the beginning, but it got a happy ending in the end.

But, Blue realized that she would never be like the ugly duckling. Being a werewolf was her destiny, and she had to live with that destiny until the end.

They were shrouded in silence that was suffocating for a few moments before suddenly Jack rose from his seat in a little panic. Seeing that, Blue also stood up in alarm even though she didn't know what was going on.

"What's wrong?" Asked the blue-eyed girl.

Jack's eyes narrowed to a direction on the beach that was now pitch black. "Someone is coming," replied the werewolf.

Blue followed Jack's gaze, but she didn't see anything.

'Is it true that someone come to this island?' She wondered in her heart. If that was true, then her hunch was accurate.

Jack himself continued to stare in the same direction, and his alertness seemed to be increasing. In a slight whisper, he said, "It looks like I know who is coming."