Chapter 006

Selene

Next day, I was almost ready to leave. I was very sure that there was nothing that could move me at this point, whatever he wanted to show me would go all in vain.

As I stepped outside, I heard an ear-piercing howl from outside with a wild gush of wind that made me take a step back. I looked up to see a dark, ominous storm cloud approaching. The wind picked up, tossing my hair into my face and making my clothes flap violently.

It was hard to open my eyes, it was hard to stand on the ground but I did both of them. I opened my eyes, immediately squinting them because of the violent wind. "What the fuck..." I whispered, my eyes watching a creature as tall as the sky with big fangs, a roaring voice, ears pointing outwards, and dark black fur. It looked beautiful to me, however, scary at the same time.

The creature was a wolf, but unlike any wolf I had ever seen before. It towered over everything around it, with a presence that seemed to fill the entire forest. Its fur rippled in the wind, and its eyes burned with an intensity that made me shiver.

And this big wolf-like creature failed to keep up with the guardian who was trying to faint the wolf without hurting it much.

The guardian moved like a white flash of light, so fast that my eyes could only catch glimpses of him as he darted around the creature, playing with the rope, trying to tie it around to calm it down. I felt this sudden urge to help, but I didn't dare move from my place.

I watched in awe as the guardian's muscles flexed one last time, and the creature was finally in control. It stopped thrashing and snarling and settled down, its eyes fixed on the guardian. The guardian stepped back, breathing heavily, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Good boy," the guardian said softly to the creature, and then he turned to me. His look was expressionless now, and my heart got a pang. I felt hurt for no reason, but maybe there was a reason. I couldn't help but wonder why he, too, looked at me with those expressionless eyes like he was disappointed in me, like everyone else was. Even a strange wolf-like creature gets a look of love, unlike me. But then again, the creature was so beautiful, and I couldn't blame him for being enamored with it.

"You've changed your clothes, I see." He spoke.

I gulped and gazed at the creature who looked at me with it's blue eyes.

"Ready to go?"

I nodded.

He didn't say anything, just started walking in the direction of the forest, the creature followed him closely behind. I wanted to touch it and play with it. It's fur looked so soft. I ran and then followed them, walking. My hand itself went ahead to touch the his leg when the figure in front of him told me to stop, "He doesn't like being touched by people much. Stay away."

I frowned, "Then why do you touch him?"

"Because he loves me."

I glared at his smug look, but I couldn't do anything. There was no way even a creature could love me.

As we walked, the guardian spoke to me, telling me about the forest and its inhabitants. He talked about the magic that flowed through the trees and the creatures that lived within them. His words were like music to my ears, and I felt myself being drawn into the enchanting world he was describing.

"I've never heard or seen the creatures you describe before."

"Those who want to see can see creatures that live within the forest and all around the world. But the people are so busy with their lives. They think only their problems matter and thus they all fail to see what's behind the shadows."

His words offended me. It was like he was talking about me. "So you're saying people's problem don't matter?"

"No. I am saying they only see what'd bad in their problems."

"Well, problems are bad, genius."

"And you just proved what I was saying. Problems have some good in them too. You just have to see it the right way."

The curiosity burned in my chest. "How?"

"That's what I am going to show you."

Soon, I was standing in front of a waterfall, wondering what the hell was so deep about this waterfall that he brought me here to show it.

"What now?" I snapped. "Listen, my so-called guardian, you've wasted enough of my time."

He very rudely ignored me, and spoke up, "Do you know what causes a waterfall?"

But before I could continue, he interrupted me, his voice calm and steady. "Waterfalls," he began, "form as streams flow from soft rock to hard rock. The soft rock erodes, creating a problem. But look at the outcome of that problem." He gestured towards the magnificent waterfall in front of us, the cascading water glistening in the sunlight. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

As he spoke, his eyes locked onto mine, and I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my body. I could feel my cheeks flush with heat as I gazed into his mesmerizing amber eyes. It was as if time had stood still, and for that moment, there was only the two of us and the breathtaking waterfall before us. However, I chose to ignore it. He was no one to make me feel something, anything.

He continued staring at me, "If only you have the courage to keep going like the water keeps going through every problem. It turns out beautiful in the end. If only," He repeated, "If only you want to heal yourself, anything is possible."

My eyes glanced at the water flowing downwards creating a pond with greens all around. That was...poetic and beautiful, but I still didn't agree with him. Water is not human, of course. "Is this what you wanted to show me?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face.

I watched him walked towards the rocks and effortlessly skipped from one to another until he reached the water's edge. The waterfall created a gentle mist that covered him in a veil of sparkling droplets, but he didn't seem to mind. Instead, he waved at the creature behind me, which let out a growl and shrunk down to a cute little pup that scampered over to stand by his side.

With the pup nestled in his arms, he looked at me, "The real thing is inside," he said. "But you must swear, and I mean literally swear, to deal with your inner demons, train, and save the world. Only then will it reveal itself to you." A little smirk on his face was challenging me. This...He sure was a clever asshole. I knew I was curious as fuck at all times, and he knew that too. What better way to make me stay and save the fucking world than to tell me if you want me to show you this, swear that you'll save the world? Now that I thought about it, who was even haunting the world?

I hesitated, unsure of what he meant. Was this some kind of test? Was he joking with me? But some part of me knew that he was dead serious.

"Take your time to think as I let you know the consequences of swearing," He let out. "If you ever try to go back on your words, you'll suffer the most intolerable pain. And I mean it. It's up to you to believe it or not."

The weight of his words hit me like a ton of bricks, and I suddenly realized the gravity of the situation. Just yesterday, I was running from something I thought some creature, some kind of demon, a test from my guardian, now I was standing, realising that my life has took one eighty. This was no joke. Everything I say would matter, and this didn't make me feel lifeless. I felt alive. I felt that I finally, fucking finally had a purpose. I should not, I thought. It wasn't worth it...right? I didn't want to be in pain anymore. I wanted some happiness finally. I should not agree. I shouldn't swear.

He spoke, all of sudden, "I promise the outcome will be beautiful. Tell me, have you ever dreamed of getting the life you want? The adventurous, fun kind of life?"

Had I ever dreamed of getting the life I wanted? Of course, I had. But those dreams had always felt so far out of reach, so unattainable. I wanted to play piano ever since I was little. My grandmother was the only one who cared about my existence, she even had bought me a piano. A small one, it was a casio. I loved it and I played it every day when I got back home from school until my father stomped on it so badly, throwing his beer bottles at me, one even hit me on my finger.

My mother, she was less my mother, more a wife to her husband. She loved him with all her heart. She didn't love me, I knew because she broke my index finger which was already bleeding from the hit of bottle, 'Playing this instrument isn't gonna earn you money, you bitch,' She said. My grandmother came in between, took me to the hospital, made up a whole other story of how I got hurt. I didn't know why, I was six at the time, yet somehow I knew everything.

I knew that whatever happening with me wasn't right. I knew grandmother knew it. But we kept quiet. Not because we wanted to, but because we had silent voices.