The Forbidden Flower (Chapter 3)

As the game began, the fun started, and the first task was assigned. They had to go to the town sheriff's office and bring back a bottle of beer. If they got caught, they would lose. They completed the task successfully, and the game continued. Everyone was enjoying themselves, but I was feeling weirdly nervous about being stuck with him if I lost or had to do a task with him. I didn't understand these feelings and why I was having them for a stranger. I got lost in my thoughts and didn't realize it was my turn. One of the boys shook me a little to bring me back to reality, "Hey Magnor, it's your turn now, read the task," he shouted.

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"Haah, sorry."

"It's your turn, read the task," said the guy next to me.

"OK, I'll start to read the task. 'Go to the church and bring the red candle.'"

Everyone started to giggle and gossip, saying, "He got the hard one this year.

Usually, it's someone from town, but it's going to be fun this year."

"It's a really easy task," I said.

Everyone looked at me as if I were a lost dog, and I looked at Alaric to get some clue or to start the task. When I looked at him, I saw him having a little evil smirk, and he began to say,

"Today, the church is closed, and only on one day of the year, they have the red candle in the church, so it's the hardest task of all time."

I said, "We can just sneak into the church and get the candle."

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Everyone starts to laugh and Alaric starts to say, "If it was that easy, everyone wouldn't react this way, would they?" He starts to laugh. Alaric tries to continue to say something when Carol cuts him off and says,

"In 20 years of time, only one pair could complete the task. The other 17 failed to enter, and one pair got caught."

I was getting interested when I heard this, but what if I lose too? I have to win. "Ok, let's get started then," Alaric said, and we walked towards the church. When we reached the church, Alaric said, "I have an idea."

"What idea?" I asked.

"Let's steal the church keys from the priest's house."

"Have you gone insane?"

"Think, the priest doesn't have his family here, and he'll be at the festival today."

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"No, we can't do that," I protested.

"So, do you have any better ideas?" Alaric challenged me.

"No, but we're not doing that," I insisted.

He came closer to me and pinned me against the wall. "If you don't have any idea, then we're doing it my way. I'm not losing this game. I'll give you five minutes to think. If you don't come up with something else, we're doing it my way," he said firmly.

But all I could think about was how close he was to me, and how clear I could hear his breath. I couldn't help but stare into his blue eyes, long lashes, and that small mole on his ear. I was so nervous that I almost forgot to breathe. Suddenly, I heard a noise and snapped out of my daze. I pushed him away from me and said, "Let's check if we can get in from any other door or window."

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We checked every way we could possibly get in but priest's there was no way. After we checked, he smirked and said, 'So we're doing it my way after all, haan. I didn't want to agree but I didn't have a choice, so I grinned and said okay. We got to the house, which wasn't that far from the church, maximum 5 to 8 minutes away. When we got there, the house and the whole street were empty, so we started to search for a way to sneak in. We found an open window and got into the house. I got in first, but when he was getting in, he slipped on something and landed on me, pinning me to the ground, and having his lips just an inch away from mine. This man, it just keeps getting better and better with him every time I am with him, or even when I just see him, I get this weird feeling I can't control."

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I don't know what to do. I feel like I have frozen; I can't move, I can't see anything but my reflection in those beautiful, sparkling, bluish eyes and the way he looks at me. When he looks at me, it's like he is trying to look inside me, to my soul, like he wants to see whatever I have: my pain, my happiness, my desire, my weakness, my strength, every emotion, every expression. The passion in his eyes attracts me towards them so much that I forget that anything else exists other than those eyes. Those eyes make my whole world disappear just in one glance. I can't stop looking at them, and I don't think that he wants to stop either.

(people talking and laughing sounds coming from outside the road)

"Oh no, people are starting to return. We have to find the key fast and get out of here," Alaric said. When he turned to me again, our lips almost touched, and we got startled for a moment, but we didn't move.

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But suddenly, we heard footsteps and we quickly got up and started to search for a hiding place. Alaric grabbed my hand and pulled me into a nearby room, motioning for me to be quiet. As we hid, we heard the door of the house open and the priest come in, sitting down on the couch. We anxiously waited for him to fall asleep so that we could take the keys and escape. It wasn't just about the dare anymore; the tension and strange feelings between us were palpable in the dark room. It was strange to feel such intensity between two strangers who had just met less than 24 hours ago. We were stuck in that room for almost an hour, and every time our eyes met, the tension grew stronger and stronger. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the priest fell asleep and we were able to grab the keys and make our escape. We headed towards the church, and the once-bustling streets of Mystic Falls were now growing quieter and quieter.

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"Most of the people were already home. Only the young ones were outside. We went to the church and opened the gates, and went inside. I must admit the church looked really peaceful with so many candles inside. Alaric saw my face getting peaceful and enjoying the view.

He said, 'You like the peace in these candles, don't you?' I smiled and said, 'It looks like a sky palace where stars are placed in the form of candles.' He giggled listening to me.

I said, 'It sounds really clingy, foolish, and girly, doesn't it? I know.'

'No,' he replied. 'I didn't giggle because of that. It sounds a little girly and clingy, but I giggled because of the expression you made and the way your eyes sparkled,' he said, getting closer to me and looking into my eyes. He suddenly stopped and said, 'We should hurry up, we're running out of time.'"

Pg 21

We took the red candle, but it wasn't just a simple red candle. It was a beautiful red candle with detailed golden designs on it. I said, "It might be the hardest task, but it isn't impossible after all, huh?"

"I guess it really isn't impossible," he replied.

"So, we're the second couple to win this task and repeat history then," I said.

He put emphasis on the word "couple" to make me realize what I just said, and it worked. After he said that, I got nervous and stammered, "I...I meant game partners, pair up buddies."

He laughed at seeing me so nervous and affected by him. "We've almost reached," he said.

As we were walking, we suddenly heard a voice, "Stop, boys, and turn around! You've been caught stealing the church keys and red candle!"

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When we turned around, we saw Sheriff Ben staring at us. Alaric tried to lighten the situation by saying, "Sheriff Ben, we almost had the title of being the second pair to repeat history."

The sheriff laughed and responded, "If you two weren't so loud talking about a title you haven't even earned yet and flirting with each other, I wouldn't have caught you."

Feeling embarrassed, I interrupted their conversation and said, "We weren't flirting." Sheriff Ben exchanged a look with Alaric and let out a little giggle. Alaric then introduced me, "This is Magnor, Magnor Salvatore," again with a suspicious tone.

"Is he the one who bumped into your shooting?" Sheriff Ben asked Alaric with a weird smile. Alaric nodded his head, sharing the answer with the sheriff. I couldn't help but feel like they were talking about me as if I wasn't even there. It was weird to be a topic of conversation in Mystic Falls, especially since I had only been there for less than a day. As I was lost in thought, someone from the bonfire group called out to us.

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We say "We are coming" and Alaric says to Sheriff Ben, "Well, here you can give these keys to the priest and you can put this candle back in the church," handing him the candle and keys.

"Mmm, you know what? I think you should take this candle with you," Sheriff Ben said.

"But it's pointless. We already lost, and they've seen us with you, so they know that we have been caught," Alaric replied.

"I didn't mean to say that. I meant you'll be going to get the forbidden flower, right? So you should take the candles too. People say that if you bring them together on a special day, you get a blessing from the flower and candle magic light," Sheriff Ben said.

"What special day?" I asked.

"Today is Red Moon Night," Sheriff Ben said.

"What exactly is Red Moon Night?" Alaric asked.

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"It's a very special night. Tonight, during one phase of the moon, it will be bathed in a rose-red light. If you bring together the light of the moon, the forbidden flower, and the red candle, magic will happen and give a blessing," explained Sheriff Ben.

It sounded like a fairytale, but it couldn't be real. If it were true, why wouldn't anyone else try it? I wanted to know more, so I asked Sheriff Ben, "If it's true, then why has no one ever tried it in any other year?"

Sheriff Ben replied, "It's because not many people know about it, and the rose-red moon only appears once every few hundred years."

I never really believed in this kind of stuff, but this time, even though I didn't believe it, I wanted to try it. Alaric turned to me, smiled, and said, "I guess we'll give it a try."

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Sheriff Ben smiled and said, "All the best," and left after taking the church keys. We headed to the bonfire, and when we reached there, they cheered us and said, "You guys almost did it! After the winning pair, you're the closest to come. Congrats, but eventually, you'll have to do the punishment. Rules are rules." I guess I was okay with the punishment and staying at the jungle until someone said, "So today, our losers Magnor and Alaric will be staying at the jungle and bring the forbidden flower." That's when I realized I'll have to be alone in the jungle at night with Alaric. I got so caught up in the game, magic story, and all that; I totally forgot about that. I started to panic inside because I couldn't even show it. If someone asked, "Why are you panicking?" then what would I say? "I am panicking because I am going to be alone in the jungle with someone I can't even act normal around."

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With someone I can't stop getting these weird feelings. I was thinking all these when my eyes met his gaze. He was looking at me as if he knows what I am thinking, as if he can see I am panicking, like his eyes are teasing me. I break the eye contact as I start to get more nervous. We all sing, have fun for a little more, but finally, the time came when everyone said all the best to us, and we went into the jungle to find the forbidden flower. After a little inside the jungle, and it was already bad enough, we weren't saying a word, and it was really tense already. Finally, Alaric said something, breaking the silence: "Do you remember the first time we met? Do you remember me?"

"You mean today when I embarrassed myself when I messed up the shooting?" I laughed while I said that, and he also giggled.

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"So you really don't remember me, ha?" he mumbled. I got confused; what was he talking about? Do I know him? If yes, then why don't I remember anything? It's like a lost memory of mine is getting me again. It's just like that with my dad; I only remember his voice, but nothing else. Not his face, not what he was like with me, nothing. It's like a big missing part of my life, but it didn't really bother me ever because my mom told me about my dad, and she used to say if we forget something, it was never really that mattered. Like if my dad didn't matter to me, then I'd have forgotten him completely, but I didn't. And to remember him, I don't need his face, but I remember what his last word to me was, and that's all that matters to me. But for the first time, I feel a little bothered not to be able to remember him. But why is that? Why is he so important to me?

Pg 28

It's already been 15 minutes since that conversation. He hasn't said a word, neither has he seen in my direction. His eyes are so troublesome, even more when he doesn't look at me. What is happening to me? Why am I bothered when he's silent? "Hey, Magnor, are you tired?"

Thank God, at least he said something.

"No, it's fine. Are you tired?"

"No, I'm used to walking because of my fitness exercise. I walk 1.5 miles on a daily basis."

Is this it?

Pg 29

"Oh no, Magnor! What did you do? How can you be so stupid? Idiot, idiot, idiot," I berated myself silently.

"Magnor?" Alaric asked, breaking my self-criticism.

"Hmm, yes?" I responded.

"What's the time? My phone battery is dead," he explained.

"Let me check... it's 1:45 am," I answered, feeling the weight of the late hour.

"So we have one hour to take this to the forbidden flower," Alaric said, checking the map.

"How do you know when the moon will turn red?" I asked, curious.

"Sheriff Ben gave me this book. It says the moon comes to have magic when the forbidden flower blossoms, and that happens exactly at 3 am," he explained, showing me the book.

"Does it say anything about the forbidden flower too?" I asked, trying to learn more.

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"No, my mom knows about it, but she never told me.".

"Oh, okay." I shut up after that. I don't know what triggered him, whether it was his mom or the forbidden flower or something else, but this change in his vibe is even weirder than ours. I don't know what tension it is, but this time he seems disturbed, and it's happening again. I am getting bothered by his problem and his silence again. We didn't say a word, and it was almost 3 am, so we hurried up to the forbidden flower. We were there at 2:45. When I heard about the forbidden flower, I used to think it was some flower-like plant, poison ivy, but in flower form, but no, it's something way more special than just a flower. It was in the middle of the jungle, near a small waterfall where there was a beautiful pond and many beautiful flowers around it like a mini garden. Behind the waterfall, there it was, the forbidden flower, surrounded by many beautiful flowers and fireflies.

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Even though it was surrounded by many beautiful flowers, it was so magnificent that you could tell it was special with just a glance. I don't even know if I'm making any sense anymore, but it was a mix of many colors, and not a single color was mismatched. It was bright and glowing, as if it were a crystal flower. It looked like a magical hybrid of a rose and a lily. I was too busy admiring it that I totally forgot Alaric was there too. When he suddenly pinched me and said, "Are you getting hypnotized by the flower?" with a straight face, for a second, I got scared and asked him, "Does the flower hypnotize people?" He said, "Didn't I tell you I was also hypnotized by it when I was a little kid?" He had a straight face and looked serious, so I started to get even more terrified and unknowingly grabbed his arm tight. He saw how terrified I was and turned to me, making a weird and creepy face as if he were hypnotized by the flower. I got so scared that I let go of his arm and started to call his name.

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I started to call his name to bring him back from hypnosis, but he wasn't stopping. So, I tried to grab the book from his hand to find a way to break the hypnosis. But as I got closer, I saw his facial expression changing, and I understood what he was doing. So, I also started to play along. Suddenly, I began to mumble something, as if I was enchanting something, and stopped blinking. I walked towards the lake as if I was hypnotized and was going to jump in.

As I took one step closer to the lake, he pulled me into his arms and shook me while calling my name, "Magnor, Magnor, wake up!" I replied, "Don't worry, I am fine," as I continued to speak. He pulled me even closer and hugged me so tightly, murmuring, "I thought I would lose you again here. I shouldn't have brought you here. I am sorry, I am sorry." He sounded terribly worried and like he was about to cry. So, I hugged him back and said, "I am perfectly fine, don't worry. It's okay!" He calmed down a little, but he didn't stop hugging me, and I was okay with that. In that moment, I felt safest and didn't want to leave him either.

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I was so close to him that I could hear his breath. His body was warming up mine, but even that wasn't distracting me from what he had just mumbled. What did he mean by "lost you here again"? What did he mean by "again"? Had I been here before? Even if I had, how did he know? Why was he so worried about me that he almost fell into the lake while saving me? I had so many questions, but I couldn't even say a word.

"Time's up, time's up, time's up," my phone buzzed. We only had to wait five more minutes to see if the myth about the forbidden flower was true or not, but along the way, my wish had changed. Alaric slowly loosened his grip and let me go, but he had tears in his eyes. I hadn't even realized that he had cried while hugging me, but it was awkward, and I couldn't say anything more than "it's okay."

Finally, it was time for the forbidden flower, the red moonlight, and the red candle to show their magic. As the time grew closer by the second, I felt butterflies in my stomach, even though I didn't really believe in magic. Lost in my thoughts, Alaric said something that shook me for a second.

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"Magnor, are you sure you want to wish for something in that magic moment?" Alaric asked in a hesitant and shocked voice.

I turned to look at him, he was reading the book. I assumed it was something from the same old fantasy genre, so I answered in a serious voice, "Yes, of course, I want to. Otherwise, it will all be in vain, whatever we did, how much we walked, everything."

There was a moment of silence. I jokingly said, breaking the silence, "Why do you look so shocked as if it requires human sacrifice or mass murder or something?"

He smirked and said, "You aren't far off." I lost all my senses. I couldn't move an inch. I was feeling as if I was paralyzed. As I got back to my senses, I moved forward and took the book from his hand. My hand was shaking as I took it and read it. As I was trying to find the page, he came behind me, brought his hand around me, and flipped the page. Even though I was terrified, I couldn't help but notice that his smell had been changing. I couldn't help but feel mesmerized every time he came close to me.

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"I could tell when he changed and how many times. Like when we first met him, his perfume was strong, but when we were at the priest's house, his scent was light and mixed with some ladies' perfume. But this time, it's more like his perfume has faded out, and his musty natural smell has mixed with jungle scent and added up with flower smells. The next thing I can't help but notice is his mole in his right ear. As I turned to the book, he had turned the page and pointed to me the ritual part. I read what was written there, and I was pissed at him, raging mad. I pushed him from my shoulder and began to punch him in the chest lightly as I shouted at him, scolding, 'What is wrong with you? You scared the fuck out of me. Is it that good to see me terrified, you idiot?' He was calm and smirking, which was pissing me off more. He was making fun of me, teasing me, so I started to punch him a little harder. As I punched him, he growled, 'Ouch, that hurts.' I said, 'It's meant to hurt. How dare you do that to me?' He grabbed both my hands and pulled me closer, saying, 'I didn't lie or something, did I?' I pushed him a little hard and shouted in a medium-high voice, 'How the fck is human sacrifice and two drops of blood sacrificing kind of the same thing?'"

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He laughed and said, "I never said that it was the same thing, you just assumed it." Hearing that made me even more angry because I was getting flustered seeing him laugh, his ears were turning red, and his hair was a mess. He looked so beautiful that I couldn't even stay mad at him for the joke he made, and that just made me more frustrated. I couldn't even understand my own feelings. I shouted at him as I threw the book at him. "And what the hell am I supposed to assume from 'You aren't wrong'? If it means I'm not wrong, then that means I'm right." He caught the book and started laughing even more and louder. I couldn't help but stare at him and admire him. "Who says?, Don't forget that there is always gray between black and white?." He came closer to me and gently touched my cheeks. He said, "You know you're blushing, right? Your cheeks are really red." That caught me off guard, and I backed up a step, but I stumbled on something, and he caught me by my hips and balanced me.

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As he did that, our eyes met and we started gazing into each other's eyes. I felt like I was drowning in those eyes when suddenly I heard a noise from my phone dropping on the floor. We snapped back to reality and took a few steps back from each other. I picked up my phone and noticed that it was already 3:40 am. "It's 3:40 am already! We missed it, ahhh," I started complaining. We were both disappointed and it was written all over our faces. I said, "Let's just take the flower and go now. There's no point." As I was about to take the flower, he said, "I know that the time is up, but even then, can't we try? Who knows, it might work." I replied, "Even if we want to try, how will we get the moon to be red again?" He said, "It's okay. We'll never know if we didn't try. Come on," and pulled me to help him.

As the ritual said, we needed to place the flower at the center of the marble which was in the center of the cave where there was a direct ray of light. We needed to pray for a wish and just drop a drop of blood on the candle first and two drops of blood on the dark floor. Then, two drops on the flower and not let go of each other's hand.

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We started to do the ritual. We prayed for our wish to come true, to help us get our dream. As we started to get close to the candle, something weird happened. The light coming in and the moon started getting red. We thought the time in the book must be wrong, and we were super happy. I asked Alaric if he had something to make a cut. He started to look into his pocket and took out a mini knife. He made a cut on his thumb, and it was my turn. I was hesitant, but I made a cut. We held hands tightly and we shared two drops of blood on the candle. It was getting weirder, the air had a bloody smell, the light was getting redder. The flame of the candle, after the blood sacrifice, was taking shapes. First, it took the shape of the candle, then the dark, then the flower, then a phoenix. It led us towards the dark as if it was telling us to follow it. As we got closer to the dark, we saw the moon's reflection on the water. It was as if it was bleeding, as one rule in the book says, no matter what happens, don't look at the moon directly. But I was so stupid, I almost looked up, but Alaric tightened the grip of our hands to divert my attention, and I understood that and stopped. We started to share a drop of blood in the lake.

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As I shed my first drop of blood, Alaric followed and did the same. The moment our blood touched the water, I saw the moon turn bloodier, or should I say, redder. I wanted to stop, but we had come too far to turn back. As we approached the forbidden flower, we both shed two drops of blood on it. Suddenly, something started happening to my head. I saw flashes that I couldn't even remember. The sensation was so strong that I felt like my head would explode. Despite the pain, I struggled to hold on to Alaric's hand. However, in the end, I couldn't help it. I had to let go, and as soon as I did, a bright light appeared, followed by a blast that covered everything in darkness before I could react.

Where is Alaric? Is he okay? These thoughts raced through my mind as I struggled before darkness took over completely. Every thought and sight disappeared, and I couldn't do anything. It felt as if I were dead.

Am I really dead?

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