The Enemy Beside Me + The Liar Beside Me (Book 1 and 2)

B2 Chapter 2

MAGNOLIA WAS HIS MOTHER'S favourite flower. But since they're not in full bloom yet, he's settled for white roses. 'I know it's not your birthday nor your death anniversary. But I just want to give you these.' He places them on her tombstone, marvelling how it still looks new. 'I cannot give you this pup, though. It's not even for me. It's for my new friend.' As if to agree with him, the pomsky barks. The barking, however, comes out more like crying.

When he'd asked his father if he could visit his mother, the old man merely shrugged. That's the only confirmation he needed.

'I'm glad he's not here. He'd call me insane for talking to a dead person. And he'd be right. This is insane.' He silently laughs. When he remembers it's the early morning which means no one is here but him, he allows himself to laugh louder. A true mark of insanity. 'I'm only serving myself, truthfully. But that's normal, isn't it?' He'd seen other families doing the same. It's a universal practice to speak with your late loved ones. The fact that a big part of him is trying to sneer at him and stopping him somehow makes him sad. He should stop thinking once in a while.

The warm air gently tousles his hair. Alasdair closes his eyes and fools himself that his mother is hearing him and comforting him.

It's not his mother. Just the wind. But the warmth feels familiar. 'Mama, I miss you so much.' The pup whimpers, hitting his arm with its nose.

* * * *

On a whim, he's rented a bicycle. With the pup in the basket, Alasdair starts pedalling towards their summer house just in the outskirt of the Tetsubun area. People often mistake their summer house for a park with how it's surrounded by various kinds of trees and flowers that just scream for anyone's attention. Blue and red are aligned together as though the slope was welcoming an important guest.

Alasdair doesn't mind strangers lingering around. It's been abandoned since Mrs Yamato's death. Their helpers clean it once a month out of respect to the late first lady. Thankfully, Kaito is indifferent. Sometimes, foolishly, Alasdair thinks it's his father's little way to commemorate his deceased wife.

'Are you okay there?' he asks, brushing the pup's head with his finger whilst his other hand is busily manoeuvering the bicycle. The pomsky barks happily, its tongue dangling out. He's starting to think twice about giving this creature to Eien. He shakes his head. Attachment is a dangerous thing. The last time he'd had a dog, it died in his arms. Never again, he thinks.

'We're almost there. Hold on tight!' The pup barks again, this time, much louder. 'Hey! That sounded like real bark! There you go!' He laughs. As if to agree with his compliment, the pup demonstrates its newfound natural talent.

Now pumped up, Alasdair pedals faster, the wind whines louder in his ears. He feels his muscles contracting, his sweat dripping, his heart pumping. How he misses being active in sports...Although he sometimes plays basketball with Declan, Watanabe, and Noritaka, it's nothing compared to when he was in junior high school years.

Maple trees greet Alasdair first, and he sees he's not the only one who's delighted. The children, together with their parents, are chasing away the falling leaves. 'I guess those trees are too old. It's not autumn yet, and they're like you: shedding. Only that they have leaves instead of fur.' His casual talk with the pup jogs his memory when Watanabe scolded Noritaka to stop talking to himself or people would think he was a maniac. In fairness to the latter, he was trying to solve a trigonometry problem and talking out loud helped him to concentrate.

If Noritaka had a pet, people wouldn't mind him moving his lips as if he were chanting a spell.

***

The Orange House is the smallest property the Yamato owns. Probably the reason why nobody believes they have it to their name. Nonetheless, this was his mother's favourite place. Alasdair cannot remember if he indeed loved it too. He didn't like how the other children were free to see her and play with her. They barely spent time together without Kaito intervening, so for her to allow the other children to ruin their time had made him think she didn't take him seriously.

None of the average citizens enters their summer house, thankfully. They still have their manners.

In the basement, there's a secret door that leads to the library. Of course, there's the main door too if you want to enter normally, but Alasdair wants to see how the pup will crawl its way inside.

The helpers had been here yesterday, he can tell. Not by how pristine everything looks like. It's the combined scent of strawberry and vanilla, his mother's smell. He hated it. Said it was nauseating. Instead of getting offended like any other women always do, Mrs Yamato merely laughed and told him how such a typical man he was. Alasdair loved how she called him a 'man'.

* * *

Once inside the library, Alasdair rubs the belly of the pomsky, congratulating it for the job well done. It has exceeded his expectation. 'You can crawl with so much ease, eh?' He playfully puts his finger inside the pup's mouth. The pup, in return, nibbles it and demands more for a belly rub which he gladly gives.

'Now, don't destroy anything, okay? Or I will be disappointed. Don't chew books. Don't knock off the lamps. Don't do anything without my permission,' he says as he dusts off his trousers. The pup doesn't seem to understand him as it tilts its head to the left, eyes filled with curiosity. 'Just be a good boy.'

Alasdair goes to the fiction section. He prefers non-fiction books, especially if they have anything to do with business and the economy. It's only practical. Why waste your time on a book that won't educate you on how to manage your finances? Mrs Yamato would disagree with him had she been still alive. For the sake of fooling himself that she is here, guiding him—since he's gone to the cemetery, why not top it with more reminiscing? After this, he'll go back to being the person he's expected to be—he'll be reading The Seventh Little Bird.

The author thought she was being clever. Even at the young age of five, Alasdair knew the seven little birds represented the seven deadly sins. The birds' names don't even hide the fact that their names are just anagrams of their corresponding sins. Honestly, Alasdair hates it when an author talks down to their readers. To be fair, this is a children's book but still...

The only smart thing the author did was making the readers guess who was the seventh sin amongst the six birds' friends. In the end, it was their meek friend who hid his real identity. Turned out, his name was Thwart, an anagram for Wrath, only with an extra 'T'. Alasdair recalls laughing at the revelation. He then thanked his mother for letting him read a comedic book. Mrs Yamato said nothing as she stared at him with an unreadable expression.