A Melody in the Twilight Sky

03 Knock It and Try It

'I might...'

I might what?

I opened my eyes with a sharp pain in my head and a stiff feeling in my back as if I had been sleeping on the floor.

Ceiling fan?

The ceiling fan was the first thing I saw. It had a white ceramic lampshade hanging down. The light was on, making me squint to adjust to the brightness for a moment.

My house doesn't have an antique ceiling fan like this...

As quick as a thought, I pushed myself up to a sitting position and realized that I had been lying on a wooden bench with beautifully carved Thai patterns on the backrest. Opposite me was a wooden chair set with upholstered seats and a low table in the middle. My shoulder bag was on the table. There were bookshelves lining one wall. All the wooden windows in the room were tightly closed. There was a large wooden door closed on one wall, and on the opposite side, there was another door that was ajar. Peeking out, I could see stairs leading down to the lower floor, and beyond that, two more wooden doors.

Wait a minute, when I came up from the boat, I didn't bring my bag with me. How did it end up there? And where am I now...

"Is anyone here?" The unusual silence prompted me to call out as I stood up in the middle of the room.

Not long after, a clattering sound came from outside, and a man walked up the stairs. Judging from his attire, he must be the one who sang so beautifully earlier. As he reached the top step, the light there illuminated his face more clearly.

His hair was shaved short on the sides, but the wavy hair on top was styled against his clean-shaven face. What caught the eye was a small beauty mark under the right corner of his mouth. If this was indeed the man who sang so melodiously earlier, it was quite a fitting entrance.

Overall, he doesn't seem to be much older than me. But more importantly... this guy is a stranger.

"Awake already?" He stopped, arms crossed and leaning against the doorframe, probably because he saw me backing away.

"You... Who are you?"

He raised an eyebrow at my question. "Who are you? Have you lost your memory?"

"Lost my memory? I remember standing at the pier... How did I get here?" I rubbed my head. "And why does my head hurt?"

"You fainted."

"Oh, right. I felt a sharp pain in my head and then everything went black. Or did you..." As my brain started to process again, my eyes widened. "Did you hit me on the head? Are you trying to do something to me?"

"Hey, when I found you, you were a kilometer away. How could I have hit you on the head?" He looked alarmed, probably scared that I caught him.

"Don't tell me you're with that crazy drunk. He must have hit me on the head." I pointed with a shaky hand. "Where are you? Come out!"

"Wait, wait. Who? What drunk? You're the one who barged into my garden. How could I have prepared someone to wait for you?" He frowned as he explained, looking more agitated than me. "Shush, and keep your voice down. You'll wake up the whole neighborhood."

"See? If you didn't do anything wrong, why would you be afraid of people hearing?" I raised my voice even more. "Ba- Back off! Don't try anything stupid. I'll fight to the death!"

"Oh, come on. Don't be so dramatic. Do you think I'm that desperate?" He seemed to lose his patience, yelled, and started walking towards me.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing?" I quickly backed away again, forgetting all about my brave act of threatening him.