BOOK 1 | Start the War

Arc 1 | Ch. 12: You Will Be Dead Before I Kill the Lees

Start the War

Chapter 012

"Mom, I can't sleep...can you tell me another bedtime story...?"

Nakanguso lang ngayon si Cheska habang nakatingin sa kaniyang in ana papalabas na sana ng kaniyang kwarto. Ng lingunin niya ang anak, nawala na ito sa pagkakahiga.

"Bedtime stories?"

"I heard it's effective..."

Then she started to walk back to her bed. Cheska's innocent eyes sparkled and moved an inch away to give her mother a space on her bed.

"Here..." Rowena tapped her side kaya dumikit pa sa kaniya si Cheska na naeexcite sa kung ano man ang madidinig na kwento mula sa kaniya. "I still haven't told you this tale, right? The Tale of Four Spirits? It's my most favorite story of all time."

She shook her head slowly. "You only tell me about prince and princess..."

Napangiti roon si Rowena at saka inakbayan ang anak. She slowly caressed her hair para madagdagan ang pagpapaantok sa kaniyang anak.

"Once upon a time, there are four spirits who decided to live in the world of mortals as human beings. The four had an agreement to restore the balance of goodness and evilness. The four spirits are the angels and the demons."

The sparkles on Cheska's eyes started to grow. She never heard stories about angels and demons from her mom kaya sa kwento niya ngayon, she is really interested. Ending na kaagad ang kaniyang inaantay.

"However, as the moons pass by, the two demons suddenly became bored and decided to spread more evil than they should be. This defiance instantly reached the angels and warned them to stop. Believing they're finally stronger than them, the demons didn't falter. Until—"

"Mom, it's not like I'm judging the angels or what but why are they trusting the demons?" Cheska couldn't help herself not to interrupt the story-telling.

Rowena slowly lowered her head. There she is thinking that her daughter is getting finally sleepy but it seems the opposite.

She doesn't look sleepy at all. Contrary to that, she looks so intrigued about the angel's questionable decisions.

"A deal with the demon is something that is unbreakable. No one can break it even the demons themselves. Breaking the deal will result in frightful consequences. The punishment is scary enough to scare the demons and act accordingly. The angels hold onto that but the demons are unstoppable."

That's a satisfying answer for Cheska so she returned to being quiet again. Rowena averted her gaze and continued what she's doing to her hair.

"Until the angels were left with no choice but to remove their abilities and turned them into mortals. It's the same as giving them death. Angels are commonly stronger than demons that's why they didn't stood the chance. And so, the balance remained."

And the room fell in deafening silence.

"Is that it?!" there's a surprise in her voice. "That's short! What an absurd ending!"

Napangiti roon si Rowena. She said the same thing when she was still young.

Ngayong muli nanumbalik ang memorya ng kaniyang paboritong kwento, hindi pa rin niya alam kung ano ang katapusan noon.

"It's still not the ending, lady...the story is still ongoing." dahan dahan siyang umalis sa gilid ng anak at kinumot sa kaniya ang makapal na comforter. "Matulog ka na. Hindi ka naman inantok. Inuuto mo lang ako."

"It's because the tale is boring," she scowled. "That's your favorite tale? It's too short! No ending as well? I still prefer the prince and princess stories."