Mysteries Unsolved: Secret Chronicles

Chapter 2: NAMI

I woke up to see the man from before sleeping right beside me. It was naïve for him to save a stranger, but I was grateful for it as I had owe him my life. Yet, his actions both confuse and intrigue me. For him to save a stranger, his real motives were unclear—whether if he's just kind or someone with a malicious motive. I stared at him and I started to notice his long eyelashes, eyebrows perfectly knitted together in worry, trembling lips, and his troubled facial expression. However, the colour of his hair stood out the most—it was jet-black with multiple streaks of white. He woke up all of a sudden and had grabbed my hand while eyeing me suspiciously. That's when I realize I had been caressing his hair through my fingers. So, I quickly pulled my hand and looked away in order to hide my face getting redder by the second. That was highly audacious for one to do—to touch someone without their permission and getting caught red-handed at that matter. I could only hear him sigh when it made me gaze back at him as he placed a bowl and pointed a spoonful of which I assumed to be an okayu(T/N: "Japanese Porridge"). He looked intimidating with him glaring at me. "What are you waiting for?" his raspy voice startled me which rendered me no choice to accept. Besides, he could've left me to die instead if his sole intention was to kill me. Before I could realize it, the okayu he gave was quite interesting. "How is it?" he asked as he gave me another spoonful. "Itch gut." were the words I could muster to say with a mouthful. "I'm glad." He mumbled. I just sat there in awe after catching a glimpse of his smile in a blink of an eye, and could feel myself getting redder by the rare sight. "Did you catch a fever?" he asked as leaned towards me with his hand placed on my forehead which made me to avert that caused excruciating pain. "Don't move too much." he said as he leaned closer made me close my eyes—not because of the pain, but because of the unbearable thought of him being similar to my older brothers. "Don't assume. I'm only assisting you before you re-open your stitches." he said with assurance. When I opened my eyes at the sound of the door, he already left. I looked at myself and felt ashamed of my assumptions ending up with a sigh as I realized my frantic reaction. When I heared the sound of the door again, I saw him return with a swamp-green filled foggy glass in hand. "Drink the medicine." he firmly said as he handed it to me to which I accepted with enough trust that it wasn't poisoned. Maybe it's just that he doesn't realize who I truly was—a monster.

"State your name." he asked while glaring at me as if it wasn't a question, but an order. "Nami." I could muster to answer. I don't want him to know yet. "Alexei." he firmly said as he reached out a hand to me to which I accepted— wasn't able to tell if he was lying with his stone-cold face. I was about to ask when I could hear a bell rang loudly for the second time. Alexei walked towards the window with caution. However, it made me curious on what's troubling him. For a while, he had been sighing endlessly and prepared himself with guns and knives. Something is not right. "I'm leaving for a while." he said. "What for?" I ended up asking. "To hunt." he answered. "You mean kill others?" I didn't notice those words came out. Maybe what I need was a classification that he wasn't like me. But, he didn't dare flinch to answer me nor hesitated to leave. Instead, he left as he banged the door loud enough to make my heart skip a beat out of fear. The fact on how his attitude drastically changed right startled me. I wish for him to be different than the others—I just hope that I was wrong. His eyes may be stoic and bares little to compassion, but it had hope left in him, but I could see that the hope hidden inside was draining him—he was breaking. It was as if he had been living on anger and hatred-filled life only to seek revenge. Be that as it may, I believe that he it is still possible to pull him out of his depravity since he still had the ability to smile earnestly. However, I shouldn't have my assumptions now when I know so little about him. If we met him earlier, would things have been different?

I fell asleep as I waited too long for his return. At least with this place, I could sleep in comfort knowing that I'm safe at last. When I opened my eyes again, I was surrounded with nothing but void—must be in a dreamscape. Suddenly, everything had changed into the same place I was before he found me... And where she died. However, the air was different. Out of nowhere, she appeared before me as she stared right through me with her lifeless eyes. Her mouth spoke to words, but the words were silenced. Instead, the deafening whispers of the wind filled the gap as I felt weak knowing that I couldn't save her. However, her words remained to me as a mystery to what it actually is. Was it a cry for help? Or was it something worse—resentment towards my incapability? One thing is for sure, it was a message only for me to understand. She was about to fade when a hand holding a dagger with a familiar insignia driven into her stomach rendered her unable to fight back. But, to no avail, with her energy drained on the excessive blood she lost ending her getting butchered to the point of difficulty in recognition. The scene was quite morbid as it sickened me through and through. Whoever it was that have killed her would be subjugated to death penalty regardless of reason. He treated her as a piece of meat, so I will kill him with the similar matter of his tenacity—by butchering him piece by piece if I have to. For now, I have to wait my wound heal, so that I would be able to seek revenge for her soul to find peace in death.