ROOM OF VOID

Chapter 0: The Song

Horse of Trojan had came inside you so it is too late

Poison will spread within your veins and you won't know

Until the violin man comes

A girl's fingers, pale and fragile, playing with the thorns

A blood of someone gushes out, friend or foe?

Love is like a rose with thorns, thorns and thorns

In the room of void, with friend or foe?

A young woman frowned as the song played its last guitar verse. She was flipping pages of her giant Wonderful Africa photography book while laying on her stomach when the song came around from the random radio station she had been half-listening. As the song ended, she tried to listen closely, wanting to know who sang the song she just heard. Totally not the most normal, sappy song she heard of the day. Peculiar. Peculiar was the right word to express it all, she concluded.

That day was another normal peaceful afternoon in her apartment. Faint noises of car honks were heard occasionally beneath the songs that were often played from the big high-end audio set from the corner of the sunny living room. She loved listening to music, maybe a bit too much. Earlier, the owner of the room, Arum, randomly changed her audio into online streaming. She just thought maybe it would be good to hear some songs she hadn't listen from her own iPod.

"Yuki," She turned her head to the kitchen's direction, addressing the young man who is busy cooking. "Did you hear that?"

The young man lifted his head from the stove, he was stirring some vegetables in the wok. His features were just like what you saw in comic books. Tall, fair-skinned, and handsome. But he was not her boyfriend. He was her best friend. "What is?"

"The song. It is pretty weird, yet charming in its own way. A bit eerie too, the lyrics," The woman got up and walked into the kitchen, leaving the book opened. "Do you know the song?"

"Yeah," Yuki wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. He wore a pale blue cotton shirt and blue jeans that day. Its long sleeves were rolled up to his elbow to ease him while cooking. "I think that song is pretty much climbing music charts in Japan, I believe. It is Toyuki who sang the song."

The young woman nodded lightly. Her expression changed as if saying 'So, the song is from Japan'. "And the title?"

The man gave it a moment to remember, he touched his lips unconsciously. "Room of Void?"

"Room of Void? Like a room of vacuum? Nothingness?" Her forehead wrinkled instantly.

Yuki nodded and turned off the stove. "I think so. It stirred a big sensation in Japan. Like the public never get to see the real singer and the music company is pretty much keeping their lips tight about it. Can you imagine? A man from nowhere sings a song about weird, enigmatic yet charming song, to borrow your word. Rumour has said that the singer is very handsome."

The woman laughed at his last remark. "What is that?? What's the song's title again?" I will search it." She let out her mobile phone, unlocking its pattern password with a practiced move. Unconsciously, she mouthed 'Toyuki Room of Void' silently.

"You should listen to it, Arum, over and over again," Yuki said calmly as he went back to cooking.

Arum averted her eyes from her phone, staring at the back of her friend who was now busy cutting vegetables. Somehow, his last sentence, even though was said lightly, had a special ring in it. It was like something tinged within Arum, but she had no idea why. She wanted to say something, but words failed her, as if no word could be formed within her head in the moment. Arum kept gazing at Yuki for a while, but the man didn't (or maybe pretended not to) realize her questioning eyes. After some time, she decided to go back to her Wild Africa again, Toyuki's Room of Void was clearly forgotten.

"You should listen to it, Arum, over and over again."

"Over and over again," someone whispered from afar.