His Eyes

HIS EYES: Chapter 8

IF I were to choose between the living and the dead, I would pick the dead. Why? Because people would start to love them once they're gone. If I die, would they love me too?

We went to their house. The lights were dim and it smelled bread. It was my first time to be here since our parents died, it felt nostalgic. The walls were painted white, still the same. There were picture frames hanged on the wall. Those were the pictures of Auren and Orlstein.

The first one was Auren sitting on the green sofa while holding two certificates. She was wearing a toga. It must be her graduation day. Beside Auren's picture was Orlstein's, she was wearing a black coat and sipping a cup of tea or coffee. Her background was three tall buildings.

Christina was crying on the sofa while Asion was there taking care of her. I looked for Neo but I couldn't see him. Their relatives were also in the living room, sympathizing the couple.

"Follow me," somebody whispered. I glanced and saw Orlstein.

I followed her until we went outside of the house. It was already evening and the temperature was slightly cold. There was a wooden chair with flowers decorated on it in the middle of their garden.

I couldn't see the moon nor the stars in the sky. Maybe, it was about to rain. She opened her cellphone and tapped the music section. She played a song by Yiruma. It was a piece of instrumental music.

"So, where do you think Auren belongs?" I asked to break the silence. She seemed like she didn't get what I meant which was surprising. "Pro Dovinian? Pro Dogian?"

"Heaven," she answered. I didn't speak. Based on her response, I could conclude that she was no longer the Orlstein I knew. She had changed a lot. I wasn't against her answer. It wasn't part of her own-made groups, actually.

"Well, everybody knows that. Everybody believes that. What I mean are the groups you always believe before."

"I know but this time, I don't want her to be reincarnated as an animal," she said and smiled. Did I go out of boundaries? I shouldn't have asked her about it. "But, if you really want to know, I think she belongs to Pro Butteria. Butterfly, remember?"

"So why did you bring me here?" I asked.

"I can't bear to see them crying for Auren who's already dead. Does crying brings her back? Of course, no."

"I see."

"About your eyes," she said. She wasn't looking at me. "When are you going to tell Neo about it?"

I shrugged. "I don't want to tell him about it for I know he will never understand."

"You should tell him so that he'll understand. What if one day he'll know about the truth behind your parents' death and Auren's? "

"Is this the reason why you brought me here?" I asked, trying not to be rude.

"It's up to you if you'll tell him or not but don't say I didn't warn you," she said, not answering my question.

"Tell what?" a voice behind our back asked. It was Neo. I didn't look at him.

"Nothing."

"I'm the reason why your girlfriend died," I said the same time Orlstein spoke. I could tell he was confused from the way his face looked like.

The mood had changed. It was a moment of silence for the three of us. Nobody said anything. I realized something after saying those words, I was stupid. I wanted to turn back the time but I couldn't. To break the deafening silence, I told him the truth about my eyes except for the death of our parents.

I glanced at his hand. It was shaking. Then I turned and face him but he punched me straight into my face. It was so strong that my nose started to bleed. I didn't react. He walked away without saying anything.

"Are you okay?" Orlstein asked and helped me got up. I wiped the blood on my nose.

"This is the reason why I shouldn't tell him about it," I said.

~

We went home the next day. Neo didn't talk to me nor Orlstein. My hate for him grew even bigger. I hated him for being the victim while me being the criminal. Should I tell him about our parents? No. He might kill me if he would know.

We hadn't received reports about the criminal behind Auren's death. The police were still working on it. Neo was starting to become impatient because of the slow progress of the case. Each day was a burden for him.

Orlstein decided to stay here in our apartment. I didn't know what was she going to do here. We had two rooms, one was Neo's and the other was mine. I suggested to sleep in the living room but Orlstein disagreed.

"I'll sleep in the living room. End of story," Neo said. He wasn't angry, I assumed. Nobody contradicted his offer so both of us agreed.

"Carthik," Orlstein called as soon as Neo left the kitchen and went outside the house. I heard him slammed the front door. "We'll start finding Adolf tomorrow."

I was confused. I thought she was here because of her sister's case but why bother my own problem? I looked at her. She wasn't joking. Looking straight into her eyes, I could tell she was serious. Why? I wanted to ask her. How could she do this even if I was the reason why her sister died?

"What about Auren's case?" I asked. She gazed away for a second and replied.

"I trust the police." As if I didn't feel the same way.

"Okay. Do have any idea where is he?" I asked, referring to the shit called Adolf.

"Fine. Tomorrow. Morning. I'll book our bus tickets for tomorrow. I'll be right back," I said and took my hoodie. It was still afternoon but I brought my night vision glasses for precautionary measure.

There were no longer stalls and festival banners outside. Back to reality, I guessed. It was strange because last year, they removed those things after a month. Maybe because of what happened to Auren. The security in our city was raised and a group of policemen was guarding in every block.

Suddenly, I bumped into a random person, a teenager maybe, and this time I successfully held my sunglasses. It was a girl. I couldn't clearly identify which is a woman or a girl. I was wondering why she wasn't moving at all. She was half standing and half sitting. Was she bowing? She wasn't facing me.

Then I was startled when she laughed. She was laughing like a patient from a mental hospital. Should I leave her? But I couldn't move my feet!

"Man, I couldn't believe we'll see each other again after the incident," she said. Then she faced me. She had many wounds on her face and arms. For a moment, my body stunned. My hands were shaking and were cold like I was holding three ice cubes.

"Pleasure to meet you, eye killer."

I knew her!

~<>~

Hey hey hey! Thank youuuuuuuuuuuu!

Updates:

Tuesday - Thursday