My friend, Nova, is the greatest person I've ever met. She's multi-talented, smart, kind, and an absolutely gorgeous woman.

—But I don't like her. In fact, I really don't like her.

It's not the fact that she always makes an awful expression whenever she sees me; a raised eyebrow that's followed by a minuscule quirk of her rosy lips. It's like she's judging me. But that's not why I don't like her.

What I don't like about her is that:

She's fake!

A FAKE.

Everyday, she rants to me about all that has happened to her. Through the years that we've been together, I have been her unwilling listener. And I figured out that she's not what she makes herself seem to be.

People praised her about being ladylike, but NO. She's anything but a lady.

She always cusses those who pissed her off, and would lay on my bed all day like a fat pig. She's not fat, but the way she acts disgusts me. Comparing her to a pig would be an insult to a pig.

Because at least, pigs are tasty. And she's not! Urgh, the memory still haunts me to this very day. We don't talk about that.

Moving on, there's also one thing I don't like about her...

It's her strange hobby of collecting trashes of any kind; useless objects. Used things. Boxes of all sorts. Rocks. Plastics. Whatever, you name it. Even people.

If she sees that there's a way to make use of those trashes, she'll pick them up and pile them up inside my house. And I can't even protest! She just brushed me off. Every. Time.

Honestly, all she does is annoy me. I can't figure out why we became friends. She just showed up one day and stuck with me, like a piece of chewed bubblegum on your hair. I don't like bubble gum. But she does. I always see her chewing on bubble gum.

People in our town calls her the 'Bubblegum Girl' for that. How original.

Meanwhile, me. I am the dirt that stained that perfectly pristine bubblegum. People don't like me. Which is understandable. They think that I'm corrupting Nova. But I'm not.

She's already corrupted by herself. She's the one corrupting me!

Always bringing me with her to all her troubles.

Like now...

She's here again, inside my small house. She has her own, so much bigger than mine, but she always come here. Everyday. She's been inside my home more than she had been in hers. And she's rolling on my bed right now, batting her long and pretty eyelashes at me. Smiling so wickedly, her unique sea foam green eyes shining with amusement. So beautiful that it's unfair.

It sent shivers down my spine. Because I know, that's a look that spelled:

T_R_O_U_B_L_E.

All in capital letters and under spaces.

I'm in deep shit right now. Fuck.

And her smile widened, like she could read my mind. Acting like she could read my mind. Which she couldn't do, of course. But I feel like she can.

"How's Nori?" She asked.

"He's doing great. Better than yesterday." I said, trying to pull her off my bed to no avail. She's heavy, despite her slim figure.

Nori is one of the trash she brought in my home. A seven feet man with smooth skin and a troublesome memory. He doesn't remember his past and would sometimes forget everything. I was reluctant at first, but he just had that pathetic lost look in his eyes that made me say yes. He's been staying with me, and by extension, with Nora, for more than a decade.

She always asks about them. Even when she could see them for herself.

"What about Mara?"

"Still the same as always."

Mara is inside my house, somewhere. She rarely lets anyone see her, unless it's time to eat food. She's like a ghost, without the dead part. Fitting. She came after Nori, all covered blood and gory. I treated her wounds, but I have never once talked to her, which is a strange accomplishment. I don't know what to think about that.

"Leopard?"

"Gone."

That wild man disappears for periods of time. I don't know why he still comes back. And I'm complaining. I don't like him.

But none can surpass my dislike for Nova who was grinning at me. Oh no. No.

"NO." I declined in advance, knowing whatever would come out of that wicked mouth is wicked all the same. I don't want to hear it. I don't wanna know it.

Her hand reached for her pocket, and I knew. I just know. Not again.

"I have a gift for you."

"I don't want it." I immediately declined.

Her eyes, expression, and my knowledge of her says it all. What she's giving me is nothing but trouble. Like those old dusty books she pilled up in my study that reeks of ancient wicked knowledge. Like the set of porcelain teacups she gifted me that screams of an aristocratic wealth. Like the flower that she made Nori plant on my garden that whispers of magic and beauty.

All of those may be wonderful, but it's too troublesome. And I always try to avoid trouble.

Obviously I failed because there's HER.

Nova Ealenour Magicka. Even her name sounds troublesome.

Fuck.

"Come on." She fanned me with her long eyelashes.

"No, please." I'm not above begging. Or groveling.

Despite my protests, she wrestled me down and choked me with the golden necklace that she brought out. Wrapping it around my neck three times before locking it tight. It snugly fitted my neck. How annoying.

"There, so perfect for you." She cooed with her voice that felt like silk. Urgh.

I tried to pull it off, seeing as the chains looked fragile. But it won't come off, even when I tried to unlock it.

My breath quickened as I pulled the chains, "Get this off. I mean it, Nova!"

She's always like this. Doing whatever she likes, pushing my boundaries, seeing how far I'd go for her. She's so mean.

Just as I was about to start to panic, I felt something soft touch my cheek. That made me release the breath that I never noticed I'm holding. And I inhaled deeply. Exhaled.

"Relax." She whispered in my ear. "It's nothing bad."

"Sure."

I wrapped my arms around her neck, pulled her close and rested my head on top of her chest, breathing in her calming scent.

She's so irritating. But she's still a friend. An odd friend. A friend that I don't like. But she's still my friend.

"Take this off." My voice was muffled by her clothing, but I knew that she understood me.

"No. It's a gift."

"I don't accept this."

"You have no choice." Her words were final. I knew it. She won't take a 'no' for an answer where she wanted me to say 'yes'.

I don't like her for that.

"Keep it." She said. "It will help you."

Then she left for the day. I don't know where she's headed to, I never asked. She just comes and goes. Like a thief. Except, thieves steal. She, on the other hand, gives me things I don't want and had never thought of having.

It's annoying.

My eyes drifted towards the mirror by the window, just beside my bed.

Looking at my reflection, I sighed.

I tried to remove it again. Futile, I know. My neck is throbbing, pinkish lines were afflicted on my skin caused by the chain's pressure from all my pulling and tugging. If I had a pale skin, the bruise would be much more prominent. I tugged at one part of the chain, causing the others to tighten.

I wonder what she sees in me. Because all I see in my reflection is a small woman with dull hair and boring face.

My shoulders sagged.

"I'm home..." There's a knock on my door. One. Nori.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing a large man. He was crouching, just a bit, so that his head would not hit the top corners of my bedroom door. On his hands, there's a basket of apples, still glistening wet. He was just about to enter when he saw me.

A flash of surprise passed through his face.

I approached his and took the basket from his hands. Then I looked directly in his eyes and repeated what told him before, several thousand times before, "When you go home, head to the kitchen."

He nodded, eyes lingering on my neck much longer than necessary, saying, "I will..."

I smiled at him and he leaned down to my height, looking at me expectantly. So to not disappoint him, I patted his shoulder in approval.

"You did great."

Nori left my room happily. But not before lightly tugging the golden chain in my neck.

He said, smiling so softly, "She picked the right one. It suits you."

"... Thank you?" So there's really something wicked about the chain. Did she curse it? Was I cursed?!

I sighed and took an apple from the basket, taking a large bite from it. Knowing Mara, that ghost, she'll get that basket of apples and leave me nothing. Better eat it before she can.

That day, I was satisfied.

Nova left early, I finished my apples peacefully, and Leopard was not in the house. Over all, my day was filled with peace and quiet.

My night, on the other hand...

It was consumed by monsters and shadows who wore human faces. They devoured everything in their sight, leaving nothing behind. My house was ransacked, my three human trashes were slaughtered, and Nova was here. She's smiling.

I looked around, but everything was destroyed. Torn. Burnt.

Smoke burned my lungs as I try to breathe in air. There are ashes on top of my tongue; it felt coarse and had a bland, earthy, and slightly bitter taste.

Nova's laugh reached my ears, and it sent goosebumps running through my skin. It's as if cockroaches were crawling on me. It was gross. Disgusting. I've never liked to hear her laugh, but this is by far the worst. This laugh truly mirror what she is behind her facade.

I looked at her and noticed that she's also looking at me. Her expression was cheerful, happy, and a bit excited. Truly in contrast to what was happening around her. She's glowing, like an angel. But in my eyes she looks absolutely deranged.

'God, she's crazy.' I thought, and she laughed again.

"Did you like my gift?" She asked.

"What gift?" She gifted me many things, unwillingly.

She spread her arms wide and gestured the chaos around her, all the darkness and shadows, the shattered moon and all the stolen stars. And she looked at me, grinning. "This. The destruction, everything!"

My eyes widened.

"This. Is. All. For. You." She emphasized her every word and I felt my soul slowly leaving my body.

'You've gotta be kidding me!!!'

I glared at her, "The world is not a trash that you could offer to me."

"Oh~?" Her image distorted. I blinked my eyes to make sure that I was not hallucinating. But her body truly is distorting, mixing with the shadows all around her. Her voice, previously high and playful, became deeper. "But it is. This world is trash. Nothing can prevent it from being destroyed, so I might just as well gift it to you."

"... I don't want the world, Ealenour." I declined, uttering her second name to let her known that I'm serious.

Hearing this, her form stopped warping. "Oh?"

"I have never dreamed of having the world at my palm." I confessed to her. "What I have now is enough."

I have enough. I'm content with my life and there's nothing more that I could ask for.

"But it will be destroyed anyways." Her voice was meek. "Why not just accept it? I can't see anyone fixing it so perfectly, other than you..."

I approached her calmly and embraced her distorted form, "I don't want it."

"The world will be destroyed anyways."

"You said that before."

She wrapped her arms around me, "Everything you ever knew will change."

"That's okay because I only know so little about the world."

The earth around us is shaking, and everything was starting to turn to dust. The very space around us is tearing, and it feels as if time is slowing down yet speeding up at the same time. Nova wouldn't let go of me, and I can't bring myself to push her away. So I held her closer as my reality crumbles under an unknown powerful force.

"You'll die." She warned me.

"I'm not afraid of my death, Nova."

"But I am."

Her sea foam green eyes met mine and I could see the fear in her eye, a fear for me. Honestly, this girl. This is also one of the reasons why I don't like her. She likes me too much, much more than I would like myself.

"Don't be." I said as we faded out of existence.

Then my eyelids fluttered open and the sunlight hurt me as it shone directly into my retina. So I closed my eyelids and covered my face using my hands. My rooster outside is calling out, screaming at those around him to get up because it's already morning.

Ah, what a horrible dream. No one lives and everyone dies, huh? How terrible.

And Nova is in it. Which made it even more horrifying. It gives me chills just by thinking about it.

"—Why are you thinking about it?"

?!

I looked beside me, and behold, there she was. Nova.

She's lying on her stomach beside me, looking at me with her cheeks resting on her palms. She had that smile on her face that makes me wants to slap her face.

"Did you sneak through the window at night and slept with me?" I asked, sitting up.

"Of course not!" She denied and took offence, "That'd be rude!"

"I entered through the door."

Yeah, thought so.

"What did you dream about?"

I looked at her curious expression and thought back to the dream where the my home was destroyed, the world was destroyed, and then we died. A ridiculous dream, I know. Why should I be telling her that?

So I simply told her, "I forgot."

It's just like any other dream; it's hazy and you would immediately forget it once you wake up. Except, it's not a normal dream. And I remember it quite perfectly.

There was a knock on my door before Nori came in. He's wearing the baby blue apron that I gave him on his seventh anniversary, on his hand was a spatula that was glistening with cooking oil.

"Breakfast is ready, um..." He looked at Nova and was startled. His brows furrowed and he turned to me. "You have a visitor?"

I pointed at Nova, "She's Nova. The friend that comes by everyday, remember?"

His furrow deepened, but he nodded, "Vaguely."

We went to the kitchen and found Mara devouring the food. Her purple hood covered the majority of her face, but that apparently doesn't stop her from shoving food inside her mouth. That greedy girl. She's inhaling the food like it's air. Fortunately, Nori cooks food like there's no tomorrow.

R.I.P. to my money.

"She came as soon as I finished setting the table. Is she also your friend?" Said Nori, reaching for the knife on the kitchen counter. "She didn't say anything to me when I talked to her. Should I drive her out?"

"No need." I said, taking the knife away from him and placing it back from where he took it.

Mara looked up from her food and looked at me. I was the first to look away when I noticed the look of greed on her purple eyes.

"It's just Mara. She lives here."

Nori nodded in understanding.

We sat at the chair and uttered our thanks. Then we started to pile up the food in our plates.

Nori was holding Mara back so that Nova and I can take our turns at taking some food. Nova chuckled at seeing them fight while I try to have some peace while eating.

Hm...

There's rice, fried egg, sour fish soup, vegetable stir-fry, fried chicken, pancakes, and some of Nori's weird but tasty experiments. It's a bit heavy for your normal breakfast, but all of this will be wiped out once we're finished.

I should just take my food and eat somewhere, for good measure. That would be a good idea, seeing that Nova had a look that says she wanted to start a chaos. Or a food fight. If she really does that, I'll make sure that she eats every food that was wasted. I'll make her pick every single one and shove them down her throat.

She looked at me and grinned. "Watch out, something will happen."

I glared at her and was about to tell her to just eat when an explosion occurred, and all of us were quickly shoved down the table by Nori. It happened in the span of a few seconds, and I can't even react to what had occurred. Mara was tucked within my arms, and Nova was telling me something as Nori tried to determine where the explosion came from. I look at my friend's mouth, trying to read what she was saying.

My ears are ringing, and I feel like I'm going deaf. I read my name on her lips, but I couldn't hear it. It's like someone placed me under a large bell and stuck it with all their might.

Nova held my shoulders and shook me, causing me to regain my focus, "...ear me! Hey! Get it together!"

"I'm sorry." I said after gathering my bearings. "I don't do well with explosions."

She held my face on her hand and looked at me straight in the eyes, "Can you handle this?"

Her tone was serious, so I paused for a moment to think, and I nodded.

"I was just surprised."

She searched for the truth in my eyes, so I didn't look away. It was the truth. And realizing this, she let go of my face and took a hold of my hand.

"We're going to look outside, okay?"

I nodded and pushed Mara towards Nori. But Mara doesn't want him to touch her so she stuck close to me and took a hold of my other free hand.

As we went outside, we were greeted by an enormous empty space. A flat land. A place where a mountain once stood tall. Now it's gone, all was left is a huge flat earth. No trees were left, no plants nor animals. Just us, my house, the earth, air, and silence. A silence that stretched far and wide.

There was supposed to be a town behind that mountain, opposite to my home. It's gone, too.

I stood in front of that emptiness, dazed.

... What on Earth could have happened?

My mind is buzzing. 

Everything in front of me is gone. Everything.

The sight that had greeted me ever since I was a teary eyed girl, had vanished. Blown off from the face of the Earth.

"H- How..?" I couldn't help but step up, wanting to take a closer look. But someone gently held my arm, preventing me from taking another step. I looked back and saw that it was Nova, she's shaking her head. 

It's like my lungs are not willing to accept air, and the fluid inside my body desperately wanted to escape through my eyes. It stung. I could feel my lips trembling, words failing to come out of my mouth.

Nori pulled me towards him and wrapped his arms around me. Mara, usually so shy and reserved, tenderly held my hands. They practically carried me inside. I was placed on my usual spot inside the kitchen, at the head of the table. Then Mara handed me a glass of water which I gulped in one go.

Nova sat beside me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"How did that happen?" I asked after finally regaining some of my bearings. "A bomb would not result to that. It's impossible!"

"You're not going to ask if it was real?" Nova asked, causing me to look at her incredulously. "Or question whether this was just a dream?"

"I know what I saw." My voice was a bit raised as I slammed the empty glass on the table. Mara flinched at my actions, but I chose to focus on Nova. "I'm not blind, or in denial. I know what I saw, N- Nova."

I buried my face in my hands. "Everything's gone."

My voice ended up cracking. It feels like there was a lump in my throat that I could not spit or swallow. It's hard, and it's bitter. 

"... Not everything. Not yet."

I looked up from my hands and looked at Nova in disbelief. 

"What do you mean by that? You know that this would happen?"

Nova looked away and would not meet my eyes. So I reached for her cheeks and forced her to face me. She continues to avert her eyes.

Damn it.

"Nova."

"... You said you don't want it." She mumbled, and I saw Nori and Mara freeze. They looked at me in disbelief. "If you had said yes, I would do everything in my power."

I said that I didn't want it? Want what? 

"If I knew that this is how you would react, I would have fought them even after you said no." Nova said, finally looking at me. She looked sad, and it breaks my heart to see it. She had never looked this sad before. "I would have prevented this from happening."

That...

"That wasn't a dream?" I asked in disbelief. "You were in my dream? How?!"

I already know that there's something wicked and wrong with Nova, she just has that weird aura around her that screams danger to me. But I never thought it would be this wicked. I thought that I was just overreacting because I don't like her.

"... Is it witchcraft?" 

Nova's solemn aura finally changed as she laughed at my response. Her voice sounds like small chiming bells, so melodious and high. Even though I don't like to hear her laugh, I still prefer this rather than her sad look. Her face was sculpted to be stretched into an expression of joy. A sad look doesn't fit her.

"Oh, if only it was witchcraft."

"Then what is it?" 

I took the pancake that Mara handed me and started chewing on it. It's soft, and not too sweet. Exactly how I like them. But there's something in it that made it taste a bit weird. It's so subtle, I barely even noticed it. I looked at Mara and saw that she's also focused on me while eating, as if she's gauging my reaction. 

It made my hair stand on end, so I turned my focus on Nova instead.

Nova smiled at me and flicked her fingers, then a red rose appeared on her hand. She brought it to her lips and kissed the petals, "It's magic."

I looked at her in disgust as she started chewing on the petals, along with the thorny stem and the rough leaves. 

Urgh. 

"What's the difference between Witchcraft and Magic?"

"Well..." She continues to chew on the poor plant. "The main difference between them is that: Witchcraft focuses on the body and the flesh, while magic encompasses the mind and everything else outside of the body."

"Oh, and Magic is more powerful, but witchcraft with much more difficult."

"How so?"

I looked directly into her eyes as she finally acted seriously, saying, "Magic, a power that can flatten the earth and make things vanish into this air, IS reversible. It's easy."

Hearing her words, I felt a bit at ease. But it also caused me to frown.

So magic is the cause of what happened outside? Am I really accepting this information?

"Witchcraft, on the other hand, is a darker power that corrupts the body through spells and potions. One wrong movement, even for just a tinsy bit, can result to catastrophic events. And it's permanent."

Mara roughly slammed her utensils on the table and glared at Nova. Her hands were shaking with how tight she gripped her spoon and fork. But instead of throwing them at Nova like I expected her to do, she scooped a spoon full of rice and aggressively stuffed it inside her mouth. Then she stabbed a chicken wing using her fork and took a large savage bite from it. It's like she's imagining that she's eating Nova. And it appears to be quite effective.

Maybe I should do it too.

I looked at Nova, and then at my pancakes. 

On second thoughts, maybe I should not do that. I'm just disgusting myself.

"So what are you? A witch?" I asked, taking another bite from my pancake.

"No! Goodness, no." She denied, rapidly shaking her head, acting as if being a witch was a bad thing. Knowing her, she's just exaggerating. "I'm something better than a witch, darling. Please don't compare me them."

I looked at her suspiciously while she flashed me one of her brightest smile.

"So why is the world ending?" My question made her frown.

"The world's destiny is to die, so of course it would happen. The question had always been: 'When will the world end?'"

"But why now?" I asked. 

Why not yesterday? Or a week ago? Why now? What's so important with today's date?

Nova chuckled, "You're always asking the right questions. It's a bit scary."

I glared at her and she shrugged as if saying: 'What? I'm just stating the truth.' I don't like her for that.

She took a deep breath and stared outside of the window, then at the sky, "Starting today, the moon will start to split."

???

Nova pinched my cheeks when she saw my reaction. "Yes, darling. You heard me right."

I slapped her hands away and rubbed my aching cheeks. It hurts, she didn't even bother to hold her strength back.

"A thousand years ago, it was rumored that the sands of time was touched by a mortal hand. And as a punishment, the Deity of Time had send a warrior who will cut the moon into three pieces and send it towards the Earth."

"But the Deity of Life asked the Deity of Time to reconsider. And he did. He cursed the warrior that he sent to move slowly. Fast forward, a thousand years later, which is today, the warrior's sword will reach the moon."

I felt ridiculous. The Deity of Time? The Deity of Time? 

"That's not true at all, is it?"

"Of course not!" Said Nova, shaking her head. "It's just a rumor."

"... But you said the moon will start to split."

She nodded, "Yes, so the rumors must be true after all." 

I was speechless. 

This girl. This annoying friend of mine is playing with me. The mischievous light on her eyes tells me that she is. But I also have a gut feeling that she's serious. So she must be mixing it all together to confuse me, to make me work for the true answer. Being cryptic 'n all.

I really don't like her for that.

"You're truly committed to the role of being a headache, aren't you, Nova?" I said, as I rubbed my head that's starting to hurt.

She grinned in response, "You know me so well, and yet you still love me."

I sighed. 

My gaze was drawn outside, towards the flat land, and it slowly feels as if a boulder had been dropped on top of my chest. It's heavy, and it made it hard to breathe properly. My head is spinning. "The world truly is ending."

"Hey, look at me." She placed her hand on my shoulders and gesture me to look at her. "It will be destroyed, but not if had a say in it. I'll reverse what happened outside, like it was just a figment of your wild imagination. So stop looking like that."

I opened my mouth, wanting to say, 'Looking like what?'

"Looking all sad and dazed, like you're so far away. Imagining and hearing things." Her grip tightened on my shoulders, so I held her hands on mine to console her that I'm fine.

But then, she continued, "... It's like you have psychosis."

Nova acted all serious, but the corners of her mouth were quivering. And she's holding her breath. Holding her laugh.

Damn, she's making fun of me. 

I slapped her hands away, and throttled her, "Damn you! Can't a girl be sad that her hometown was destroyed?!"

This was her hometown, too. Can't she act a little bit affected? It's irritating. Just thinking about it makes my muscles tremble and lose almost all of it's strength. I leaned on her for support. "... What is happening to me?"

From the corners of my sight, I noticed Nori standing up from his chair. My vision was spinning. It's making me nauseous, so I closed my eyes.

I could hear Nova grumbling, "... I told you to lessen the dosage. Did you listen to me? NO! This is why I don't like dealing with wit..."

Who is she talking to? And why so loud? She's making my headache worse. Urgh.

"... Very sorry, darling. I'll make sure that everything returns to normal once you wake up. Just rest for now..."

I opened my eyes and saw Nova's face close to mine. She's giving me head pats and kisses, as if that could make me feel better. In fact, it only made it worse. Now I feel like throwing up.

This is unusual. I don't get sick, not like this.

Nori approached us and took me from Nova. He lifted me in his arms and carried me somewhere, probably my bedroom. I wanted to resist, but my arms felt like it had been turned into jelly. My whole body felt like it had been turned to jelly.

I felt like I'm a jelly bean.

From the back on my mind, I knew that I was either poisoned or drugged. But I could not put the pieces together, my thoughts are too scattered. The more I tried to focus, the more dizzy I get.

But I know for sure: It's because of those damned pancakes! 

Those are my last thoughts before I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, it was already morning, the next day. Nori had informed me after a long time of contemplation.

"There's, um, there's a note on my bedside." He handed it to me. "It said to tell you that a day had passed."

On the note was the said words, it was written in Nori's hand writing. He must have written it to himself, knowing that he'd forget it the morning after.

There was a shadow peeking behind him. It was Mara, fidgeting and looking all sad and guilty. She's peeking at me from time to time, flinching back when she saw my expression. 

"I'm sorry." She gestured.

"... Where's Nova?" I asked instead of lashing out on her. 

Nori tilted his head in question, "Who?"

Mara tugged his clothes to catch his attention, and then signed, "She's the spare human."

But Nori could not understand her, not with his memory capacity. He only tilted his head and blinked, both baffled and fascinated by the hand movements in front of him.

"Nova left yesterday, saying that she would fulfill her promise to you." Mara gestured to me, finally giving up on trying to communicate with Nori. "She won't be be back for a long while."

I hastily escaped the confines of my bed and ran through the door, Nori and Mara followed behind me. My heart was pounding on my chest, like it wanted to break my ribs and escape. Just as I was about to open my front door, I hesitated. 

My hand just hovered on top of the doorknob; not daring to turn it, not even daring to touch it. 

But I quickly swallowed that hesitation and opened my door.

I didn't know what to expect. I didn't think deeply of the things that I might have been expecting. But I trust Nova, enough to know that she will keep her promise. I trust her, no matter how many times I think that I didn't like her. 

And true to her words, everything was back to normal. The tall green mountain stood proud in front of me, like it had never disappeared. I could hear the birds chirping, how the leaves rustled when the wind passed by. I could vaguely hear cars honking from the town behind the mountain. All of it, it's here. It's not a flat empty land anymore.

Everything's back.

... But Nova's gone.

I waited for her to come back; for days, weeks! Now, a month had passed but she still hasn't returned. I was beginning to feel restless, worried for her. It's the first time that we had been apart since she and I had started our weird relationship. I can't help but think of her and the kind of hardships she might be facing.

Is she fighting with vampires and werewolves? Slaying dragons and saving a prince? Defeating an evil Dark Lord? 

My thoughts wander to the fairy tales that I had read when I was a naive little child. It's strange, knowing that some, if not all of them, are real. Magic and witchcraft. Witches. All those wicked stuff.

'I hope she's alright.' I thought while eating.

Since the poisoning-slash-drugging incident, I no longer eat the food that directly came from Mara's hands. If she really wanted me to eat what she gave me, she has to eat it first and Nori has to try it too. Finally then, will I eat it. It's better safe than sorry.

"Where did she go?" I asked Mara, knowing that Nori is unable to give me the answers that I wanted.

"You mean Nova?" She gestured.

"Yes, Nova. Do you where she went?" 

"Why do you want to know?"

Nori looked at us, confused, "Who's Nova?"

"She's a friend." I smiled at him. "I want to know where she is because I want to follow her."

"NO!" Mara gestured heavily, her eyes was screaming at me. She banged the table twice to emphasize her opinion. "You shouldn't! It's dangerous!"

"That gives me more reason to go."

"You really shouldn't." Mara shook her head. She looked towards Nori for help, but he did not understand her look so he turned to me in question.

"It's nothing." I said. "Finish your food, then we will go and find my friend."

He nodded.

Mara hastily stood up from her seat and took out a suspicious bottle from her cloak. The bottle was filled with blue liquid that moves like oil and shines like glitter dust. It looks beautiful, and I don't trust it.

She popped it open and was about to throw it at me, but I slammed my hands on the table and stood up, glaring at her. She flinched at my actions, but didn't lose her grip on her wicked concoction. 

So I warned her, "Go ahead, do it. But I'll make sure that Nori won't give you any more of his cooking."

Her hands trembled and she's looked at me like I just killed her most beloved. Right then, I knew that I won.

She closed the bottle and tucked it inside her cloak. Gesturing, "You win. But I won't tell you where Nova went."

Oh? But I'm not done yet. "I will let you borrow all the books that Nova gifted me."

I barely saw a change in her reaction, so I continued to push, "The ones in my secret library, below the house. I know that you've been trying to sneak inside, for years now."

There was a twitch. Just a little bit more and she'll give in. "You failed, right? I will give you access to that."

"There's books about rare herbs, strange creatures, alchemy, and autobiographies of famous scientists. There are also books about witchcraft, curses, non-verbal spells, and ancient languages."

Mara jumped at me and covered my mouth, stopping me from saying anything more. Her face was so red that I fear she might turn into a tomato.

Got her, haha.

Back then, when Nova gave those books to me, I thought it was just to piss me off. She knows I love books but don't associate myself with those kind of wicked stuff. Now, I know that it's really because she wanted to piss me off! 

"Will you help me now?"

Mara nodded, gesturing, "ALRIGHT!!! I'll help you."

I smiled, satisfied.

After we finished our food, I told them to pack up. Nori wordlessly complied while Mara reluctantly followed after him. She looked at me longingly, and I know exactly what she wanted. 

"You can bring what you can carry." I told her, "And you can read the rest when we get back."

Mara smiled at me. It's a timid smile, a small arc. You could barely notice it. But it was enough for me.

An hour later, we departed our home. 

Nori carried a large luggage on his back, full of his knick knacks and all his kitchen and garden paraphernalias. Mara, on the other hand, only carried a small sling bag. The books that she wanted are nowhere to be seen on her, but I knew that she had taken them with her. My almost empty library under our home could attest to that.

It must be some kind wicked power that she possessed. Whatever, I don't wanna ask.

"Lets go." I said, securing my backpack.

They nodded at me. 

For the last time, I looked back at the house where I grew up. I'm gonna miss it, but we're just leaving for a little while. 

Our journey is not going to be long.

Unbeknownst to the trio, once they had departed, someone arrived at their home and found it empty. 

The house was turned upside down, and all the doors were wrecked. 

"Where are they?!" The perpetrator then started smashing the tables, followed by the chairs. But with a flick of his fingers, all of the things were reverted back to their initial states. 

"... Damn it! Was I too late?"