Chapter 3

He just smiled faintly at Valeria and tried to avoid her question.

"The party's tomorrow. Are you ready?" he asked.

Valeria blinked and lowered her gaze. She fiddled with the sleeves of her long-sleeve shirt. "I don't really have a choice," she whispered.

He sighed deeply. Fortunately, Valeria didn’t press further. He couldn’t predict her reaction if she found out that a sawikin was watching over her. He remembered how she froze in place when she first saw the strange phenomenon in the sky, and how she trembled when she saw the black sawikin in her room.

"I'll just prepare what’s needed. Call me if you need anything," he said before heading up the stairs.

He didn’t notice how Valeria looked at him. There was a flicker of emotion in her eyes before she looked down and headed to the kitchen.

Valeria stopped in her tracks when she saw the black sawikin in the corner of the kitchen. She pursed her lips and looked away.

"What do you want now?" she asked in a low voice.

Unbeknownst to Alkan, the black sawikin hadn’t actually left the house. It had stayed inside and never left her side. She had seen it over the past few days. At first, she was afraid, but eventually, she grew used to seeing the sawikin wherever she went.

The sawikin grinned and squinted its eyes as it looked at her. "Did you know that there are two sawikins in this house besides me?" he asked Valeria.

Valeria stopped advancing and glanced at the sawikin. "Don’t lie to me."

He shrugged. "I thought you wanted to know why your man seems crazy, talking to no one but air?" His grin widened even more as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "The truth is, a sawikin is watching over you, but because I'm more powerful, it can't see me. Don’t stare at me, or the sawikin might find out you're also going crazy like your man." Black sawikin chuckled slightly.

Valeria squinted her eyes and looked away. She quickly prepared lunch and forced herself not to look at the sawikin's spot.

If what the sawikin said about its kin watching over her was true, that could only mean one thing: Alkan had a connection to the white sawikins. The black sawikin had already told her about the Tribal land -- the place where creatures like the sawikin came from, and although she didn’t fully believe it yet, the power and abilities that she had witnessed with her own eyes couldn’t be explained by science. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to believe, even if she couldn’t trust the face of the sawikin man.

That’s why she didn’t want Alkan to know the black sawikin hadn't really left. She knew he’d just worry and blame himself. The sawikin had said it wouldn’t leave her side until it got what it wanted, but it wouldn’t tell her its intentions. It just followed her around and rarely interfered with her life. So she decided to let it follow her.

The next day, Valeria prepared for the celebration. It was already four in the afternoon when they left the house. The black sawikin was still following her.

Meanwhile, Alkan couldn’t understand why his heart had been racing all day. He had a bad feeling about going to the Mayor's mansion. It felt like something big was going to happen.

He sighed. He glanced at the woman sitting in the passenger seat and smiled. "You're beautiful," he complimented.

Valeria smiled softly and looked out the window.

Before long, the car stopped at the entrance of the mansion. Alkan got out first and opened the door for Valeria. She gave him a smile before taking his arm.

They entered together. The loud music welcomed them, and he froze for a moment, stunned by the number of people at the celebration. But what he didn’t expect was to see some familiar faces from his old classmates. He blinked, suddenly reminded of Yalke, one of his friends from back then. I wonder how that guy is doing now?

"Alkan?" Valeria called, bringing him back to reality.

He led her toward the Mayor’s position, where a group of people he assumed were influential in life were talking.

"Mayor," he called.

The Mayor turned and faced them. "You’re here," he said with a smile. He stared at Valeria for a few seconds before nodding to her. "I’m pleased to meet you, Miss Valeria. Your wife is truly a beautiful woman, Alkan." The Mayor turned back to him.

He simply nodded and smiled at the Mayor's compliment. He didn’t know why, but something felt wrong in that place. It felt heavy, even though the music was quite lively.

The Mayor invited him to meet some influential families in San Roque, while Valeria excused herself, saying she would sit in the corner and wait for him. He didn’t protest since he knew Valeria didn’t enjoy gatherings like these.

After several minutes of introductions, hours passed by unnoticed. He didn’t realize the time until everyone started heading to eat dinner.

He excused himself from the Mayor and quickly went to Valeria’s spot, but she wasn’t there.

Unbeknownst to Alkan, Valeria had gone outside to the garden. She hadn’t planned to leave the mansion or abandon the man inside, but a sawikin had insisted that she go out. It didn’t like the noise, so it forced her to step outside.

She couldn’t stand the sawikin's persistence, so she stepped out. She walked in the garden for a few minutes before sitting on a stone bench near the fountain. It was in a corner of the garden, so no one was around.

"It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?" the sawikin asked as it sat beside her.

She glanced at it and scowled. "I’ll come back later," she said.

She sat there for several minutes. It was dark in that part of the garden since the sun had set in the east a while ago. Only the lights from the mansion and the round moon provided light.

She scanned the surroundings. "You said there’s a sawikin following me. Why am I only seeing you?" she asked.

It stayed silent for a few seconds before replying. "Because you haven’t fully opened your eyes yet."

"Why... Alkan...?"

A sly smile curled on its lips. "His eyes were opened a long time ago." Its eyes narrowed as if recalling something. "His eyes opened when they once went to Surikong’s store."

Surikong? Why does that name sound familiar?

Even though she was confused, she didn’t press further and instead asked about the white sawikin. "Is he here?" She was asking about the sawikin connected to Alkan.

The black sawikin laughed. "He won’t find you because I’ve erased your presence here."

She looked back at the sawikin, puzzled. "Presence? What do you mean?"

"He knows you’re here in the garden, but he won’t be able to find your exact location."

It took a few seconds for her to grasp its point. Her eyes widened, and she stood up. "What do you plan to do?"

The black sawikin stared at her and grinned ear to ear. "Do you want to go to the Tribal?"

Valeria’s mouth hung open in shock. Before she could speak again, the sawikin wrapped its arm around her waist and flew into the sky, holding her in its arms.

Only two black feathers were left in the air. Slowly, they fell to the ground.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***