Moon of The Afterlife

Chapter 13: Lily

DAWN breaks. Less than an hour before the sun has risen from the horizon, Arche went to the cafe earlier than usual. He went there to prepare the menu, or perhaps, to escape the thoughts about Sidapa. Arche tried to make himself busy but staying in the cafe wouldn't be enough, so he decided to open it when the clock struck six.

He had sworn he would forget everything that had happened last night, but he couldn't get his acts together. He felt so stupid that he started wishing Dante wouldn't show up to work, so he could have some time to compose himself. It was Sunday, so if ever Dante won't show up, Louise would be there to help him run the cafe. 

"Damn it," Arche hissed as he closed his eyes tightly shut and sighed. "I should've avoided it. You should've avoided it, Arche! You're so stupid!" he said with gritted teeth, thrusting his fist against the countertop in anger. 

***

An hour passed, and the customers started arriving one by one. Arche managed to divert his thoughts, but he still couldn't help but glance at the door each time the chimes would ring, expecting it might be someone he halfheartedly wants to see and halfheartedly don't. And each time an unfamiliar face would enter, he kept getting disappointed. 

Arche glanced at the clock when it struck eleven. Dante still hadn't shown up. Arche wished for him not to come, but he couldn't understand why he felt upset and worried. 

"This isn't black coffee," Louise commented after Arche handed her a cup of coffee with creamer. "You've been spacing out since earlier this morning, Arche," she added.

Louise rose an eyebrow as she studied her brother's face before crossing her arms above her chest and leaning sideward to the counter. Arche bit his lip hard in annoyance as he started making another cup of the correct coffee. 

"Is Dante coming? It's getting a lot busier. Where is he?" 

"He's not coming today. Isn't it obvious?" Arche replied, annoyed. 

"Is that why you're so occupied, Arche? Did something happen?" Louise asked again without taking her eyes off her brother. 

Arche's eyebrows furrowed. He turns his head to look at his sister. "I am not occupied. I'm simply having a bad mood, Louise," he answered, then continued making the coffee. 

"May I ask why?"

"I'm not in the mood, Louise. Get lost," 

"Tss!" Louise sneered and rolled her eyes. "You're making me wanna kill you," she murmured before taking the cup of coffee Arche just finished making and left, wearing her poker face. She walked towards the table to serve the coffee. But as soon as she made it to the table, the customer rolled her eyes and said, 

"Finally! I thought I would have to wait for a year for a cup of black coffee," rudely. 

Louise's mood worsened, so she stared at the rude customer and carelessly placed the cup in front of her. If  Dante could be calm despite how rude customers may treat him, Louise couldn't. 

"Sad. I should've made you wait a decade before serving your only order, Ma'am," Louise said before sneering and leaving. 

The customer was taken aback by Louise's remark, but before she could even say something, the coffee she had ordered spilled on her table and clothes, which made her scream in surprise when the hot beverage touched her skin. Everyone looked at the customer when she stood up except Louise, who just continued walking back to the counter. The customer felt so embarrassed that she hurriedly covered her face by looking down and pulled out some money to pay for the coffee. And then, she left hurriedly. 

"Serves you, b***h," Louise hissed. 

Arche walked out of the counter to go to the table to clean up the mess, but surprisingly, there were no coffee spills on the table or the floor. It's like the entire cup of coffee went to her clothes that there's not even a single drop of it on the table and floor. He then saw the money she left above the table and the coffee cup. Arche took them and went back to the counter, puzzled. As soon as he made it back to his spot, Arche's phone rang, so he pulled it out from his pocket to see who was calling. It was an unknown number. 

"Hello?" Arche greeted. 

"Hello, is this Mr. Arche Bernal?" a voice of a man asked. 

"Yes. May I know who's this?" 

"This is Marikina Police Station, and we called to inform you that we brought your fiancee to our station for causing property destruction,"

"Fiancee?"

"I'm talking about Ms. Lily Enguanzo. She said you're her fiance. Can we ask you to come over to our station?" 

Arche froze upon hearing her name. "She's back?" he thought. 

NOON, and yet Dante just got up from his bed. He sluggishly walked to his bathroom to take a shower. Mind blank, and heart numb. He still couldn't believe that he would go back home empty-handed, despite having found Libulan. 

After taking a bath, Dante wore his usual tee, jeans, and sneakers. He glanced around his apartment where he lived for almost two decades to say goodbye, once again, to a place Dante once called his home— he's now ready to leave. 

Everything seemed just fine, and Dante thought he could leave in peace. He was about to open his door when he felt a familiar pain in his palm. It stung twice like the usual, and his heart almost stopped beating upon seeing the name written on it. 

Arche Bernal, 31, 1:59 PM, car accident

"A-Arche?" Dante hissed in confusion. He is Libulan, a Deity. How come Arche's name got written in his palm? 

Sidapa froze when memories from the night he met Arche in the balcony flashed before his eyes. Arche's beautiful smile is bound to fade. Dante looked around, searching for the calendar hanging somewhere in his living room. He suddenly remembered why he never suspected Arche to be the person he's been looking for— his death. Today is the 8th of September, 2021. 

"Something is not right," Dante said. "He's a Deity."

Deities don't die, and Sidapa can never see a Deity's death. The night when he met Arche, he saw his death coming around May next year, but his name suddenly appeared in his palm, one more thing he couldn't seem to understand. He tried to think, but only one conclusion popped out. 

"No," Dante said and glanced at his watch. It says, 1:53 PM. His hands trembled with the thought. "There's no way he'd become a mortal,"

THE VOICES of the busy police officers welcomed Arche when he entered the Police Station, and the face he was about to search displayed right before his eyes when he saw her sitting at a corner while impatiently tapping her shoes on the floor. 

She's nervous. 

"L-Lily," Arche called to test if it was, indeed, her. And the moment when she lifted her head to meet his eyes, he confirmed— she's his ex-girlfriend, Lily. 

"Arche!" the woman called him with tears. She bit her lower lip and looked down, so Arche glanced at the person sitting across her. He is a young man in his 20's, and he looks like a son of a wealthy family. He's staring at Arche with a smirk on his face. 

"Are you Mr. Bernal?" an officer asked while sitting behind his desk. "Please have a seat and settle things down with the victim."

The police officer gestured Arche to sit beside the nervous woman, and he did, despite being unsure why he came for her. 

"Settle?" The young man spoke and sneered while glaring at Lily. "I already told you, I want her in jail," he added, demandingly. 

The officer sighed and looked at the young man. 

"Sir, she already told you she'll pay any amount you wish for the damages. I don't see any reason for you to take this simple thing to that extent," 

"I don't care. I said I want that woman in jail,"

The officer could only slap his forehead, both in frustration and annoyance with the young man's entitlement. Arche, on the other hand, is trying to comprehend the situation. He doesn't know what's going on. He knew Lily for quite a while, and he knew she's not a person to cause trouble without a valid reason. 

"Sir, may I ask what's going on? What did she do?" he asked. 

"Your fiancee--"

"She smashed my car's window with her shoes. She tried to run away with it, without even saying sorry," the young man answered, cutting off the officer from speaking. "She's your fiancee, am I right? She tried to flirt with me, but I said I'm not interested in older women. She did that after getting rejected by me."

"He's lying!" Lily exclaimed. She looked at Arche while shaking her head. "He sexually harassed me, and that is the only thing I could do to protect myself and run away from him." 

"You're not even that beautiful, Miss. Stop assuming that every man would want you. I have a girlfriend, for your information," 

"Liar! You tried to take me by force!"

"Everyone, please calm down." The police officer interrupted and then looked at Lily. "Is that true, ma'am?" 

"Yes! I am telling the truth," Lily answered. 

Arche sighed, which caught everyone's attention. He knew Lily was a trouble-maker, but he also knew that Lily was telling the truth. Arche looked at the young man blankly. He studied his face before saying,

"Put her behind bars," 

Lily's eyes widened in shock, and she froze in her seat. She knew Arche was mad at her, but she did not expect him to let her get falsely punished like that. 

"Arche," Lily hissed with teary eyes. 

"Sir, are you sure about that--"

"Put her in jail," Arche repeated. "That would only be fair since she did you wrong. However, she's claiming that you sexually harassed her. Hence, you cannot leave this place until you prove your innocence. Where did the incident happen?" Arche asked and looked at the officer. 

"It happened in Midnight Sun, a resto-bar a few blocks away, Sir,"

"I assume they have CCTVs. Is there a way for you to obtain the footage, Sir? That would reveal the truth, I guess."

The young man's face turned pale upon hearing that.

"Are you trying to victim-blame me? Do you even know who I am?" 

"No. If this woman is lying, you can demand heavier charges, don't you think?" 

The young man looked away. "This country's law sucks; never mind, officer. I'm a well-educated man. I will let this slide and turn a blind eye to this injustice--"

"No. We're willing to pay the price of  her wrongful actions. As a citizen, that would only be fair for you— the victim— right, officer?"

The police officer looked at the young man. "I think that's a good idea, Sir--"

"I said, never mind! It won't change the fact that you're neglecting your duties!"

"Are you, perhaps, hiding something?" Arche challenged, which made the young man angrier. His hands are trembling in humiliation, and the only thing he can do to save himself is to act disappointed and wronged. 

"How dare you!" He yelled. His voice echoed in the station, and everyone looked at them, interrupting whatever they were doing for a moment. "You're accusing the victim--"

"I'm only trying to help you prove your claims."

The young man's stare grew darker. His hands balled into hard fists, but Arche remained calm, staring back at his dark eyes. 

"I will let karma do the work for me," the young man said before looking at Lily. "I won't press any charges, but I will remember your faces." 

He looked at the officer, Arche, and Lily before turning his back to leave with gritted teeth and ard fists. He walked out of the station and pulled out his phone to call someone. 

"I need a new car. ..." he said as he continued walking to leave the place. 

SILENCE settled between Arche and Lily as they walked towards Lily's car. It wasn't the reunion Lily had planned, but she doesn't have an option but to call him instead of her parents because she knew they wouldn't defend her as Arche did. They stopped in front of her car. 

"When did you come back?" Arche asked without any emotion.

"Four days ago," Lily replied and looked down. "I wasn't planning to meet you like this, but you knew my parents. Sorry," 

Arche sighed. "Go home," he said and then turned his back to leave, but Lily grabbed him by his right arm to stop him. 

"Arche, can we talk?" 

Desperation is evident in her shaky voice. Her tears have already started streaming down her face. It's been four years since she left Arche, and she knew that winning him back won't be easy. 

Arche turned around to look at her. "If you'll say sorry about what you did. It's fine. I forgive you. But don't expect for a possibility that we, somehow, can get back together, Lily."

Her hand loosened its grip on Arche's arm. His straightforwardness punched the last bag of hope she had. 

"Are you already with someone?" Lily asked in a whisper. 

"No," 

And that answer made her release the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"But that doesn't mean we're still possible. Things had changed since four years ago, Lily." After saying that, he left. 

Arche loved her back then, but he knew it wasn't in the way he was trying to love her. He's no different from her. She left him right when they were about to get married, but he couldn't say he didn't want that because Arche's half thankful that he wasn't tied up with someone he couldn't see as a woman. For him, Lily is just another important person. Lily covered Arche's lies with her mistake, and Arche's a coward to tell her that. 

He walked towards his car, parked on the other side of the parking lot. Arche's phone rang before he could even reach for the door of his car, so he stopped to answer his sister's call. 

"How's the cafe?" Arche aksed upon answering. 

"Manageable," she replied. "Anyways, I called because I'm craving chicken,"

"Chicken?" Arche asked. 

"Uhm!" 

His eyes landed on a chicken restaurant near the station. "How'd you know there's a chicken restaurant near the place I am at?" he chuckled. 

"Just my instincts," Louise said happily. "Don't come here empty-handed. I'm warning you, Arche. ..." 

Louise's voice sounded serious, but Arche mistook it for just another playful warning from his childish sister. He glanced at his watch. It's fifty-seven past one in the afternoon, and his sister still hadn't eaten lunch yet, so Arche walked in the opposite direction to get his little sister some chicken from the restaurant across the road. 

"Okay. I'll get you some," Arche said and smiled before hanging up. 

It was a beautiful sunny day. Arche happily crossed the road for his sister when a person in a black car flashed an evil smirk before inserting his key into the ignition. It was a bright, ordinary day until that black car revved up, approaching Arche's direction.