Beyond the Afterlife

CHAPTER 6

"This is life! Whoooah!"

Lyra was standing on a high part of the city, in an abandoned area. It wasn’t a road for vehicles, but the breeze was refreshing, especially at night. From there, she could clearly see the houses throughout the area. It was beautiful at night because of the colorful lights from the houses and establishments. She was drinking alcohol from a can, sitting alone in the closed back compartment of her car. Before she drove there, she had bought some canned alcohol—the one with a red bull.

Holding the half-empty can, she raised it and spoke to it like a fool, "You’re the only cold one I'll never get tired of loving. My companion in life! Cheers, buddy!" Then she lifted the can into the air.

And she laughed as if she had gone mad. She was truly drunk now, saying all sorts of nonsense.

Just this once. She would give this whole day and night to herself—to drink and let out all the grievances she felr in the world. After this day, she’d go back to real life, to the life her father wanted for her. She needed a break. There was probably nothing wrong with claiming the "break" she needed now, right?

With a sigh, Lyra focused her drowsy eyes on the beautiful scenery in front of her.

"It's so hard to be alone. When will I ever find someone to be with?" She sighed again and took a swig of the remaining contents of the can. She tossed it aside when she suddenly heard a pained gasp.

She looked around, puzzled. There was no other vehicle parked there but hers. Sure, during some of her solo unwinding trips, she had seen another car parked on the side of the road with a man also deep in his thoughts, but she never bothered to ask or talk to him. After all, the reason she came there was to find peace.

It was indeed quiet in their big house. But every corner of that house was deafening with joyful memories—memories that turned painful whenever she thought of them. That’s why she distanced herself, ran away, and sought peace elsewhere.

"Is this yours?"

Lyra gasped again when she heard a cold voice. It was so cold that it became terrifying to her ears. There was a strong urge within her to run away from him, to escape as fast as she could. But she couldn’t move because the man had already smiled.

"I'm Mikee," he said, extending his hand toward her.

Lyra hesitantly took it. "I'm sorry. Did I hit you when I threw that?"

'Damn! Don't look directly into his eyes! Silly woman, you'll be in danger!'

Lyra thought she heard a voice. A chill ran down her spine as it seemed like a cold breeze brushed against her right ear and cheek. Yes, the place was cold, but it was only that particular side where she felt the icy wind and heard whispering—it was really unusual and... creepy!

Who is this man, anyway? And why can’t she command herself to get away from him? It was as if she was rooted to the spot, and no matter how much she tried to order herself to get into her car, she couldn’t do it.

'What the heck?!'

Or maybe it was because she had drunk too much alcohol? Her hangover from the previous night had just passed, yet here she was drinking again. But then, she knew she was in her right mind, so what the heck was she hearing and feeling?

"Yes, it does hurt a bit," said the man as he rubbed the left side of his head.

For reasons she couldn’t understand, she forced herself not to meet the stranger’s eyes, even though it seemed like he was trying hard to make eye contact with her. She also pulled her hand away from his. And why was his hand so cold? His face was also pale, just like...

'f**k! Get inside your car!'

That voice and the cold breeze on her cheek and ear again—this time on the left. And why did that voice sound so familiar? Like she had heard it before. Was it similar to the hallucinations she had the previous night? Was it happening again? It seemed like she needed to consult a psychologist. Maybe she had eaten too much stress that she was hearing and feeling all sorts of things.

"I'm sorry. I didn’t know there was someone here. I thought I was alone," she managed to say.

"And it was better," he said, trying once again to catch her gaze. "It was better that you were alone. It was easier."

Lyra couldn't understand where the strange chill and coldness she was feeling were coming from. She should feel hot from the amount of alcohol she had consumed.

"What do you mean?" She turned her face in another direction while asking. She had this feeling that she should follow the voice.

"I mean, it’s easier to approach someone when they’re alone."

'f**k! Such a stubborn crazy woman!'

And just like that, the cold wind brushing her cheek was gone. The feeling of having someone beside her also disappeared, except for the man in front of her.

When she turned to the man who had introduced himself as Mikee, she couldn’t stop herself from looking into his eyes. And she didn’t know what happened next. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the man. It seemed his handsomeness had cast some enchantment over her. She didn’t want to look away anymore. She just wanted to keep staring at him. His face kept getting closer to hers, but she did nothing to move away. It was as if she had been hypnotized by his good looks. And as his lips got closer to hers, she suddenly wanted to get away. But she couldn’t. She tried to command herself to move, to push the man who was about to kiss her.

Who is this guy, and why does he have the audacity to attempt to kiss her? And why couldn’t she move? Why couldn’t she move her hands to push him away or slap him? The man lifted his hand to her chin and raised it.

"Open your mouth."

Her heart was pounding with intense fear. She felt danger from his gaze. His eyes suddenly changed color—from warm brown to fiery red. His now-dangerous and sharp red eyes would send chills down anyone’s spine if they met his gaze. She wanted to scream and fight back, but she couldn’t. And the most terrifying part was that she opened her lips, as if obeying his command.

'What in the world is this?' Was she so drunk that she could no longer control herself? To the point where, even though she wanted to break free from the stranger, her body wouldn’t move?

The man began to bring his mouth closer to hers. It was as if Lyra's strength was being drained. It was like he was sucking away all her energy, even her soul. She was panicking deep inside. In her mind, she wanted to struggle, but why couldn’t she command her body? What was happening to her?

When Lyra thought she was about to run out of strength and lose consciousness, the seemingly endless struggle, not literally but psychologically, stopped. Her emotions and energy seemed to be wrestling with this being.

'Ah, that was absolutely crazy.' And what’s crazier is that, right before her eyes, she saw another man grab Mikee, the one she was facing. The two of them wrestled in the darkness until they were completely swallowed by it. The harsh rustling sounds, signs of the struggle in the dark, gradually faded as if moving farther and farther away.

What was even more terrifying was that Lyra knew, from the dim light of the moon and the lamppost, that the newcomer was none other than the man she had encountered the previous night.

The young woman was horrified, and it seemed like all the alcohol she had drunk earlier had been flushed out of her system. Despite feeling utterly exhausted, she hurriedly got into her car. She didn’t even know how she managed to drive away from there.

She only stopped driving when she reached the bright and noisy part of town.

Lyra’s eyes were wide open as she looked around. She was still catching her breath from the intense fear of what she had seen but couldn’t explain.

'Who were those guys?' She was sure that the newcomer was the same man she had seen the other night, the one she had thought was just a hallucination. She had even considered forgetting the experience and what she had seen because she doubted its reality. But seeing him again, even though she was drunk, she knew deep down what she had witnessed. She suddenly realized that the sound and tone of the voice whispering to her earlier were familiar. Could it be him? But how? How could she hear his voice even when she couldn’t see him?

"God! What is happening to me? Was all of that real, or am I going crazy? Has my mind finally snapped because of stress? Oh, my God, no!" She rubbed her face with one hand and then hugged herself.

'This can't be happening!'

She couldn’t give in to stress, especially since she hadn’t even achieved her life goals yet. She couldn’t disappoint her father!

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