DANCE IN THE MOONLIGHT

Five Minutes to Midnight

Irene spent the day with puffy eyes because she had been sleepless all night, and her exhaustion drew everyone's attention. No one spoke about what happened the previous night. Everyone was wondering who that person was, how he knew Irene’s name, and if he was still there. While Valeria was playing with her food, she felt something strange inside. It was the same feeling as when she entered the forest; someone was watching her. When she slowly looked around, she couldn't see anything remarkable. Everyone was busy with their food, or groups of friends were in deep conversation. Just as she was about to turn back, the last table at an angle caught her attention. A dark-skinned young man with slightly slanted eyes was not eating his food; he was only looking at her. Valeria suddenly shivered and turned back to her front. She was sure the young man was still looking at her.

"I saw you looking; a person would turn away, you brute!"

Those at the table turned to Valeria. "What are you talking about?" Elara asked.

"

That boy sitting at the last table, at our diagonal... do you know him?"

Everyone looked there. "I'm seeing him for the first time... but he's handsome.." Irene said with a laugh.

"He must be one of the seniors," Fenrik added.

When everyone turned back and dived into conversation again, Valeria turned toward where the boy was once more. The young man was gone. She looked around again but couldn't see him. The feeling inside her had also vanished. She realized he was completely gone. Since she didn't feel like eating, Valeria got up from the table. At least she could study in the classroom.

She left the dining hall and walked toward her classroom. She felt like she was being followed; she suddenly stopped in the middle of the corridor and looked around. No one was there; all the students were in the dining hall. When she entered her classroom and came face to face with the young man who had been watching her, she jumped back a meter in fear.

"Does a person just appear in front of someone so suddenly?!"

"I'm sorry for scaring you, it's just... I can't break my bond with you."

Valeria paused; she hadn't understood anything. What was he talking about? "What can't you break?"

He looked at Valeria for a while with his slightly slanted, black eyes and passed by her at the speed of light without answering. When the young man left, Valeria was still trying to understand what she had heard.

***

When classes were finally over, she had come to look at the cabin again from a distance. This time she was alone because Elara said she wanted to go to the library with her boyfriend Fenrik, and Irene said she wanted to go to the dormitory. It was still light out; she could see ahead and believed she could fight any possible things that might cross her path. She couldn't keep herself away from here. She felt like she was constantly being pulled here somehow. She had been looking forward to this moment all day and coming back after last night's failure.

"You like the forest a lot, I guess?"

Valeria jumped in fear at the sound she heard. "Do you always have to scare me like this?!" she reacted in an unexpected way for herself.

The young man bowed his head. "I'm sorry, my intention was not to scare you."

Valeria turned back to her front. She was trying to forget him, but she could feel his gaze piercing through her back.

"How did you find this place?" Valeria asked.

The young man walked slowly to Valeria's side. "I discovered it by chance. It piques my curiosity."

Valeria was a bit happy because she had met a curious man like herself for the first time. "Have you ever gone inside?"

"No. Have you?"

Valeria shook her head no. "But I would love to go and look."

"Shall we go and look?"

"Now?"

The young man nodded. "It would be good to look before it gets dark. It will be dark in an hour."

Even though Valeria hesitated, her curiosity outweighed it. She was dying to know what was in there. She agreed with the young man, and they started walking toward the house. Valeria was going first. She suddenly stopped at a thought and turned to the boy behind her. "When we tried to come last night, a man blocked our way. What if the same thing happens again?"

"I can protect you."

Valeria strangely trusted him. But where did this trust come from? "I don't even know you, why should I trust you?"

The young man smiled. Valeria thought how much more perfect a smile could be. "But you do trust me."

"Hah! Get out of here." Valeria tried to look elsewhere by crossing her arms over her chest.

The young man took a step toward Valeria. "What if I prove that you trust me..?"

"Do you have to ask for something in return? From a lady?" Even though Valeria hated it, she liked this aspect of the period she lived in. Demanding something from a woman she wasn't married to was something that required courage...

The young man laughed as if he understood Valeria's thought. "I apologize, milady. Allow me then to prove that you trust me." Now he spoke like a complete gentleman.

Valeria approved with a smile and a nod.

"I will do this with a single question. If I told you there was a wolf pack deep in the forest, would you believe me?"

Valeria looked around hesitantly. "I guess.."

"Why?"

"Because I tru—" Valeria cut herself off. Was she about to say she trusted him?

The young man leaned toward Valeria's face with a smile. Now their heights were almost equal. "Because you trust me." He saw his own reflection in Valeria's bright, large hazel eyes. "Now, do you want to go there?"

Valeria quickly pulled back with the heart palpitations brought by this closeness, turned her back, and took a deep breath. "Let's go."

She stepped toward the cabin, trying to forget the young man whom she swore was walking behind her with a smile. She was almost taking running steps because a strange excitement had gripped her. It was a feeling she couldn't explain, and when she reached the door, something inside her was shouting "Go in!". She moved to enter without waiting for the young man behind her. But when she held the doorknob with her hand, she paused and turned to the young man.

"Is this house being used by someone?"

The young man shrugged his shoulders, meaning he didn't know.

When Valeria entered, she couldn't inhale the dusty and moldy air she expected; it was as if this place had been vacated just yesterday.

"Isn't it very strange, don't you think?"

The young man didn't answer; he was looking around. The inside wasn't as small as it looked from the outside. It was as if it had expanded with some kind of magic. The living room where she stood was quite large and clean. When she moved toward the window, the place from which she watched the cabin was clearly visible. As she turned back and scanned the interior with her eyes again, a closed door suddenly caught her eye. Strangely, silence prevailed; the young man hadn't spoken since they entered the house, he just followed Valeria wherever she went.

When she came in front of the door, Valeria felt her heart beating with excitement again. When she entered the room, there was a huge symbol on the wall. Its structure, resembling an upside-down spearhead, combined with that double-lined cut stretching upward, chilled Valeria to the bone.

"What is this?" she muttered to herself in surprise. "Is a ritual performed here?" With her hazel eyes wide open, Valeria turned toward the young man. His very calm stance, contrary to hers, shocked her. "You don't seem surprised at all."

When the young man shrugged instead of answering, Valeria walked toward the wall again and touched the symbol.

"Something else surprises me," the young man said finally and approached the woman. "You came straight to this room as if you knew this symbol was here."

When Valeria thought about it, she realized the young man was right. She had entered this room suddenly and hadn't even glanced at the other rooms. "Just a coincidence," she said with a laugh, trying to suppress her own nervousness. She had wanted to come here desperately, but now she wanted to leave immediately. It was slowly starting to get dark. she certainly didn't want to be in the forest in the dark or be caught in the night roll call. "Shall we go now?"

The young man nodded. They left the cabin they had entered with slow steps with quick steps. As they left the forest and walked toward the school, it was almost dark.

When she saw the school and realized time was running out, Valeria crossed her arms. She didn't know what to think or what to say. "Are you always like this?" she finally said, her voice sounding sharper than she expected.

Lucian answered without turning his gaze to her. "How?"

"Calm.. and acting as if nothing happened."

This time Lucian tilted his head slightly; a faint smile formed at the corners of his lips. "Isn't that how it should be?"

Valeria paused. "No," she said after a short silence. "It's not normal at all."

Lucian didn't speak until they reached the back door of the school. He paused before entering the door. He took his pocket watch out of his pocket and looked at it quickly. "Just in time.." he said and turned to Valeria with a slight smile. "Exactly 5 minutes until the night roll call. Good night, milady; this adventure with you was quite pleasant." With a quick wink and a nod, he entered and disappeared into the stone corridor, leaving Valeria behind with the complex feelings inside her.