DANCE IN THE MOONLIGHT

The Uninvited Guest

Irene felt so exhausted to go on her home visit that her only dream was to teleport home. Moreover, the car journey had made her incredibly sleepy. Since she knew she couldn't teleport, she preferred the shortcut. This was her favorite path—a tiny trail opened through the forest. As she moved along the path, it was getting even darker. When she saw a few people ahead, a sense of unease filled her.

"Fuck." She took steps backward to get out of there. When she quietly turned around, she saw a group coming toward her. Now, instead of unease, fear gripped her.

"Are you lost, beautiful?" The man coming toward her with a liquor bottle in his hand shouted. "If so, let me show you the right way." The man began to unbutton his pants.

Irene didn't know what to do out of fear. Both groups were coming at her. She started to run into the forest from the side when a man grabbed her by both arms. He was smelling her hair from behind.

"LET ME GO!" No matter how much Irene struggled, she couldn't break free. The other man had opened his pants and was coming toward Irene.

"HEL— SOMEONE HE—"

Another hand covered her mouth. While tears streamed down her face, she struggled with a glimmer of hope. Everyone was laughing and having fun. Suddenly, when the hands holding her tightly vanished, Irene found herself on the ground. The laughter around her had stopped. She couldn't open her eyes to see what happened out of fear.

She heard someone approaching her. The steps stopped exactly next to Irene.

"I thought you were very brave. You proved me wrong."

Irene recognized the voice. This was the voice that had blocked their way in the forest. She slowly opened her eyes. The man in front of her extended his hand, wearing a glove. Irene held the gloved hand with her trembling hands.

The man helped her up. When Irene looked around with tearful eyes, she saw no one. "What happened here?"

"They all left when they saw me." The man shrugged. Irene studied the man for a bit.

He had stark white skin in contrast to his black hair. His hair was neatly combed back. His jawline was quite sharp and prominent. He had a black shirt, black pants, black shoes, and also black gloves.

"If you're done studying me, shall we go?" The man gave her a sidelong smile, took her arm gently, and began to lead her toward the main road.

"Where are you taking me?" Irene asked when she arrived at the car.

The man opened the car door for her. "To your home."

Irene looked at the car hesitantly. The impact of what she had just experienced had not faded. "How do you expect me to trust you?"

The man slowly handed the gun at his waist to the woman. "I only want to take you home safely. If you feel anything else is happening, shoot me."

She took the gun with hands that were still trembling. This provided her with enough security, and now all she wanted was to go home.

"Fine," she said, and quietly sat inside through the door opened for her. When the man got in too, she pointed the gun at him.

"Who are you?" Irene succumbed to her curiosity. "Why did you block our way in the forest?"

"Why are you so curious, Irene?" The man answered without taking his eyes off the road.

"How do you know my name?"

"One more question..." The man still didn't turn to look at her.

When the car slowed down, Irene's mouth dropped open as she saw her own house. She didn't think she had described her home. While she was thinking of turning to the man and asking another question, she didn't expect their faces to be extremely close.

She immediately pulled back and pressed the gun against the man's chest. The man laughed.

"If you're going to ask how we got here, don't."

"But I'm curious! Who are you?!" The man burst out laughing. "I won't get out of the car until you give me a satisfying answer!"

The man looked at Irene for a long time. To him, Irene's posture—which she thought was angry and serious, pressing the safety-on gun to his chest—was the same as the posture of a child who couldn't get the toy they wanted.

"I think I'm in love with you, Irene."

***

When Irene lay in her bed that night, she didn't dare to close her eyes. Friday night and Saturday morning had blurred together. She didn't even remember how much she slept or if she slept at all. Every time she closed her eyes, the same thing happened—the forest, the laughter, that path she tried to escape... and then, a sudden silence.

And him.

The fact that her mind was stuck on him at the moment she should be most afraid made Irene even more uneasy. Saturday was spent almost entirely in her room. When she told her mother she was sick, she didn't object. Anyway, anyone looking at her face wouldn't question whether it was true. She was pale. She was distracted. She looked as if she were constantly listening to something.

Because that was truly how she felt. As if she weren't alone in the house. But this wasn't a scary feeling. It was... an unsettling awareness.

She stood in front of the mirror and watched herself for a long time. "It's over," she whispered. "It was just a bad night." But a voice inside her didn't believe it.

On Saturday night, she didn't turn off the lamp. Even if the light bothered her eyes, she didn't want to return to the darkness. She had pulled the blanket up to her chin, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. She couldn't sleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, she felt as if something was going to happen.

Minutes passed. Hours passed. Then... she noticed. There was a faint scent in her room. At first, she didn't mind it. But the scent gradually became distinct. It wasn't sharp. On the contrary... it was a soft, calming scent.

Irene frowned. She slowly sat up. "What is this..."

Her eyes wandered around the room. Then they got stuck on the nightstand. There was... something there that wasn't there before. A small flower with a thin stem stood there. Its petals were an almost perfect white, opened like a star... and next to it, that gun.

Irene froze. First, she scanned the room quickly with her eyes. She didn't have the courage to open her closed curtains. She slowly reached out her hand. She touched the flower. It wasn't cold. It was alive. It was the source of the scent. Then she picked up the gun.

The strange thing was... Irene was no longer afraid. On the contrary, that feeling of tightness inside her was slowly dissolving. Her breathing steadied. Her heart slowed down. She put the gun under her pillow, in a place she could easily reach. Her eyes closed involuntarily. The scent, that relaxing scent of jasmine, had made her drowsy.

At that moment... for the first time, she felt truly relaxed. But she still couldn't prevent the question that came to mind. Why was he so protective? Or was he acting this way on purpose? Should she ask him if she saw him again? Why had he given the gun back? How had he entered her room?

Finally, while struggling with these thoughts, she fell into a deep and uninterrupted sleep.

***

When she returned to school, after classes, she took her friends to a place in the garden not too close to the forest. She might not have accounted for Lucian and Fenrik following them, and of course, not being able to convince them to leave.

"What happened, Irene?" Elara asked impatiently as they sat on the grass.

"I was attacked on my way home."

"WHAT?!" Valeria and Elara reacted at the same time.

"Did they do anything to you, Irene?" Fenrik asked seriously.

"That's the part I'm going to tell. Just as they were about to do something to me, suddenly everyone disappeared." Irene said excitedly, opening her green eyes wide.

"What do you mean, disappeared?" Elara didn't understand.

"Yes! Do you remember the man who blocked our way in the forest?" Valeria and Elara nodded. Fenrik's brows furrowed.

"When all the sounds stopped, I heard that man's voice. He helped me. When I got up, no one was there; he said they ran away when they saw him." Silence fell over the group. Irene continued excitedly. "And he doesn't just know my name, girls; he knows my house, too, and..."

"And what?" Valeria asked.

"And he said he's in love with me." Irene said, a bit shyly.

Fenrik grew restless in his spot. Lucian was constantly looking at him. This didn't escape Irene's notice.

"Why are you two constantly exchanging looks? Is there something you know?"

"Irene... it's nice that he helped and rescued you, but still... I think you shouldn't believe him."

"If you know something, tell me, Fenrik."

"It's not that I know, it's just..."

"Just what?" Valeria was curious, too.

Fenrik looked around as if searching for the right sentence and at the same time afraid to say something, and finally shrugged.

"We just want to protect you." Lucian said without saying anything else, looked at Irene with a slight smile, and bowed his head slightly; there was a secret in his eyes, telling it with silence instead of words.

The scent of jasmine was wafting slightly with the wind, and Irene heard a feeling from within: an eye that was aware of everything was still watching them. And at that moment, her heart began to beat both fast and strangely calm.

Something was changing... but no one knew exactly what it was yet.