Not like Us

Chapter 19

Bella stared at Lamang as he was laying on bed with his eyes closed and as his exhaled breaths condensate forming fogs into the air. She knew it was him although some features changed but at first sight, she could still tell that it was him that she saw. The second time that they saw each other, she had the chance to stare at him for a few hours when he just suddenly collapsed. His straight long white hair looked like it was chopped to become a messy men medium length hair and there was a volume to it now compared to the last time that she saw him. She noticed the shape of his ears and eyes were already human-like. How did he became a human? She looked at his right and she saw gold bracelet on his wrist. She remembered he did not have it when they met. But what did not change was his fancy clothes.

“How did he end up like this?” she asked to herself in a whisper. And what happened to him at the town? Why did he turned into a human?

Bella saw her laptop and drawing tablet on her table. After setting up, she started drawing him, his human self.

She remembered what she wished during her birthday. ‘To meet him in his form or in any other form.’ It came true. None of her wishes came true except for this. There was really something different to him.

She continued drawing him. She just let the window of her room open. The light from outside kissed his face. The darkness and the lightness from outside where already in a competition and it seemed like the light had taken over the dark. There was also a faint sound of the birds coming from outside. She went her attention back to him. He had been like this since last night. She looked after him but even for a minute he never opened his eyes.  

Bella returned the tablet to the table. She stood up and looked at him. She looked at her stomach and she heard noises coming from the inside and she felt that it was already moving, rumbling. She got something from her purse and put it on the window.It was the small red pouch that the faith healer from the town gave her. She closed the wooden window and slid the curtains close, just to be safe.   She went out to her room to get some coffee. She saw her grandmother sitting on the chair near the counter.

“Nana,” she greeted. Her grandmother was drinking some milk together with a sweet cooked glutinous rice stuffed in a pan de sal.

“Good morning, nana,” she said as she went to the cabinet where the glasses were found. She got and prepared a rice coffee made by her grandmother. It did not have any caffeine on it which makes it healthier than the coffee itself. It was roasted black. Bella took a sip. It tasted like a regular roasted coffee and the aroma was something you would definitely like. She had been drinking that type of coffee since she got in the province.

“How is your friend?” her grandmother asked. She handed Bella a bread with stuffed sweet glutinous rice. Bella ate it.

“He was still sleeping, nana.”

“How did you knew him?” Her grandmother looked at her while chewing her food.

“I meet him at school!” Bella immediately reasoned out. She looked around everywhere but not to here grandmother’s eyes. “I did not know he would be here as well. I just saw him at the town and I thought he needed help so I brought him here.”

Her grandmother sighed. “I am glad that you know how to help someone in need but I do not want for this to happen again. You made me worried. I thought you were the one who Lucas was carrying.”

Bella finished her coffee and bread and answered her grandmother, “I am sorry if I made you worry, nana.”

She stood up and went to her grandmother to hug her fast. She saw from the living room that the sun was already rising. “I will go back to the room,” she said as she lightly kissed her grandmother to her forehead. Her grandmother nodded in response.      

As soon as Bella entered the room, she saw Lamang who was already sitting and was looking around the area. He had still not noticed her. He stood up and looked at the window. He went near them but when he tried to open it there was an intensifying heat that traveled towards his hand.

“Ahh,” the sound that came out from his mouth and pulled his hands away and stepped back from the window. Bella that his fair hands became red. She immediately went to the window and grabbed the small red pouch to get it away from him. She threw it on the corner of her room.

“I am sorry,” she immediately said as she faced him.

Lamang eyes grew big as soon as he recognized who was in front of him.

“Bella…” he said with a breathy tone. He did not expect that he would see her again. It was to late that he realized that they were staring into each others eyes. He immediately looked away. “What am I doing here?”

“Did you remembered what happened to the town?”

Lamang tried to remember what happened and the only thing that he could recall was chasing the dark creature. He looked around to see if it was on the area but he never saw the thing. He looked at Bella in the eyes and held both of her shoulders, “What happened to me?”He was staring intently at her. His eyes were to deep that she felt that she was being drawn into a deep abyss.

“You were being surrounded by a lot of people. You were covering your ears, shouting, and on the floor. No one dares to help so I brought you here.”

Lamang tried to draw a circle on the air but nothing appeared. Confusion flashed on his face. How could he not use the portal? 

“What is the matter?” Bella asked as she saw that Lamang’s face was confused.

Lamang tried to draw another circle. Nothing. Nothing appeared.

“Why?” he asked unconsciously.

“Why?” he repeated.

“What is wrong?” Bella asked confusedly as Lamang kept drawing circles again and again into the air.  

“I could not produce the portal,” he said with fears on his eyes.

He tried to turn his ears back to normal. He touched both of his ears and It became pointy in any minute. He sighed in relief but confusion still flashed on his face while looking at both of his hands.

“Portal?”

Lamang sighed. He was still looking at his hands. He sat on the floor and leaned on the bed frame.

He covered his eyes with his arm and sighed. He lightly swung his fingers to turn his ears into a human form and he heaved another sigh.

Bella just let him. She did not utter a word. He seemed to be problematic.

There attention was diverted when they heard a knock on the door.

Bella immediately opened the door. While Lamang, with his impulse, he tried to hide his self on the side of the bed where he would not be seen from the door.

“Nana,” Bella said.

Lena entered the room and looked around looking for Bella’s friend. “Where is he?” Lena asked.

Bella pointed Lamang. His hair could still be seen from where he was. “What is he doing that?”

Bella shrugged. She did not know as well. He just instantly hid himself when he heard Bella’s grandmother knocked but Lamang pinched himself when he realized that he had nothing to hide. He was in his human form.

Bella’s grandmother walked towards where Lamang was. “Why are you hiding?” she asked.

Lamang looked up at her. He bowed. “Thank you for taking me in,” he said in gratitude.

Bella’s grandmother just shook her head. “I have prepared the breakfast. You both go and eat.”

Bella walked towards Lamang and grabbed him to stand up. Lena had now noticed how tall Lamang was. She noticed the color of his hair was white, too, and his skin was fair.

“Are you a foreigner?” Lena asked as they went down towards the kitchen.

Lamang looked puzzled. He did not know what foreigner means. Bella looked at him as it took him minutes to process the question.

“Yes, he is, nana,” she answer on his stead.

They arrived at the table. Lamang’s stomach rumbled as he saw the food. It was new to his sight and it looked appetizing but he was not sure if he could eat those. He looked at the food again. He could only eat the rice.

Bella’s grandmother prepared sunny side up eggs, rice, and tocino. There were also milks in a glass. Bella let him sit on the chair. She prepared a chair for her grandmother as well.

As soon as the food, were already on their plates, Bella and her grandmother started eating while Lamang was only eating the rice and the drank the milk.

Bella’s grandmother noticed him. “You do not like the food?”

Lamang looked at her. “It looks appetizing but unfortunately, I am not allowed to eat I.” Lamang honestly said. “I hope you would not get offended,” he continued.

“Hmm, It must be because of your culture.” Lena concluded.

Lamang just nodded. It was the truth. It was on their culture.

“All right, I would not get offended as long as you helped us with the farm tasks. There were still a lot of tasks to do. We need a helping hand. Will you?”

Lamang stared on his plate for a while. He wanted to know how the crops grow. He wanted to know more about how to take care of the nature. The nature was his kingdom. They were responsible for it. He looked at Lena and nodded. If he could still not return to his kingdom because the portal was closed. He would make use of the time to learn about things that could help him.

Lena clapped her hands. “Great! Another young helping hand. We would get going after our food are digested.”