Not like Us

Chapter 5

" Why are you here? "

Bella faced the owner of that voice. She stared at him. He looked the same, the same way she saw him yesterday. He was towering her. His long white hair flowed to the direction where the wind was going. He was now wearing a plain milky white long dress. Yesterday, his dress was embellished with gold. She could see that his ears were not as pointy as she thought yesterday. His eyes were angled upward and his irises were circular like humans. His skin was fair as snow and his lips were pink as pink roses but Bella noticed something, he was panting.

" What are you? " Bella asked in a slow pace. She continued staring at him in awe. She had never seen a creature as handsome as he.

" I told you, " he panted. " You are not supposed to be here, " he said. She saw some sweats streaming down his face. Bella stepped forward. " Are you all right? " She asked in a whisper. He stepped back. He flinched at the same time and held his heart.

" Get away from me, " he warned.

Bella stopped from stepping forward. What was happening to him? He kneeled down to the ground and supported his self by holding to the tree beside him while still holding his heart. Bella attempted to stepped forward again. He looked at her, " I said stay where you are, " he said and continued panting.

His heart was aching. Every time the girl sets foot on the forest, he was drawn towards her and his heart started to ache. His feeling became heavy. He leaned on the tree and tried to breath. His sweats were not in drops. He closed his eyes.

Bella looked at him. He was not moving. " Hey, " she called him. She advanced her one foot but she remembered he told her to stay where she was. " Hey, " she called again but there was no response. A small black bird landed on his nose. The contrast of their color was very different. He was white and the bird was black. The bird peak him on his cheek. It had caused a redness on his face. " Shoo! " Bella shooed the bird and went near the man.

As she kneeled beside him, he still had sweats on his face. Bella untucked her shirt and used the lower part to wiped his face. She hovered her hand under his nose. He was still breathing. Bella sat beside him and leaned on the tree. She let the man leaned on her shoulder. She sighed. What was she doing? Why was she so hard headed? He told her to get away from him.

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The man felt a soft thing beneath his ear. This was softer than his pillow. He opened his eyes and a dim surrounding of the forest greeted him. He slowly sat up to look what was in front of him. It was just trees. Why was he here again? Oh, the girl, he thought. He looked around to see where she was. The moment he looked beside him, he saw her. Their faces were just an inch away. They have met each others eyes. He felt her breath touched his face. He felt that his surroundings became in slow motion.

" You are awake, " Bella started as she still stared on his eyes. He had the most beautiful eyes that she ever seen.

The man snapped from the reality. He broke the eye contact and stepped away from her. " I told you to stay away from me. "

Bella stood up and dabbed her pants because the dirt lingered on her. " I am sorry. You just passed out and you looked uncomfortable. I had no other choice. "

He passed out? He asked to his self. He never passed out. He hovered his hand on his chest. His heart was not hurting anymore. He looked at her. Stared, even. " Are you now all right? " he asked.

Bella looked at him. How did he know she was not feeling great earlier?

" Am I not the one who should be asking you that? " she diverted the question by asking him another question. " You were the one who passed out, " she continued.

He continued staring at her eyes. " It was because of you, " he bluntly said. " You were hurting that is why I was hurting. "

Bella looked at him with confused eyes. He was hurting because I was hurting? Why?

" Wh-, " Bella was cut off with what she was about to ask when he heard two men talking. It was coming to her direction.

" It is almost holy week, man. What do you plan on doing? "

" We are planning to prepare some binignit and some other sweet rice delicacies, man. I could give you some. I'll drop by at your house soon. "

" Cool, man. My family would be happy because of that. I am planning to - Oh, someone is here. "

They looked at Bella. Bella looked at them as well. They were two men who must be on their '40s. Bella's attention went to the thing they had on their shoulders. They have guns hanging on their shoulders.

" Oh, inday, what are you doing here? You do not look like you are from here? "

They looked at her from head to toe. Bella did that as well. They were wearing farmer's clothes. " You must be from a city. "

One of the man stared at her intensely. She stepped back. He was scaring her. " Man! " The man shouted. Bella and the other man jumped by his shouting. " She was madam Lena's grand daughter. "

Bella froze when he remembered her grandmother. What time was it?

The other man stared at her, too. " Yes, she must be. She looked like her mother, " he agreed. Bella's jaw clenched when he mentioned her mother. She felt a something pricked her heart.

Bella nodded. " I am. " She did not want to keep the conversation longer so she stepped back but before she could turn around. They asked her something. " What are you doing here, inday? "

" Oh, I was just talking to someone, " she confessed. The men looked around. They both shrugged. "There is no one here, inday. "

Bella turned around and no one was indeed there. " He was just here, " she said in a low voice. Where did he go? She asked.

" It is already getting dark. We can accompany you to your grandmother's house. We just finished our rounds as well and we are about to go home. We always passed to your grandmother's house it would be nice to great her, as well. "

Bella nodded still looking around. It was already getting dark. She promised her grandmother to be home before six but it looked like she broke the first promise she made to her.

" Let us go, " one of the man said and started walking to the direction where she used as her pathway earlier. She followed them. They looked familiar to her. She remembered she saw them at the farm earlier. As they walked out of the forest, she could not stop thinking about the man earlier. What the man said to her earlier kept looping in her mind. He was hurting because she was hurting. What did he mean?

She shook her head and diverted her attention to the men who were having their own world talking about stuff she could not relate. They did not saw him? She asked to herself. He was just there when they showed up.

One of the men turned his back to check if she was still following. He smiled, " We are almost there. We are already near the entrance, " he said while he went back to look in front and pointed the entrance of the forest with his lips.

Bella just nodded. She knew. She was well aware of her surroundings earlier. She made sure to remember every path she took so that she could make sure she could get home without being lost.

They already set their foot out of the forest and she already saw the house that was standing in almost five meters away. The house of her grandmother was really near the entrance of the forest. She already saw her grandmother outside of her house. She was covering herself with her shawl. She must be cold. Bella tried to feel the air. It was indeed already getting cold.

" Bella! " Her grandmother shouted as soon as they saw them approaching. When they were already in front of her grandmother's house. Her grandmother place both of hee hands to her waist. Bella already knew what will happened next. Scolding. " Bella! You promised to get home before six! It was already quarter to seven. "

Bella held her head down.

" We found her at the forest madam. She seemed to be lost, " One of the men said. She looked at them. She was not lost but it was a good excuse. She stepped forward. " Yes, nana. I never forgotten my promised. I was just lost in the forest and I don't know where was the path to your house, " she lied. " I am sorry, " she said both for lying and breaking the promise, implicitly.

Her grandmother's face softened. " Is that so? " she asked. The men nodded. Her grandmother looked at the men. " Thank you for bringing my dear Bella home. "

The men shook their heads. " It is nothing madam Lena! You have helped us more than this. It is nothing. "

" Do you want to get into our house and stay for dinner? " Lena offered. It was her way of saying thank you.

The men looked at each other. They smile at her. " We would like to thank you for your good service, madam, but I think we should head first before our wives turn into dragons, " they said in a laugh.

Lena laughed as well. " All right. Thank you for bringing her home. I owe you two. "

The men smiled, " No worries, madam Lena. See you tomorrow. "

As the men were already out of their sight Lena faced Bella. " Go inside now and wash yourself. Dinner will be served soon. "

Bella hurriedly went inside the house and to her room. She took a deep breath. She wished her grandmother would not punished her for this. She planned to be back at the forest tomorrow. She remembered what happened in the forest when the man just woke up. She lay down on her bed and covered her eyes with her arms. She blushed. How could he be so handsome yet so beautiful?

She uncovered her eyes. Sat up and she lightly tapped her face. Wake up, Bella. What are you saying? You just met him! And you are not even sure what he is! Is he really a 'di ingon nato? Or maybe just a simple ghost?Those were the questions running on Bella's mind. She shook her head.

"Bella!" Her grandmother called her from the kitchen below. She immediately stood up and grabbed her pajamas from her closet. She needed to get ready for dinner first so that her grandmother would not be angry at her.