Not like Us

Chapter 29

“Dayang Maria was already in her room, Gat,” the knight who just got back from accompanying Dayang Maria informed him.

Lamang did not answered but he opened his eyes as he remembered what the black creature said when he was infested wit it.

‘You should worry about the human girl, hehehe. The other part of me is with her.’

He stood up from laying down and reached for a cloth. His body was still hurting but he was already capable of doing something. He need to save Bella. Knowing Bella, she would definitely give in from the black creature and she was in the disadvantage. No one from her world can saw the black creature. She was alone. It had been four days since he was infested. What could happen to Bella for that four days?

He moved slowly so the knight from the outside could not hear him. He slowly breathed in and out.  He tried to produce a portal but he could not produce one. He stared on his hand. He could still feel his power from within him but why could he not produce a portal?

‘I heard the portal in your kingdom is still closed. You will be staying here under my watch until the portal opens.’ He remembered the ruler of the sirena said.

The portals were close was that mean it was the reason why he could not access it when he was still in the human world? Then the portal is closed now. He thought.

He gave another try to access the portal. He extended his arms and motioned a circle on the air. He kept doing and doing it until his body collapsed. He could not. His sweats were forming from his forehead. He was catching his breath.

He heard a knock from his door. “Are you all right, Gat?” the knight asked. He noticed that the knight was already turning the knob.

“I am all right,” he answered.

The turning of the knob stopped. “All right, Gat. Just inform me if you are feeling something.”

Lamang did not answer but instead he stood up. He walked towards the door and opened it. The knight saw him and stepped back to give him a way.

“Gat, where are you going? You are supposed to be resting now,” the knight reminded.

“I need to go somewhere,” Lamang said. He started walking.

“But, Gat.”

Lamang stopped and faced him. The knight stepped back. Lamang was already throwing him with dead stares.

“Gat Lamang!” Someone shouted from a far.

Lamang turned around to see who was calling him. It was Timpi who was running towards him. Timpi immediately held his shoulders when he got near him. “How are you?!”He asked as he assessed him from his head to toe. Timpi closed his eyes.

Lamang’s forehead wrinkled. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Timpi remained still for a moment and then opened his eyes. “You are now, indeed, fine.”

“How can you say so?” Lamang asked as he removed himself from Timpi’s hold. He continued walking. Both the knight and Timpi was following him.

“I could not feel the negative emotions from you anymore.”

“Ohh,” Lamang replied.

He stopped and looked at both of them. “Stop following me,” he said but the two were still following him.

“Where are you going?” Timpi asked. Timpi looked at the knight. “Is he allowed to go out?”

The knight shook his head. “The king and queen told me to ensure that he is resting.”

Timpi averted his attention to Lamang. “Lamang!” he shouted.

Lamang looked at him with a pissed face. He need to get to were he was going and they were slowing him down.

“What?!” he answered.

“You are not allowed to get out of bed. You are supposed to be resting right now,” Timpi announced. Lamang did not listen to him and turned his back and continued walking.

“Lamang!” Timpi shouted again.

Lamang looked at them with a deadly stare and eyebrows drew together. “Do not follow me,” he said emphasizing every word. Both the knight and Timpi stopped from walking.

Lamang did not waste the opportunity and walked faster than he did earlier. He walked down the stairs to get to the main door. Some of the helpers and the knights from their castle saw him but they did not know what happened for the past few days. Only those people who were trusted knew what happened.      

He walked straight. He was still on the garden. There were knights around the area saw him. They bowed at him. He bowed back. He need to get to the town. He went to the stables. A white horse with a horn greeted him. The horse had a long silvery mane and it was braided.  

“Hello, Hero. I need you.” Lamang said. The horse neigh as a response. Lamang opened Hero’s quarter and walked him out outside the stable. Lamang adjusted the saddle and mounted himself on it. Lamang leaned to Hero and patted his face. “We need to get to the town, “ he said. Hero did another neigh.  Lamang positioned himself and maneuvered Hero to move.

As the townspeople saw who was mounted on the horse, although Lamang did not bother to look at them, the women in the town covered their faces for precautions. Lamang just looked forward. He was eyeing his goal. A house made of wood. It was covered with green ivy.

He stopped in front of the house and tied Hero on one of the trees. The person who owned the house saw Lamang coming. He opened his door when he saw a shadow from below his door front.

“What are you doing here, Gat?” He said as soon as Lamang’s face greeted him.

“I have to ask you a question, highest elder,” Lamang answered.

The elder opened his door widely and made way for Lamang to be able to come in.

“What so important that you personally come here? You are supposed to be resting,” the elder asked and said as he closed the door. They were towns people who were looking to their direction. They were intrigued of what was happening. Timpi just went to the same door step four days ago.

“You noticed the dark creature that had infested me was not whole, right?” Lamang asked.

The elder directed him to a seat. “You should sit first.”

Lamang immediately followed so the elder would immediately answer his question.

The elder brew a tea. “Yes, it is not. The last time I enclosed it, it was bigger than the recent one.”

The elder walked to a shelf. He reached for a book and placed it in front of Lamang. The elder opened a certain page and the black creature appeared on it. It was floating. It looked like the one when he was chasing it. It was giggling.

“It is sorrow. It shows as a small black ball with four long limbs. It chuckles or giggles to override its sadness and you are right, it could divide itself into two or as many as it could depending on its capability so he could infest many. In that way, it will make it stronger.”

“Could we track were its other parts?”Lamang asked as he stared on the floating sorrow.

The elder nodded. “If we have one of its part, we could.”

“Could you help me track it?” Lamang eagerly said and stood up from his seat.

The elder looked at him. “What for? It could now be on the human world if you came from there.”

Lamang could not look at him directly. “I passed through some helpers there in the castle who could have interact with other residents here in the kingdom. I just want to make sure that the other parts of the sorrow did not cling unto one of our residents. We all know that they were a few half-human and half-engkanto other than me.”

The elder just looked at him. The set up they had remained for a few minutes. The elder shook his head.

“Do you know why am I called the highest elder?” the elder asked as he gave Lamang the cup of tea he brewed.   

Lamang did not know why he asked that but he answered obediently. “Because you are an expert of your field, the medicine, your wisdom and knowledge are very highly respectable,” he said.

The elder laughed, “I am more than that. I could read through you,” the elder said.

“Read through me?”

“I know there is another reason why you wanted to know where the other parts are,” the elder clarified. “If you would not tell me the truth then we are done here,” the elder said as he closed the book and put it back on the shelf. Lamang sighed.

“When I was chasing the sorrow in the human world in human form it seemed like it was already making its way to infest me. A person helped me. I just want to make sure she is okay. I am in depth to her.”   

“A her?” the elder asked to make sure he heard it right. “You know you are not supposed to be with a her, Gat Lamang.”

“She just helped me. There was nothing more than that, okay?”

The elder looked at him and sighed. The elder went into a room and brought out a big empty clam shell. He filled it with water. The elder enchant some spell that Lamang could not understand. He lit a candle and let the wax fell on the water.

“Come here,” the elderly command.

Lamang did what he said. He went near him.

“Give me your hand.”

Lamang offered his hand as the elder requested. The elder aligned it to the candle and let the wax fell over on his hand. Lamang’s eyes winced. It hurt a little. The elder then flipped over his hand and submerged it to the water. Little by little they were images that formed on the water. The elder removed Lamang’s hand.

“It looks like you have nothing to worry about,“ the elder said as they stared at the water.

Lamang just nodded.

“And it looks like the kingdom would have nothing to worry about as well,” the elder continued while Lamang was still staring at the images in the water. Lamang just nodded unconsciously.