The Sight Beyond The Haze

Chapter 12: A Ride with a Passenger

The shadow above suddenly disappeared from my view.

I was half certain that shadow that abruptly faded was them, the masked person.

In front of me, Zachriel also looked up to where I was staring, maybe wondering what had me so enarmore, but what occupied my attention has already evanesced like a vapor in the air. I felt him looked on my face as he surveyed the empty top of the buildings. There was an askance expression on his face, but I never addressed it directly until he voiced it out to me.

"What are you looking at?" he asked calmly, as though a soft nudge or even just the slightest of tap on me would topple me over when I just saved him from that creature not even a moment ago.

I did not answer him anymore and started walking away from him. The butterflies, all precious three of them, flew towards my opened duffel bag before I closed it and renewed my grip on the sling that hung on one of my shoulders.

"Where are you going?" Zachriel called after me. "Seraphim," he tried to call me, but I was already on my way out of the alley.

The sun above was almost blinding to the sight, feeling like I haven't seen it for such a long time when it was only for a few minutes.

Zachriel did not waste a moment though, and I felt him walking behind me, his tone was full of incredulity, seemingly unable to hide his initial shock upon my reaction towards the outcome of the fight. He hid the plastic bottle on one of his pockets on his pants where it did not even create the slightest of bulge or dent. Making certain that the creature was safely secured, I started walking back to the bus stop that I passed by earlier when I tried to lure him out which, I guess, succeeded tremendously.

"Where are you going?" Zachriel repeated to me, as though I did not just ignored him deliberately and that I just did not heard him when his voice was as clear as the skies.

I sighed and stopped my strides, causing him to almost crash to my back. Fortunately, he held his brakes and also stopped in time.

"I'm going to Mr. Tharraleos' mansion," I answered plainly, not even hiding the fact that I was tired and burnt out of stress because of him and the odd creature, "you may not come," I added when his lips opened to protest, but he did so anyways.

"And you're going just like this?" he asked again, almost exasperatedly, but also as collected and calm as he could manage.

I just gave him a look.

"Let me go with you," he offered in a formal tone, "even just by the gate, I'll accompany you."

I gave him another deadpan look. Did he even realized what he just said? With that expression on my face, his pupils suddenly dilated out of realization of how his offer sounded so inappropriately, and he shook his head once as a refusal.

"It's not like that at all," he denied with, at least, a dignity, "I just wanted to—"

"I could manage making the trip, thank you for your concern," I cut him when I thought he was going to start babbling, "also, I do not need any guards. I know the way, and the butterflies are more than enough."

I looked at him from head to toe then my eyes went to glance at the butterflies that were placed on my closed duffle bag, hidden out of the view. I could feel their delicate wings battering at the material of my bag. He seemed to know what I was thinking and the message that my movement provided was clear.

That the butterflies were more than enough aid to me than he was based on what just happened earlier on.

"You don't know how dangerous it was to roam around," he warned at me, "at least let me do this, Seraphim."

The masked person must have known that someone was stalking me from my behind that it sent one of the butterflies to monitor Zachriel, just a few distance away from me earlier. Even if Zachriel was not going to accompany me to Mr. Tharraleos' property, someone was certainly watching from behind the shadows and the crevices of each building around.

I do not know if I should be scared or assured, but then again there were odd creatures such as what had appeared earlier that could have caused harm, to me and maybe even to some people in the premise.

"I am more than enough for myself," I told him stubbornly. "If you wanted to accompany me, then I will be forcing you to tell me everything."

We both halted beneath the shade of the bus stop. I looked at the road where the cars were speeding to and fro, the bus was approaching slowly, going to a complete halt in front of us. I discreetly and slowly unzipped my bag where a butterfly flew out, evasive from people's eyes. It clung to Zachriel's shoulder again and when we were about to hop inside the bus, Zachriel stayed rooted on his spot.

Just before the bus' door close, I glanced back at Zachriel behind my shoulder coldly. His eyes almost widened with how he was stuck on his position. Discernment immediately touched his expression when he saw the faint glow of the butterfly on one of his shoulders. He schooled his bearing into a cool one, there was a touch of annoyance and disbelief, but a chilling ire has dominated his face.

"I told you to leave me alone," I said to him before tapping my card on the bus' machine. It beeped loudly and off I went to one of the empty seats.

I looked outside the transparent window, watching Zachriel still stood on where he was, motionless as a statue. The bus started to move, and when I know that I was a good distance away from Zachriel's form did I summoned the butterfly. I was not certain how it connected to me, but as soon as I called on to it in a low voice, it was suddenly riding the air outside the window in my direction.

I leaned on my seat and sighed.

On my hand was a plastic bottle of mineral water that was still containing of water and the hazy form of the black creature. Even when I shook it a little, the two substances would stubbornly not combine as though the other colored substance was oil. The creature, that has seemed to have been dissolved into the same semi-solid and semi-liquid form as earlier, oddly stayed at the top even though it looked heavier than the water that was on the bottom of the bottle.

If Zachriel noticed my subtle theft, I have no idea, but I will probably still see the same restrained wrath on his eyes the next time we meet, which could happen on Monday, the first day of the week that we have classes. I was not worried though, he said so himself that, physically, I was stronger than him.

"You did the seal ritual commendably," someone said on the empty side of the seat I was sitting on. "Not even a speck of mudtrap left, or at least the main body of it."

There was a boy about the same age as me sitting on the empty seat beside me. He was smiling languidly at me with one of his elbows propped up on the back of the bus' seat. When he looked at me with his dark eyes, there was also a hint of smile with lines marking the space around his eyes. The sun, whose rays were passing through the transparent glass of the window of the vehicle, was hitting his hair making it lighter than it seemed.

His features were not anything remarkable; plain and almost forgettable in the midst of a crowd.

On his wrist, there was a glittering bracelet with an intricate design of a small delicate golden butterfly, it looked like a fragile toy on the boy's wrist. I stared at it curiously, until it suddenly fluttered its elaborately detailed wings once. I blinked once, thinking I was just seeing random things, but it was not really just an illusion in my mind since it fluttered its wings for the second time again, then again and again.

"You helped," I remarked, "did you not?"

"On what way did I helped?" he asked to me, there was an inkling of curiosity in his tone.

"The butterflies," I implied, my eyes directed at the little butterfly resting on his wrist that fluttered its wings again, "they heeded my commands, even gave me warning."

He shook his head at me and removed his elbow that was loosely propped up on the back of our seat.

"Didn't you fought with the mudtrap yourself?" he asked yet again. I slowly nodded as an answer, uncertain of where this would go. "Then it was your fight, the butterflies did nothing but aided you. Credits should be recognized to where they are due."

But I was unconvinced.

"What are you doing here?" I inquired to him, but he only looked at me with serenity. "Don't look at me like that," I commented when he continued just like that.

"Do not look at you like what?" he asked me in return in the same serene manner.

"I do not know," I answered languidly. My eyes directed at the sun that seemed like it was following us. "You were looking as though you are wondering about something."

He chuckled lightly and also looked out of the window as I was doing.

"Only because you have finally stopped asking me all sorts of questions," they pointed out which had me only nodding along. "To speak to you, to be able to sit with you in this dreadful place, and to act like a perfectly banal person. It makes one wonder about things and matters."

"I was annoying, was I not?" I remarked. "Were you not expecting me to uphold our deal?"

He chuckled lightly yet again which made me frown and direct my gaze at his face who was full of mirth. I stared at him hard, not speaking or moving a muscle. I wanted to make him uncomfortable, make him be guilty of that laughter he partook on, but he did not seem to be guilty. In fact, his countenance turned lighter and carefree.

"Questions," he remarked. His eyes have a wicked glint of mischief. "Makes one wonder, is it not that right?"

I clenched my jaw tightly and turned a cheek on him. I did not answer him anymore and let him be. It took him a moment to find a time to speak again, when he did there was sense of gravity on his tone.

"I have never doubted you," he whispered, "I have never doubted you would uphold your promise. Not in this lifetime."

I turned my head towards him, but he was already looking outside the window. Only the side of his face was the only part of his face I could see clearly, the rest was just a murky reflection on the glass of the window being blurred by the running vehicle.

"Not even the next," he whispered lowly which I did not quite understand.

I did not bother on asking him what he just said since he was already teasing me, but I stole a glimpse at him. I was wondering if this was his true form, but I recalled how he looked when he was saving me from the falling scaffolding back at the academy.

That person had a wave of waist length hair, dark as the night and their hands back then were more slender but calloused and rough. When I stared at how their hands looked right now, I could not glimpse a single dried skin on both of them.

I must have been staring for far too long since he abruptly whirled his head on my direction. Startled by his sudden move, I wasn't able to look away.

"Did you not like my current guise?" he wondered out loud and stared at how own hand where, in one of his wrists, still rested that lonesome and precious butterfly like a beautiful but delicate decorative. "I have known that Haziel Imbert's face would draw much concentration of recognition. It would not be inconspicuous."

He was not wrong on that, but why would he even raise such a concern when I have not even thought of the reason why he wouldn't use Haziel Imbert's face.

"I never mention anything of sorts," I told him.

Almost absentmindedly, he reached for his face and touched it with hand that had the butterfly bracelet. His eyes were blankly straing right ahead, to the back of the seat in front of us. It was almost like some unseen dirt suddenly touched his face and only he could feel it intruding upon his person.

"Your true form though," I finally said, making use of the opportunity to bring up such a topic to him, "I have only seen it once, why are you trying too hard to conceal it from me?"

"Was I?" he asked, his eyes were preoccupied with a thing or two and I could see the inner turmoil that have appeared within those eyes.

"I have a hard time addressing you in my mind," I reasoned when he did not answer my question deliberately.

Was it a good choice to talk about it with them?

That was what I wondered when I saw how he reacted. He must have an issue with his real face if he abrupt changed in this way. As though he was insecure of his real guise. I didn't want to ask him any more of my questions, and he didn't seem inclined to speak any further.

"I have to admit," I started, "I anticipated you to be Zachriel Legrand," I confessed.

I have thought about that before, of course. The notion of Zachriel Legrand being the masked person was not a faraway idea. After all, Zachriel Legrand was the first person I felt a peculiar sense of feeling and I have finally proven myself just by what happened earlier. With that, I have also proven to myself that I was wrong with my first conjecture.

Zachriel Legrand was not the masked person, else he would not be sitting right beside me; even talking and holding a golden butterfly at his wrist.

"Of course you did," he responded, but, this time though, the distracted expression that he wore was no longer. Instead of that, it was replaced by the smiling version of his face. It was still as plain and placid as a white wall, but it, at least, made the tension in the air lessen considerably. "Were you disappointed that he was not me? And I, were not him? Although I could change my guise into his likeness if that is what you desire."

"I was not even asking abouth that," I told this person, "have you been watching me with these butterflies?"

He tilted his head on one side then shook it slowly.

"I have not," he answered obediently, his eyes brightened with relief that I decided to stray from his guise's topic of the conversation by changing the course of it. "They are attached to you, that is why cling to you dearly."

"They also seem to have a special attachment to you," I noticed and pointed out.

I lightly prodded at the little butterfly on his wrist that seemed to have attached itself to him rather stubbornly. It fluttered its wings again once and twice then stayed still on his skin at last.

"They knew me," he only reasoned, "of course they would be attached to me in some way or another."

Just who exactly was he?

I wanted to ask him that very question. It lingered on my mind like an aftertaste, a little bit bitter and all sorts of things. It kept on knocking on the back of my mind, a distant thought, that very question and also some more.

Why would this person be here?

What was it this person doing? And why?

What was it with all the furtiveness?

Was there a special meaning to those butterflies?

And their real form.

But all those questions just circled back to the first one— just who exactly they were, this person?

I wanted to know those things, answer my questions, and meet my desire for my satisfactions, but I kept quiet. I did make a deal with him, I would keep on pretending that the magic was real from the very start.

I stood up from where I sat after pressing the button on my right. The bus came to a complete halt at the nearest stop. Behind me, he was just walking lightly, almost unnoticeable. As I was hopping off the bus, I looked behind me if he was still following closely, but the masked person has already faded. There was not even a single brush of his presence inside the bus.

I looked from left to right, up to down, and even in front of me and behind me, but there was not a single familiar face. If he changed his guise again, of course I wouldn't be able to tell them from people around me.

"Hey, you getting off, missy?" a person from behind me called out to me when I did not immediately get off the bus though I was in the very edge before the door. "If you ain't, the let these old people get off first."

I sighed, and jumped off the bus. I turned around and asked for apology to the people that was filing at the small corridor of the bus between the seats of the left and righr side, unable to get off because I was blocking the way.

"I'm sorry," I said and bowed my head down once before truly walking to my destination.

"Tss," I heard one of the passerby made a sound, "if you're gonna say you're sorry, at least do it properly! Aiyah! Kids these days, kids these days."

One moment they were there, but the second they were not. Should I be bothered? Though I guess I shouldn't, there was an unexpected feeling of tension and disturbance of their whereabouts being unknown to me.

The butterfly that held Zachriel in place to prevent him from also getting on the bus earlier rejoined me. It furtively slipped inside my duffle bag that I immediately opened to let it fly inside. I jogged out of the people's way and after some good distance, I looked back again to where I got off the bus.

I looked back, just once, and there they were. They were wearing the casual clothes of today's world, not their flowing robes like what they were wearing the first time I saw them. I was not even certain if the time they saved me was also the time that I first had the chance to meet them.

The dark hair atop their head was pulled tightly on a high ponytail, a lengthy red ribbon billowing behind them together with their waist length hair. Like before there was a mask on their face, this time it was a white mask— like on the dream's.

Two regular crescent shaped slits for the eyes and another one, a bigger one, for the mouth. Both the ends of the crescent were pointing upwards like it was smiling widely as me. Not a single person looked at them, they just walked past that masked person as though they were a normality on the street; part of the audience's daily routine.

I nodded once at them as a final farewell then turned my back.

I was not about to stand in the middle of a busy street all day just to stare back them him. I have a plan to follow and do. First, I must rest and lie on a bed. I wonder if Amara would be mad if I showed up without a notice, but then again she could have an idea of what was happening, of these odd things.

I would, of course, still uphold my end of the deal with the masked person. What I planned to do was just to coax Amada for any possible answers to my confusion. I have considered any implications and consequence of a slip of tongue, and losing at the deal I technically proposed myself— I was not prepared to do that.

I pursed my lips and my feet automatically stopped in the middle of a step. I was only a few streets before Mr. Tharraleos' property and there was a thought that abruptly unfolded itself inside my mind.

I never even asked for their name.