Intertwined Love and Deception

Chapter 1

All I ever wanted was that interview. Nothing else. If not for my opinionated and uncaring manager, I wouldn't be here in the first place. I wouldn't be traveling to this place nestled in the remote mountain town of San Rafael. I have never been there, and I have never traveled alone this far. 

I sighed heavily as I slumped into my seat and fixed my gaze outside the bus window. It was raining non-stop since I left home. This must be a sign of my catastrophic future. While staring blankly at the pouring rain, I recalled what happened just yesterday.

I stormed inside Ms. Xana's office as soon as I finished printing the e-mail I just read that morning. It was good she had her private office because I never wanted to get any attention from my colleagues. I was transferred to this department, and for the past five months of being here, I have been given names from a cry baby to a whiner.

I furrowed my forehead as I faced my cold-hearted manager. She has already mastered the art of ignoring me. It's either her way of testing me or pushing me to leave the company.

My manager, just twenty-nine, did not smile when I entered and sat on the chair in front of her. She did not even lift her head to recognize my presence.

"Ms. Xana, please explain this to me," I said almost in tears, hoping that my little drama would work.

This morning I received a congratulatory letter for getting in in the contest, which I never applied.

She continued to ignore me. I wanted to scream at her, but I remember she was still my manager. No matter what, she will still have the last say on my employment here unless I decided to quit.

I really wondered why she was so indifferent towards me. Was it because I was the youngest among her staff? Was it because I complain a lot? Was it because of Jeremy?

"Is that difficult to understand, Sayonara?" Her eyes were still at the report she was checking.

I cringed. I really hate it whenever somebody calls me by my first name. I did not know why on earth my mother, may her soul rest in peace, named me Sayonara. It was like people always wanted to bid goodbye.

"This isn't my kind of genre," I told her.

I am a proud illustrator of children's books. not a writer of some kind of love story especially with terrifying folklore or mythical characters.  

As for my drawings, it was easier for me to come up with great ideas, especially when I teamed up with Jeremy, our handsome senior illustrator, and sadly Ms. Xana's boyfriend. We tend to come up with crazy ideas.

She should have told me, I would have suggested my grandmother. She's really good at this type of genre. Just to scare me, she would tell me stories about vampires sucking the blood of children who never listened to their elders, monsters lurking around dark alleys so I wouldn't go home late, werewolves ripping bodies if I don't respect elders. See how good she was in making up stories? There's no love story in there, just freaking stories about killing their prey. Just imagining them gave me nightmares at night.

Ms. Xana lifted her head and looked at me. Finally!

"If you win the contest, Sayonara, we will extend your contract, and we might give you a permanent position,"

Ouch! I did not expect that. I swallowed. It sounded like a threat than a promise to me.

I didn't expect my employment was at stake. I bit my lower lip and looked at her, but no words came out. I really should have just listened to Jeremy when he told me to look for another job. A better one. I have my reasons for staying. I love working here. Plus, I can't imagine working without Jeremy around. He didn't know this, but I really have a huge crush on him.

"If you have nothing more to say, you can go." She said as she focused her attention on the report again.

I did not move an inch. I just stared at her.

"Goodbye, Sayonara!" she said and pointed to the door.

I made a face as I walked out of her office. I wanted to tell her there's no need to be redundant with words.

I slumped down my swivel chair as I furrowed my brows on the screen of my monitor. I could see there the invitation to the contest. She said if you win the contest so, that means I had to look for another job if refused to go or lose. Either way, it was obvious that I was in a lose-lose situation.

To be honest, it shouldn't be a big deal because it was just a writing contest hosted by one of our big clients for their Halloween event – weird enough that they wanted it romantic rather than terrifying.

I sighed. She should just have told me to draw, not write. There's a big difference between talent or skills. Something must be wrong in Ms. Xana's brain.

"Coffee?" Jeremy, the love of my life, pushed the cup of hot coffee in front of me.

I smirked, but my heart was thrilled. 

"Smile, Sai. It's making you ugly." He joked.

I scowled at him.

He could be the reason why Xana treated me indifferently. Jeremy is her boyfriend, and I wag my tail like a puppy whenever he's around. Apart from his charming look, he's really good at his job. He could come up with good and interesting concepts for our book covers and marketing campaigns. In addition, he was the youngest son of the city mayor. It was really a plus point for Xana.

Jeremy's always interested in my work, telling me I had great talent. To be honest, I didn't want him to look at me like I was his little sister but compared to Ms. Xana, there's nothing special about me. I was an ordinary citizen of my country, an average city girl, and a person to whom people seemed to say goodbye every time they call me by my first name.

I pointed to him the email on my computer screen.

"Tell me, Jeremy, what am I going to do?" I said in a hopeless tone.

He sat down at the edge of my table and took a glimpse at the screen. He did not say anything.

"I'm not a writer. I'm an illustrator." I continued complaining as I took the cup of coffee. It was just a black coffee, but because Jeremy made it, the coffee tasted latte.

He smiled at me and tousled my hair. I backed away a little then combed my hair with my fingers. I really did not like him doing that. He made me feel like I'm a sibling, not a woman. I glared at him making him chuckle.

"Maybe you need inspiration, Sai," he said.

"I already have an inspiration," You. I added, only in my thoughts.

He laughed again, "You need a boyfriend," suggested Jeremy, and there he stared at me like I have something in my face. My heartbeat sped up.

"Do you think somebody's gonna be interested in me?" I glared at him, "Say hello to ordinary Sayonara!" I sneered at him. 

 He laughed again. "You're not ordinary, Sai. You have extraordinary skills,"

"Ouch!" I cringed. "You think a guy would fall in love with me because I'm good at drawing?"

"I guess you don't see yourself clearly, Sai," he muttered, putting down his empty cup. "Let's have it the other way then. Maybe you need to have more in-depth knowledge about folklores and myths, then from there you can create a concept for your synopsis,"

"I know about them. A lot!" I said, my eyes narrowed as I remember all those terrifying nights whenever I don't listen to grandmama. "They're horrifying creatures. Having romance with a werewolf or a vampire is just so... so... so weird," The idea itself was disgusting.

Jeremy shrugged, "I don't understand why you are so against writing it. Xana is just pushing you to hone your skills more. I saw your college essays, you know?"

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, "You read my essays?"     

He nodded. "You're good. Your plus point," he grinned, making me blush again. "Why don't you try?"

"I can't. I don't believe in them," I said blankly. The truth is I forbid myself from believing in them.

"Sai, no one can really tell whether it's real or not, but we're talking business here. There's a bigger market on that genre,"

I rolled my eyes, but he has a point. There was no point in arguing with Jeremy. "Maybe I should ask my grandma to write for me, what do you think?"

He chuckled, amused.

"Okay then, where should I get this boyfriend?" I asked, making him frown at me.

"Inspiration, Sai... not a boyfriend," he corrected.

"Okay then, where should I shop for that inspiration? I need tons." 

"If you want, I could introduce you to my cousin." He replied.

I raised my eyebrow. Cousin?

"He's not a mythical creature, right?" It was more of like a confirmation than a statement.

He laughed again. "Don't be cute, Sayonara."

I gave him a sullen glance.

"He's a writer and illustrator just like us, Sai. Very much human. So, stop being funny."

I smiled sheepishly at him. Sometimes, I wish he would just tell me that he likes me than be kind to me.

"Paul is a documentary writer of folklores and mythical creatures. You'll surely learn a lot from him," he explained, "Then, I'll help you in plotting your work,"

Ah, the "Paul", his favorite cousin. He has mentioned him to me several times when he published his third book on this genre. He gave me a copy of the book but I placed it somewhere on the bookshelf in my room. Never opened nor read.

I think I have no choice here. Admitting the defeat, I sighed heavily and looked at him.

"When?" 

"When?" he repeated the question as if my question was complicated. 

"When can I meet this cousin?" I asked the question more clearly this time. 

He nodded as he finally understand what I meant.

"We can go there tomorrow and stay there the whole weekend."

My heart stopped. 'We' plus 'stay there the whole weekend.' Those words together made me imagine thousands of romantic moments with him.

"Fine. This will be short and easy. I will interview your cousin, get a concept for my entry and then go home." I told him while smiling as I imagined having my first kiss with him. 

"There, there! I get to see your beautiful smile. Finally."

I blushed as he touched my cheek. It was just a split second but it felt really good.

All our plans seemed smooth yesterday until I received a call earlier today he couldn't join me. He wanted to reschedule but I couldn't because it's grandmama's birthday next weekend.

"I'm really sorry, Sai." he sounded really displeased with himself.

"I said it's okay," I assured him. "Just be there tomorrow, or else I won't talk to you forever.

He laughed briefly. "Of course. I was already looking forward to this. I just couldn't say no to dad." He sighed heavily.

"Hey, I truly understand. You don't have to apologize. It's a family affair, so you should be there." How many times should I assure him I will be fine?

"I'll call you from time to time." He promised.

"I know." No need to assure me. I knew he will.

I took a deep breath as I returned my thoughts to the present. Jeremy called five times already, which meant I'd been traveling for five hours, too. I was still here inside the bus. I glanced at the sky. It's too late for me to realize I shouldn't have gone alone. Dark clouds were still looming heavy rain. 

This could be an omen. 

A warning.