Someone I'm Not

24 [pt.2]| A fight with Evil

"B-b-but, h-how—"

"Should we explain it to him here? Or should we just let the others explain?" Houdini asks Eduardus while standing up from his seat and straightening his polo. He walks over to Philip while the shocked guy sits there; still, both eyes are widely open.

"How long till the three arrive here?" Houdini asks another question after stopping beside Philip. He then extends his hand to him while Eduardus looks at his wristwatch.

"Hmm, maybe another five more minutes before they arrive here." Eduardus estimates before he walks over to the fridge. "Now I'm a bit starving. What do you have in your fridge, pretty boy?"

Philip stared at Houdini's outstretched hand for almost seven seconds before lifting his gaze to meet his. Houdini gestures for him to accept his offer. Philip decided to follow his instinct and reach for his hand with a bit of trust and doubt. Houdini assists him in carrying his weight, and when Philip is standing on both feet, he dusts off his pajama.

"We, uh, have fruit and meat. We also have eggs and—"

"OKAY, you selfish man! You seriously don't pity these dead animals, don't you? All you care about is yourself and your stomach!" Eduardus suddenly burst into anger as he took out the already sliced meat and fish, both hugged with ice, because this packed meat and fish had been frozen since they bought it from the grocery. It suddenly made Philip cringe with fear once more.

"Chill, Eduardus. It is not like we are not used to them eating animals to live." Houdini rolls his eyes, knowing that Eduardus was only acting to scare the kid off. Eduardus, with a disappointed look, sighs and drops the meat and fish back into the freezer.

"I know, Houdini. I know. Can't you just play along with it? Pretend that we are too sensitive and stuff?"

"You still like playing games, eh? Don't you think you are too old for that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. When was the last time you had fun, per se?"

"Y-you both are crazy!" Philip, who already had enough of Eduardus and Houdini, decided to shout at them and run as fast as he could towards the front door, only wishing he could escape these men who he had recalled seeing what happened yesterday. Apart from that, he still considers them as "others." Philip continues to run, but every time he takes a stride forward, the more he feels like the path is getting longer, meaning the door gets farther. 'Come on, come on!' he talks with his mind, convincing himself that he can do it. But just before he was a step away from the door, as his hand outstretched forward to grab the doorknob, the knob itself turned, and a second later, the door swung open, revealing a person he knew.

"Hey, we're here—"

"Watch out—"

"Oh no—"

"s**t!"

•••

It was silent for the next hour after Philip decided to rush out of the apartment they were living in. It was an instant drawback for him to escape, only to bump with Vianne on his way out. And now, he's most definitely stuck with a group of people he doesn't know, aside from Vianne, who he met yesterday, and of course, Phoenix, his best friend for a long time.

"So, you knew these guys, huh?" Philip asked, with no intent to run and be chased. Why? Because the longer he stays with them, the longer the situation process in mind: he's not dealing with some regular people.

"Kind of- It's complicated—" Soroya replies, but Phoenix from the past jumps right in before she can even finish the sentence.

"Yeah. . . It's somewhat complicated." Phoenix (from the past) finishes before looking at Soroya, who only nods as a sign of thanking him. This time, Philip nods, now getting a clearer picture of who those people might be in front of him are. Philip then turned to face the others, particularly in Vianne's direction.

"So, you guys are, what? Wizards?" he asks, making Eduardus and Houdini react as if they've just heard the most extraordinarily impossible word in his life.

"How dare you call us wizards!" Houdini asks with a deep voice as he raises his pointer finger.

"Have you seen us wearing capes, kid? Or those ancient-y kinds of outfits? No!" Eduardus also reacted, not happy about what Philip asked. On the other hand, Soroya and Phoenix restrained themselves from laughing, making Vianne irritated about the situation.

"Then are you guys fairies dressed modernly?"

"What the—"

"You dare insult us—"

"Oh, my goodness." Vianne lowers her head as she facepalms before massaging her temples with one hand while listening to the argument. When she had enough of Philip triggering Eduardus and Houdini, she clapped her hands as loudly as she could produce.

"OKAY, THAT'S IT!" She looks at Houdini and Eduardus. "Really? You're going to let a kid get on your nerves?"

"But I still think you guys look like elves, but shapeshifters—"

"And you should shut your f*****g mouth!" Vianne snaps at Philip, making him zip his mouth for an instant. "And you, lovebirds wannabe!" now, her attention is on Soroya and Phoenix. "You seriously don't have anything to do than laugh at the situation? Are we really here for a mission, or don't you just care?"

--

Everyone was then back to being silent, now awakened by Vianne's sudden outburst of anger. Houdini then decided to take the first step and started talking.

"Okay, since I am a very understanding one and I care for this mission even though I shouldn't have been about here in the first place. . ." Houdini pauses to gain coolness before speaking when he's already regained confidence in the game. "Philip, as you might have concluded now, yes, we are not as normal as expected. It is not about us having an illness such that we are disabled— it's something more than that. Yes, we may be wizards or elves or heroes with capes; none of those courts matter because," he pauses once again and looks at Soroya. With such pity and anger towards the person, he decided to look away and glue his eyes in Philip's direction.

"Philip. . . What you saw yesterday actually happened. It was never part of your dream because it was real. No one believed you because humans' beliefs towards superstition have become extinct. Only a small percentage of people, particularly Asians, still have lived with them and—"

"Ahem!" Vianne interrupts Houdini's speech, slowly realizing that the topic is going off track. That's when Houdini got the purpose why he got interrupted. That's when he clears his throat.

"The main point is that. . . No one would believe you because what happened was completely unbelievable. And you shouldn't have seen it yet; here you are."

"And why am I here anyway? Do you want me to keep my mouth shut? Fine. I won't talk about this to anyone, will I?"

"Actually. . ." Soroya decided to speak up, now wanting to participate in the conversation.

"We need your help. And even if you reject us now, we won't give up until you do." What Soroya said had made Philip think. He was about to decline it quickly, but Soroya noted that they would try to convince him as if she had already predicted what he had in mind. And now, he has to think of something else to say; otherwise, he won't have any more reasons not to help them out.

"It's because we need to get all the help we can get. And since you know something about the situation we are currently handling, I think it is only appropriate to recruit you to the team. And besides, who wouldn't want to have another pair of hands and eyes to help us out, right?"

Houdini focused mainly on Soroya but mainly on the soul possessing the body. The conversation he had with him (Phoenix from the present) somehow made him feel bad, but at the same time, he felt like it helped Phoenix (from the present) open his eyes and see what reality lies in front of him, but he only failed to notice. And then, the conversation he had with Eduardus the same night came crossing into his mind.

[Flashback]

[Yesterday night, before dinner]

"She was confused about almost everything that had happened. And we both know what that means." Houdini ended his statement after filling Eduardus with the details he gathered a while back.

"And Vianne knew it too?"

"Well, she saw what I saw, that's why we were both confused at first when your client refused it. . . Well, not until she mentioned something about that nurse."

"Did you ask him if the nurse was suspicious?"

"No. But based on how your client described this suspicious nurse, there was no doubt in my system that whoever this nurse is, they're a threat to your mission."

"And since when did you care about the progress of my mission?"

Eduardus feels a bit happy and much more comfortable talking to Houdini. But because of the man's unerased past being brought back from time to time, Eduardus's doubt and keenness arises once again. Why? Because he felt it was so sudden and weird to trust quickly again- this was toxic behavior he had, and now, he wanted to erase it.

"I don't." he kept it short, enough for Eduardus to feel almost disappointed until Houdini added a few to his answer. "But, when Goddess Dyke and I talked after both of you were sent back to this messy planet, I realized one thing. Do you know what that is?"

"hmm. Enlighten me." Eduardus replies. That's when Houdini felt that Eduardus had let his guard down for the night. He grabbed the opportunity to decrease the gap and stop beside him. He looked at the void of the night and took a deep breath. Eduardus followed the trail of his eyes; now, both were looking ahead.

"She told me that she saw something in Phoenix. . . and you." Eduardus turned to his shoulder to look at Houdini, but the man beside him decided to keep his gaze ahead. "She told me that there were a lot of people depending on this mission and if this one failed. . . What's the point of giving your client a chance to attain justice in the first place?"

Houdini's words hit Eduardus really deep. It was evident that what he's been doing for the past years as a guardian is to give hope to his clients, that no matter what they stand or what they have achieved in the living world, justice will never excuse anyone. But that moment, when those words came out of Houdini's mouth, the clear vision of his purpose for this job made him feel like new, the same he had felt when he was preparing for his first mission. . . And now, he's up to his last task.

"And that's why she asked me to help out. And as a loyal guardian, even if I don't have any strong reasons to trust your client, for the sake of justice, I came here to help. . ." Houdini pauses for the nth time, unsure if he should go on. But because he wanted to get a reaction and keep the faith burning, he continued with his 'almost unspoken words.' "And maybe to also help you clear your mind to realize who you truly are."

"What did you just say?" Eduardus was far intrigued by what Houdini said. But instead of replying, Houdini rests his cold palm on his shoulder. With a sincere expression, he managed to make an ending statement.

"You'll figure it out yourself. But for now, I think we should figure out how to chuck away these problems at hand to save this mission. . . Which is a bit frustrating now that you only had strangling time that my fingers can count-" and before Houdini could even continue, both of their stomachs made a noise. Silence came after and ended for a split second before they shared a laugh.

"Yeah. . . Maybe after dinner."

[End of Flashback]