Chapter IX. Encounter

"This is unbelievable. It's like a fairy tale!" Everybody looked at Clara who just spoke. "Who would've thought that you are an angel and you have a mission to accomplish."

"It's weird, isn't it?" I asked her.

Clara shook her head, "Just like what I have said, it's like a fairy tale."

"It isn't," I said in a small voice. "It's weird that I am not human."

"Hina darling, human or not, you are still you. We love youㅡyou are our family." Mom's calm tone and words comforted me... somehow.

"You are our daughter and we have to protect you," says Dad.

"You are nineteen and you have to finish what should be done before the demons finds out. It will be dangerous, Hina. You have to hurry."

"Grandma told me to go to the musuem before midnight last time but I couldn't do it because I had a dream about him and Lorna. I was... scared." My parents looked at me like they already knew about Lornaㅡabout everything. Right. I was the only one and Clara who weren't aware of the truth.

"What are you scared of?" Mom asked.

Right. What are you scared of, Hina? I asked myself. I took a deep breath and shook my head, "I don't know either."

"I have a plan," Clara says, "why don't we just go to the museum right now?"

"At this hour?" I asked. "It's too early."

"But Mommy said you should hurry."

Mom nodded, "We should prepare ourselves."

I couldn't disagree anymore. Even though I feel like we shouldn't see each other again after I saw how he sacrificed his wings for a woman, he is special. He is someone who can save the race of the angels and also, the humanity. And I miss him. I want to see him.

We hurried inside the car after we prepared ourselves. I can't believe that I have my family who are willing to support me and help me. My heart is beating fast and it's driving me crazy. I haven't seen Galen for days. The last time I have seen him was the day when he was saying good bye. He wanted me to forget him but I couldn't do itㅡI just kept thinking about him. I couldn't forget him. They's no way for me to forget someone who saved me, someone who took care of me when I was drown to my sadness.

"We are here," Clara opened the car's door and we went out together, "but how can you possibly meet him? Is there something else that you can go through? Like a portal?"

"Who knows?" I shrugged as I stared at the large museum in front of us.

"Let's go." Dad led us inside the museum.

There only few people here, taking a look of all the antiques and special things inside the museum. But what's important is the huge portrait of an angel at the center of the museum. His hair was long. He was standing in the field of yellow roses with his wings wide open. My heart skipped a beat as I took a few steps towards the portrait.

"Galen..." I couldn't help but mention his name. Just when I was about a few inches away from him, trying to touch the portrait, I realized that my family's gone.

"Mom?" My eyes searched the entire area and I couldn't see any of them.

Where did they go? I went outside the museum and the car's still in the parking lot. I went back inside and looked for them.

"Excuse me," I approached the doorman, "have you seen those people who were with me awhile ago?"

"Ah, I saw you entered the museum with them but they still haven't gone this way ever since you arrived." What he said made me confuse. They were with me but they are suddenly goneㅡwhat the hell is happening?

I searched the entire museum to find them but they are nowhere to be found. They are making fun of me, aren't they? Are we playing hide and seek? No. They won't do that.

I went to the comfort room to look for them. I brushed my hair with my fingers. I couldn't really find them. I looked at the mirror and stared at my own reflection. I brushed my hair once again with my fingers and fixed it. I don't know if I will just go home or wait here.

I opened the faucet and washed my hands. My heart skip a beat when I realized that something's going on in the mirror. I slowly raised my head and turned my gaze in the mirror. My knees almost gave in because of shock and fear.

There is a man who is sitting in a chair. His clothes were different. I turned around to check if there was someone else behind me but there is none. I looked at the mirror once again. There is really a man inside the mirror. He looked like a human. But when I looked at his pitch black eyes, my knees trembled in fear. They were blank. His eyes were emotionless and I feel like they are hypnotizing meㅡtelling me to listen to what he's going to say to me.

"You have grown up as a beautiful lady. No wonder. You are Rafaela's only daughter." He said in a very stern voice. He's dangerous.

"Who are you?" I asked in a small voice. I can't believe that I still manage to speak.

"My soldiers were stupid for letting Rafaela escape and gave birth to you. They were stupid that I just wasted my time with themㅡso I killed them in an instant."

"Who are you?" I asked him for the second time. I want to run away and go back home but my feet seemed to be glued that I couldn't even move.

"You wouldn't want to know my name," he sat straight and crossed his arms around his chest, "do you still want to know it?"

"What do you want from me?" He's a demon, my mind days. I know. He's one of themㅡthe ones who killed my real mother. I don't know why I am seeing him right now but there's one thing I am sure: he is a dangerous man.

"I want you to die. As simple as that." How straightforward.

I cleared my throat and ignored him. I forced my feet to move and I was about to run away when I heard him say,

"You don't want your family to die because of you, do you?" What he said made my heart ache. He abducted my family! "Ah, they are not even your family so why would you even care? They are just humans who raised you but they will abandon you in the end."

"Where... are they?" My tears dropped. My family's in danger because of me. Instead of answering my question, he just smirked at me and his image suddenly disappeared.

I ran outside the museum and the moment I stepped outside, the sky darkened as if it's already evening. It's so dark. I checked my wrist watched. It stopped moving. I looked at the museum's doorman, he is not moving. I looked everywhere and people are not moving. Just when the sky darkened and when the clock stopped from ticking, people also stopped from moving.

"What's happening?"

The birds panicked and made some noise. Thunder appeared in the sky. Why do I feel like something's going to happen?

There's a huge energy coming from the sky. After a few seconds, something landed in front of me. The street cracked. I stepped backward when I recognized the person who is standing in front of meㅡthe dangerous man who I just met. His clothes are weird. It's like a combat clothes. His pitch black eyes stared at me.

"Nice to meet you, Hinaya." He smirked as he emphasized my name.

What the hell is he doing here, in front of me and giving me that freaking smile?