Moon rose sounds nice. Please don't be a stalker.

LANCE

Low beeping sound like a deafening skidding noise cars make when brakes are punch filled my ears. Sharp ringing made me deaf. But the voice of that old winged man keeps repeating in my head. Almost like in a loop.

'Find your Seeker. And your fellow Eklektos. You without training, is a disaster. You unknowingly killed the plants, absorb my life force, who knows what next? Kill the whole school?'

"Dad, I -" I want to ask what Mom looks like. When she died. Did she burn without flame like that old man did? Did her skin wither like those plants in the cornfield? My stomach churned, ripping small parts of my chest, tugging and grinding them until I'm left breathless. And the courage to ask escaped from me.

"Dad, can I sleep early tonight? I'll pass on the pizza you can eat it if you want." I said, putting down the remote.

He blinked his glassy eyes then gave a curt nod.

"Oh, of course. It's fine – cool. If you're feeling tired. You can…sleep."

I don't think he's aware of his voice falling down in a whisper. I don't think he's aware the sparkle in his eyes slowly died down as he sips on his beer. I know he's blaming himself for what happened to Mom.

Me too, Dad. You only receive a premonition dream, even if you failed to act on it, none of it is your fault.

It was me. I think I killed Mom.

I want to tell him about the cornfields. I want to tell him about the old shifting bat man. I want to tell Dad the exact words old man told me. I want to confirm to him that their words coincide. That another creature told me a Seeker will come and find me.

And because that Seeker never came, Mom is dead. Which leads back to me. Which leads to everything…

Being my fault.

With a thank you, I left him alone in the living room. He needs some time alone. I need it too. Without looking back, I cross the living room, bypass the fireplace, and went upstairs. The first room on the left is mine. I closed the door as quietly as I could and hit up the window.

I remember seeing potted plants there.

I have to try again. I have to test it again. Whether I really have that kind of powers. Whether I really have the ability to kill….

Unknowingly, that's how the old man put it. I pulled the blinds open and shoved up the sliding glass.

Two potted plants sit opposite each other in a brick. I touch one leaf. Caressing the rough texture. Trying to feel the surge of energy I felt earlier. Back in the fields. Back in the rusty gate.

I waited.

I counted up to twenty.

Still nothing. My heartbeat is pumping normally. My breathing is steady. My blood didn't rush to my face. No high temperature.

Improvising, I placed the two pots beside each other, crunching their leaves in my hand. Trying to draw out whatever high strung sensation ruled over my body earlier. I closed my eyes.

And this time I counted up to a hundred.

Figured it was enough to send out whatever killing vibe I released to kill all those plants. Will it instantly kill them? Will it give me another surge of energy? I just have to wait to find out.

Exactly one hundred I flutter my eyes open and looked down.

What I saw is not what I expected. The plants didn't die. Something that wasn't supposed to be here is there, sitting between the joined pots.

It's the blue rose. The same one the girl back in the infirmary gave me.

My throat hitched. I know it's beautiful to look at during the day. When it blooms right in my hand, I'm too shocked to process what's going on back then.

And right now… I forget how to breathe, staring as it glitters under the moonlight. Rather calling it a blue rose, its more befitting to call it moon rose.

Like a name. Maybe I should call the girl that way.

"Hey, uhm are you here?" I looked down. I see nothing except the lawn. There's no tree to climb nor the wall offers stepping foot for climbing.

How did she put the flower here?

"Lady – err, moon rose are you here? If you are, can I talk to you?" I waited exactly ten breaths for a response. Got nothing.

"If you don't want to talk, it's okay. I understand. Thank you for the flowers by the way. It's weird for a man like me to receive a rose from a girl. You might think I'm stupid but…I'm so happy you gave me this. Today has been so weird and full of kinky shanks I don't know what I'm supposed to do. What I'm supposed to believe... "

I paused. Twirling the stem between my palm. As always, there's no thorns, only two leafs in a palm height stem.

"Tonight, my Dad said Mom died in my crib when I was a baby. And I think – I have this egging gut feeling that it was my fault. That I somehow killed her. And I don't even know how I did it. The old shifting bat man and my Dad said I'm special. That I somehow have this dangerous ability which could kill anyone."

I slid my elbow and bump the rose in my forehead.

"You know how weird that sounds? If I'm gonna be special at least give me powers that could control time. Then maybe I could go back to the past and save Mom. Maybe I could save Dad from his grief. Maybe we could live a normal life…if only she's here."

My knees wobbled and I slumped. Not in the ground but on the window. I never missed my chance into looking around, hoping to see a shadow of the girl. Still nothing.

I'll just hope she was here, listening, it kinda makes me feel better talking it out. Even though I didn't see the person I speak it with.

With a sigh, I bid farewell and closed the window. Tiptoeing on the floor with a rose in hand. Where can I put this? We don't have vase or any forms of ceramics in here. Not even a mug.

At my small sized bed, I caught a glimpse of a small white seed inside a glass. Did Dad come in? No, I don't think so. Was it the girl?

Wait.. Maybe the reason why I didn't see her outside because she's here.

With that thought in mind, I searched under my bed, my cabinets, my bathroom, and any space in my bedroom that could fit a person. And yet...still nothing. Not a trace of another person except me. Maybe she really is here and left.

I slid the rose inside the glass and put it beside the lamp. I throw myself in my bed and groaned. Smacking my face twice in the pillow I turned to look at the rose and whispered,

"Thank you moon rose. I'm glad that you're concern about me. If only you let me meet you, we could be friends. I just hope you're not a stalker or things would just suck. Good night."

And I fell into slumber.