Back at Justin’s Place

Thursday, 29 April 2021

We haven't gone far from the church's main gate when I suddenly remembered something. "I forgot my bike! How could I have forgotten my bike? It's my second favorite thing in the world!"

Procopio scratched his shell head with his claw, and it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen a crab could do. "Yeah, I saw it at the corner near the fountain, lying on the grass."

"Right, I remember where it is now, but why didn't you tell me?"

"I think I was about to, but I got distracted when you said you were too hungry you could eat me. Then, I totally forgot about it."

"This is what happens when I'm hungry. I say random things and forget about important things. I'll just quickly head back there, and you can just stay here." I jogged towards the gate and was about to open the horizontal cylinder opening when I saw Procopio standing in between my feet. "Whatcha doin' there? You don't have to come with me."

"You have super abilities, remember?"

"Oh…right. I keep forgetting." I let go of the gate opening while Procopio took a few steps away from me. "How should I get my bike using my power? Can I move it with my mind? Do I have telekinesis?"

"No, not telekinesis. Aquakinesis. You can manipulate water however you want it, whenever you want it, and wherever. So, all you need to do is channel your thoughts into your blue energy and the force will do what it's told."

"You make it sound like it's really easy."

"It is. Try it. When you tap into your blue energy, you can feel it, and you can manipulate it for as long as there's water. You can use the water in the fountain to bring your bike over."

He took a few more steps back, obviously giving me space to concentrate and release my power. "Alright." When I closed my eyes and concentrated, I felt a strong force within me. It was the same feeling I had during the two incidents with Princess Nicolette. The first one was when I sent her flying up the ceiling, then the second time was when I froze her trident before it could strike me.

When I opened my eyes and checked out my hands, they were covered with this dazzling blue thing that radiated; it must be my blue energy. Then, I thought about the water from the fountain's basin and envisioned it moving around my bike and carrying it. I could feel its force as if I were there doing it myself. The water hovered with my bike securely protected, and I waited to get a glimpse of it as I felt it approaching. I walked away from the gate as soon as I saw my bike being carried by the water, swirling around as it moved in the air, over the wrought-iron gate, and onto my direction. My heart couldn't explain the joy it felt at the sight of it. In fact, joy was an understatement; I was ecstatic! When the bike smoothly landed in front of me, I got wet from the splash of water, so I simply wiggled to dry myself.

"You're a natural! Told you it was easy to use your abilities," Procopio commented with a hint of pride and joy in his voice.

I was too excited to ride my bike, but when I hopped on the seat, I suddenly remembered my book. "Oh no, my book! I keep forgetting very important things tonight!"

"I didn't see a book anywhere near the fountain."

"Could I not summon it using my power if I don't know where it is? I must've dropped it somewhere there when I was taken by the purple water."

"I don't think so."

I sighed. "I'll just come back here tomorrow. For now, let's go to Justin's. I'm really, really, reaaaaaally super hungry now."

Procopio followed me while I rode my bike. My stomach kept growling that all I could think about was Justin's food. I kept imagining the smell of kimchi stew with lots of tofu and pork as it simmered inside a pot, then some sausages being fried on a frying pan. I was famished. And was starting to feel dizzy. When I arrived outside Justin's gate, Procopio was nowhere to be seen, so I looked around.

"I'm here. Just invisible. Your friend shouldn't see me," the voice said.

"Yeah, that's good, you can just show yourself again once we're alone."

"Yep!"

I opened the gate, went inside with my bike, and knocked on the door as soon as I parked my bike at the corner. It only took a few seconds for Justin to open the door, and he didn't look happy to see me. He looked furious. "What in the world happened to you?! I spent my entire day looking for Serena, only to find out that you didn't spend the night with her like I thought you did when I bumped into your father at the convenience store and he asked if you stayed at my place!"

I stared at him with wide eyes. He was really furious. I'd never seen him so full of anger before. "I'm sorry." I took a deep breath. "Uhm…I just need to buy something from the store and when I come back, I will tell you everything. And I know you're really mad right now, but I'm too hungry and that's the only thing I can feel right now, so I'm gonna be shameless when I ask you this…what's for dinner?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'll just cook whatever's on the fridge."

"I won't take long, promise." When he closed the door, I quickly whispered, "Procopio, if you're there, please follow me outside." I opened the gate and got out, then whispered, "You there? Please show yourself, I don't know what to say to Justin." Procopio immediately materialized in front of me.

"He can't know. No one should."

"But I'm not good at lying. And I can't lie to Justin of all people. He knows everything about me. Things that even Papa doesn't know." I felt weak and breathless, so I paused and took a deep breathe. After feeling a bit better, I continued, "Can't Justin be an exception? I really can't keep this a secret from him. It will bother me so much that I wouldn't be able to sleep. There has to be at least one person who knows."

He didn't respond. Instead, he paced around like a human contemplating and scratching his head with his claw. After a few moments, he said, "If you tell him and something happens and this goes out of hand, there will be consequences."

"I'll take the consequence. I'm not scared, I'm more scared to keep it a secret from him. Imagine me bearing this secret alone. I'd be so depressed."

"But you're not alone, I'm here."

"I know, but it's different. He's like a brother to me, and you're my guardian. And as my guardian, shouldn't you be concerned about my mental health, too?"

He stopped pacing around, and looked up to meet my pleading eyes. "Alright, alright. But I still think you should reconsider. What would Justin's reaction be if you told him everything? What if he has a heart problem or something?"

I shook my head. "No, he is the strongest person I know. At least, physically."

"What about mentally? What if he gets too shocked by your revelation and ends up in the insane asylum?"

"Now, that's an exaggeration." I sat down with my butt in the air, not touching the ground as I squeezed my arms to my legs because I was feeling a bit weak already. My vision was getting a bit blurry, and I wanted to clearly see Procopio's reaction, so I moved closer to show him how sincere I was. "I am telling you; he can take it. He's the bravest person. He can even watch scary movies alone at night. Telling him that I got a chance to meet the queen and princess of the Purple Sea, then accidentally acquiring telekinesis, and having a talking crab as my guardian, would not scare him. He's not even scared of ghosts; how can he be scared of a talking crab?"

"Hmmm. So, you want me to show myself to him."

"Yes, of course. I need to tell him everything."

"I'm not sure about showing myself to him."

"Please? I promise I will bear the consequences if anything goes out of hand. Although I don't' think that will ever happen because it's Justin. Justin is the master of keeping secrets."

Procopio's eyes shifted to the ground, then back to me. "Alright."

"Alright?"

"Yes, alright. Now, go back inside. You look like you're about to faint from so much hunger."

"Thank you!"

When I tried to get up, my head started to spin. Then, Procopio hid himself the minute we heard the sound of Justin's front door. When he got out, he saw me through the gate. "Hey, are you talking to someone? I thought I heard you talking to someone." I could still understand what he said, though they were a bit mangled. "Bro, are you okay?"

Then, I fainted.