14. Promises and Letters

A stone bird came to the terrace of the house. Its dark feet carried small smoldering stones, while as we approached, its beak immediately spits out pieces of paper. The bird immediately flew away before I could thank him.

"From Azalea, maybe" I cleaned the paper and read it, and it turned out to be true.

As I read, I exclaimed, "Ohh?" with a disappointed expression.

…

I would go back to alpha camp and hide in that place. Of course, Azalea would agree with it. She asked a lot of things like, why did I change my mind so suddenly and whether I needed to be picked up or not, as well as some things I couldn't answer by mail. Apparently, Mickey didn't say I was being hunted. I doubt if this was good enough, what if she suddenly got angry because she was prevented from the truth, that we were running to hide?

"Let's go! We don't have much time." Antonie pointed to the clock in the living room, which was already twelve o'clock. That's right, today we had to meet a pair of camellias. They would appear soon, and we had better not waste time meeting them.

Today, his condition is not good. The temperature dropped to its lowest level even though there was no snow. I saw a tree branch growing in my neighbor's house like it was covered with clear ice. I didn't imagine what would happen if it suddenly collapsed because it was carrying a heavy load.

"I don't like the cold." I had to wear clothes in triplicate and double socks. "I have to wash so many clothes for daily wear" That sucked.

When I was a kid, this place wasn't like what it was now. It never snowed, it even rained infrequently. The land was barren and dry, shrubs were rarely found, and most areas were rocky.

However, eight years ago, it started to rain more often. In fact, four years ago was the first time it had snowed in this place. The barren land was no longer a desert with rocky hills, for enough greenery had grown and even grass and shrubs.

They were standing in the middle of the bridge. The cold temperature didn't seem to affect them. Several wandering spirits and others waiting below were also here. The atmosphere was even more life like there was a party. "There are two, right?!" I still didn't understand Antonie's point that there was one more besides the two camellias.

"Three, Tha." Anthonie was firmed. "There will always be three to any extent." He added.

I looked around, could there be one more camellia around here? I had to pay close attention to the spirits one by one, to make sure that there was only two camellia here. "Only two. I am sure of it!" I said as I felt absolute there was no sign of the third.

Antonie burst out laughing as if he thought I was joking. "You remember my words, that they represent the three times? Past, future, and present. Then, there you are standing with them. You are the one who represents the present," he explained like he was playing a joke on me.

I looked at him flatly. I was too stupid to understand that I represented the present. That's right, we were three and represented three different time zones. "Very clever!" It felt like a trap, and I was so embarrassed to see Antonie find me as the laughing stock.

Antonie waved to a pair of camellia who was currently looking at us. Without wasting any time, they immediately headed to where we were. Their expressions were so flat, and I couldn't guess why. I also didn't know what their relationship with the annoying guy next to me was, but indeed, they were very different from when they met me previously.

"Boy, you guys are doing well, right?" Antonie spoke in his typical style, silly and not serious. I didn't know if he exaggerated it, but it seemed like he was very disrespectful to them.

"What are you doing here?" red camellia replied in a very rude tone. I thought their relationship wasn't very good.

Are you going to trick Charon or ask for more time?!" now it was the white camellia who asked. They were so mean to Antonie. I don't know what he's done to this pair of camellias, but it doesn't seem like a simple thing.

I wanted to prevent a fight that might ensue if I just kept quiet. "Hello?," I greeted, to which the two camellias smiled back. And next, they both forgot the creature beside me. They also asked me to get away from Antonie, but the annoying man stopped them immediately.

"I guess this time I have to come along, and you guys have to be nice to me," Antonie said as if he'd never done anything wrong to them. "This kid is in trouble and to be honest, she doesn't know it yet" What he said was true. I didn't know and still didn't understand what the problem was with me.

The two camellias exchanged glances as if communicating through gazes. A few seconds passed, and they looked at us alternately then nodded. Antonnie was finally allowed to come along.

, They took us on a boat. It was the same ship, where the tree of life grew in it. First, they first took us to the restaurant that was there, ordered food and of course with live music. Several other spirits were also here. Some were dancing along with the music, or just sitting and enjoying served for them. "Are they going to eat it?," I asked without thinking.

I furrowed my brows when suddenly Antonie burst into laughter, even so, that everyone in the room was looking at us. "How can they eat?" His laughter aired again. "You're so funny, Tha?," He said, currently wiping tears. Did I look that stupid?

White Camellia threw a warning look at Antonie, then turned her gaze to me and gave me a gentle look. He said, "They just miss the food in their lifetime, and they can't eat it." I couldn't even imagine that. If they didn't eat it, wouldn't it be a waste to build a restaurant here and provide them with food? Why didn't they just give it to the living? I really didn't understand it.

My chocolate cake and a glass of matcha finally arrived, while Antonie chose to eat the food he brought. "This is much better," he said proudly. But for me, that food just contained preservatives and flavors. He was too old for his soul, and that food was not good for his body. I wondered why he always chose the body of a younger person as his spirit vessel.

"That kid" Antonie pointed at me with his chin, then turned his gaze to the pair of camellias in front of us. "Can you explain to her about the mixed blood who died from the plague? Maybe she will understand the problem."