That's Him

The history of the island is starting to unravel itself. With the dining area still in quite a mess with Aela and Masid's intense exchange, Aela proactively tells me what happened on the island within the past decade with her having the impression I'm not from here. I'll correct her as soon as she's done with this quick history lesson. All the while, both of us are cleaning. She decided that this topic is more properly discussed over a warm cup of tea so she went ahead and made a fresh batch.

          It turns out that the island truly has become a ghost town of some sort just like what Mother said. Throughout the duration of a decade, a plague really did torment the townspeople. If they didn't succumb to that, they decided to set sail elsewhere and leave everything behind. Their whole lives, they're dying loved ones and the plans they thought they had in place for their future here on this island. On top of the threat of the lethal plague, stories about the Beast of Hiraya were reborn. It's as if the monster were plucked out of hell and placed on this island cultivated from the townspeople's overwhelming despair.

          "None of us really saw Dalakethnon but the indescribable fear for him eats everyone from the inside out. Along with the news that people are dying from the plague, there were also the claims that both able and unable people are vanishing. We suspect that they're abducted by the beast. He's one more reason why the remaining residents of Hiraya left the place." Her eyes water as she reminisces about the past. "But not everyone was as lucky as those who got the chance to leave."

          The feeling is evident that she's talking about herself. "Why didn't leave like the others did?"

          "I could if I wanted to but I couldn't leave my younger siblings behind." One diamond teardrop escapes from her right eye. "You see, my father was long dead before all these happened so it was my mother who was left to tend for three children so that took a toll on her."

          There were three of them? From the pictures I saw, there were only two kids. "I don't mean to snoop around but I saw pictures back there. –I gesture towards the living area– Are those your family?" I ask, but she seems too engrossed with her story to cater to my inquiry.

          Aela continues to share her rough upbringing during these past ten years. Her life hasn't been the same when his father died. Her mother always lashes out at her with even the tiniest things. Her mother became a drunkard and she is forced to be the one to take care of her younger siblings. It's as if both her parents have unwittingly borne their parental responsibilities to her. As someone around our age, taking the role of a parent is extremely difficult especially if the ones you're tasked with are two young kids. I then realized that the kids in the photos I saw earlier were her siblings. I didn't see any photo of her.

          "I love my siblings. I really but to be honest, I'm glad they got the plague and died peacefully in my embrace." She proclaims, gesturing that she's cupping something with her arms to her chest. Her cries are as sorrowful as their deaths were as fresh as yesterday.

          "I'm so sorry for your loss." I walk towards her again with open arms this time to give her proper comfort. She mirrors my stance to hug me.

          "What happened to your mother?" I remember my own mother. I wonder how she is right now. I hope she's not worrying about me too much.

          "She fled even before my siblings contracted the plague. She's probably in a different country by now living her life. Maybe started to build a new family she can love. My mind encourages me to despise her but my heart says otherwise. If she didn't leave like she did, my siblings and I couldn't enjoy our last days together. They may have departed early but they did it happily."

          "I'm so sorry if I made you remember. I didn't mean to." My voice comes out as a whisper to her ear. She hugs me tighter. I grab her by the shoulders, pushing her gently so I can look her in the eyes. "I've lost my father too even before I was born so I know the feeling of losing someone but my experience couldn't hold a candle to what you've gone through. You had years making memories with your siblings. You're still lucky." I cup her right cheek to wipe off the stream of tears pouring across her face.

          "Thank you. You're too kind." She unintentionally flicks my arms off so she can wipe off her own face. She sat back down so I did the same. "For some reason, pirates started to dock to this island as soon as they confirmed that it's been deserted by the original settlers. At that point I already found myself living in here. I may have become a hunter due to the circumstances but I can't go up against them. It's just me here after all."

          With the appearance and disappearances of pirates, the castaways have put themselves in this unwarranted mess. Not as often an occurrence as the pirates and their business but once someone has unluckily washed up into the shores of this island, their fates are sealed. If they're not kidnapped by those pirates to do only the Gods know what, they vanish without any trace. Aela has this theory that the disappearances of those castaways are by the hands of the beast itself. There's no other explanation for it. No castaway has left this island unless taken as a hostage by those damned pirates.

          "You believe Dalakethnon exists and the pirates do too but no one has seen it yet? Is that right?" Although I read about the monster's myth, I'm having a hard time processing all these because that's all there is to it. A myth. Nothing more but a tall tale.

          "The love of my life has been taken by Dalakethnon." She looks me straight to my soul. There's anger in her tone that I don't dare to question. She really believes that the monster exists.

          "Do you mean that happy bearded man? –I point towards the fireplace again– Isn't he a little too old for you?" I shouldn't have said that. I can sense her anger leans to becoming another episode of her hostility. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude." I raise both of my arms as if surrendering,

          She closes her eyes and breathes out heavily. "I understand how you can think that but he's from foreign descent so he may look older than he actually is. And yes, he's the love of my life."

          "Are you saying he was once a castaway?"

          "I am. All this time, I was distancing myself from every living breathing creature to preserve my peace but he found his way to my life and eventually, to my heart. However, he left me without saying a word and I only know that Dalakethnon has something to do about his disappearance."

          "What are you planning to do?"

          "What do you mean?"

          What am I thinking? Do I really expect this woman to go out there and find the love of her life? There's nothing that indicates that he's still alive so why would I put her hopes up? Luckily, in her own special way, she accepted that no one and nothing can bring her love back. She came to terms with it and just promised that she would live her life peacefully until her last heartbeat. I couldn't shake off the fact that she still has that golden heart to help out castaways. That's why she helped me, right? Because she thought I was one. Instead of becoming scared, I think I'm more interested in exploring the whole place and learning more about this new knowledge I just stumbled upon.

          "You know what? You're right. We must be on our way." I proudly announce, standing excitedly from my seat. "I truly appreciate your hospitality, Aela."

          "Yes. That's probably for the good." She smiles at me.

          "We're finally leaving!" Masid stood up from the floor and went out to probably catch some air.

          "But before we do, can I use your kitchen real quick. I just need to stock up on some potions." I ask respectfully.

          "Uh, sure? Do you mean actual potions witches brew?" I see her hands tremble, inching to her bow and arrow again.

          I don't know why but I couldn't make myself lie to this gentle yet strong woman. "Yes, Mother has thought me to brew some healing potions." I crack an awkward smile, contemplating how she'll digest that information.

          "Tell me. You're not really a castaway, are you?" Her eyebrows almost meet her hairline.

          "I'm not. I'm the son of the Witch of Hiraya. You probably heard about her. We lived in town for a good chunk of my childhood. Integ–" I couldn't finish Mother's name.

          "Integra Flambeaux!" A peculiar sensation envelopes her which I can only discern as excitement. Her bright smile beamed from her face. "But she's a myth. She's just a figment of the townspeople's imaginations." She furrows her eyebrows from disbelief, looking away from me.

          "Well, here I am. A myth couldn't bear a child, could it?" The joke fell short but she offered me a smile. "If you believe about the beast, you better believe about the witch as well."

          "Prove it." She challenges me. "If you're really her son, conjure a flame. That's what she's known for, right?"

          My competitive side kicks in. I stretch my arms out, one palm over the other. I concentrated, feeling the hum singing around my body. "Etingi." I chant and a ball of fire lights up. I didn't think that we were supposed to be great at flame magic. Mother makes it look like she's great at every magic. At least now I know what kind of magic I'm supposed to be more in tune with. Flame magic. That's probably why whenever I heal myself, I can feel heat enveloping me. I have thoughts about it given our family name but I didn't think it that way. "Elbuod ti." I follow-up. While the first fire was still ablaze, I separated them into two balls of fire sitting on each hand. I wave my hands in the air, showing off. The act is successful in pulling Aela away from her sorrows. She's clapping to a tune only she can hear, smiling brightly at me.

          "Believe me now?" Asking proudly, I extinguish the flames and then take a princely bow as if ending a show.

          "I do. I believe you now, Vatic Flambeaux." She claps excitedly like a kid receiving a present for her birthday. Her expressions calm down to something more soothing. Something friendlier. "Thank you. I know you just wanted me to lighten up." She walks towards me and hugs me.

          "Please, just call me Vatic." I smile brightly, pushing my cheek to her head. "And thank you for everything so far. You let us sleep here in your cabin, fed us, and told me everything I need to know about what happened to the town. You're a good person."

          "I really hope I am." She whispers.

          I break off from our hug as I grab her by her shoulder, looking at her straight to her eyes. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Aela. You are a good person, great even. So, always put your head held high and flash that beautiful smile of yours." I encourage her, pinching her chin gently with my thumb against my forefinger. I see her blush.

          "Fine." The edges of her lips perk up and her ears slowly become red. "I know we just met, Vatic, but I can tell that you're a good person too. I'll pray for the success of your journey."

          "Tell you what," I start, letting my excitement overpower my better judgment. "Since I'm headed to town, I'll keep an eye out for any clues that can point me to where Dalakethnon is. If I'm successful in doing so, I'll find the love of your life."

          "Don't you dare offer services to that looney." Masid echoes from the living area. I ignore him. 

          "What? That's suicide, Vatic." Her blushing vanishes but instead of anger, –which I initially thought it was– was superseded by worry. She's worried about me. "It's been so long since he disappeared. We don't even know if he or any others that were abducted are still alive."

          "Don't mind me. I'm strong enough to defend myself. Besides, I have Masid with me. Also, No bodies were found, right? How long has he been gone anyway? It couldn't be that long. He's just probably hiding somewhere in town. Also, what's his name?"

          A muscle from her jaw ticks, and the rest of her body stiffens. "Hmmm. Uh, He's been gone for a–a year now." She's struggling to find her words. "His n–name is St–Str­–" 

          "Aela? Are you alright?" I place my left arm on her right shoulder. She startles, taking a few paces back.

          "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry." Her lips tremble as she cracks a forced smile. "It's just it's been a while since I said his name out loud."

          "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot there."

          "It's fine, Vatic. You're fine. His name is Straus."