Mysterious

After the night of the inauguration and the incident about the strange feeling I had, Uncle Ray rarely came to see me. Usually, at least once every two days, he would visit, even if it was just to have tea with Mom and Dad.

I started to feel lost. But it was more than just loss. I was homesick. Missed him like crazy and wanted to see him.

"Hey, my baby. Why are you so gloomy? I deliberately made time today, especially for you," Mom said, seeming to have noticed my strange attitude.

An hour ago, we decided to do some gardening and plant the flower seeds she had just bought.

Those were her favorite things to do whenever she was at home. As for me, many people said that I have no wolf, no favorite, and no life.

They were wrong. I had something I loved. Uncle Ray.

Mom came over to me, who was still transfixed and staring blankly at the seeds she had planted. Her hand grasped my fingers slowly and carefully as if I would break if touched.

"Is there something bothering you? Tell me." I just shook my head. "Or are you still angry that I didn't come to the inauguration night? I heard Uncle Ray came on my and your dad's behalf."

"That's different. Even with the appendage of representing, it's still not the same. Especially since I don't know what happened that night."

"Oh, yes. That matter. Uncle Ray told me about it."

I straightened up at the sound of his name. He told Mom. Did that mean he was coming?

"He's here?"

"Um, unfortunately not. He just got on the phone and told me everything." Mom stroked my head. "Don't worry, dear. Normally, we haven't gotten a wolf yet. It doesn't mean you're not the best. Sometimes, the best comes too late."

If only that were true. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any more positive affirmations. To me, I was a useless she-wolf for not getting a wolf in time. Even the events of that night made me embarrassed to come to school.

They would definitely talk about it, thinking that I was a bad wolf. It wasn't a wolf that came to me that night but rather bad luck.

I sighed. Annoyance and anxiety mixed and crammed into my chest. What was Uncle Ray doing now? Why didn't he come at all? It's been a week, and it felt so empty without hearing his voice and seeing his smile.

Why were I being like this?

"Ioris, I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you." Mom got up and walked inside, then shortly, she returned with an envelope in her hand, which she handed to me.

I felt like deja vu. This kind of thing had happened before, and it had made me happy. A ticket for an overseas trip with some of my best friends. However, this time, it wasn't airplane tickets inside the envelope, but...

"An enrollment reply letter? What is this?"

"I considered what you said the other day about boarding school. Do you feel that I don't trust you enough to let you go to boarding school like your brother? That's not true, dear. We're just very worried about you because you're a girl. You're going to be a Luna, so we have to take good care of you."

"I don't think being a Luna and restricting my freedom has anything to do with it."

"Listen first. I'm planning to hire a personality teacher for you who will teach you about manners and everything you need to become a Luna."

"Is she-wolf life all about how to become Luna? Mom, I want to be a warrior."

"But you're a girl and don't have a wolf yet—"

Mom's sentence came to an abrupt halt. She probably realized that she had disturbed what was now a sensitive issue for me. However, I wasn't going to get angry. I just wanted to know what she would do to me now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay. That's the truth, anyway. Just go on with what you want to say. I'll listen."

Mom looked at me for a while before continuing. "Alright. So, after I conferred with your father, we decided to enroll you in a boarding school. You love art, so we'll facilitate that with the education you need. I hope this way, you no longer think that me and your dad don't believe in you. We do, we're confident in your abilities, it's just that—"

Mom again paused her sentence. Her eyes looked teary as if she was holding a heavy burden that she couldn't convey.

Was it the burden that Mom was thinking about right now that made her change her mind and enroll me in boarding school?

"Be your best, Ioris. Take care while you're there, and don't forget to keep me informed," Mom said, apparently not intending to continue her previous sentence and choosing to say something else instead.

I just nodded. There was no more conversation after that, and I decided to go to my room to be alone.

I really didn't want to see anyone right now.

***

I was startled out of my sleep. There seemed to be someone watching from the corner of the room or even from somewhere else.

Quickly, I turned on the light to get a better look, but there was no one in the room but me.

I rubbed my face roughly. This had happened repeatedly in the past few days. I thought that maybe it was just a nightmare and that if my condition improved, it wouldn't happen again. In fact, it continued until tonight.

I decided to go downstairs to get a drink while checking the letter that Mom gave me yesterday. I hadn't examined it at all, not even knowing where Mom had registered me.

Focusing on the paper in my hand, I sipped the milk in my glass until I didn't realize that a pair of eyes had been watching my movements all along.

I fell to my knees as a pair of flashing eyes stared intently at me. I froze for a few moments before finally knowing what to do.

The figure that had been watching in the corner of the room slowly disappeared like a wisp of thick black smoke.

I wasn't sure if it was Uncle Ray, but my heart suddenly skipped a beat. It was the same feeling I get every time I thought about or got close to Uncle Ray.

Was he really watching me from a distance? But why? Why didn't he show up and behave as usual since nothing had happened to us?

The feelings I currently have for him, I believe, were only mine. He was going to have a Luna soon, and I was just a niece to him. So, it couldn't be that he was in love with me, right?