Their Magical But Deadly Journey

SAZHARINA’S POV

I IMMEDIATELY went to my room after Tray left. Mommy was just reading magazines in the living room but she said she would come to talk to me later. I don’t even know what we’re talking about.

It could be about the upcoming school year, my status, my health, or… maybe about… him.

After I got to the room, I immediately peeked under my bed to get the book from earlier. But to my horror, it was no longer there. Not even a trace of a book under my bed.

How did this happen? I only found out about that earlier when Tray knocked to pick me up because we were about to eat, weren’t we? I didn’t put anything else in it.

I peeked under my bed again and felt it because the book might have just gone to the farthest part of the bottom of my bed.

But still nothing.

I tried to illuminate the under part of my bed using my cellphone’s flashlight, but to my dismay there was nothing there. I tried to find it in the other corner of my room because I might have misplaced it. I peeked into the bathroom and opened the cabinets there even though I knew what I was looking for wasn’t there. I have also opened the other cabinet here in my room but the book is not there.

“Where is that now?” I whispered softly to myself as I scratched my head because of the frustration I was feeling.

“Fuck it!” I just kicked the cabinet next to me because I was so annoyed. I’m tired of looking for that book but there really isn’t any! It’s impossible to just disappear there suddenly, isn’t it?!

I just gasped and lay down on my bed staring at the ceiling. I know it’s just here. It can’t just disappear all of a sudden, can it? Unless someone takes it.

But it’s impossible that someone stole it!

It can’t suddenly return to the bookshelf on its own? Or…

I got up and looked at the bookshelf. This is the only thing I can’t look at because I’ve ransacked everything in the room. Even though I knew it was impossible that the book was there, I looked anyway.

I slowly opened the books until I found the book I was looking for. I was immediately terrified because of the sudden blowing of the wind. Still, I’m happy to see the book again-even if I’m scared because I don’t know how it got there.

I was about to get it when there was a knock on the door. I closed my eyes in annoyance before deciding to open it. One of our maids turned to me.

“Yes?”

“Ma’am, your Mommy is calling you. She said you should go to her room,” said our maid.

I just nodded at him and smiled. “Tell her I’m coming.”

The maid also nodded before leaving. I returned the book.

“I’ll check you out, later,” I whispered to the book even though it couldn’t hear.

I turned around and was about to turn the lock on the door when the book suddenly lit up. I don’t know if I was just squinting or if it really lit up. I checked the book and there was no sign that anything had changed in the book. The cover is still the same and the weight is still the same since I lifted it earlier.

“I must be hallucinating again.” I just shook my head and left the room.

“You want to talk to me, Mom?” I asked Mommy as soon as I entered her room.

Unlike my room, Mommy’s room is quite large. The wall color of her room is wooden brown and its balcony is wider than the balcony of my room. She also has more things here unlike my room.

And there, I found Mom sitting on the couch while reading a book. In front of her was a small table, and it had a drawer underneath full of pocketbooks. I inherited my bookworm from my mommy so she supported me when I wanted to buy books.

“Yes.” She placed the book on the table before looking up.

“Have a seat, honey.” I sat next to him before facing him in surprise.

“What now, Mom?” I asked immediately. I want this conversation to end.

She frowned. “You seem to be in a hurry, are you busy?” Mommy must have noticed that I was in a hurry.

“Uh, no, Mom. I’m fixing something in my room.” I lied. Because Mom can’t know about the book. Maybe the next thing she says will make me go crazy.

She nodded and adjusted her reading glasses. “I have something to tell you.”

I sat up when I heard his serious voice. “W-what is it, Mom?”

“About Tray.” She smiled.

I arched a brow, urging her to continue. And so she did.

“Well, I think he’s a perfect man for you. Kind, handsome, helpful, respectful, and a gentleman.” She paused and heaved a sigh. “So, if you would make him your boyfriend next time, I’ll support you right now.”

My eyes widened at what Mom said. I couldn’t process that she immediately agreed to me having a relationship with Tray when she had just met him. Whereas with Kale, she was not like that. She was even angry when she found out that Kale had been cheating on me for a long time and even made me a mistress.

But why did she allow Tray so easily? Mommy is not like that with men. She’s the one who prevents anyone from flirting with me because she says I’m too young.

“W-why all of the sudden, Mom?” I asked confused.

“Well…” Mom heaved a sigh. “I think you’re already old enough for a romantic and serious relationship.”

“Mom! It’s not because I’m nineteen that I’m going to have a relationship again!” I protested. “Perhaps you are forgetting that what you caused me during my past relationship still hurts?”

Mom stared at me intently before heaving a sigh again. She just nodded because she knew he couldn’t force me to have a relationship again because he witnessed how hurt I was when Kale hurt me. She saw how I would cry every night and ask myself if there was something wrong with me that he managed to fool me.

I know I was too young then but my love for him was pure. He was the first man I loved but I was hurt in the end. I’ll just choose my past fling Blue over him. With Blue there is no intimacy between us. We only have flirting and no serious feelings.

“Alright. I won’t force you. But make time for yourself to heal, hmm? I feel good about Tray. I know he can take care of you unlike your bastard ex.”

I chuckled. “Yes, Mom. Who knows, if we continue going out, I might develop feelings for him,” I promised with a shrug. That is not really impossible, especially since I can quickly become attached to a man. Especially like Tray.

Mom sighed in relief. “Okay, go back to your room. I’ll call you after dinner, hm?”

I just nodded to Mom and kissed her cheek. I immediately left his room because I was itching to hold the book again and know its contents.

But I was surprised by what I found. I couldn’t believe what I saw that if I had just had a heart attack I might have passed out.

Damn…

~~~

ANTRICUS’ POV

I WAS very scared while riding Sazharina’s motorcycle. She was running so fast that I could hardly see anyone on the road because the motorcycle we were riding was really fast. I told him several times to slow down because we could have an accident but she just laughed at me. She said it was fun.

Geez, she’s even scarier than Josh when he drives a motorcycle.

“WE MAY RUN OVER!” I yelled at Sazha as she sped up the operation even more. Fortunately, she has slowed down the running but the speed is still there.

Because of her fast motor operation, we reached their house in just a few minutes. She laughed when he saw my paleness.

I didn’t realize that I was turning pale from fear. She’s really scary to run with because she’s so fast. To estimate, we were over 40km/h. She is faster than Josh.

“You looked like you saw a ghost,” she teased while holding her stomach because of laughing earlier.

“W-what the fvck was that, Sazha?” I turned to her with my eyes widening slightly.

That ride was hell.

She laughed. “A joyride.”

“You called that ‘joyride’?!” I scoffed. Joyride that we almost ran over. Fortunately, there weren’t many people on our way so she was free to ‘joyride’.

She laughed again. “Yes, it was fun, wasn’t it?”

I’m just flabbergasted and frowned.

“I will never ride your motorcycle again!” I shouted.

She stared at me stupidly as if something was going on in her brain.

“You don’t want to ride on my motorcycle anymore?” she snorted and pouted like a child.

I immediately shook his head. “I don’t want to! I want to live for a long time, no!”

A devilish grin plastered on her mouth. “Then ride me instead,” she seductively said and winked at me.

My eyes widened and I felt like I was being set on fire because of the heat on my cheeks. But all of these, I can feel this burning sensation inside my body. I’m not innocent because I know this thing. I’m not young enough not to feel this way. And I also know how it feels because Josh has told me this.

I feel aroused.

“W-what…” I pointed at her while looking unbelievably at her. “Y-you’re k-kidding, a-aren’t you?”

She gotta be kidding. Damn, her mouth is so-damn, I can’t describe it. I was shocked.

She smiled innocently and shook my head at me. “Of course not! I’m serious.”

Oh, boy…

I blushed even more so she couldn’t stop laughing. She even held onto his motorbike because of laughter. And it felt like a lightning struck into me.

“It wasn’t funny!” I whined when I realized that she was just teasing me.

“Yes, it was!” she answered back.

I was about to answer when the middle-aged woman wearing a shirt and leggings appeared. I recognized her because she was the woman I put magic on her stomach when Sazharina and I first met.

“Oh, what are you doing here outside? Get in.” Her mom said.

She must not have seen me yet so Sazharina turned to me and her Mommy automatically looked at me. Her eyes widened slightly before turning to Sazharina.

“Uh… Mom, this is Antricus, he’s my friend.” Sazharina introduced me while gesturing her hand.

Her Mom formed an ‘o’ in her mouth before looking at her. I didn’t know what to say then but I saw Sazharina frowning at her.

Her Mommy took us to the living room and she went to the kitchen to prepare us a snack.

I looked around their house again as if I had never been here before. Nothing has changed and their house still screams luxury.

I waited a few more minutes before I turned to Sazharina who was dumbfounded and seemed to be deep in thought. I poked him on the cheek with my index finger and he was surprised.

“You’re spacing out. Are you okay?” I asked. I couldn’t help but worry because I knew something was bothering him. Unfortunately, I can’t read it.

She odded with a smile. “Yeah, just remembered something.”

“Like what?”

We looked at her Mommy when she came with a cake and orange juice. I helped her and she thanked me.

“Like old things.” Sazharina answered before taking a juice and drinking it.

“Do you mean your past flings are ‘old things’?” His mom suddenly asked, making Sazharina’s eyes widen.

My forehead was wrinkled because I couldn’t understand what her Mommy said. But I know he’s referring to ‘flings’ as men, so I can’t help but darken my eyes. My jaw also clenched a little because of the jealousy I feel.

Heck, yeah! I’m jealous! I can’t help but be jealous that Sazharina has had previous men in her life.

“Mom! What are you saying? So embarrassing!” she hissed. She looked at me but immediately looked away. She must have noticed my dark mood.

“What? That’s the truth, honey.” Her Mom said.

She just shrugged it and ignored my heavy gaze.

I looked at his Mommy when he suddenly mentioned me.

“And oh, Antricus, don’t you have nicknames? Your name’s too long.” She pouted like a child so I couldn’t help but smile secretly.

“Uh, I don’t have one, Aunt…” I answered gently.

“Aww,” Her Mom turned to Sazharina. “Sazha, give him a nickname!”

Oh.. A nickname, huh? What nickname is that?

“I-I don’t think Antricus like one…” Sazharina looked at me and frowned when she saw me panicking.

No! I want you to give me a nickname! And I want you to be the only one to call me.

I faked a cough so they looked at me. “I-It’s fine with me, I agree with Ma’am somehow about my name.”

Oh, shoot. I should’ve called her Aunt not Ma’am.

Her Mom giggled. “Hey, don’t call me Ma’am, call me Aunt instead,”

Aunt. like that. But that’s only temporary because next time, I’ll call you Mom. And I can’t wait for that to happen.

I smiled. “Okay, Aunt.

“So, what are you two gonna do here, Tray and Sazha?” I was surprised when Tita suddenly called me Tray.

“What?” Aunt whimpered when she saw us frowning at her. “You don’t want to give him a nickname, so I did instead,” she said to Sazharina.

“Tray’s sounds good, Aunt,” I truly praised.

I didn’t lie though. Tray really sounds good.

“OMG! I knew it!” I giggled when Tita clapped in joy. She’s cute. She looks like a kid.

“What food do you want to eat, Tray?” Tita asked me when she saw that it was about to have lunch.

“Uhm, anything, Aunt.”

She chuckled. “Really? Don’t you have favorites?”

I just laughed. “Seriously, whatever, Aunt. I’m not picky about food.”

“Hmm, alright. I’m gonna cook three meals, then tell me which of them do you like the most.” She then winked at me.

I smiled and nodded at her. “Yes, Aunt. And can I help you out? I want to learn to cook new meals.”

I know how to cook. The food we eat in our world is different than here.

“Oh, really? Aren’t you tired?”

“Of course not, Aunt. I’m fine.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, if you insist.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Aunt.”

She just smiled back before turning to Sazharina who was quietly beside us and seemed to be thinking something again.

“Honey, you wanna come with us?” Aunt asked Sazharina. She turned to us and shook his head.

“Actually, I can’t, Mom. I’ll just get something from my room but this will be quick. Have fun!”

She went up to his room so I just went with Tita to prepare the things to cook.

“Aunt?” I called her. She turned to me while putting on her apron. “W-what is Sazharina’s f-favorite food?”

I looked away when I saw Aunt’s teasing look at me. I can also feel my cheeks heating up.

“Why?” She asked me teasingly.

I licked my lower lip before answering, “Well, I want to cook her favorite food.”

Aunt gave me a triumphant smile because of my honest answer.

“Sure! I’d love to teach you, too.”

And so, Aunt taught me to cook three dishes. She also taught me how to get the right flavor by measuring the ingredients. While cooking beef steak, one of the dishes we will serve, she taught me how long to cook it.

“Because it depends on the food, whether she wants medium-rare cook or whatever way she wants it cooked. We have different tastes so we will depend on the food. But in Sazharina’s case, she really likes it the fully cooked one,” Aunt explained at length while we were cooking the beef steak.

Aunt also cooked Menudo and I just watched while she cooked it. I was also the one who tasted if the taste was right or what was missing or too much.

And lastly, she taught me how to cook Sazharina’s favorite dish Adobo.

“Add more sugar, Tray,” Tita ordered when she tasted the not yet cooked Adobo.

I added just the right amount of sugar and mixed it again. She tasted it again and gave a ‘thumbs-up’ when the taste was perfect.

“Very good! This is very delicious!” Aunt was still clapping and was very happy with what I did.

My heart was embraced with warmth with Aunt’s compliment. When I am in our world, I am barely complimented by anyone. It’s not that I want to be praised all the time, but I just want them to pay attention to my efforts.

I want to be praised not because of my work, but because of my effort.

And Aunt nailed it. She complimented my effort. She complimented my work.

“Thank you, Aunt,” I sincerely replied.

“Aww, you don’t have to thank me. Thank yourself! Thank yourself because you have achieved another achievement!”

“But I wouldn’t have achieved this if you didn’t help me.”

She chuckled. “Alright. You are very welcome.” She then tapped my shoulders. “Please call Sazha upstairs, hmm. I’ll take care of setting the table here.”

I nodded and went up to Sazharina’s room. I saw it right away because there was a name engraved on the door.

I knocked and she immediately opened the door for me.

I smiled. “Let’s go.”

We just walked in the hallway and when we were near the stairs, I immediately grabbed her waist. I felt that she was surprised so I tightened my grip on her waist even more.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Careful.” I whispered in her ear as we were going down the stairs and she was struggling in my arms.

“Then let me go,” she hissed. I just stared at her and smirked.

Well, that’s my payback for teasing me earlier.

“Wow, so sweet, honey!” Aunt teased Sazharina. But she seems tired because of Aunt’s teasing her so she just ignored it.

“Let’s just eat, Mom,” she said dismissively. She removed my grip from her waist and I just let her go.

“We cooked three dishes, honey. First, your favorite Adobo, then Menudo, and Beef Steak!” Tita happily gestured at the food she and I cooked.

“Tray asked me earlier what your favorite food is, so I told him Adobo is your favorite. Then after that, he asked me to teach him how to cook it, so that’s it, even if you didn’t request it, there is Adobo in front of you,” Aunt added.

I saw how her cheeks flushed when she looked at me. I smiled in my mind because he was happy that someone cooked his favorite.

She smiled at me and mouthed a ‘thank you’ before Aunt got her attention again. She invited us to eat while we talked. I just laughed because Sazharina was already annoyed with Auntie because she told the story of the embarrassing things Sazharina did when she was a child. She looked at me so badly that I stopped laughing.

Time flies so fast, and now I’m here in their garden. I was about to leave but Tita stopped me because she said she was going to wrap food for me earlier so I could take it to my parents.

We finished our meal quickly earlier and we didn’t realize the time. But I was really nervous when he asked how Sazharina and I met. While the other one is confused about us and his Mommy. Because he doesn’t know what I did to his Mommy on her birthday.

But luckily, I convinced Aunt that she invited a boy for her daughter’s birthday and it looks like she believed.

And now, I’m just here in the garden while waiting for her.

Her garden is very beautiful and there are really many flowers. The flowers here are even better than ours.

“This is so much better than to our world…” I unconsciously whispered.

But damn! I didn’t know that Sazharina was there behind me!

“What world, Tray?” she asked me.

“W-were you s-still t-there?” I stammered my question.

“Hmm, not long enough to hear what you said,” she answered. “So, what world?”

“Uh.. ”

“Tray! Here’s your foodie!”

Thank you, Aunt! You saved me!

She brought two tupperwares and some food. I immediately accepted it and thanked her. Aunt talked to me for a while and told me to come back here before we said goodbye.

I just said goodbye to Sazharina before leaving in a hurry. I know she was confused by my actions but I just let it go.

Damn, that was close.