A soft breeze gushed into Jacek's room. It carried the mildest scent of flowers from Yuki's little garden. Yuki's eyes flared open as her sensitive nose picked up the familiar scents. For a minute or more, she remained motionless while her dazed eyes darted across the tranquil room.
Jacek's room was as organized as ever, except the ambience of his room that morning was far from the ordinary. Brilliant sun rays accompanied the melodious chirps of the birds at the window. As Yuki took in all the beauty of that morning, she slowly looked at Jacek, who was peacefully sleeping by her side.
She stared without as much as a blink, as Jacek's chest rose and fell slowly in a steady and oddly soothing motion. She listened to the soft breaths that escaped his pale lips time and again. Yuki calmly inhaled his delicate scent, which lingered inconspicuously around her nose.
He was there. He was lying there beside her. He was alive. Jacek was alive.
Yuki's hand slowly made its way onto Jacek's face, and with the gentlest of touches, she stroked his cheek ever so affectionately. Yuki's blue eyes were filled with a multitude of emotions as she stared at her brother, whom she loved dearly.
Feeling the cold touch which strangely exuded warmth, Jacek stirred and awoke from his sleep. His eyes were instantly met with Yuki's gleaming ones.
"Yuki…"
"Mmh…"
"Yuki…"
"Mmh…"
"I came back to you, Yuki."
"Mmh…you did. Thank you for coming back to me, Jacek. Thank you for not leaving me behind," Yuki said as her lips curved into a bright, contented grin.
At the mesmerizing sight of his sister's smile, Jacek leaned into Yuki's hand that lay on his face and smiled proudly. Immediately after, his consciousness waned, and Jacek went back to sleep. Meanwhile, Yuki's eyes remained glued to him even as his consciousness seemed so far gone.
After some time passed, Yuki let out a quiet sigh and slowly sat up. With cautious and deliberate movements, Yuki swung her legs over the side of the bed, allowing her feet to dangle in the air momentarily, as she took a moment to appreciate Jacek's sleeping frame.
As she wanted to stay next to her brother all day, Yuki knew better than anyone that she had duties she needed to fulfil. Thus, she reluctantly got out of Jacek's bed and eventually out of his room to go about her duties.
When she emerged from the room, the first thing Yuki did was to go and check on her mother.
Mrs. Adlerian was still fast asleep. This did not come as a surprise to Yuki because her mother had had a restless, frightening, and nerve-wrecking evening the previous night. Moreover, it was still very early in the morning. As soon as Mrs. Adlerian stirred briefly and tossed from one side to another, Yuki gently shut the door and headed straight for the kitchen.
"Carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onion, chicken… no, Jacek and mother both like beef better," Yuki reasoned aloud as she put her ingredients one after another on the table.
When she had all or most of the ingredients she would need to make Jacek's soup, Yuki did not waste any time making that morning's meals. With the precision of an expert, she prepped the vegetables and meat while simultaneously kneading dough and peeling fruits.
"Good morning."
Yuki's hand froze midair as she was bringing a ladle with a small portion of soup towards her mouth to taste.
For a moment, her mind went completely silent when the familiar manly voice evoked her thoughts. She did not need to turn to know the person who stood behind her. Yuki knew it was Treyton, and the memories that came with his presence in the same space as her were not too gladdening.
Her defense mechanism came into play the moment she fell asleep. She had almost forgotten all about Treyton or what she had witnessed the previous night. She nearly forgot that what she had seen him turn into confirmed the existence of ethereal entities, and she had tried so hard to deny that fact, too!
At a snail's pace, Yuki put down the ladle and looked over her shoulder towards the doorway, where Treyton stood. For once in the morning, he was fully dressed and not flaunting his perfect chest. Yuki did not fail to notice the anxiety he was trying so hard to hide on his face. He tried in futility to maintain eye contact with her despite being the one who initiated the conversation.
"Good morning, Sir Athaulfe. How are you doing this morning?"
Yuki concluded after a brief mental contemplation to not only pretend, but to entirely deny the occurrence she witnessed concerning Treyton.
She realized that her seemingly oblivious conduct took Treyton by surprise, and she hoped he would catch on to her unspoken decision.
Treyton's raised brows slowly returned to their original positions as the reason for Yuki's attitude towards him slowly sank in. She was deliberately ignoring the elephant in the room. He could think of numerous motives why she would do that, but then again, he was not going to pretend as if her decision did not benefit him the most.
"I am doing wonderfully, Miss Adlerian. How is Jacek? Is he awake yet?" Treyton spoke calmly as he unhurriedly neared Yuki behind the stove.
"Jacek appears outwardly well; I cannot assure you that he feels the same, though. He went back to sleep after speaking with me for a short time."
"I am glad he looked well to you, I am certain he will be rejuvenated by these aromatic dishes you are pouring so much care into," Treyton said with a reassuring smile.
Yuki returned his smile and resumed preparing her meals. She neither tensed up nor tried to keep a distance, even when Treyton stood so close to her. She was poised and laid-back. Treyton looked admiringly at Yuki as her delicate frame hovered around the kitchen as she tried to prepare that morning's breakfast.
"Can you please hand me that…"
"Sure."
"I cannot reach that. Can you please get it for me?"
"Certainly."
"The bread is ready; can you please take it out of the oven for me?"
"Okay."
"I have dished out some soup. Can you please take it to the dining table first?"
"No problem."
With Treyton's assistance, Yuki was able to finish making breakfast much easily. After the two finished setting up the table, she went ahead to invite her family to eat.
Heading first to her mother's room, Yuki knocked and then proceeded to enter. She found her mother's bed empty, also, there were no traces of her mother in the room.
"YUKI!!??!!"
Yuki was startled by the unusual scream of her name in her mother's voice. Immediately, without wasting as much as a second, she grabbed the hems of her dress and bolted out of the room and towards the direction of the consistent call of her name.
"Mother!" Yuki called out urgently.
"Here, Yuki, here!" Mrs. Adlerian tried to announce her location in a shaky voice.
Yuki traced the direction of her mother's voice to Jacek's room. She instantly panicked and rushed there.
The first sight that her eyes met was her Jacek's violently trembling body in their mother's concerned arms. Yuki's heart sank, as if it hadn't already, at a sight so painful to behold. She hurried to their side and embraced them both.
"What happened, mother? What is going on?" she asked anxiously.
"I don't know either. I came… I came to check up on him, but I only met him sweating profusely and quivering as if having a horrifying nightmare. I woke him up, and he immediately clung to me while begging me not to kill him…Yuki, what is happening to Jacek?" Mrs. Adlerian explained as she burst into fresh tears.
"Don't kill me…please don't kill me," Jacek pleaded again and again.
Yuki could not relate to what Jacek was going through, but she understood well what the situation must have been. It was evident by his terrified state and his behavior that Jacek was traumatized by his previous experience. His mind had yet to recover from the shock and terror of his encounter.
"Mother, I have a favor to ask of you," said Yuki out of the blue.
Mrs. Adlerian lifted her weeping face from Jacek's shoulder to meet her daughter's gaze.
"What do you need from me, dear?"
"I can help Jacek; I can make him forget everything he experienced. I can have him lose the memory and return to normal." Yuki's voice was steady, her conviction apparent in her tone and her eyes.
"Really? Is that even possible?" Mrs. Adlerian was both glad and shocked by the revelation.
"Yes. But if I am to do that, I need you to also lose the memory of ever seeing Jacek in such a state. You need to forget everything that happened yesterday and even now. Can you do me that favor, mother?"
"I am not the best actress, but I suppose if it is to see Jacek be himself again, I can play the part," Mrs. Adlerian assured.
"What about you, Sir Athaulfe?" Yuki said abruptly and glanced at the door where Treyton now stood.
Treyton flinched at the sudden question as well as the unfamiliar solemnity on Yuki's face.
"I will do everything in my power not to see Jacek as he is now," Treyton declared.
"Good!"
As soon as she uttered the remark, Yuki rose to her feet and walked out of the room. She returned a few minutes later with a little bag in her hand.
"May I be left alone with my brother for half an hour?" Yuki asked politely despite wearing an expression that allowed no resistance.
"Certainly," Mrs. Adlerian and Treyton responded in unison.
Immediately after she was left alone, Yuki shut the door and made sure no one from outside could intrude. Afterwards, she walked towards the window and pulled it together to close it. Her action prevented air from either entering or leaving the room. And as if closing the window was not enough, she pulled the curtains together. This was her attempt to make sure everything that was to happen then would remain between herself and Jacek, who would forget.
Now, standing in a room which was too dark for that brilliant morning, Yuki stood beside the window, contemplating for a while before turning towards Jacek with a newfound resolve. All that while, Jacek was still trembling and vehemently pleading for his life.
On the chair that stood beside Jacek's bed, Yuki sat. She reached into the bag on her lap and brought out her smoking pipe and a little container. She proceeded to put the pipe in her mouth, pour some of the substance in the little container into it, and finally lit the pipe.
Without wasting a single movement, Yuki pulled a mouthful of smoke into her mouth, grabbed the pipe between her fingers, and pulled it out of her mouth. Then she paused briefly, reflected on her actions, hesitated, reproached herself, and then puffed out an alarming amount of smoke into the stale air. Yuki continued to smoke until the entire room was filled with it.
Eventually, Jacek was forced out of his head by the burning sensation in his throat and lungs. He let out pained and suffocated coughs as he sat up on his bed and began to desperately look for someone or anything amidst the thick fog of smoke. However, his eyes failed him as they burned just by remaining open.
"Yuki?" Jacek called out finally.
"Are you here, Yuki? You are here, aren't you?" he added, very much certain that Yuki was in the room with him.
Relentlessly, Jacek forced his eyes open once more in hopes of spotting Yuki somewhere in the room. He was still frantically searching for his sister when he suddenly froze.
Not too far from his bed, Jacek was looking at a pair of glowing blue eyes that were staring back at him eerily. And despite the mystic aura that seeped out of the pair of eyes, Jacek sensed no malice whatsoever. Instead, he sensed fear, empathy, sympathy, and a hint of affection that almost overwhelmed him.
"Yuki, is that you?"