Dina was expelled after Emma told the principal everything. Her father then decided to home-school her since no other university had accepted her.
One day, the parent was buying vegetables and fruits at the food market.
As he was checking up some carrots, a man came up to him.
"Asalamu 'alaikum, Mr.Viotto."
"Hmm?" The father was confused, for the man before him was not one of his friends, neighbors, or relatives. He observed him well as he brightly smiled at him.
"I'm sorry... Do I… know you?" He tried his best to remember him but failed to do so.
"Ahehe..." The man nervously chuckled.
"Wa 'alaykumu salam. How may I help you, son?"
"Uhm... I... I'm Rain Vrochi. Nice to meet you, sir."
"Nice to meet you too..." The two shook hands but awkwardly smiled at each other.
"I'm Dina's teacher, sir. Or rather the replacement for that day..."
"Are you the man she almost... killed?"
"Uh... Yeah..."
The father opened his eyes wide, pulled Rain quickly into his arms, and hugged him tightly. The young man was too stunned to speak and couldn't move a muscle.
"Oh! Thank God you're alright! I am so sorry for the harm my daughter has caused you!" The father was in pure joy as he embraced the teacher lovingly.
"I looked for you at the school to apologize, but they told me you had left."
"There's nothing to apologize for, Mr.Viotto--"
"Oh, yes there is! Believe me, my son... I know. Thank God you're alright!" The father patted Rain gently on the back then let him go.
"You know... Mr.Viotto... This is not what I came to you for..."
"How can I help you, son?" The father turned around looking for some good carrots.
"I know that this may sound sudden, Mr. Viotto, but I–"
"No matter how sudden it may be, son, ask me anything you want! This is the least I can do to pay you back for not sewing my daughter."
"Sewing your daughter? Why would I do that?"
"Well, say that to those other parents. Not a single scratch on their children's bodies, yet they wanted to send my child to prison, while you're the one who's got the right to do so." The father's expression changed. The thought of him losing his daughter made his heartache.
"Don't worry, Mr.Viotto. I'm not sewing anyone, I wasn't even planning to."
"Thank you, my son. It really means the world to me. My daughter is all I have left, and if she... if anything bad happens to her I--"
"Mr.Viotto, I assure you, you have nothing to worry about, and I highly doubt anything bad will happen to your daughter," he joked.
The father chuckled as he patted him on the shoulder, he then continued his shopping with the teacher by his side.
"Mr.Viotto."
"Yes?"
"I would like to discuss something important with you. If you may?"
"Is that so? Then how about we go to my house and comfortably talk?"
"Uhm... Sure!"
"Come on, my boy! I'd love to invite you for dinner!" The father gently pushed Rain from the back and they both headed home.
Inside the house, Rain was sitting on the sofa while the old one was in the kitchen. After a little while, he came to the living room.
"Alright! While we wait for the food to be ready, let us talk about your request." He sat down next to the young man then turned to face him.
"Thank you so much for having me in, Mr.Viotto. I'm sorry for bothering you with me."
"Don't say that, my boy. You're like a son to me!"
"I appreciate that Mr.Viotto."
"Now quit with the formal talking and ask away! I'm all ears!" The father, with a warm smile, kept his attention on the teacher and listened to him carefully. Rain then took a deep breath and spoke.
"Mr.Viotto, I'm a huge fan of your kind. I read so much about the women's transformations and how they happen, their duration, and all their slightest details. Truly the forms are fascinating and beautiful, and any man would want a pretty and magical wife, but... what really caught my attention was the affected transformations, the ones your kind call 'Trauma'. I read so much about it that it has become my only dream to see it at least once in my life, and your daughter, Mr.Viotto, has made my dream come true. Maybe that day I almost vomited my lungs out, but at the same time, I was in complete awe from the whole experience. The way that thing emerged from her back without her even flinching, that screamed strong woman to me! And the way her eye shone red and the smoke surrounded her bo--ugh!" The father choked him by the neck.
"Agh-- I'm sorry Mr.Viotto, I got a little-- carried away--" He choked.
"You sure did..." The old man was shocked by all he had heard. Though Rain didn't get to the point, he understood the message behind his words.
"Uhm... Are you telling me that you like my daughter?"
"Y-- yes... sir... and I--"
"And you want to... marry her?"
"Y–yes, s–sir…"
"My daughter almost killed you yesterday, and out of nowhere you decided to propose to her?" The father was confused.
"Ehhem…"
The father couldn't believe what he had heard. His daughter was hated and feared by many people, for years, which made him lose hope of ever seeing her in a wedding dress. But after hearing Rain's words, the long-lost hope had unexpectedly returned.
"You do realize that my daughter lives with a monster that can slice you bit by bit if you ever make her angry?"
"I sure do…sir..." Rain was hardly breathing.
"And you still want to marry her though she can end your life at some point?"
"Ab–solutely s–sir..."
The father unhanded the choked man then crossed his arms. Rain on the other hand was catching his breath.
"I can-- tell where she got her strength from..." He massaged his neck.
"Are you playing tricks on me, Mr.Vrochi?"
"I assure you... Mr.Viotto, I am not..." He hardly spoke.
The father just sat there and sneered at him.
"W--why are you looking at me like this, sir?"
"You saw a monster come out of my daughter, and now you want to marry her?"
"I know this may sound weird, but yes."
"I'm starting to think you're into the monster and not into my daughter..." He moved back from him and gave him a look of disgust.
"What!? No!! Sir, you misunderstood the situation! I--"
"What's going on?" Dina asked as she stood by the door. When she saw Rain, her heart skipped a beat.
"Mr. Vrochi is at our house? What is he doing here?" She wondered in her head.
Rain, as he heard her voice, his heart beat faster and his blood pressure rose.
Quickly, he turned his head towards her.
"Oh… My God…" He observed her in awe.
"Asalamu 'alaikum, my child."
"Wa 'alaykumu salam, Father."
"Come here, Dina. Someone is here for you." Dina obeyed and headed towards her father. Rain
followed her with his eyes as she walked to the living room and sat next to her dad.
"Mr.Vrochi... Are you feeling well?" She asked.
"I've never been better..." He said in his mind.
"I am so sorry for what happened before I-- I lost control and--"
"Lost control?! You had full control over there! You literally saved my life!"
"Saved your life...? Didn't she almost kill you?" The father was confused.
"The monster almost killed me, but your daughter saved me, Mr.Viotto. She controlled the beast and stopped it. That's what... what really caught my attention..." He shied away.
"Caught your attention...?" Wondered Dina.
The father turned towards his daughter and held her hand.
"Dina, my sweet child. I know this may sound sudden, and a little strange, but this man is... is here asking to marry you."
"WHAT??!!" Dina's eye, from the shock, shone red; and so did her cheeks.
"WHY WOULD HE...!" She held her mouth shut and hid her face away.
"She... she's blushing..." Rain exclaimed in his head.
Suddenly, the father remembered the food.
"Oh, God! I almost forgot the food on the stove! You! You better behave while I'm gone, or I swear..." He quickly got up and ran to the kitchen.
The two were left alone, sitting away from one another, while each one looked in the opposite direction of the other.
"Is... is this true...?" She asked.
"Uhm... Y--yes..."
"But, why?" She softly asked while her eyes looked down.
"Why not?"
"I'm a monster... Didn't you see that for yourself?"
"We all have monsters within ourselves," he told her. "Yours just happens to be more visible. And unlike us, you managed to hold it back and have full control over it. That requires lots of strength, you know... and I... I find that... Fasinating..."
Those words ignited a flame in Dina's heart, a flame that boiled her blood making her whole face turn red.
"What's there to like?" She observed the smoke around her hand.
"What's there not to like?! You managed to hold back that MOUNTAIN with your small... uhm... body, and you want me to be unimpressed!?"
"Well, I almost killed Emma if it wasn't for you..."
"That thing almost killed her, not you. If you wanted to kill her you would've done so immediately, but I saw how the monster slowly stretched its arm as if something or 'someone' was holding it back. You wanted her to run away, didn't you?"
"Well... I sure wanted to… harm her just as she did to me, but at the same time, it felt wrong."
"See, I told you. You managed to hold the beas--"
"Nightmare." She slowly turned her face towards Rain.
"Huh?"
"Its name is Nightmare."
"Oh... You even named it... Heh!" He chuckled.
Dina smiled with her red cheeks, shying up from his words.
Meanwhile, the father was peeking from the kitchen. He listened to them closely and watched them as they spoke. He was amazed by Rain's comfort next to his daughter.
For years, the poor parent saw nothing but fear and disgust in people's eyes whenever they were near his child, but Vrochi was different, and that's why he wanted to give him a chance. He prepared the table and called for them.
After everyone gathered around, Mr.Viotto asked.
"So, Rain Vrochi. Where do you live?"
"Uhm... I'm from Tilan, sir."
"Tilan? And what did you come all the way here for?"
"I'm on vacation, sir, and as I said earlier, I'm a big fan of your kind, and I hoped to find a... beautiful woman from this place to marry." He looked at Dina for a second then looked away.
"Didn't you mention before that you're her teacher?"
"Yeah... about that... The principal of Dina's university is a friend of mine, and he asked me to help him out with her class since the teacher was absent. I accepted his request, and Thank God I did."
"Wait... So you're not a teacher?" Dina asked.
"No, I'm not..."
"How did you teach us the subject so well? Even better than our teacher!?"
He shyly chuckled then said, "I'm a writer, and I run a writing school, so teaching it is not a big deal for me."
Dina was amazed.
The father put his spoon on the table and relaxed on the chair.
"Agh! Alhamduli Llah!"
"Thank you for the food, Father. It's really delicious!"
"Yes, Mr.Viotto. You're an amazing cook!"
"What about you?" Asked the old man.
"Huh? Me?"
"Are you not an amazing cook?"
"I... I don't cook that often, Mr.Viotto..."
"And you want to marry my daughter? What are you expecting her to cook while you lay on the sofa or something?"
"Not at all, sir. I'm--"
"You're what?"
"I'm a busy man, Mr.Viotto, I usually eat outside or at the school cafeteria. Besides," he fixed his eyes on Dina, "I didn't come all the way from Tiran looking for a maid. If she doesn't wish to cook I shall hire a cook for her. If she doesn't wish to clean I shall hire a maid for her. Whatever she wishes I shall do my best to make it true."
Dina raised her head in shock to look at the man before her, as he confidently spoke.
"I was driven here by loneliness and emptiness of heart." His voice softened as their eyes were fixated on each other.
"And I deeply believe, that only your daughter will be able to fill them up with--"
"--With what? With smoke!?" Joked the father, cutting Rain off.
"Oh my God! Father, stop!" Dina hid her face as her father was laughing up a storm.
"I apologize. My Father is a bit of a… joker."
"Heh. I can tell." He softly chuckled.
"Ah! I'm just messing with you, son! I love my daughter to death, and she has beautiful flying smoke too." The father gently placed his hand on his daughter's cheek.
"And beautiful eyes as well." He said to himself.
"I agree with you, Mr.Viotto." Rain warmly smiled at Dina making her look down in shyness.
Mr.Viotto noticed that his daughter didn't refuse the idea of marriage, instead, she showed signs of interest. For that, he decided to proceed with the questions.
"So, Dina."
"Yes, Father?"
"What do you think of this crazy man? Is he a good meal for Trauma?"
"What?!" Rain froze for a second.
Dina giggled and raised her head to look at Rain. The moment their eyes met, she quickly looked away with her cheeks as red as blood.
"We need to know each other a bit more, don't you think? We can't just rush into things like that." She noted.
"She's right. We must know more about you, Rain Vrochi." The father squinted his eyes and turned his focus on Rain.
"Yes, of course. Ask anything. I'll answer all your questions." Rain put down his spoon and faced the parent, giving him his full attention.
After all questions were asked and answered, the father and his daughter were comfortable with the answers. After a month, the two were finally married.
Dina and her father couldn't live far from each other. After all, they were the only family members they had, so Rain bought a new house next to his father-in-law to keep the family together.
For his job, Rain would have to travel to Tiran for some business trips, then after three to four days, he'd come back to his loving wife.
Because of her husband's support, Dina managed to control herself better and keep Nightmare at bay; only in some cases.
Thanks to Rain's obsession with her transformation, she became more educated about her illness, and with every piece of information learned, she reached higher levels of self-awareness and love.
The two were deeply in love with each other and lived peacefully ever after.