Their Magical But Deadly Journey

A/N: Back to Sazha’s POV

SAZHARINA’S POV

“MY GOD, SAZHA! SLOW DOWN!”

I let out a loud laugh after I heard his rant. After what happened earlier at the cafe, I invited him home to introduce him to Mom. We had no choice but to ride my motorcycle. But me being the badass girl who loves to tease others, I sped up running so we were almost flying on the road. He hugged my waist tightly as if he was going to die at any moment.

It’s fun seeing him like this though!

I just sped up my running which was not enough, there was still a fire effect in the gutter of our road to make it look like in action movies. I just laughed because Antricus was like a baby behind me clinging to me.

Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic so we could joyride freely.

“NO, THIS IS FUN!” I shouted. This is indeed fun-especially with a tarsier clinging to my waist. It’s inspiring to keep speeding up my motorcycle.

“WE MAY RUN OVER!” he said so I couldn’t do anything but slow down my pace a little. I looked at the meter and it passed to 40km/h. Geez.

It took us a few moments to reach the house. I looked at Antricus and burst out laughing when I saw him pale and stunned. It was as if he had seen a ghost.

“You looked like you saw a ghost,” I teased him while still holding my stomach because of laughter.

“W-what the fvck was that, Sazha?” He turned to me with his eyes widening slightly.

I laughed. “A joyride.”

“You called that ‘joyride’?!” He said as if he couldn’t believe it.

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

He just frowned and cried like a child.

“I will never ride your motorcycle again!” he shouted. He sniffed as if he had a cold even though he didn’t.

And then, I dirty thought came into my mind. It was fun teasing him, so what if I tease him more? I’ll just want to see how he will react.

I smirked in my mind at that thought. “You don’t want to ride on my motorcycle anymore?” I snorted and pouted like a child.

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

A devilish grin plastered on my mouth. “Then ride me instead,” I seductively said and winked at him.

I stopped laughing when I saw how his eyes widened as if he had seen something horrible. And his cheeks were red as tomatoes.

Damn! His reaction is funny hahahahahahahaha!!

“W-what…” He pointed at me while his cheeks were still red. “Y-you’re k-kidding, a-aren’t you?”

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

He blushed even more so I couldn’t stop laughing. I almost fell from where I was standing if I didn’t hold onto the motorcycle. He seemed to realize that I was just tripping him so he glared at me.

“It wasn’t funny!” he whined when I still didn’t stop laughing.

I stopped laughing and slightly caught my breath. I looked at him who was looking at me with folded arms.

“Yes, it was!” I answered back.

He was about to answer when our gate opened and Mommy appeared there wearing a white shirt and red leggings. He was even surprised when he caught me outside; while he hadn’t noticed Antricus behind me.

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

I turned my back and Mommy also turned her gaze to him. She immediately frowned and turned to me in surprise.

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

Mom formed an ‘o’ in her mouth before looking at me teasingly. I glared at her because I knew what she was thinking.

She took us to the living room while she went straight to the kitchen so that my ‘guest’ and I would have something to eat. I still had to make her blink because her eyes and voice did not escape the teasing of me.

Yeah, she was thinking that Antricus was just more than my friend. She was always like that so I’m used to it. The only difference is that I introduced a man to the house again after two years. The last man I brought here was my past fling, Blue. Mommy knew him as my projectmate before but she didn’t know that Blue was my fling at the time. I was 17 years old at that time, and I didn’t really know anything about thing like that.

Like I said, I am a curious girl. I love to discover and explore new things. It’s just like those times when almost all of my girl classmates when I was 17 had flings. Then I didn’t know what does flings means so I asked them but they didn’t give me an exact answer; instead they looked for me and it was Blue. We became flings for almost 4 months and it would have lasted longer if they hadn’t migrated to Australia. I didn’t regret that he became my fling though, since he was a complete package.

Then my first boyfriend was Kale when I was 18. We became a couple for 7 months but we also broke up when I found out that he had a girlfriend for a long time before he became my boyfriend. And worst of all, he even got her pregnant! I was still attached and looked bad! Until now, my anger towards that Kale has not disappeared. And that won’t go away until I hear him say sorry.

I was back in reality when something poked my cheeks. I looked and saw Antricus looking at me. Only then did I know that it was his finger that poked my cheek.

“You’re spacing out. Are you okay?” he asked, concern was evident in his voice. He removed his index finger from my cheek.

I nodded with a smile. “Yeah, just remembered something.”

“Like what?”

I looked at Mommy when I saw her carrying a tray with cake and orange juice. Antricus helped him and Mommy just thanked him.

“Like old things,” I answered before taking a juice and drinking it. Just now I felt my throat dry because I didn’t finish the drink I had earlier at the cafe and I was laughing so hard earlier.

“Do you mean your past flings are ‘old things’?” My eyes widened at Mommy’s sudden question.

“Mom! What are you saying? So embarrassing!” I hissed. I looked at Antricus with an emotionless face and slightly dark eyes. It somehow bothered me but I just ignored it.

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

I playfully rolled my eyes on her, ignoring Antricus’ dark aura and his heavy gaze on me.

“And oh, Antricus, don’t you have nicknames? Your name’s too long.” I cringed when my Mom pouted like a child.

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

“Aww,” Mommy turned to me. “Sazha, give him a nickname!” My eyes widened and looked anxiously at Antricus who now pursed his lips. Based on his reaction, it seems that he is not comfortable with someone giving him a nickname.

“I-I don’t think Antricus like one…” I looked at Antricus’ face again and creased my forehead when I saw him looking panicked.

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

Mom giggled. “Hey, don’t call me Ma’am, call me Aunt instead,” she said to Antricus and I couldn’t help it when he looked at me and winked at me.

Grr, Mom’s obviously playing me.

Antricus smiled. “Okay, Aunt.

“So, what are you two gonna do here, Tray and Sazha?” I frowned when Mommy suddenly called us. Even Antricus seemed surprised but I could see amusement in his eyes.

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

“Tray’s sounds good, Aunt,” praised Antricus-I mean, Tray to Mommy so she clapped with joy.

“OMG! I knew it!”

I just giggled out of nowhere because of Mommy’s behavior-although she is always like this when I introduce a boy to her, but not like now when she acts like a child. Usually, when I introduced my ‘projectmate’ to her, she didn’t say anything but you wouldn’t have seen her look bad at Blue then. As for Kale, she was still a bit heavy hearted when I introduced him as my ‘boyfriend’, but she didn’t object to our relationship.

Mom has always been supportive to me. She always supports me in what I want as long as I’m happy there. But even so, I know my limits as her daughter. It’s not because she’s supportive of me, I’ll use that to do nasty things. Mom was kind, and I didn’t want to come when she restricted me just because I exceeded my limit.

And I don’t want to disappoint her. That’s why I’m doing everything to repay her for all the goodness she gave me.

“Honey, you wanna come with us?”

I snapped back in reality when I heard my Mom spoke. He was about to cook lunch and Antricus-I mean Tray insisted that he wants to help Mom in the kitchen.

I think I need to get used to being called Tray. Mom made a good nickname for him. It was easier for us to call him.

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

I don’t know what they will cook but knowing Mom, I know she will cook more than one dish especially when we have guests at home.

When I entered my room, I immediately cleaned it and put away my clutter. I also fixed the books that were scattered in my room because I only did reading during the one week I was locked in the room.

As I was putting all my books back on the shelf, I noticed a strange book at the very end of my bookshelf.

And yes, I have my own bookshelf in my room because I’m a bookworm. I love reading books. In fact, I’d rather spend my free time with books than hanging out with fake people.

As I mentioned earlier, I did notice a strange book placed at the far end of my shelf. I can’t help but wonder, when has there been a book like this on the farthest part of my shelf? As far as I can remember, I always clean it to keep my books clean because I am allergic to dust.

But why does a book suddenly appear here? And when has this ever happened?

My curiosity couldn’t take it all so I took the book. I was even surprised because there were only a few pages but it was heavy. Its cover is hard-bound but it’s not enough for it to be this heavy. If I weigh it, maybe it will weigh three to four kilos. It is so heavy that I have to sit on my bed to lift the book properly.

I ran my index finger over it and I was even surprised because the cover is so smooth, it’s not like when you just look at it you think it’s rough. His cover is strange because it seems to have a symbol in the middle. The color of the book cover is wooden brown and there are tree designs on the sides. In the very center is engraved a circular design that lights up like a portal, you think it’s a button that can be pressed but it’s just a design.

This book has such a weird design. It is well designed but heavy. In the middle of the designed portal, the writing is like Latin so I can’t read it. Maybe the back cover of this book has the translation on what is written on the front cover.

I was about to look behind it but someone knocked on the door. In my panic I threw it under my bed. I don’t know but someone seems to be telling me that only I can see this book.

I looked at the door again when someone knocked on it again.

“Sazha? Your Mom’s calling you, we’re about to eat.” I heard Tray say from outside.

“Coming!” I answered and fixed myself for a moment.

When I opened the door, I saw Tray hanging on the railings of the second floor. His arms were still crossed while looking at me.

He smiled. “Let’s go.”

I smiled back. I was surprised when he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I tried to struggle but his grip on my waist was too tight.

“Careful.” My breath hitched when I heard his husky voice whispering in my ear. We were going down the stairs and I was struggling in his grip.

“Then let me go,” I hissed. He just stared at me and smirked. I was about to answer him again when Mommy looked at us and smiled widely.

“Wow, so sweet, honey!” Mom gave me a wicked grin then wiggled her brows. I just got tired because he was teasing again.

“Let’s just eat, Mom,” I said dismissively. I removed Tray’s arm from my waist and fortunately he didn’t stop me.

“We cooked three dishes, honey. First, your favorite Adobo, then Menudo, and Beef Steak!” Mom happily gestured at the food she and Tray cooked. I even wondered why Mommy cooked Adobo when I didn’t request it.

But my question was answered when Mommy spoke again, making my chest thump.

“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.”

My cheeks flushed when I looked at Tray who’s also looking at me intently. It’s like he’s watching my reaction.

Well, it made my heart flutter and I can feel something on my stomach.

I smiled at him and I mouthed a ‘thank you’ before Mom got my attention again. She invited us to eat while we talked. I have also jokingly tormented Mommy a few times because she was telling Tray about the embarrassing events of my childhood. Tray was just laughing so I glared at him.

Looks like he has a new prank to do to me.

“So… How did you two meet?” I looked at Tray when I felt that he was stunned by Mommy’s question.

Meanwhile, I only felt surprise because it just dawned on me that they didn’t know each other.

But didn’t Mom invite him on my 19th birthday? It was impossible for her to forget immediately when just over a week had passed.

“Mom, don’t you remember?” I kept asking Mom who was just waiting for our answer.

It was time for her to knot her brows. “Which?”

“Tray said you invited-”

I couldn’t finish what I was going to say when Tray cut me off.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“I-I w-was invited on her 19th birthday, Tita…” He looked away after saying that.

“Invited? Were you with some of our guests before? Whose child are you?” Mom asked Tray one question after another who now didn’t know what to answer first.

“Y-you invited me alone, Aunt.”

I just frowned as they talked. I don’t get it. Why didn’t Mom recognize him right away? It is impossible for Mom to forget immediately because even though she is in her mid-30’s her memory is still very sharp. He remembers everything even the smallest details that’s why it’s hard for me to lie to him.

Mom, like me, also frowned but slowly nodded.

“Oh… It looks like I invited a man then,” Mom replied, making Tray breathe a sigh of relief.

After a few moments, everything was back to normal. Mommy even took us to her garden to get some fresh air.

My Mom’s garden has been my safe place since I was young. I have an allergy and every time that it attacks, I come here to breathe fresh air. There are also times when I even build my own tent here and sleep inside until morning. Mommy doesn’t stop me because our fence is high and it’s really hard to climb, so sleeping here is somehow safe. Grandma just got angry when she found out I was sleeping outside.

I don’t know, Grandma has always been really protective of me since I was a child. That even mosquitoes don’t want to touch my skin because my skin is said to be sensitive.

But no matter how strict Lola is, I still miss her. It’s been two years since I last saw him. Grandma is in Switzerland now with Tita Island.

Aunt Island was my real father’s sister. Even Tita does not know the location of my real father. None of us know where he lives now, even Lola always says ‘I have no idea where he lives’ whenever I ask where my real father is.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my Daddy Uncle but the protection I’m looking for is still different from my real father. Daddy Uncle was the father I recognized since I was born into this world. He is my father because my real father does not exist. That’s why I call him Daddy Uncle because I’m like his daughter but the truth is that I’m just his nephew. He is Mommy’s older brother and when he found out that I don’t recognize my father, he himself said that he will be my father.

Daddy Uncle is single and has no children so he is very happy that he has child. He is in 40’s now and yet, he didn’t even have a wife or a child because of being a workaholic. He owns a multi-billion clothing company, which he says I will inherit when I turn 25 years old so that I can somehow enjoy my single life before I am immersed in work when he passes his company to me.

Now he is in Dubai for a business trip and he will be there for two months. He has been there for a month so maybe this month he will go home.

Going back, Tray was very happy while observing Mom’s various plants and flowers in the garden.

“This is so much better than to our world…” I heard Tray say as he ran his hand over the flowers. Mommy was out because she said she was going to bury Tray with food because she had already told Mommy that she was going home.

“What world, Tray?” I asked him. He jumped in shock and held his chest while looking at me pale. I couldn’t help but wonder because of what he reacted.

“W-were you s-still t-there?” He stammered his question.

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

“Uh.. ”

“Tray! Here’s your foodie!” We turned to Mom who happily walked towards us while holding two large tupperware with only food.

Tray immediately accepted it and thanked him. Mom just talked to him for a while and told him to come back here before we said goodbye.

“Thank you for this, Sazha. I’ll go now, bye!”

I was surprised when he kissed me on the cheek so I didn’t move immediately. I just blinked and was surprised to see that he was no longer in front of me.

Damn, how fast.

I just shook my head and went back to my room.

And he’s weird, too.