"Gosh, Miracle! I really don't have an answer to that!" Lyn exclaimed, squeezing out too much anti-acne cream on her palm.
"How can you not know? You've been here longer than I do!" Miracle shot up from the turquoise queen-sized bed and threw a pillow in her direction.
"Being here early doesn't mean I know everything!" She twisted her body and dodged the hit. "It's clear that Mynheex has gotten so much stronger than before. We could hardly trace them out even if they were to disguise themselves among the humans," she said, tossing it back.
"That's why I'm asking if they have any marks!"
"Trust me." Lyn stomped toward Miracle and snatched her pillow. "We don't know any more than you do. This is the first time somebody actually asked me this question. We all know how dangerous it is to catch a glimpse at their marks even if they have one."
When the room fell into silence, she continued, "Miracle, Mynheex ate too many humans. They conceal their breath of immortality so well that it's hard to tell them apart."
The dragon girl swallowed her words. Aside from what she was told, she knew nothing more about this cycle.
Mynheex belonged to fallen angels. They vanished the dragons for their Lord to take over this world.
"Then the more Mr. Hayden should tell you."
"No." Standing beside her, she dropped her head to meet her eyes. "It's exactly because of that, dad chose to hide everything. Most of the dragons don't understand the entire story behind this repeating mission. I mean, the same goes for Kingsley and me." Lyn shrugged. "Dad always tells us to stay away from such matters. He claimed it's something only the elders should deal with."
Miracle left the room, feeling dejected. As she descended the stairs, aromatic spices wafted to her nose, stimulating the growls in her stomach. She paused at the last step and peeked.
Hayden was preparing breakfast in the kitchen as usual, and surprisingly, she was beginning to get used to this routine—eating three times a day, or maybe more.
Carefully tiptoeing from the back, she was about to say "boo" when she saw him talking to a wispy bubble floating above the stove. It was showing a man about the same age as him. Hayden snapped his fingers. More silver smokes from the fronds linked themselves to the hovering channel, widening the size for a better view.
Accidentally on purpose, she retreated and hid behind the fridge.
It sounded like a big problem.
And she concluded it was the moment she heard her name.
"Help me find out more about her. I'm not denying that this cycle is way diabolical compared to before." Hayden's heavy sigh was heard. "But no matter what it is, I'll protect Miracle," he muttered, waving the bubble away.
"Mr. Hayden?"
The sudden mention of his name startled him. She saw his muscles tense.
"Oh, good morning! You're early today." He forced a smile. "Give me another five minutes and breakfast should be ready."
His call with the man earlier made her insecure. Miracle moved closer to him. "Mr. Hayden, is there anything I can help with?"
He chuckled, gently pushing her to the dining table. "Just wait there, my dear. I'm almost done with the porridge."
She stopped and turned around to look at him. "No. That's not what I meant."
Hayden tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out what she was trying to say.
"I overheard your conversation," she breathed. "What's wrong with this cycle? Why is it more diabolical?"
In a flash, the warmth and gentleness in his eyes were gone, taken over by the fear he had been trying to hide ever since the call. And it was as if the wooden ladle could sense the sudden growing pressure in the air. It slipped, almost sinking fully into the pot. Hayden tightened his lips. His hazel browns darkened, highlighting his deep eye bags.
She was waiting for his reply.
But he wasn't planning on saying a thing. Yet.
"Mi—"
"We're having porridge today?"
Interruptions.
Melvin kept a distance of two stairsteps from the twins as he walked down. "Porridge?" he repeated in a softer tone, knowing that he wasn't well-accepted in the family.
Lyn screeched the dining chair against the floor and tied her hair into a bun. She extended her head to look inside the kitchen. "Dad?"
"Huh?" Withdrawing himself from Miracle's intense stare, Hayden quickly went over to the pot and switched off the alarming stove. "Yea, coming!"
When he tried to get to the remaining Watsons, Miracle squeezed his arm and pressed him to stay. "I'll be waiting for your answers, Mr. Hayden."
Loosening her grip on him, she took the tray and left the kitchen.
Kingsley was pouring the chrysanthemum tea into the disposable filter bag hung around the glass rim—straining.
Melvin stood next to the table, hesitating to take a seat. He looked lost and isolated.
"Sit, Melvin." Miracle dragged out the chair with one of her feet while serving the porridges.
Nodding, the boy flashed a smile at her.
But the next second, Kingsley slapped down his spoon, splattering bits of the meat chunks across the tablecloth. "No. I'm out if he's in."
Lyn nudged her brother's elbow, muttering something which seemed to ask him not to cause trouble. "Dad's here," she muttered. "Don't."
"I don't care. You know exactly why he shouldn't be here, Lyn!" he whispered back so fiercely that he almost spat out the food in his mouth. "I'm out if he's in," Kingsley repeated and brushed away Lyn's touch.
"Say it again."
Hayden appeared. He removed the apron from his waist and took the main seat at the table. His eyes were deadly serious.
It wasn't a request.
But a challenge to go against him.
"Say it again." He held his glare.
"It's okay!" Miracle cut in before things worsened. "I'll bring him out for a walk," she said, grabbing Melvin's arm to leave.
"Wait, Miracle." Hayden increased his tone, still fixing his glare on his child. "Name me the three things I taught you since young."
Kingsley pursed his lips, his eyes glued to his porridge.
"Dad—"
The younger sister wanted to speak for her brother. However, she trailed off the moment Hayden spared her a sharp stare.
"Lyn. I'm talking to Kingsley."
Their dad was angry.
"Name me," he urged.
Kingsley sighed. "To be kind, to be kind and..." His voice wavered at the last. "To be kind..."
"And what are you doing right now?"
No response.
"Are you showing any hints of kindness to this boy?"
He shook his head.
"Did I teach you to ignore a person like him?"
Second shake.
"My boy." Hayden softened his voice and ruffled Kingsley's dark brown hair. "Who doesn't want to be treated with kindness when darkness is all he has left?"
They were not done with their breakfast, but Miracle still insisted on taking Melvin out for a walk. The sun was high up in the sky, shining ever so brightly.
Ready with her shoes on, she glanced to the back. Melvin was still sitting at the doorstep, taking forever to tie his shoelaces.
She went over. "What's taking you so long?"
"These strings... I just can't get them right."
"How can you be worse than me?" she mumbled to herself.
He leaned in closer. "Hmm?"
"Nothing. Come on," she said, tightening the laces on his shoes.
When they were about to step out of the gate, or to be more precise, the barrier, Melvin hovered his foot for a while before resting it back on the ground.
"What's wrong?"
He stretched out his hand, and the external layer surrounding the house rippled under his touch. It sparked a thin streak of light, pushing him away from the protection.
"What... What is this watery thing doing out here?" he whispered.
Miracle froze. "W-What?"
"The—"
Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground and started rolling around, moaning in extreme pain. He was convulsing. It felt like there was a switch buried in his body, being flicked on without any prior notice.
"Melvin?!" Miracle got in the way and caught him from hitting the composite fence. "Are you okay?"
Stones jerked away from their original positions. He pressed his sweaty palms against both sides of his head, bulging the veins. His pulse was thumping so hard that she could literally see them beating.
"Melvin! Can you hear me?"
"Help... help..." It was barely a hiss. "It's killing me..."
And the pain continued to strike him down.
That scream didn't sound friendly. Startled, Hayden cracked the glass he was holding. Tea mixed with blood coursed down his tensed arm. The twins frowned, watching the silver smoke around the ceiling tangling into a confused mass. When they rushed to the door, their jaws almost dropped to the floor upon seeing the unconscious Melvin. His arm was draped over Miracle's shoulder. "What happened?" Hayden asked, keeping his scratched palm behind his back. The wound was closing. What should she say? If she were to say the truth—that this human boy could see the barrier when he wasn't supposed to—he was surely getting chased out of the house. "Nothing serious. Just a mild heatstroke," she said simply. She didn't want to tell them what exactly happened yet, though it might be a mistake keeping them in the dark. Lyn raised a brow. "Mild? The scream—" "Now that we don't have to worry about the mortal overhearing us," Miracle cut in before she had a chance to further her doubts, "let's c
Cold sweat rolled down the bridge of her nose to her shivering chin and pattered to the fallen Magnolia. The drip was so clear in her ears that she could barely hear anything else. Melvin hit the bull's eye. Her heart was leaping into her throat. Hundreds of excuses ran through her mind. She needed something to cover up desperately. Anything at all. Miracle poked her nails into her palm to pull herself together. "W-What? Melvin, what are you talking about?" Her voice cracked as she stammered to finish her sentence. He remained quiet. His ebony eyes were darting around wildly. "Dragons in this generation? Melvin, are you serious?" she said, increasing his doubts about dragons' existence while taking a step closer to the door. Though she had always wanted mortals to acknowledge the presence of dragons, now was certainly not the time. Moreover, when their doubts were literally everywhere. Melvin outstretched his leg and flashed in front of her. He didn't sound convinced. "But
Standing in front of Stellaerio, Miracle stared at the peculiar building with complicated feelings. The stained white crescent hung on the main block resembled the loss of hope in starting afresh. Caws of crows flying past the swaying trees further gloomed the surroundings. Rather than a school, it looked more like a place of life and death. When Miracle reached the second-floor corridor, she headed to the punch card rack and heaved a sigh of relief. It was a Saturday, and Maddie was in the school. While she was still feeling good that her trip to Stellaerio on the weekend didn't go down the drain, a piece of paper flew in her direction and landed next to her feet. A shiver ran down her spine the moment she flipped it over. Her throat constricted, and a twinge of guilt gripped her heart as the words read aloud in her mind. It was the same announcement from that day. 'Xiao Xun, they were the ones you died protecting…' Right then, pictures of the deceased started to merge into
Whatever he said was too real to be claimed as a made-up story. "How did he know about the tragedy?" she murmured, stepping out of Stellaerio. Wandering along the streets, Miracle clipped the diamond pendant with her lips while immersing in her train of thought. Far ahead, the soothing color combination of the clouds brightened the rows of houses and shops. Lilac hue topped the orange, overtaking the rest. The evening had descended. Three black pigeons on the overhead cable flew across the sky upon seeing their flocks approaching. When a young man in a teal coat picked up his incoming call, he forgot that his office bag was unzipped. The documents kept inside were scattered everywhere on the road. They smashed toward the accelerating car that was trying to get past the yellow light. The man immediately surged forward to save his papers. The driver honked. 'Free me.' Miracle snapped back to reality, frowning. "Who is that?" A strong wave of mortality breath registered its presen
"She went to Stellaerio? On a Saturday?!" Lyn freaked out. "Did she tell you why?" Hayden flashed him a questionable look. The decrease of warmth in his voice slapped hard on Melvin's face. Kingsley leaned against the couch; his legs outstretched. "I hope it's not a trap you set." "I swear upon my life," Melvin hissed, "… that I'll never do a thing to hurt her again." The Watsons were back just a few minutes before Miracle did. She was outside, hesitating to enter as she lowered her eyes to the bamboo scroll in her hand.'Should I let them know?' she thought. When the noise in the house turned louder, she quickly unrolled the piece and tucked it inside her pants. She pinned the hook of her vintage belt to an inner notch, securing it tightly. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself together and creaked open the door. "I'm back." Four pairs of eyes switched to her as one. The sudden change of pressure crawling in the air put a pause to their heated conversation. Miracle choked on
The next Monday, Maddie turned into the usual badass again. Miracle tried to have eye contact with him, but he avoided it. He made the students in his class stand on the tables when they failed to answer his questions correctly. It wasn't surprising to see many heads almost touching the ceiling. Some of them even had to crouch a little to save their lives from the fast-spinning fans. His questions were always out of the box—reincarnation was one of his favorites. When it was the Watsons' turn, they turned harder. The bias was obvious. He didn't like them. "You." He jerked his head in Lyn's direction. "It's Lyn." She rolled her eyes. He didn't give a damn about what she said. "If you have the right to choose, would you still choose to be a hu—" he paused, gaping for a brief second before forcing the -man to the hu-man down his throat, "… choose to be who you are if you are born again?" "Why not?" "Tell me why." "I see no reason in telling you." "Then I see no reason for you t
Silver fronds swayed, more when they sensed the dragon girl approaching. Veins at the midribs lengthened, transforming into fine little hairs along the edges of the pinnules. Detaching from the plant, they turned into layers of smoke and joined the rest lingering around the house. A silver puff leaped forward and caressed her forehead like it owned five fingers. When Miracle stroked the gray blades, she felt an instant replenishment of the elements in her body. "I didn't know you're interested in decorative flowers." "Hmm? Decorative flowers?" Glancing back, only then did she realize that these plants must've seemed dead in the eyes of a mortal. "Oh." She chuckled. "Yea. A… A little." Rubbing his palms against the three-quarter pants on him, he stammered, "Miracle, I..." When he failed to deliver the words, he went behind her and dropped a piece of black cloth over her eyes before she had a chance to say no. "I want to bring you to a place," he muttered, adjusting the blindfol
"But it's dangerous." Hayden sank his hand into the filthy liquid and swashed the residues into the sink strainer. "Don't do it." He pulled up its handle, dumping away the pieces of overcooked garlic. "I need to be on my move already." Her voice was slowly increasing. "We can't let them do whatever they want like we don't exist." "If you're gonna proceed with that method of yours, things could end up worse." He shook the water off his fingers. "Mr. Hayden, you don't get what I'm saying. I'm not going to go around and ask one by one if they have any marks. I… I just want to know what they look like," she breathed. "So that I can be alert." "I don't see the need for that, Miracle." A wave of pleasant smell wafted to her nose as he exited the doom-shaped wall with a cup of tea in his hand. "Please, Mr. Hayden." She walked over and grabbed it from him. The heat sizzled her skin. "Please," she repeated, trying her best to stay expressionless despite the burning pain. He snatched it b