5. The truth

As I inhale the air around me, the hospital environment makes me sick. I hear the screams of people in pain, the shouts of pregnant women, and cries from those who lost a loved one. My heart and mind are in warfighting of my tears and pain. 

After my last date with her that night, she never called back or messaged me. I wondered why she avoided me. Does she regret spending time with me or was it something I said? 

“I tried to stay away from her, I failed. I tried meeting new people, but I only saw her. My heart knew what it wanted, and I knew I had to fight my way to get it. The days with her feel like home, and home is where I always want to be, even if it is impossible.” I could not stop thinking while eating dinner with Jannett and Lucas. 

Lucas knew that Emma and I never spoke after our date, but he never asked why. Today he has several questions about how I kept contact with his sister, and what drove her permanently away from me. He trusts me and I cannot let him down, I decided to tell him the truth because it is the only way to find Emma. 

“Jannett, can you please pass me Emma’s bag?” as she passed me the bag, I searched for the chain.

I picked up the chain and showed Lucas and Jannett the pendant, it was the same symbol I saw on her wrist. The 2 crescents on either side of a full moon meant something. 

“The symbol belongs to the Dianic Wicca Witch. I researched it after seeing Emma in possession with it, and it reveals the darkness she has been hiding.” Lucas and Jannett looked at me confused as I revealed the reason behind Emma’s behaviour.

I could not reveal the whole truth in the hospital, I requested the doctor to discharge me. Lucas helped me out of the room while Jannett signed the discharge forms. Jannett took us to her apartment as it was the nearest.

Sometimes I wish I had not left things unsaid, I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me, but I never got the chance. I want to be the person she misses at 3 am and the person she wishes goodnight. I fell in love with her every second I spent with her and missed her every second she was not around. 

“Do you have any idea how freaked out I was? You raced into my office, picked up the bag from my hand, and then you blacked out. I am not letting you go back home in this condition. I insist on helping you find Emma.” Jannett yelled hesitantly.

“You do not have to Jan; I do not want to cause you any more trouble. You already missed your duty!” I frowned as she looked at me in her brown eyes angrily.

I tried to convince Jan that it is dangerous, and I cannot lose another person. She was always stubborn when it came to my health, she took care of me when I had a fever, and she filled the void of a sister in my life. I did not want to risk her life, but I could not refuse her. 

“Dustin, what does Emma have to do with the sign on the pendant you showed us?” Lucas asked as he drank his coffee.

“And this time, you will not leave out a detail. We will need all the information to help you find her.” Jan yielded at me. 

“Emma is a witch.” I babbled as I picked up my cup. I divulged from our last date together. 

I was watching Twilight: New Moon, and besides me was Frosty. Frosty was a handsome Samoyed young man. Emma and I adopted him from the Animal Shelter a few months after we got together. Frosty stays in my apartment with me because Emma is always traveling on business. Frosty is a snow-white little bud, with a cute little smile. The moment he met us, he made us his family. 

The night after our last date together was a nightmare. She ignored me for weeks until we bumped each other for coffee at Allie’s diner.

 I looked up at her as she frowned at me, I immediately hugged her and said, “I missed you so much!”

She hugged me back without thinking once and apologised. We sat down to talk without caring how late we were for work, we talked and talked till the coffee was over. I noticed the mark on her wrist again, and I decided to ask her about it over dinner tonight.

I checked the clock in my office every minute, patients came and left, and yet I was still sitting on the chair waiting to leave. My shift was over, and I decided to stop at the mall. I was shopping for a birthday gift for Jan when I noticed a beautiful necklace. It was rose gold with a half-moon-shaped pendant with an engraved symbol, the same symbol on Emma’s wrist. I immediately purchased it and rushed home to get dressed for dinner. I wrapped the necklace in a small bag and left the apartment. 

“Am I late?” I asked as I walked to the table she was seated at.

“No, you aren’t, I came over early to reserve a table.” She blushed as took the gift from my hand.

She opened the gift bag and box to see the Netflix, and she held it dumbfounded and looked at me with panic. 

“T-the pendant, the M-mark on the pendant…” she stammered with every word she spoke.

“Do you like it? I am sorry, I can return it for something else. Or you can come to the shop with me and choose what you like. Are you okay Em?” I spoke non-stop, and there she was silent again.

“The mark on this pendant, what do you know about it?” she asked whilst looking at her wrist.

“It matches the mark on your wrist, I thought you would like it.” I picked up the champagne glass in skepticism.

She apologised for reacting that way, and she loved the gift. She seemed stressed and under a lot of pressure. “It may be work pressure.” I convinced myself. After dinner I decided to take Emma on a little detour, we stopped for ice-cream and stayed the night on the terrace watching the stars. She was more comfortable, and happier. The littlest things made her happy, and that made her so perfect. 

For breakfast, I made pancakes and coffee, but she bolted out of the apartment after waking up. Her behaviour to me was uncanny and eerie. I could not understand the reason why she changed the topic about her tattoo and necklace. I got ready for work and hoped that I receive a message from her.

I picked up Sam and we left for the hospital, my mind was constantly drifting between Emma and her behaviour. There had to be a reason why, it was repeated on numerous occasions. When her brother, Joey, Sam, or Mia asked her about the tattoo, she always drifted from the topic. She has been hiding something and I had to find out. We have been on 2 dates, but she was important to me, I do not know if she felt the same, but I had to be there as her best friend. 

After the camp, we grew closer to Lucas and Emma. The 6 of us committed to meeting for coffee or dinner every weekend. We spent lots of quality time together, and I got to see Emma on several occasions. She no longer ignored me, and everyone stopped talking about her tattoo. 

It was Mia’s birthday, and Joey planned a surprise party for her. It was a formal black vintage theme, and we are all yet to find out what Joey’s secret surprise is. We were all dressed in black, the guys in black tuxedos and the girls in black dresses. The alarm bell rang, and it was time. 

The door opened, “SURPRISE!!” everyone screamed. 

Mia looked stunning in the dress Sam got her. She was thrilled in happiness as she walked through the red carpet. After cutting the cake and completing the formalities, we were ready for the dance floor until everything turned black. The lights were turned off and the atmosphere turned tense.

“Hey there Miss. Smarty-pants, you are looking exceptionally beautiful today.” A sudden voice said.

The stage light moved from Mia to Joey, and there he was with the mic standing in front of her. Everyone stood shocked and patiently waiting for him to go on.

“I feel so lucky to be standing by your side today, and you are extremely special to me. Today is your day, and I want to give you the best gift ever?” Joey moved the mic to Mia as he spoke.

She was blushing with full of joy as he asked for her hand. Joey pulled out a little box from his pocket and got down on his knees.

“Mia Collins, WILL YOU BE MY BEST FRIEND FOREVER??, I PROMISE TO NEVER LEAVE YOUR SIDE EVER. I LOVE YOU!” as he took out the ring, he held her hand with a promise of eternity.

“YES YES, OF COURSE. I have been waiting for this forever. I LOVE YOU TOO Joey Hernandez.” She agreed without wasting another second.

He put the ring on her finger, and they shared a beautiful moment. Everyone was happy for Mia and Joey and got ready for the dance floor.

“You should go ask her for a dance,” Sam whispered in my ears while noticing my eyes on Emma. Sam knew I had feelings for her and encouraged me to ask her.

I noticed Emma walking out to the terrace, and I followed her out. We drank champagne as we watched Joey and Emma dance to their favourite song.

“They are perfect together, aren’t they?” I said while looking at them.

“Yes, they are!” she replied, “Love is a beautiful feeling, and they both deserve to be so happy.” She looked up at me and said, “Dustin, I am so sorry for all the trouble I have caused you. You did not deserve to be ignored.”

I immediately forgave her and did not want her to feel guilty for what happened.

“If you are okay with it, I would love to give us another try.” She had the same look on her face when we first met, the glow in her eyes and her smile had a spark.

With the moon as my witness and the stars as the truth, I realised I could not stay away from her. I hugged her without any hesitation and agreed that we should give each other a chance. This time I want to be her boyfriend, partner, and everything Joey was to Mia. 

“Dustin, I am not what you think I am. My life is filled with darkness and I do not want to fill your life with my bad luck. You are an amazing guy, and you deserve better than me.”

“Em, all I want is a chance with you. Since the day I met you, I knew I wanted to get to know you. I accept all your problems like mine, and all your flaws are your perfection. Can we promise each other that we will never keep any secrets?” I took her hand in mine and promised her that I will keep no secrets from her, and she returned a promise that she will never keep anything from me.

A little promise was the foundation of the faith we have in each other. We started to grow closer and closer with every second we spent with each other. Our relationship grew stronger with the day. Emma and I have been dating for months, Joey and Mia had a court marriage and Sam moved back in with her parents. 

Emma and I decided to take a step forward with each other and adopt a pet together. We visited the animal shelter Lucas volunteered at and that’s where we met Frosty for the very first time. Frosty stayed full time in my apartment and Emma spends the weekend over. 

It was finally our 1st anniversary together and we decided to spend it out for the entire evening. We attended a dinner and dance at the Blue Moon Bar. It was a perfect romantic evening together until we bumped someone came over to our table. It was Emma’s friend and colleague Jamie. Jamie was a cheery and bubbly lady, Emma said that they did their internship together. I noticed something unusual on Jamie’s neck, it was the same tattoo Emma has on her wrist. I knew then that Emma was hiding something, what was the connection between the 2 of them and why do they have the same symbolic mark. 

As soon as I reached home, I sat down for a cup of coffee and my laptop. I searched the internet for a meaning behind the moon mark. “DIANIC WICCA WITCH” appeared in bold print and the picture of the symbol. I scrolled further down and read that the sign symbolizes the practice and worship of the Wiccan Goddess using Witchcraft magic. The coffee fell from my hand and the cup shattered into pieces. I felt confused, trapped, and baffled by what was in front of me. It could only mean one thing; Emma was a witch, and she chose to hide it from me.