005

CLYONE

"Isn't these a lot to buy in one go?" I throw a look on Daniel as I take one of the carts on the line. I raised my eyebrows and beamed as if telling him that well, that's what Deron asked for.

"I mean, we do grocery for the whole week, but this list is too much for a week." He flicked the paper as I walked with him along with me. My shoulders dropped as I held onto the cart while still walking.

"This could be used for two weeks or even more since it's just the two of you."

"He wanted a vacation. No going out. Not even once or maybe twice to buy groceries for the rest of the week."

"What are ya'll? Prisons?" I let out a chuckle and threw him a look as we kept walking into one of the aisle. 

I know, Daniel. I know how exactly you feels. I had the same reaction as you are. You're not the only one.

"Did he talked to you last night?" I asked as we kept moving. I threw him a look. He is still holding the list, checking every word, as we walk slowly in peace. 

"No, obviously. When he's sad, he just want to spend time alone with you," he mumbled as his eyes remained on the list. I nodded my head slowly. How did I forgot?

"You know, last night was really strange of him."

"What do you mean strange? He's just sad," Daniel answered back. He, then, turned his head at the shelf full of biscuits next to him. He took three different kinds and brands that was probably on the list and had put them all in the cart. Then, we continue walking.

I sighed as I looked down on my feet. I've witnessed a lot of your downfalls, but had never witnessed you became that weird. Seconds later, I turned my head back at him. He was so focused on the list that his lips are now puckered with his brows both furrowed. He was staring at the paper as if he was holding something really important that matters.

"Not by the silence. He's been telling me weird stuffs about corpse and ghosts." Daniel glanced at me, now focused to what I was trying to say. His face is still creased with confusion plastered on it.

"What do you mean?" We kept walking.

"He's asking like what if I'm sleeping next to a corpse and such. Earlier when you arrived, we..." I was cut off by my own thoughts. 

My head slowly turned to face him with lightly wide eyes. I could feel my cheeks burning as well, but this guy next to me who is not actually that innocent doesn't seem to get me at all.

His face creased even more making the three line of wrinkles on his face evident. He gave me an impatient look as if asking me what I am going to say next.

"You...?" His brows met, not leaving even an inch gap in between.

"We're doing something that you wouldn't want to here." I quickly faced my front and started walking as fast as I could as if I found out that someone's following me secretly from behind.

"Oh!" I was a meter away from him when he blurted that. Sarcasm is plastered from his tone. I, then, stopped and turned my head fo face him. My eyes still light widened and my cheeks still burning. I saw him smirking. It was just a one simple word with two letters, but the impact it gaves me was so massive.

"Shut up." I turned my back at him and continued walking. I was supposed to rant, but the conversation turns out to be a revelation of some nasty actions.

"So, that's why you were taking so long when I arrived."

"Geeze!" I stopped and frustratedly looked at him. He's still smirking as if he's dissing me about something bad I did that he wanted me to be pressured by it so bad. 

"Leave it, Daniel!" I rolled my eyes, held the cart's handle and continued to walk. I heard him chuckled which cause me to roll my eyes again. 

He's just as naughty as you are. You both love teasing. I honestly don't know which between the two of you had learned the teasing between the two of you as well. You could be brothers for having almost the same behavior and personality. 

Well, makes sense since you're cousins.

"You know you could've texted me to come back in a few. I got a lot of time to wait somewhere. Maybe in a cafe." Despite of the awkwardness I am feeling, I couldn't help, but laugh along. 

"It's just a light make out! Alright?"

"Of course, it is. You can't go deeper because of the horny sound—" I threw him a disgusted yet surpise look which caused him to laugh harder. "I mean, the loud honks from my car's horn!" 

I hit him on his arm that only caused him to laugh harder.

"He's a good kisser, isn't he?"

"Really, Daniel, stop!"

"Admit it. He's a good kisser that you can't resist even though you don't like making people wait for you."

"You're being nasty!" I tried to hit him on his arm, but he was quick to move it away from me. His smirk never left his face ever since.

I swear, it's nothing different from the way you tease me about those kind of stuffs.

"It's not nasty! Just his sweet gestures." That's when my lips formed into a genuine smile. My arms went back to placing them at the top of the cart's handle as our walk slowed down as well.

I miss those sweet gestures. I used to get annoyed when you're doing too much, but now, I just miss them. How I wish you could come back and wreck me with how clingy you are. I swear that I will never get tired embracing them. I, do, realized its worth before, but thinking how I sometimes refused with your cuddles, I wish I just accepted them so I wouldn't be craving in regret now. 

"He asked me this morning."

"What?" he replied that caused me to glance at him.

"What if I am spending a vacation with a ghost? Don't you think it's weird? Since last night, he's been talking as if he's going to leave soon." My lips formed into a pout as I look down on my feet. I sighed. My shoulders dropped as well. The heavy and nerve-wracking feeling is back.

"It scares me."

"Have you talked about it?"

"He keep saying he's fine and he'll tell me answers at the end of the vacation." Once again, I let out a sigh before turning my head back to him.

The moment I saw his reaction, I stopped in an instant. His brows are furrowed, but not because of annoyance. They were furrowed in a symphathizing manner that cause my brows to meet out of confusion.

"What?" My brows met even more, not leaving an inch space in between, when I noticed how his eyes became watery and pinkish.

"Are you okay?" I asked almost in a whisper. He seems to get back on his senses as his both brows raised as if he realized that he just spaced out. He blinked many times and averted his eyes away from me.

"Daniel—"

"I'm good. I'm good, yeah." He cleared his throat.

I'm not satisfied though since his back is facing me and is seemingly wiping something off his face.

"Are you sure? You seems not, to be frank with you."

"I'm good," he assured, but I heard a sniff next.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying," he defended as he faced me. He, then, smiled at me and wrapped one arm at the top of my shoulders as his other hand helds the cart to push it. Then, we walked along next to each other.

"We better hurry. Deron probably wants to see you already."

"Yeah, about that. He's also talking as if seeing him at certain time could be the last time I am with him. You know he's just... he's just weird."

"Deron loves you so bad that he could spend a whole week with you before going." 

My eyes averted on him. My brows furrowed as I stare. Now he's talking like how strange you are. Is that how cousins supposed to be? Inheriting each other's strangeness?

"Do you know something that I don't?" My face wrinkled as I stopped walking. "Perhaps, is there something I need to know?"

Daniel stopped as well. Instead of feeling pressured or nervous that this could be the right time that I could catch you both from hiding something, he beamed.

"The only thing you need to know about Deron is how much he loves you until the very end that he could sacrifice for you until his last breath, Clyone."

"He's not leaving... right?" Unsure with my question, I managed to stare at him straight to his eyes and waited for a right answer. An answer that could assure me that no one's leaving. Something that could assure me that you will be staying.  But instead of saying a thing, he only beamed.

"Do you think Deron could do that despite of how deeply in love he is with you?" I didn't say a thing. Well, can you? I don't think I could say such thing. Only you can answer that.

"You know something about his strange secret, don't you?" I squinted my eyes. He only laughed and even ruffled my hair with his hand that was wrapped around my shoulder before he continued to walk along with the cart. I had no choice, but to come along.

"Is there anything else he told you? Like what happened last night, maybe?" he asked with his full attention focused on getting more biscuits from the shelf. He didn't even bother to stop, but just going along with his walk as he take packs of foods.

My lips formed a tiny pout. Well, you did actually, but as what I always say, I am too dumb to notice. Is that what happens when you date a dummy person? Oh, I did that on purpose, Deron. I would love to have you coming after me after hearing me call you dummy. You don't like me calling you that for sure. They don't tickle your ears like how it does whenever I tell you how much I love you, but they wreck your ears instead.

"Don't know. I mean, I can't honestly tell which among everything he said were true. They seemed fake since he lied at the first place which was so obvious anyway." I was about to say more when he cut me off by another question.

"What exactly did he said?" Daniel doesn't seem pissed by how my answer doesn't seem to satisfy him, but he sounds eager yet calm to know something that will satisfy his questions.

"He got robbed. If you only see the house last night. Everything was a mess, but he denied everything after I saw some red paint on his room." I rolled my eyes as I remember everything I saw last night. The excuses were just lame and plain stupid. As I've said, we are such dummies, and that probably led you for admitting that something actually happened, but you're not going to tell so you could be safe from my nagging. Well, if I would really nag. 

Only if I knew what exactly happened that night, I'd probably cry my ass out. Well, just look what happened to me now that I found out. I'm twice doleful as you were from the first night since that strange day happened. Lifeless yet alive. It felt like I lost a purpose in life, but I couldn't end  my own life, so I end up just going with the flow in life. Like I have no choice. Cimmerian it is.

"Have you checked the whole house?" I threw him a confused look as we keep walking. This time, we turned to our right when we reached the end of the aisle.

"Why would I check the whole house?" Daniel's brows raised and looked away. It was as if he realized how his question could spoil something.

Where was my mind that day, eh? That was a hint, should have known.

"But why's the whole house in a mess?"

"Oh, I just came up with an idea." I smiled when he glanced at me with his brows furrowed.

"Well... I was thinking that maybe he was so upset and got no one to talk to that time that he ended up wrecking everything. Most stuffs were crashed, honestly."

"Clyone."

"Yeah?"

"Hypothetically asking."

My eyes squinted with the sudden question. "What?"

"What if he got robbed and tried to fight the thief, but ended up being killed by it. Then, the death was so sudden that he can't leave you just like that? Without saying a proper goodbye? And that you're actually spending a vacation with a ghost?" I let out a small laugh, eyes squinting at him, giving him a look as if telling how stupid his question is.

"Now we're talking about ghost?"

"Don't you believe in ghost?" Out of a sudden, a little girl who's seemingly around six appeared on my side, giving me an innocent yet interested look. I let out a chuckle.

"You do, don't you?"

"Of course, I do! I've seen one when I was five!" She even raised her hand, showing her five tiny and seemingly soft fingers.

"Really?" I asked, but obviously a tone of just going along with the conversation because the person she's talking to obviously don't believe in them is plastered over my voice.

No one between those two person actually knows about this, but I'm just trying to convince myself that I am not seeing a ghost since last night that day. Ghost could be real, but could be not as well. It depends on the person, I guess. One of my friend who is so faithful to her religion once told me that if you believe on them, then they will announce you their presence. But if you don't, then they won't show up as well. I was trying so hard to convince myself that you are not a ghost and that my eyes are just tricking me for the hallucinations. So stupid as expected.

My mind was in a mess, honestly. My thoughts are battling wether I should believe the hints I've noticed or just ignore them and cherish the moment I am with you. Everybody could probably notice how messy my mind was. I can't properly tell my thoughts because of how messy they were as well. I sound pretentious that I am even fabricating my own thoughts just to say that my mind is clear and has one belief that it is believing on, when in fact, I am in between the line. I have no idea what to think anymore. All because of how strange your acts are.

"Fun fact! I watched this one in a certain show. It says that a human's soul doesn't leave our world right away. It stays for a few days to finish an unfinish business when they were still alive. Isn't that interesting yet creepy at the same time? Just imagine how would they look like when they reached for you!" Then the kid let out a cute giggle. I couldn't say a thing, but giggle with her as well instead.

Since these two certain person are talking about ghost and you, asking for a seven day vacation, somehow convinces me that you are a ghost. But in some way, if you are a ghost, then that means you're dead?

"Chelsea! I told you to stick beside me!" My eyes averted infront. There, I saw a woman who is seemingly in her 30's is staring back at her, to the girl beside me to be specific. She was holding a cart infront of her as well with a bag on her left hand.

The girl named Chelsea looked back on me and smiled. She waved her hand for the last time before running towards her whom I assumed is her mother.

"You know... the girl has a point. What if..." I faced Daniel who is still holding the cart and is standing beside me.

My brows met in an instant and fire seems to started growing inside my eyes.

"Deron is not a ghost! He's alive!"

"I mean, Clyone—"

"Shut it, Daniel. If you're going to say that what you're trying to ask me earlier is what exactly happened to him, cut it. Deron is such a scaredy cat that he would just pee on his pants while hiding from the thief."

I walked away and didn't bother to wait for him anymore. I'd probably come back in a few once I take some items that was listed on the list to put them on the cart.

Somehow, someway, I wanted to believe them. But also, on the other hand, you are a self-proclaimed king of pranks. I have to admit. I always fell for them because you're just good at making them real. I don't think there's a time that you failed to prank me. What if this one's another one?

Doing the grocery took me and Daniel for quite a long time. What made us wait for a longer time was the long line of people paying at the counter that we only finished at afternoon when we've been here since morning.

When we arrived back at home, Daniel asked if he could meet you. Somehow, it made my hopes lifted up a little. I mean, he saw you and even talked with you as if nothing is wrong. It was such a relief, honestly. It's either we are overthinking or you are just doing another prank on me. I swear though, if this is another prank, I think I'm going to beat your ass up. The mess is no joke; the broken stuffs and the stained sheets. So, I wish, Deron, that this is actually the first choice, not the second one because making your girlfriend this worried sick is no fun.