Fever

[#shortstory #fiction]

"What are you?" she said. Her eyes looked curiously upon the creature. She had never seen anything like it, but she liked its brown eyes. The creature, in turn, looked at her suspiciously. It made a gesture to come towards her, but at the last moment it sprang and ran. She was left alone, bewildered and surprised.

The next day she saw the creature again. This time, she didn't say anything, only smiling encouragingly at it. When she was home yesterday, she remembered how frightening it was to be the new kid, and how every 'Hi' and 'How are you' freaked her out. Maybe the creature felt the same. It still looked at her suspiciously, but she was careful not to make any sudden movement. Aside from the smile, she pretended it wasn't there. Give it a little space, she said.

Several days passed before the creature stopped looking at him suspiciously, and more curiously. The creature did not hide anymore, in fact, it almost seemed like it was waiting for her. One day, she played a prank on the creature. She didn't smile when she passed where the creature was, and looking down to the ground instead. The creature got agitated and started to follow her, which then she looked up and give it a big "Boo!" and laugh. The creature went hiding for days, and she felt so bad.

"Do you miss home?" she said, while the creature gently combed her hair. The creature has long brittle fingers, she loved the feel of those fingers on her hair. They have come a long way since that first encounter.  She knew what the creature was. At first, she suspected the creature was a wayward spirit or ghoul, but the creature's constant solidness made her think it was something else. She decided he must've been alien, somehow stranded here. 

The creature did not reply. It had not learned the language she used, so she just shrugged it off. To her surprise, the creature pointed out towards the horizon. "Home," it said in its weird vocal. She looked at the creature in surprise. "Home," she replied. She smiled in joy. She had become so attached to this creature, she had stopped thinking about it as a pet. She liked the creature. She started to wonder how can she kept the creature around. Will her mother mind as much? She could take a good care of the creature. Like, how hard could it be anyway.

The creature's hands clasped her cheeks and held her face close to its face. "Home," the creature said. Its brown eyes locked into hers, and she felt fever burning in her. Sorcery, she thought to herself and struggled to be free. Yet at the same time, she didn't want to. She just wanted to be lost in the creature's eyes. Is it bad? Is it wrong? Her body burned from within, and her heart beat like a drum. It is killing me, she thought, and then what? Will the creature eat her? Was the creature planning to kill and eat her all along?

The sound of the horn surprised them both. The loud yelling and the weapons being brandished freaked them both out, and soon they were clutching each other in fright. "You, let go of her!!" screamed one of the pursuers. The creature panicked and let her go, run as fast as it can back to the concrete jungle where it came from. The clanging sound of the metal bin and the rotten stench of the trash assaulted her as the pursuers run after the creature, and her throat throbbed from screaming, both calling for the creature and begging it should not be hurt.

"Lady, are you alright? You shouldn't wander afar from the mansion like this," said one of the pursuer. "I am fine, thank you," she responded. A maid came running and put silk and cashmere robe around her to keep her warm. "We will make sure we catch the peasant and punished him. Now if you please get into the limo, we'll drive you back to the mansion," said the captain of the guard, a handsome woman dressed in a suit. She looked at her, baffled. "So.. that was.. a man?" The maid and the captain of the guard looked at each other in distress. "Lady," the maid said soothingly, "Let's go." She walked with them obediently, but she threw glances to the filthy concrete jungle now and then. A man. Her first man. The brown eyes and long finger. A man. Her man. She shivered. Her body burned once again.

From the midst of the concrete jungle, a few pair of eyes carefully watched the procession, as they all retreat back to The Mansion. "So that's the infamous Virgin of The Mansion," said one watcher. "She was a real beauty, what a prize to have!" said the other watcher. "Haha, like either of us peasants will have a chance on her," another watcher answered, "her mother has had her locked up in years, it was rumored she has never seen a man before." All the other watchers laughed and exchange bawdy jokes and lewd comments about what they are going to do with her if they had the chance. All except one brown-eyed watcher that was quietly burning inside. The smell of her perfume, the softness of her face, and those eyes… He felt his body burning. Nothing else mattered anymore. Except her. The fever has risen and there was no way to quench it down.