Catherina - Day 13

Ten hours. I finished my regular daily routine in the first five hours and spent the preceding five sleepless nights pondering over what I should prepare for that dinner. Maybe I should have a small knife or something. Would that be helpful against supernatural beings (yes, I have assumed their identities ranging from zombie, ghost, and vampire to aliens, time travelers, and some secret families behind history)? Doubtfully. So I will just present myself then, be I the most harmless, commonest being attending.

My phone showed 2:50 AM.

Putting my key and phone into the pocket, I quietly opened the door, squeezing the very end of the doorknob to prevent any noises. I tiptoed by the front door of my parent's room, across the living room, and finally outside in the corridor. White LED lights were consistent in brightness, and yet it was no longer that homely hue I saw every day. It was paler, ghostlier, reminding me of the skin shade of the young man.

Shivered was I when walking down the corridor, despite my effort to control my muscles. It was such a torment, feeling as if I was walking to gallows. No, even more horrible – it was the unknown. Remember the tale of two choices? The king presented the criminal two paths: instant death or walking through a long, dark tunnel that no one knew what was inside or to where it led. The criminal chose death. Afterward, others asked the king what was inside that tunnel. The king said, "nothing, if the criminal had chosen the tunnel and walked for three days, he would have been out." You see, death wasn't the scariest. Unknown was.

216. AT 2:57 AM. I scrutinized the door, realizing for the first time, after having been living on this floor for so long, that this one was different from other standard unit doors. It had a wooden texture, unlike the synthetic material of mine. Besides, it looked heavier and older, like those belonging to the "preserved historical site."

2:59 AM. I lifted my right hand. Three quick knocks and I immediately moved rightwards – to avoid any direct contact. With that heavy wood door, I could hear nothing (with our door, one can hear the TV in the living room from the corridor, no kidding), and thus unknown prevailed.

The door opened inwards, and the young man stood at the edge of the entrance. He saw me, nodding to recognize my presence. "Welcome. Come in." His face was expressionless, and I tried my best to persuade myself that he must be attempting to smile but failed – otherwise, his words were plain as tap water.

Weird that he did not ask for my name or tell me his; last name, at least. I hesitated for a moment but then decided to follow him.

Immediately behind the door was a gigantic embroidered screen; golden, red, and ultramarine threads shimmered in darkness with the light from the hallway. Yes, starless night inside this unit. Therefore, I was unable to estimate its spatial volume, but I could bet $100 that it must be at least a triple of mine – that embroidery along was wider than double my height and taller than the young man! Can you imagine fitting something of that scale in a flat at the entrance? Seriously, the construction team could not have been following the model when building this one.

We walked around the right corner of the screen, coming to a spacious living room with a group of wooden sofas at the center. At the end of the living room was a round table which was big enough for seven, eight people. The dining area was immersed in a soft crimson, the source being couples of tall, red candles standing on shelves and cabinets scattered across it and the living room. With the light, I could saw a vague outline of the ceiling far above my head. It had wooden beams and supporting struts. I had to comment that this unit was structurally similar to a temple, or an apartment in palaces.

Sitting around the table were one older woman and the young lady I saw descending by the other escalator. Both of them wore red robes, finely embroidered with gold, and their raven black hair had been woven into delicate coiffure.

I smiled and nodded to them, still timid to produce any sound by my throat. The young lady smiled back, and the older lady merely tilted her chain in my direction. The young man sat on the elder's left and gestured me to sit by the young lady.

Silence. I stared at the empty table, pretending to study the tablecloth's exquisite embroidery pattern. Everything was so finely-made here, the entire unit an elegant art. The table was of thick, solid sandalwood, communicating to me (at least with my limited knowledge about luxuries) nothing but expensiveness.

"Thank you for helping me the other day," the young man broke the silence.

"Is that what you called her here for!" The older woman turned to give him a firm look, sounding unusually hoarse and high-pitched. The young lady beside me bowed her head low, avoiding eye contact with the young man (who I suspected to be her brother, and the elder the mother).

"Mother," confirming my supposition, the young man responded to her politely. "I could not have gotten out without this young lady's help."

"What was your problem? Some barbarian numbers!" His mother sounded even harsher. Then, she made a sudden turn of her body towards me, meeting my eyes with hers - which were sp uncommonly dark that one could barely distinguish the pupil from the iris. "A commoner! How could she help you? How could you even accept her help!"

Speechless, I stood up. Nodding to the young man, his mother, and his sister, I walked towards the screen. This time I turned left around its corner, opened the door, and exited. I ran straight to my unit, remembered to enter quietly, changed clothes, and climbed to bed.

Sleep.

The next morning, I woke up a bit later than the usual hour. Oh crap! I sill had school today - this morning's experience led me to mistaken today, a Friday, for Saturday. Rushing out into the corridor, I recalled that unpleasant, dark unit of 216. True, it might have been worth a palace, but it was depressing as a grave with its pale residents and blood-like wax dripping off from the candles. Shaking my head, I entered the elevator and ascended. On the flat roof of the building rested my dragon Black Pudding (for every scale of him was coal-black), among many others. I patted him, waking him up from a prolonged dream. "Morning! Let's go to school, shall we?" Pudding was a good boy, and he waited until I was fully settled on his back to extend his bat-like wings.

At the moment of departure, I saw a familiar figure at the entrance to the roof. It was that young man. He stood in the shadow under the roof entrance, and I almost missed him because of that. "Hey!" I called out to him. It wasn't him that treated me rudely, was it? Hesitated for a moment or two, the young man stepped out and walked towards me.

"Can I go to school with you?" He asked this question, standing a meter away from Pudding. I noticed that he was no longer wearing that gold-embroidered red robe, but a black one with no glaring decoration.

Unbelievable, though deep down, I deemed this question reasonable. Perhaps the young man's moderate attitude (and attire) had impressed me, so I gestured him to climb up. We were on our way at last.

When Pudding had landed on the roof of my school, I asked the young man, despite half-knowing the answer, "why would you want to come to school?"

"To learn things……that are different. New things." He studied the establishment under his feet, not without amazement.

How will he be studying here? That was not a question of mine. I know he can. Without explanation. Period.

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