1 The Girl of the Legend
SELENE stifles her yawn while looking at the scenery before her. She is currently standing at the top of a short hill, just a short walk from her house. Snow stretches his long black slender body and nestles his head close beside her feet before fixing her with his cold, unblinking stare, his vast, ice blue eyes glistening against the sunlight. Selene's mouth curves up in a faint smile. She plops down beside him and stares skyward while the warm grass tickles her skin.
Selene decided to stay motionless for a minute, trying to savor the energy from her surroundings. Still, only a few seconds had passed, and she started squirming uncomfortably. Selene can't help but feel discouraged, and she's beginning to think this was a bad idea. She moans in frustration. As if reprimanding her, Snow's whiskers flick faintly towards her hands, and his paws lightly graze her jeans.
"I know," Selene mutters. "It was my idea to go out," she tries to focus on something else, and her eyes are pinned to the fluffy white clouds that look like cotton candies. Dorothy always says that she should just go out and spend her free time hanging out with people if she ever gets bored. However, no matter how much she tried, she still felt hollow. Even enjoying nature that usually does the trick isn't very useful these past few days. Instead, she feels uncomfortable, though that would be some change. Usually, she doesn't feel anything at all.
A faint breeze gently caresses her cheeks, and the bundle of white clouds that looked like cotton candies scatters, making way for the hot, bright sunlight to rain down on them.
"It's too bright," Selene murmurs. She lifted her right hand and shielded her eyes against the sunlight, but it was a futile effort. Sighing, she turned her attention to the side and came face to face with Snow. His eyes transfixed on her. Even with the massive tree's help and thick leaves that gently sway with the breeze, they are not enough to completely cover them. He looks more relaxed and disarmingly cold between them, like every typical day of their lives. Selene can't help but think that he's too intelligent for a dog. His stares can also be unnerving at times.
"Should we head back?" Selene asks him. As if answering her question, Snow yawned, exposing razor-sharp gleaming white teeth. She cringes. "I guess we should stay for a little while."
"What are you doing here?" a familiar voice calls out. Dorothy stares down at her while trying to keep a distance from Snow. Her body somehow blocks the sunlight, which is a relief.
Without moving an inch from her place, Selene answers nonchalantly. "Experimenting"
"That's weird. You are never a morning person. Besides, isn't it too hot today?" Selene glances toward Dorothy, who looks ultimately out of place. She wonders how she managed to climb the steep hill with her heels. Even though she seems glamorous from head to toe, her clothes look uncomfortable.
Selene thinks it's best to head back, considering how Dorothy looks. She's already sweating bullets. "What about you? What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm visiting my best friend, whom I haven't seen for a long time. Don't you miss me?"
Selene openly glares at her feet, and Dorothy's eyes follow suit. Dorothy clears her throat and smile.
"You could have at least changed your shoes before coming here. You could have fallen and broken your neck," she reprimanded while shaking off some dirt stuck in her jeans.
Selene's house is built on sprawling land with rolling hills. The house is surrounded by an ornate greenhouse, a gorgeous garden, including various trees, bushes, flowers, and a large pond. The mountain may not be too steep, but it is still difficult to climb up in this area. Many huge rocks and bumps are scattered along how one wrong footing will send someone sliding back to the bottom. She's surprised Dorothy managed to walk with that get-up.
"I'm happy that you are worried about me, but I cannot change my heels. I must be graceful and stunning at all times, no matter the circumstances. It is part of my ensemble."
I snort. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Dorothy placed both her hands on her waist and leaned forward, giving her a full view of her chest that was about to burst from her tight dress. While the tendrils of her blond hair slightly grazed her cheeks. Selene automatically closes her eyes and shies away—keeping a safe distance from her.
"Let's go to the house, and please change into something decent. I still have the clothes you left last time you slept over."
Dorothy laughs heartily. Selene slowly opened her eyes, and she could see the twinkle in her eyes.
"What a prude."
"Is that how you talk to your best friend?" Selene replies morosely.
"What are you talking about?" she ignores her question and leans backward, crossing her arms across her chest. Selene turns her back and starts the trek down the hill when Snow unexpectedly howls fiercely, making Dorothy shriek in fear. Dorothy dashes towards her and tightly grabs her arms. They walk the whole way with Dorothy, who sticks to her like glue, while Snow quietly follows them. She is still not used to Snow's presence as someone who's always at her home. Selene thinks it's too much, even for someone who doesn't like dogs.
In just a few minutes, Selene's house came into view. The layout of the house is a combination of modern and vintage designs. When looking at the façade, the house is built like a short U with two floors. The two extensions spread in stylish gardens to each side. Several balconies are on the house's sides and the top floor, while Selene's yard resembles a meadow sprawling widely up to the hills. The scenery even looks perfect when seeing it from the balcony. Upon entering the house, a vintage design living room can be seen. The place is filled with antiques from vintage mirror frames, vases, clocks, and ceramic wares. A bouquet placed in a crystal vase is brilliantly positioned in some living room corners. The interior colors that further set the ambiance are the combination of white, beige, and lilac.
This home is her only sanctuary; she prefers to live alone. Though maintaining the house and the garden is a tall task for her, helpers visit the residence at least three times a week when she is staying at home. However, she spent her days in a hotel these past months because of her busy business trips and charity work schedule. It was not only until two days ago that she finally had the chance to sleep in her bed.
Selene goes straight to the kitchen to grab a cold drink. She places a glass of orange juice on the counter, and Dorothy happily snatches it away. She drinks it in one swig and immediately asks for another one. Selene shakes her head in disbelief. After refilling her glass, Selene opened the fridge to take out the cake she had baked last night. It is Dorothy's favorite flavor, chocolate mousse. She set it on the counter before pulling out two pieces of plates and silverware.
"How many slices do you want?" Selene asks distractedly while skillfully slicing the cake in even sizes.
"Three," Dorothy answers almost too childishly.
Selene snorts. "Don't blame me if you gain weight," Selene replies jokingly. She neatly places the cake slices on the plate and pushes them towards Dorothy. She also refills her glass upon seeing that it's almost empty.
"Then, stop offering me food. If you can just stop baking cakes, I wouldn't get fat," sullenly replied while gobbling the cake.
"What kind of logic is that? Besides, I'm not baking just for you. I pick up this hobby because of the kids."
"Then why are you leaving a pile of stocks in your fridge?! Your sister's kids can't possibly eat all of that."
"That's because I know you like it. I even prepared your favorite."
"That's what I'm saying!" Dorothy yells indignantly.
"Have some self-control," Selene chides flippantly.
"Damn it! It's hard having a best friend that is too perfect" Selene ignores her remarks and takes a slice before settling in one of the seats. She sits in front of Dorothy, who's still busy digging in. They fell into a comfortable silence, left with their thoughts until Dorothy shattered it with her annoying remark.
"You have huge ass eye-bags. You already look like a panda," Dorothy suddenly commented.
Selene's eyes twitch. She regards her with a smile. "I can't sleep well."
"That is because you're a workaholic! I was surprised when Patrick called me earlier, informing me that you're finally home. How long are you going to do this?"
"What are you talking about?" Selene asks innocently while slowly munching her food.
"Stop acting clueless! Working in the company, finishing your manuscripts, and doing a lot of charity work. Do you want to become like Mother Theresa? Do you want me to build a statue for you?"
Selene forces out a laugh. "Stop overreacting. Besides, my sister is the one who does a lot of work when it comes to managing the company's affairs."
"I'm not overreacting. Your face is all over the news and magazines. The people's positive opinion of you is skyrocketing like nobody's business. They even joke about you running for a government position."
Selene chokes on her food. She quickly grabs her glass of orange juice and drinks it in one swig. Selene gives her best friend a skeptical look. "You, of all people, should know that I'm only doing this because of my interest."
"Yeah, I remember. It is a punishment for what happened in the past. Since you can't just die as you've always wanted, you decided to live for others without thinking about yourself," Dorothy smoothly replies as if reciting lines from a book.
"I know you've always wanted to run away from this. That is why I'm asking you. It's been years already, and you're not getting any younger. How long are you going to do this?"
Selene bends her head to avoid her best friend's intense gaze and starts jabbing her food. She is, indeed, getting old. Selene will hit thirty by next year, and she can't find the correct answer to her question; instead, she blurts out the very thing that she had always regretted saying. "I don't know why, but I still feel empty."
Dorothy drops her fork, and utter shock splays across her face. She stops eating and stares at her blankly, not knowing what to say to comfort her. Selene didn't expect her to. Dorothy is just not good with this kind of thing. The tense atmosphere between the two of them starts to suffocate her. Selene decided to change the subject.
"Did you look into it? It's about the favor I talked to you about over the phone last time."
Dorothy blinks as if breaking out from a stupor. "Are you still having nightmares?"
Selene nods. Dorothy clears her throat before answering. "I already looked into it. A friend of mine knows a shaman. I can set an appointment, and if you're free, we can go there tomorrow."
Selene exhales loudly. "It feels weird talking about it out loud like this"
"And it's scary to talk about something like this with just the two of us."
Selene chuckles in response. Thankfully, the heavy atmosphere earlier slowly dissipates, and Dorothy acts like her usual self.
"If you only know, Dorothy, I always hear this childlike voice calling out to me when I'm alone. It also feels like someone is watching my every move. The medications are not working. I still can't sleep, and even if I did, I always woke up from nightmares."
Yes, those hellish nightmares. The nightmares make things worse for Selene. These past few months, the only thing that could make her feel was born out of her dreams. Selene tried to ignore it, but the dream became almost too persistent, consistently haunting her. It also felt too real; it was like she was reliving those nefarious moments to the very marrow of her bones. In the beginning, Selene dreamed about being locked up in a dark room that not even a speck of light could get through. The only light that she remembered was the glowing blood-red eyes of a gigantic beast staring right through her. She can still feel its slippery tongue tracing every corner of her face while its eyes gleam with an insatiable hunger for flesh. At that moment, Selene was frozen with cold fear. It feels like her body is too battered and broken that escaping is impossible. She has no energy left even to lift her fingers. The undeniable truth of her powerlessness crushed Selene's mind and her body. She was left with nothing but to resign to her fate. However, before she could even experience the excruciating pain of being eaten alive, Selene woke up from the nightmare bathed in sweat.
From then on, the dreams didn't stop. Selene's following dreams were being pushed from the top of a cliff and almost getting drowned. She also dreamed of being chased by a pack of hound dogs inside a dark forest, and she ran for her life until her feet shed nothing but blood. She experienced many other dreams, and it feels like she got cast in a movie with gore and torment as its selling point. However, out of all those dreams, she realized something in common. The perpetrator is always the same. The tortures were carefully planned, and she is being called by a different name that she couldn't remember. The dreams are just too much, getting out of control. Selene realized that she needed to do something about it, or she was going to lose her sanity.
"How about Patrick? Does he know about this?" Dorothy asks as an afterthought.
Selene's eyes widen threateningly. She felt the metal fork sting her hand. She must have grasped it hard without her knowing. "Don't even think about telling him. He will freak out. Let's go there tomorrow, just the two of us."
Dorothy rolls her eyes. "Are you even sure you can keep it a secret from him?"
"We will keep it a secret from him, no matter what." Selene enunciated heavily, staring at her evenly.
Dorothy groans, defeated. "Damn it! Alright, but if he finds out about this, don't even think about mentioning my name. You know how much of a nag he is."
Selene smiles faintly. She couldn't agree more. As if Patrick is aware that they're talking about him, Selene suddenly receives a text asking her to go out for dinner. She read the message repeatedly to confirm if she read it correctly. His message is as clear as day. He is never the type to make unplanned schedules, and Selene can't help but get a bad feeling from it.
