[CONTENTID1]Choice: MX4 Ending[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]A year has passed since the event at Monerosia. Instead of rejoining Umji and her new friends back at the docks for this year’s Halloween weekend, Haera decided to stay at the dorms to spend some deserved alone time. She also wanted to venture around the neighborhoods near the school on her own. Considering that she has been staying in the area for about a year now, Haera has yet to fully immerse herself and take the time to notice the various places and shops around her current residence.

That is why that Saturday morning, she decided to take a light stroll from her dorms to the usually bustling district a few blocks over. It took her a bit of a sweat to complete her feat, but nonetheless, she enjoyed breathing in the fresh air.

Her first stop was a bookstore that almost took an entire block. The place was modernized and smelled heavily of parchment and newly inked books. The building had three floors, dedicating one for the adult’s section on the very first floor, a children’s section on the second, and a small playground and cafe at the very top. The brightly lit place was dominated by light buzzing noises as the people inside somehow made an unspoken rule to treat the place as if it was a library. Although soft music resonated in the air, the otherwise chill vibe created a safe space for everyone to delve into the worlds they literally held in their hands. Some customers even hung around the bookshelves and read from where they stood, casually moving their limbs a bit to give space to whoever needed to pass by them.

Haera looked around for a moment before settling her eyes on the shelf that advertised newly arrived books. Rather than joining the bandwagon and reading whatever was popular at that time, Haera did the opposite. She liked to give new, budding authors a chance and read through their written works instead. In fact, she was able to find a select number of authors whom she liked using that method and recommended them to those who would give her the time of day.

Her feet landed in front of the black wooden table as her fingers graced through the smooth covers of the books. She picked one up and read the summary on the back to determine if it was going to be a story that would interest her. After doing the same for a couple more books, her eyes landed on a book that was near the top most shelf. The spine had gold lettering for the title against a black background.

“Supernatural,” she read. “Huh. I wonder if that one is similar to the television series.”

Haera stretched her arm in the hopes that she could grab the book and scan the contents further. Her shirt rose a few inches upwards in the process, revealing the slight skin that was once concealed by the fabric. Just as she tiptoed as far as she could, a long arm that was covered by a white long sleeved shirt entered her line of sight. The hand easily placed a single finger by the top pages of the book and tilted the hardbound spine towards them. The spine then plopped into their palm before the hand dropped down below her eye level.

Throughout this process, Haera’s gaze stayed on the book the stranger effortlessly pulled out from the shelf. When the book stopped moving, she noticed the gray double ed vest the person wore along with the black and white striped tie that stayed snug inside. Her eyes then traveled upwards until she met a pair of gray hued eyes staring back at her. His neat and handsome appearance awed her to the point that she thought the man jumped out of a fairytale about princes.

For some odd reason, Haera felt a sense of familiarity from the man even though he had on an unreadable and stiff expression. His eyes lit up for a second which made Haera question if it was a simple trick of the light or if he somehow recognized her as well. The man slightly pushed the hardbound book towards her, accompanied by a shallow nod.

“Here,” his deep voice resonated in her ears.

“Thank you,” her reply barely rolled from her tongue as she kept her eyes on his.

After the man gave her another nod, he walked past her and eventually disappeared amidst the endless bookshelves. Haera stood there for a moment before she looked down to scan the book in her hands. The front cover had the same gold lettering for the title and a white text for the author’s name. She turned the book around and carefully read the summary on the back. When she saw the first word, her eyes widened in surprise. A buried memory unlocked randomly, making her look back to where the man who just helped her disappeared to.

Haera promptly placed the book down a bit askew on the table beside her along with the other new arrivals. Without missing another beat, her feet followed the man’s path. She felt a dire need to meet him again, his stunning gray eyes flashing vividly in her mind.

“Vampire,” she barely said in a whisper, repeating the first word that she read from the back of the Supernatural book.

Haera swept through the area for the mystery man but didn’t find any sign of him anywhere. She went back near the exit, figuring that she might catch him before he left the bookstore instead. That’s when her eyes darted towards the checkout counter as a familiar figure stood in line. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the moment the well dressed man grabbed the plastic bag the cashier handed him. 

When he turned towards the exit, he paused in his tracks and met the curious dark brown eyes observing his every move. A small frown made its way to his facial features which didn’t get unnoticed by the woman a few feet away from him. The man eventually regained his composure as he continued on his way towards the glass exit door. Before he could reach for the door handle, Haera caught up to him.

“Shownu.”

“My apologies for not acknowledging you earlier,” Shownu dropped his hand to the side and fully faced her. He turned his head to look at the other patrons around them. “Let’s talk some place else.”

Haera nodded and followed Shownu out the door wherever he deemed was the perfect place to talk. The two of them silently walked side by side until they reached a park that barely had any passersby.

Shownu stopped in front of the retention pond. He glanced over the fountain in the middle, the stagnant flow of the water looking mesmerizing in his opinion.

“Please,” he gestured to the white bench behind them that overlooked the pond.

Haera sat without a word, her view completely taken over by the man’s regal aura.

Shownu followed suit and sat beside her, placing the plastic bag that contained his purchase from earlier in the space between them.

“You must have a lot of questions,” he started after a few moments of silence. “I’m not certain of the extent of what you remember from that night,” he lifted his left hand in front of her face as his gray eyes along with the silver band that adorned his index finger glowed. “So let me take this opportunity to return them back to you.”

Flinching at his sudden movement, Haera didn’t have time to react to the sight in front of her before the ends of his hand emitted a warm glow. A small meep escaped her lips and in a few seconds, the light that Shownu created dissipated. Haera wobbled in her seat and instinctively propped a hand on the cool bench underneath her to make sure she didn’t stumble over. She moaned the next second later, her eyes still shut tightly as if any passing light could blind her. 

“Are you alright?” The calm yet worried voice from Shownu eased her transition a bit before she slowly started to regain her vision. 

“Is it always going to be like this?”

Shownu remained composed, his stoic gaze never leaving her figure. “No. The next time we meet, it will be as complete strangers.”

“Why? Is it so wrong to leave my memories alone? What if I want to remember everything?”

“Nothing good comes out of associating yourselves with us,” Shownu reasoned with weight hanging on each word. His eyes remained fierce, yet they somehow also looked distant.

Haera knew why he was trying to shut himself out. She realized that they were of different species and had to protect themselves from the wrath of humans. What she didn’t understand was why he would keep erasing her memories when deep down, h