Kyo still couldn’t make the fear go away. Hearing Eric outside his door, he prayed for his dear life.

“Please. Make him go away. I don’t want him to hurt me anymore.” Kyo whispered. After a few minutes, he heard nothing. He sighed, relieved, thinking that Eric had gone away. Half an hour later, he heard another knock.

“Kyo, I know you’re not asleep yet. Let me read you a story.” Kyo was puzzled. Why would Eric want to read him a story, right at this moment? “PinoKyo.” Eric spoke the title, and Kyo moved the pillow from his head, feeling intrigued to hear the story. “Once upon a time, there was a little boy. He was so cute and adorable. Everybody loved him. His parents bought him lots and lots of toys to make him happy. But the boy made a small mistake. He forgot to say how much he loved his parents, and how he felt thankful towards them. One day, the boy was playing alone when he found a small box on the ground. Feeling curious, he opened the box; only to be surrounded by darkness. Since that, he had never met his parents again.”

Eric paused when he heard footsteps from inside Kyo’s room. He smiled and continued reading. “The boy woke up to realize he had turned into a wooden doll. He lived in a small room belonged to a boy. A very handsome boy.” Eric heard Kyo’s snorted. “The boy always wished for the doll to turn into a real boy because he had no friends. On one fateful Saturday morning, the handsome boy was shocked to find his wooden doll had turned into a real boy. A very pretty boy. The handsome boy was shy at first; but after a while, he fell in love with the pretty boy. Even though he was only ten, he thought he had met his life partner.” Kyo giggled. “The pretty boy was so cute; the handsome boy couldn’t take his eyes off of him. But the pretty boy had one special trait. He ate a lot. The handsome boy always had trouble in sneaking food into his room.” Kyo laughed.

Eric stretched out his legs and leaned on the wall beside the doorframe, for he knew Kyo would open the door soon. “At night before going to sleep, the handsome boy would read some stories to the pretty boy, like what he is doing right now.” Eric giggled silently. “And the pretty boy always ended up crying. The handsome boy had never thought the pretty boy was a crybaby.”

“Hey I’m not a crybaby!” Kyo shouted from inside the room, and Eric couldn’t help but laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. “Continue please.” Kyo ordered.

Eric fixed his position and continued reading, a smile lingered on his face. “The first night they slept together, the pretty boy asked the handsome boy to kiss his cheek. He didn’t know he had turned the shy handsome boy into a very-not-shy boy.” Eric giggled again, and he knew Kyo could hear him. “The second morning, the handsome boy woke up early to stare at the pretty boy’s face. And he was amazed seeing the pretty boy’s soft hair. He felt a little bit jealous though.” Kyo laughed, and Eric noticed Kyo’s voice was closer to the door. “That night, the not-so-shy handsome boy kissed the pretty boy’s cheek without even being told to. And he felt good about it.” Suddenly, the door opened. Kyo didn’t get out from the room; he just sat on the floor beside the door, waiting patiently to hear more of the story. And Eric just sat still, his heart beating nervously.

“What happened next?” Kyo asked.

Eric smiled and continued his reading. “It was Monday, and the handsome boy didn’t feel like going to school. He wanted to spend more time with his pretty friend. But seeing the mad look on the pretty boy’s face, the handsome boy went to school half-heartedly. At school, he kept on thinking about the pretty boy, and how he hoped they could spend their time together like normal boys. After class, the handsome boy ran home as fast as he could, because he was missing his friend badly. And seeing the smile on the pretty face, he felt happy. He started telling the pretty boy about his new friends at school; unaware of the pretty boy’s feelings.” Eric stopped to take a deep breath. “That night, the handsome boy noticed his pretty friend looked sad. He asked what was wrong, but the pretty boy started talking nonsense. If only the handsome boy knew it was the pretty boy’s way of telling him he would leave…” Eric’s tears fell. He was really sad thinking about that final night. Kyo was worried of the sudden silence, so he peeped his head out of the door to look at his cousin. 

“Why are you crying?” Kyo asked, seeing Eric’s tears.

“It’s a sad story.” Eric smiled. Kyo then reached his hand to Eric’s face and wiped his tears. Feeling guilty, Kyo looked around the hallway.

“Would you come inside and continue your story? It’s late, but I really want to hear it to the finish.” Eric nodded and picked up his books before entering the young master’s room. Kyo closed the door and invited Eric to sit on the carpet beside his bed. And when Kyo sat next to him, Eric felt like hugging the boy. How he missed being in the position he was at the moment. “You can continue now.”

Eric grinned, and looked back at the book in his hands. "The two went to sleep in each other’s embrace. The handsome boy was so happy to finally have a best friend, and he knew he loved the pretty boy so much. The next morning, the handsome boy was shocked when he didn’t see his friend. He cried and cried, thinking that his pretty friend had left him…” Eric noticed Kyo’s teary eyes. “A few minutes later, when he looked under his bed again, he found his friend. But, he had turned back into the wooden doll.” Kyo started crying. Somehow, he understood the feelings as more familiar images crossed his mind.

“Kyo, let’s continue tomorrow, okay?” Eric asked; seeing the boy lying on the floor, weeping. Getting no response, Eric put away his book and hugged the smaller boy. “You always cry when I read to you.” Kyo was still crying even though Eric hugged him tight. “Kyo, don’t cry… I’m here…” Eric tried to console his cousin. He the younger boy’s back and lulled him to sleep. After a few minutes, Kyo eventually fell asleep. Eric smiled, and pecked Kyo’s cheek. He was relieved for finally being able to peck that soft cheek he had missed so much.