Chapter Three
Illusion
...
[Ugh… when will this rain stop?]
It was 5:45. Nyxen’s feet tapped against the porch. He had to reach the forest subway in a few minutes, but the rain was pouring. His father had taken the umbrella to work. He had waited for fifteen minutes, but the rain didn’t stop.
[Whatever. I’ll just get a little wet.]
First, he held his hand under the rain, confirming he was going to get soaked.
Hmm… huff… deep breath…
Then he ran with everything he had. He held his bag above his head. The sound of raindrops hitting the leather surface echoed clearly.
A few people on the street stared at him. With each step, he covered almost two meters. But attracting attention didn’t help; like an idiot, he slipped and fell face-first.
[Ouch, ouch… should’ve warmed up. Good thing there’s grass, or I’d be hurt.]
A couple of middle school girls saw him from a distance and giggled. Nyxen frowned and gave them a sharp look. They felt like he was staring into their souls, so they quickly ran away.
Nyxen pulled himself together, grabbed his bag, and repeated the action.
...
A middle-aged worker was in the subway. He was pretending to be busy, but Nyxen noticed he had been watching him the whole time.
He was cleaning his coat, struggling to remove the mud and moisture. Then he rubbed his thigh, and each press twisted his face in discomfort.
[If I had more time, I could’ve warmed up… for now, I’m just glad I caught the subway.]
Nyxen kept convincing himself. Warming up didn’t actually take long. The truth was he had simply forgotten, but he was afraid to admit he hadn’t thought about it enough.
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It had been a week since the forest hill dream. Since then, the strange feeling he had only grew stronger. Yet Nyxen had learned to manage it. At first, he thought he was sick and went to a doctor. When he told the doctor he sometimes felt a strange sensation, the doctor gave him some nonsense answer, which only occupied his mind more.
Beep…
The train stopped. Nyxen saw that the rain was still falling, but at least there was some time before school started. He tried to wait. At least the platform had a roof.
[A little longer… my clothes won’t be that wet by then.]
...
Ha. Nyxen really had bad luck. It was as if the world wanted to break his patience today. The rain didn’t stop, and even got heavier.
He gave every curse in his mind to his luck. He couldn’t run anymore. He had to walk quickly to school, soaked.
Nyxen entered the classroom. The usual noise had stopped.
[Yeah, here I am. Bet I look like a dirty forest monster now.]
He silently blamed his luck again.
Feeling the pressure of gazes on his desk, he sat down. A few of his male friends approached. They all thought they were close to Nyxen, but he was just keeping polite manners.
[What’s up, Nyxen… don’t catch a cold?]
[Don’t you have an umbrella?]
[But to be fair, with your face, wet hair, and figure, all the girls are checking you out. I’m sure at least three more are staring right now.]
[Woof woof]
[Hop hop]
Nyxen hadn’t slept more than four hours. He hadn’t eaten breakfast calmly… and now these annoying flies buzzed around his head.
After a few minutes of the dogs barking, Nyxen reached his limit. He stood up calmly. His black eyes, deep as an abyss, scanned all three of them. The barking stopped. One of them asked:
[Is something wrong…?]
Before the sentence could finish, Nyxen kicked him squarely. The sound of cracking eggs echoed across Sandra. The girls screamed.
[What are you doing, Nyxen… noooo!]
Nyxen first punched the boy in the face, turning his nose into a mess. He lifted him and threw him out the window.
Then he exhaled calmly and sat down. Two girls hid in the corner; the rest had fled. The third had wet herself beforehand. Nyxen’s reflection was clearly visible in her eyes.
A voice called out:
[Nyxen, are you okay? Here, take this towel.]
Nyxen returned to reality from his thoughts. With a kind, grateful expression, he said:
[Thank you so much, guys. And thanks for the towel, Luna.]
The girl who gave the towel felt her cheeks warm. She said in a soft, shy voice:
[You’re… you’re welcome.]
After drying himself, Nyxen returned to class and focused on his studies. During break, he watched the students from the window.
[Ah… my patience has really run out. I’d never do that.]
...
After class, he inhaled the steam from his coffee. As it entered his lungs, he felt his eyes opening again.
He returned home and, as usual, did his homework. When he got into bed, he thought about the students. He felt he had been the center of attention. He realized he hadn’t even been fully intentional… the others had helped him. He could even make himself appear more attractive. Yet the feeling was familiar; why were others acting differently around him recently?
While speaking with classmates, he felt the strange sensation multiple times. He was almost sure it wasn’t a disease. The feeling was indescribable; by its name alone, it was just… a feeling.
Hours passed. He tried to sleep, but couldn’t.
[Damn this coffee.]
Eventually, he got frustrated and rose from bed.
[Ahhhh...]
His foot still ached when moving.
He ignored it, put on warm clothes, and stepped outside. The post-rain air was pleasant. The smell of moisture and earth calmed him and allowed him to bury some of today’s events in that moment.
After thinking for a while, Nyxen realized this was no ordinary sickness. What did it mean? Every time he was with others, it happened? No. Even when he was alone, it occurred.
It had happened the first time when he lied. The second time when he tried to persuade Lethe. After that, it happened multiple times.
Nyxen thought there might be a connection. Was it linked to the words he tried to speak? No. If that were true, every single word would trigger it. So what?
[Today, when I said thanks to the kids and expressed gratitude, it happened again. What does that
have to do with that time I lied?]
Nyxen smirked: [Ah, man… I’m just hallucinating. This coffee has fried my brain.]
