The Mouse Deer Society

٤. Once Was

"We call him 'Pyro' behind his back," Ben groaned as him and Lyra walked side-by-side with the sun setting on the horizon and burning the skies into bright orange.

"Why? Because he likes to start fights?" Lyra was still gathering her thoughts after she'd left the station in a hurry without even addressing David then, hastily texting Ben to meet her at the bakery during the twilight hour.

When Ben arrived later that evening, Lyra had just finished locking up the bakery and was bringing with her a box of brownies as a token of apology for Suri since they were making their way back to Ben's house.

"Well, not really..." Ben mused and bit the inside of his cheek before continuing, "He seems like he has a short-temper but he wouldn't yell or scream at you. He would just give you this really scary glare...and you'll just feel like you're drowning in his rage."

Lyra stifled a laugh, "Are you kidding me?! That's such a bad reason for that nickname. Do you guys know what a pyro is?" Ben playfully pushed Lyra as he realised how unfitting the moniker was for David, "Shut up! Okay, we didn't want to make up an insulting name in case he overheard us."

"So, he's the Chief Inspector? Like he's your boss?"

"Yeah, kind of. But, I don't work with him on the case."

"Wait, the case? You mean, the case?" Lyra suddenly stopped her unsteady steps and Ben almost fell when she held out her arm in front of him, "Yeah, did I never tell you that? He's taken over the serial killings case. It was his first case since he was promoted as Chief Inspector."

"Oh," was what Lyra could mumble as they continued their walk. She could feel Ben's eyes on her and she knew that she wasn't hiding her concern very well, "Why are you asking about him?"

"Nothing," which was a mistake because Ben let out a heavy sigh and shook his head, "Don't...don't do that. Don't lie to me."

Lyra glanced around them where the shops and streets have been slowly emptying because the townsfolk of Temasek find the fleeting period when the sunset was a dangerous time to be outdoors.

Dusk is when the invisible Djinns and spirits are believed to be out and about and if one is not careful then they could be "taken" by these unseen forces and kept in the Hidden World; a realm that exists on a different plane on Earth where spirits such as the advanced mythical race called the Buniyans roam.

"Fine, I'll tell you," Lyra led Ben to a nearby bench on the outskirts of a vacant playground. She took a moment before starting her story, "I've been with David before. We dated like...ten years ago." Ben's brows went high, creasing the wrinkles on his forehead even more, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Lyra gave a half-hearted shrug, "It was more like a fling. But it's okay because he doesn't remember me anymore since the spell that night." Ben slowly nodded as if ingesting her words was difficult for him, "What happened to you guys? Why didn't you stay here with him back then?"

**********

The weight of her sleep was pulling away at her shoulders when Lyra jerked awake on the blanket that was sprawled on the cold floor. The darkness of the room formed black clouds before they faded into the walls to reveal the mess of pillows under her and a man dozing off soundlessly with his arm around her waist. 

Lyra blew away some of her silky locks from her face and patted the man at her side, "David..." David murmured intangibly into his pillow, "What?"

"I had the strangest dream," at the tremors of Lyra's whisper, David propped two pillows under his head so he could sit up and lean closer to her.

"Are you okay?"

"No...it's the same dream..."

"About your sisters?"

"No, it was just Meera. I think she's in trouble," her oldest sister had been gone for almost five years now after Amelia's passing, and through the years while waiting for her to return, the nights for Lyra were nightmarish and she would always find herself waking up when it's still dark with her bed soaked in sweat. 

"What did you see in the dream?" Lyra treasured David's question because he didn't wave away her distress by saying, "It's just a dream," but, she couldn't quite answer him either. "I...I can't remember. Every time I wake up, I don't know what the dream was about but I know how it made me feel," Lyra's voice was coarse because what she could remember from the dream was screaming until she could feel a tightness in her throat.

David had a firm grip on Lyra's elbow, "Listen, we can't really do much now because it's late but why don't you try and call her again tomorrow? And I know what you're going to say, I know she might not pick up but maybe tomorrow she will." 

Before David soothed her back to sleep, Lyra knew that the hope that Meera would pick up her call had already burnt out and she wasn't about to let the yearning linger like restless smoke over distinguished flames so instead of calling her sister in the morning, Lyra packed her bags and left David's home to finally embark on her own pursuit. 

**********

"Lyra, did you hear what I just said?" Ben asked as Lyra's mind was nestled in the memories of ten years ago when she faintly remembered David's earthy musk and the warmth of his body engulfing her small frame. 

"No, sorry...I was...what did you say?"

"I asked, how did you even meet him? Did...did Amelia know back then?" Lyra knew what Ben was truly asking from her. There was a painful want within him to keep his wife alive in his heart and if Lyra continued to narrate her past then, perhaps there was more about Amelia that Ben could play around in his head like a zoetrope for a few days.

Lyra cleared her throat and shook her head, "No, this was years after she'd passed. I think we should go now, the sun is setting. It's not safe."