Tale of Our Love // Pucca

Chapter 16

Garu had woken up to the sound of his roommate stuttering out a few muffled, lamented cries. Ever since Pucca was released from the hospital, Garu had allowed the young girl to stay with him while her uncles stayed at either Ching or Abyo's house. Garu reached his hand out to Pucca, who was still struggling inside her nightmare.

When the young goddess opened her little eyes, she was quick to notice the person who had pulled her from the depths of her melancholic dream. As tears streamed down from her eyes, Garu pulled her into his arms and positioned his chin over to her delicate black hair.

It was just a nightmare, but it was a nightmare that took place in reality. A nightmare that Pucca didn't wish for. It was cruel. Even though Soo made some mistakes, she had to admit that he was right about how broken the world truly was.

Both Garu and Pucca looked like they were cuddling in the mattresses of the futons. The chirping of the crickets outside and the shining moon almost made this moment so romantic if it weren't for the fact that the goddess had just awoken from a nightmare.

Garu found this situation almost too similar to how it used to be with his father and him. Whenever Garu had a nightmare as a child, his father would hold him into his arms like this, and now Garu was doing the same thing to someone he had sworn to protect.

A human protecting a goddess. Even Garu thought that it was somehow ironic. But even the strongest people have their own weaknesses. Of course Pucca was going to react this way after her father's death. Garu understood how it felt to lose someone so precious to one's heart.

And then an idea popped into Garu's mind. He was reminded of what his father used to do to him whenever he had a nightmare. Yeah. He always told him bedtime stories, and Garu would eventually fall asleep once again as soon as the story had reached it's end.

Pucca. Garu signed. Would you like to listen to a story?

A story? Pucca signed back. I'd love to.

Pucca knew that Garu got this idea from his father. She had watched over him since his birth, and his father always took care of him this way. What Garu is doing is similar to what his late father was doing before.

The only difference was that Garu was using sign language to communicate with Pucca, which was reasonable. After all, he took a vow of silence. Talking would lead to breaking that vow. The same went for Pucca, who took a vow of silence as well.

Meanwhile, Garu didn't know what to say. Pucca for sure knew every single story in each novel that Garu had read. He was sure that she wasn't interested in the childish stories any longer. Garu wanted to tell a story she was interested in.

Do you know about The Fragments of a Shattered Promise? Garu questioned her. I feel like it's a story you would be interested in.

Huh? Is that a novel you have been reading? Pucca asked him. It sounds like a romance story. I thought you weren't interested in those.

Nope. Not interested in romance at all. But I heard about it. I figured you would like this story. Wanna know about it? It's a fictional story, though...

Sure...!

The story that Garu was telling Pucca was the story of an angel and a demon falling in love with each other. However, that love is absolutely forbidden.

When a war took place in the land of demons and the land of angels, the angel and demon who fell in love promised to continue their love even if their nations are enemies. But the male angel broke that promise, killing the female demon. He committed suicide afterwards.

But it turns out he was never dead. He simply sacrificed his one wing to resurrect those who died during the war, being forced to disguise himself as his late best friend. When it turns out the demon girl was kidnapped and brainwashed, the male angel brought their promise back to life by defeating the bad guys and saving her from her brainwashed state.

(To get more details on the story of Fragments of a Shattered Promise, go to . I wrote that story!)

So maybe our forbidden love does have a chance after all. Pucca thought.

I'm not interested in romance, but there are a few fight scenes in the novel that I do have interest in. Garu signed. For example, the male angel is absolutely strong and beat down a few bullies even at such a young age. Isn't that amazing? I like it.

So is that the end to their story? Did they really have a happy ending?

Hmm, I think the author is planning a sequel. However, she's not so sure yet. She may or may not make a sequel. It depends on her decision. But her stories usually end with happy endings.

I see. I think I feel better now. Thanks, Garu.

Garu was about to sign "no problem", but it seemed like Pucca had fallen asleep into his arms. Garu looked at the sleeping goddess embracing him and smiled. Maybe her feelings for her were much more than just friends.

As he continued to embrace her, Garu felt like he was falling asleep as well. His mind slowly entered a deep slumber as the moonlight continued to shine on his house. He thought he would feel awkward sleeping with a girl, but comforting Pucca like this wasn't too bad at all.

And that was when he finally realized his true feelings for her. He didn't know it at first, but she was his light in the darkness. She was there for him even through the darkest of days. He wanted to do the same for her. Because he loved her back.