She woke up and found herself at home. "But how? I was in the temple then someone laughed, this can't- no- no- I can't be hallucinating," she said to herself. She glanced at her feet, the shoes were still on. "Yes, I knew this was real. But how did I come back?" She had no clue about what happened. "Jane? Nah, she didn't know where I was going, then how?"
'The door must be open if someone brought me here.' She rushed to check the door, which, to her surprise, was locked from inside. 'Ghost?' a thought crossed her mind. "No, there's no such thing as ghosts," she brushed it off. There was only one way to find out. "I have to go back."
It was evening already, going back at that time was not a good idea. She still had two-three holidays left.
Next day, she decided to go back and clear all the doubts. There were more monsters on her way than the previous day. Some made weird sounds. She reached the temple within half an hour. A man wearing a dark purple coat and pants stood near a big wooden box outside the temple. She faced his back. The man was tall and his hair was white. "I don't get it, why do people dye their hair white," she muttered. Villagers there didn't seem to understand English, so she could say whatever she wanted. She began to enter the temple. The man said something, she didn't understand. She turned around and said, "I'm sorry, I don't und-." The man looked handsome. Although he had a blindfold on, yet he looked charming. Y/N wondered what his eyes looked like.
"You were saying something?" the white haired guy spoke.
"Oh! I-I was saying that I don't understand Japanese."
"I see. Then answer my question in your language."
'Wait! He understands English, which means he understood my comment about his hair. Shit!' she thought.
"I'm talking to you, little girl."
"I'm not a little girl. I'm 24."
"Really? Your height and your face contradict your age."
She rolled her eyes.
"Why were you going inside?" he questioned.
"Why are you wearing that blindfold? Can you even see?" she questioned back.
"I asked first."
"I just wanted to explore the temple. It looks beautiful."
"I am wearing a blindfold because I don't like sunlight."
None of them were convinced with the answers they received.
"What's your name, little girl?"
She was piqued but kept a straight face.
"It's Y/N, what's yours?"
"Nice to meet you, Y/N. I'm Satoru."
"What's the meaning of Satoru?"
"No one really asks that, you surely are an interesting little girl. Meaning of my name is to have knowledge. A lot of it."
"And what's your age?"
"Huh?"
"Your age, I asked."
"I'm 28. Why?"
"Stop calling me LITTLE GIRL! You're just 4 years older than me!"
He stepped back. A monster roamed around them and went behind the temple. She observed it. Satoru observed her observing the monster. 'She can see them and isn't even scared.' He couldn't help but ask, "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, just some crazy hallucinations."
Satoru didn't question and smiled.
She had a neutral face. Once again, she began to enter the temple.
"I suggest you not go inside," the blindfolded man said.
"Why?" she asked.
"The villagers are going to perform some kind of ritual in the temple and didn't let me enter, so, I suggest you go back home," he explained.
She didn't look convinced.
He added, "Y/N, this place is a bit unsafe for the outsiders, villagers get furious sometimes."
"I just wanted to explore the area," she said in a low voice.
"Oh! If that's the case, I can show you the whole city if you're free tomorrow," Satoru offered.
'Is going out with a stranger fine?' she thought. "Well, Yeah, I'm kinda free tomorrow."
"Great," he clapped with excitement. "I'll walk you home now. Let's go, little girl."
They started walking. On their way, they talked about so many things. Satoru spoke most of the time. He was funny. Was this weirdo really 28? She doubted. They reached her crib. She offered him to come inside but he refused politely.
" See you tomorrow, Y/N," he said.
"Yeah, Bye," she waved.
'Something was strange about him, why was he stopping me from entering the temple. Is he a smuggler and hid something in there?' she thought. Her rest of the day passed thinking about the temple and reading one of John Grisham's stories.
She woke up sweating. Perhaps, a nightmare haunted her. The clock on her nightstand indicated that it was 6:50 am. She got up from her bed and went to the balcony. While stretching her arms, she noticed a man in a white shirt and black pants leaning on a red Lexus LC. 'Damn! this guy is rich as fuck,' she thought. She rubbed her eyes and looked closely. "Satoru?" she guessed by his hair color.
"Satoru," she called.
He didn't respond. She went down to confirm if it's him. He saw her coming towards him. He grinned and said, "Good morning, little girl."
"What are you doing here?" she inquired.
"We decided to hangout, did you forget already?"
"But, this early? I just woke up. I need time to get ready."
"It's okay. I'll wait here. Go. Get ready."
"No, not here. Come home with me."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
He followed her. They were about to enter, Jane showed up. She darted a suspicious look towards Y/N and Satoru.
"Good morning Jane," Y/N greeted.
"Good morning," she greeted back.
"Hi Jane," the man craved attention.
"Hi! You're so handsome. Y/N has a nice taste, I must say."
"What?" Y/N was irritated. "We met yesterday. We hardly know each other."
Jane narrowed her eyes, "Doesn't seem so Y/N. You inviting a stranger home. Doesn't make sense. Come on, don't hide it. I'm so happy for you. Happy happy happyyy." She jumped around while clapping.
The man spoke up, "Y/N is right. We don't know much about each other. She wanted to see the city, so I offered her my company and we are going out."
Y/N side-eyed him like she was telling him to stay quiet. Jane didn't look very convinced.
"I'm Satoru. Nice to meet you, Jane."
Jane smiled. She remembered something and her expression changed. She screamed, "Oh no! I am already late." Then she calmed down, "Satoru, let's go on a date someday, bye." She left.
"Sorry about that," Y/N apologized.
"That's nothing, let's go inside before we see another weirdo," the man suggested.
"You can sit there," Y/N pointed towards the couch. "I'll be back in half an hour." Satoru sat down like an obedient child.
She rushed to her room and went straight to shower. Meanwhile, Satoru found her kitchen. There were very few things. Only breads and vegetables, some spices, cutlery, an electric stove, a small refrigerator and a toaster. He figured out that Y/N was vegetarian. 'Interesting,' he thought.
Y/N came out with her hair wet and a smell filled her nostrils. She put on her clothes and went to the drawing room. The smell got stronger and the guy she left on the couch was missing. She went to the kitchen. There he was, with a plate in his hand, lost in his own world.
"What are you doing?" Y/N asked.
The man jumped and put a hand on his chest, "You scared me, little girl."
"Answer my question," she ordered.
"I was trying to cook something."
"Okay."
"Okay? I thought you got mad."
"Nah."
"Okay, so please try out the sandwich I made for you."
She snatched the plate and went to the dining table. He got the coffee ready. "Come over here and sit," she ordered. He obeyed. He was looking at her through his sunglasses trying to figure out how many secrets she was living with. 'Her past haunts her, but what is it?' he thought.
"Satoru," she called.
"Yes?"
"Can you take off your glasses? There's no sunlight here."
"I really like these glasses, I don't want to take them off," he replied with a wide grin.
'Why are you hiding your eyes?' she thought.
"Y/N."
"Yes?"
"Please eat the sandwich."
She took a bite and froze.
"Is it that bad?" the man asked with fear.
"Did you make it bad on purpose?" Y/N asked.
"No, I tried my best," he replied.
"Then? Why did you ask, is it bad? Rather, you should have asked, is it good? People always underestimate themselves on the basis of others' reactions," she scolded him but kept her voice calm.
He kept quiet and listened to her with his jaw dropped.
"Now eat yours," Y/N ordered. " It's delicious."
They finished breakfast. She did the dishes. They were almost ready to leave. She was wearing her shoes, when Satoru reminded her about her wet hair. She sighed and went to her room to dry them. She returned with a small backpack.
"Little tomboy," he giggled. She ignored the comment. They left for their little city tour. He showed her so many places. They took some pictures and Y/N tried to smile at them. Talked about various things. The Sun was setting, and she reminded him that they needed to return. On their way back, she noticed some monsters. Satoru now had a clear idea that she could see all of them. One monster came running before his car.
"Stop!" Y/N screamed.
He pulled the brakes.
"You killed it!" She loosened her seat belt and ran outside to check. He too came behind her. Her heart raced, her palms were sweaty and she breathed heavily. There was no monster, no blood, nothing. She kneeled as she shivered from the shock. Satoru crouched beside her.
"Y/N," he held her hand. "Calm down, it didn't die, little girl. Calm down, it's okay."
It took a while, but she calmed herself. "How did you know that the thing I saw was a 'it' and not a 'he' or 'she'?" she asked him. He was silent. She tried to free her hand from his grip. He held tighter.
"You were yelling 'you killed it', that's why I said 'it'," he finally answered.
"I'm not satisfied with that answer, how can you see my hallucinations?" she asked.
He looked down and said in a low voice, "Those are not your hallucinations, those are real things."
Her eyes widened in fear.