This chapter is dedicated to: Secret_jccy

---

Nyctimus is a man of few words.

He doesn't really like talking. At all.

Kaysa sayangin niya pa ang laway niya sa pakikipag-usap sa kanyang mga kapatid, the magician prefers to just spend it on reciting enchantments and learning new spells. Kaya't imbes na makigulo sa courtyard ng kastilyo (kung saan naglalaro na naman ng werewolf frisbee sina Lycros, Helisson, Carteron, at Acontes), Nyctimus locked the door of his room and buried himself in the tattered pages of his ancient books.

"Absit iniuria... Absit invidia... Absit omen."

Let insult be absent.

Let envy be absent.

Let omens be absent.

Concealed by the shadows casted by his cloak, Nyctimus' eyes scanned the faded words and forbidden diagrams. Noong panahong binili niya ang librong ito sa garage sale ng isang mangkukulam sa Tartarus, hindi niya inaasahang ganito ka-detalye ang mga spells dito. Sulit ang tatlong gintong pangil ng bampira na ipinambayad niya.

Without lifting his eyes from the page, Nyctimus reached for his cup of grape juice.

Sa kanyang bawat pagkilos, kumakalansing ang mga anting-anting na nakasabit sa kanyang leeg. Ni hindi na niya alintana ang magulong desk, kahit pa natatakpan ng samu't saring papel at potion bottles ang ibabaw nito.

'Absence.'

With that one particular thought in mind, he sipped from his cracked cup.

Pero agad rin siyang napasimangot nang mapagtantong ubos na pala ang laman nito.

Dala ang cup, tahimik na tumayo ang werewolf, lumabas ng kanyang silid, at nagpunta sa pantry ng kanilang kastilyo. Nyctimus descended the narrow staircase of his tower, one step at a time. Slowly but surely.

He didn't mind.

Grape juice is the only thing that's worth it...

Inabot siya ng kalahating oras bago makarating sa kanyang destinasyon. Sa kabila nito, tahimik pa ring nilagpasan ni Nyctimus ang multo ng isang reindeer at dumiretso sa kabinet niya. But when the magician opened the door, napabuntong-hininga na lang siya nang makita roon ang kanyang kapatid.

"Hey, Nyct! Musta?"

He didn't say anything.

Silence.

"Hey!"

Awkward silence.

Agad namang naunawaan ni Macednus ang gusto niyang iparating, kaya pagak siyang natawa. "Err... Nagtago muna ako rito para hindi ako makita ni ma chérie. I'm... still a bit embarrassed about what happened yesterday. I-I didn't mean to hurt her. Damn it! Hindi ko talaga alam ang nangyari sa'kin...para akong nawala sa katinuan. Naniniwala ka naman sa'kin, 'di ba?"

Hindi umimik si Nyctimus.

The shirtless Macednus sighed.

"Alpha told me he'll investigate on this. Kaya panandalian na muna niyang ipapasara ang Garden of Broken Hearts ko. Wala akong masyadong maalala kahapon. Ma chérie said she heard the sound of pipes? Pero wala akong narinig. This is bad, Nyct... Kung hindi ko naririnig ang tunog nito, hindi ko alam kung kailan ako dapat lumayo sa prinsesa. Maybe it's some kind of enchantment?"

Indeed, if Macednus really is affected by the music of wind instruments even when he can't hear it, siguradong palaging malalagay sa peligro ang buhay ng prinsesa.

"Do you think we're under attack?"

"...."

"Err...silence means 'yes', right? Anyway---!"

"Grape juice."

Inilahad nito ang kanyang kamay.

Nagpakurap-kurap si Macednus sa sinabi ng kanyang bunsong kapatid. Nagtataka man, mabilis niyang kinuha ang isang bote ng grape juice sa kanyang likuran. Mabuti na lang talaga at malaki ang loob ng kabinet.

Afterwards, Macednus handed him the bottle of his beloved grape juice.

"Here. Teka, bakit ba mahilig ka sa---?"

SLAM!

Did Nyctimus just slammed the door of the cabinet shut? Definitely.

Matapos nito, tahimik na nagsalin ang werewolf ng grape juice sa kanyang tasa. Nakatingin lang sa kanya ang multo ng usa na para bang hindi makapaniwala sa nangyari.

Anyway, while Nyctimus poured his beloved grape juice, hindi niya maiwasang isipin ang sinabi ni Macednus.

'Pipes, huh?'

May hinala na siya kung sino ang kanilang bagong kaaway.

*

152

Nang marating na ni Red Ridinghood ang huling baitang, hinihingal siyang sumandal sa gilid ng pader. Damn! Akala niya talaga wala nang katapusan ang hagdan na 'to. She was surprised that she even survived this!

'Note to self: 'wag sasama kay Linus kung wala kang planong mag-cardiovascular exercise.'

Speaking of the poetic werewolf, patuloy pa rin ito sa pagsasalita. For once in her life, nagpapasalamat ang prinsesa sa kanyang kapansanan. As ironic as it sounds, it was her disability that helped her. Smiling to herself, Red took the satin pouch from her dress' pocket and fetched her hearing aids.

Nang maiayos na niya ito sa kanyang mga tainga, sumalubong sa kanya ang boses ng makata...

"Sonnet number 154:
'The little Love-god lying once asleep,
Laid by his side his heart-inflaming brand,
Whilst many nymphs that vowed chaste life to keep
Came tripping by; but in her maiden hand'..."

"I cant believe it. Umabot ka talaga ng pagre-recite sa sonnet 154?"

Linus paused and chuckled.

"How would you know,
when you didn't even listen, honey?
Really, little red ridinghood,
how cruel you are to a big bad wolf like me!"

"Err...sorry. But I'm just curious. Mandatory ba na palaging English ang mga tulang lumalabas sa bibig mo?" O baka naman sumasabay lang sa "medieval" theme si Linus? In fact, Red wouldn't be surprised if this was his way of giving tribute to classical poets like Shakespeare. Kaya siguro palaging English ang---

"Nais mo bang ako'y magsalita nang ganito, binibini?
Wala naman itong problema sa akin, suklian mo lamang ng matatamis mong mga ngiti."

Napalunok si Red. She can feel her cheeks heating up with his words. 'Damn. Nananadya ba siya?' Bakit ba ang sarap sa tainga ng boses ni Linus tuwing tumutula siya? To make matters even worse, hearing him speak in native tongue sounded even more sinful.

"Nevermind. Let's just go. Nasaan na ba ang library mo?"

Masayang iminuwestra ng makata kanyang mga kamay sa espasyong kinaroroonan nila. Walang kahit anong disenyo rito, maliban na lang sa...

"I-Isang leon?!"

A lion statue, to be exact.

Pinagtitripan na naman ba siya ng mga lobong ito? Ang layo naman yata ng "library" sa "lion"! Mukhang nasayang lang yata ang pag-akyat niya sa hagdan. Humalukipkip ang dalaga, hawak-hawak niya pa rin ang tarot card nito.

"Linus, pinaglololoko mo ba ako? This isn't funny."

"Oh, but I'm not a comedian
---I'm a poet! A man of free verse and schemes.
So I need you to trust me, love,
Not everything is what it seems."

Maya-maya pa, lumapit sa statue si Linus at kinuha ang medalyon mula sa kanyang leeg. Marahan niya itong hinalikan. Noong sandaling dumampi ang mga labi ng taong-lobo sa metal, agad na binalutan ng mahika ang silid. Red Ridinghood watched in silence as the bronze lion-designed medallion melted. The liquified metal looked like it had a mind of its own, slowly crawling towards the stone lion statue.

Maya-maya pa, in-absorb ng bato ang natunaw na metal.

And the lion roared to life.

The princess witnessed in astonishment as Linus patted the lion's head like a long lost friend. Bago pa man makapagsalita si Red, nabigla siya nang bumuka ang bibig ng leon. Linus turned to her and offered his hand.

"Fear not, my red maiden,
There's no need to shout!
Let us discover a new dimension together,
inside a ferocious lion's mouth."

Natahimik si Red. Nahihirapang i-proseso ng kanyang utak ang mga salitang narinig niya.

Inside a...lion's mouth?!

"ARE YOU ON DRUGS?! Linus, magpatingin ka na sa pinakamalapit na mental institute. Or better yet, tatawagin ko si Helisson at baka may gamot siya para sa---AAAAAAAH!"

But of course, fate never sided with her.

Huli na noong namalayan niyang hinila na pala siya ni Linus papasok sa bunganga ng leon. As crazy as it sounds, but she didn't even know it was possible! Mukhang binabasag na nga ng kastilyong ito ang mga kadena ng reyalidad. Dahil imbes ba isang madilim na bunganga, isang nakakasilaw na liwanag ang sumalubong sa kanya.

She felt her head spinning.

A dull pain at the back of her mind.

Sa isang iglap, bumalik sa normal ang kanyang pakiramdam.

"You can open your eyes now, fair maiden...
Ah, yes! My Lobby of Literature's captivating den;
but I sometimes call it book lovers' heaven!"

Lobby of Literature...a book lover's heaven.

Well, if those words weren't enough to convince her to open her eyes, she didn't know what were.

---

Once on an evening in a desolate place

far from the madding crowd's eternal strife

I stood closeted with the eve-beauty

manifested around the place,

exposing myself to the eerie and stifling air

and trying to attune my ears to the bacchanalian fits

of silence dancing in moonlight.

---"Two Lovers", Bhaskar Roy Barman