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"Please promise me we'll be friends."

Amongst the expressions I saw from his face, this was the friendliest. I didn't like the fact that he was close to me. It was so awkward, and my tummy lets me know it was disgusted.

"M-move away, human," I stuttered.

"You're in danger, bonnie," he whispered.

He still looked at me the same way. Dumb, bonnie, dumb, it rang in my head like it was a bell. Great, danger. Wow.

"HAHAHAHA!"

Oh, there he goes again.

"You are so funny!" he laughed.

"Why are you keeping me confused?" I asked while trying to be calm. "Cut the humor off. What's the matter? I mean . . . yeah, I'm dumb. Say it-I'm dumb, but be serious. I just don't know some things."

Three knocks hit the door, and I immediately pushed Aisle out of my way. I stood up straight as I tried to be as alert as possible. Aisle was opening the door-the heavy door. And her auntie came in while kicking her tawny mukluks.

"Dear, get these," his auntie said. She handed Aisle something, which I supposed, was a bag made of brown paper. Aisle peeked at the contents of the paperbag then turned to walk into the passage beside a mocha set of minimalist couches.

The auntie gave me a sweet look. It was like she was someone to be trusted. Well, I wasn't saying I didn't trust Aisle. He was just a cackle-filled person.

The auntie gave me a smile, and . . . .

"Dear, you could remove your cloak now. We don't have snow falling down from my ceiling."

Giggling, she removed her

I grinned as I removed my cloak off. I tried to kick my galoshes off of my feet, but I did it gently. As I was removing my cloak off, she reached for it, and I was confused why, but I gave it anyway. She turned her back on me as she hung the cloak on a nail. Yeah... the nail seemed to be of that purpose.

She faced me again, and said, "Dear, how'd you--oh, look at you."

"What?"

"You've got beautiful features, lady."

She held me by my shoulders, while she was behind me. We then walked to enter the same door Aisle entered moments ago.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Where we have the biggest mirror."

"Mirror?"

"Yes, dear."

Mirror? What is that? I just let her lead my steps until I found myself in a room, a dining room. There were table, chairs, and... plates. One wall had a big, landscaped, shiny thing. The humans in it moved. Two women, one lad. The first woman looked like the auntie, while the lad looked like Aisle.

"Now, look at that," the auntie whispered as I saw the first woman in the shiny thing move.

"What?" I mumbled, and I knew she didn't hear it. The second woman--scratch, lady--also mumbled when I did. This is plainly... ugh!

"Dear, look at you..." she whispered, and the woman in there whispered something, too. Oh! I get it now! This thing imitates the view!

"Wh-what do you call this again?" I asked, while I was looking at the auntie beside me.

"Mirror, dear," she chuckled. "You're funny."

I just nodded. I didn't know what to do nor what to think.

"What's your name again?" she asked.

"Athene."

"You're gorgeous. Look at your hair," she touched my hair. "It flames at its tips. Your nose is just right. You're pale, but it blends so well with your freckles. You're the most gorgeous lady I've seen."

"I know, right, bonnie?" Aisle smiled at me, and I looked at my figure in the... in the mirror.

Hair flaming at its tips. The auntie is right. Yeah, I look... pale.

"Aren't you joking?" I asked. "I mean... how can you call me the most gorgeous lady you've seen?"

"She's always like that, bonnie," Aisle said, "but you better believe what she says."

I looked away. It sounded like a joke, but whatever.

"Hey, Aisle! Stop grinning and smiling there!" the auntie scolded Aisle. "Is everything ready?"

"Plates here." Aisle frowned and left to enter another door leading to... kitchen, I guess. "Spoon and forks."

I sighed as it was just me and the auntie who were left in this dining room.

"Why did you praise my traits?" I asked.

"You're truly gorgeous. That's it." Then, she entered the kitchen, too, and by that time, Aisle was done getting what was needed for a meal. Oh, wait. Meal? We're gonna eat?

Aisle was looking at me, and well... at the same time, I was. He smiled and took a seat beside me, and it was completely comfortable.

"So... hi," he said.

"Uh... hi?" I asked. "Why?"

"Nothing," he chuckled, and all I was looking at is his reflection on the mirror.

He is really nice, I guess. I don't see him as a threat anymore, but... maybe later, I can scream at myself again in my mind because I am being too dumb again. Well, he was staring at the plates for some reason I didn't know.

"Uh... Aisle," I started, "what were you talking about with your auntie? Um... outside?"

"When? When we first arrived here?" he asked while staying still.

"Yeah? Yeah."

He moved a little, and his eyes were off the plates. He was just looking at me. And... I had seen his eyes again. They're really beautiful.

"We talked about... what?" he asked when all along, I was expecting him to answer.

"The south something."

He smiled then said, "Oh, okay."

He faced me because he wasn't doing so. I was no longer staring into that shiny thing.

"Auntie was... saying that the southern part of this darkish... um... forest is cold," he said. "She was right. It was colder where you came from. How did you... survive there?"

"Survive?"

"I mean... how did you--no. People can't go there due to the temperature," he said.

One answer was just in my mind, and I didn't want to tell him. I'm not a human. Although that answer wasn't so reasonable (or so), I didn't tell him.

"I don't know."

"Enjoy your dinner here, okay?" he said, patting my head. Wait, what? Patting my head? I looked at him in confusion, while he was standing up.

"Where'd you go?" I asked with my eyes following his presence.

"Gonna go upstairs and get something."

When he was finally out of the dining room, I stood up from the chair, and I rushed into the living room. I grabbed my cloak and wore it. My galoshes were immediately worn. I did it all... hurriedly.

What in the world are you doing, Athene? I scolded myself. It's just a dinner with these humans. I shook my thoughts off as I twisted the doorknob. I tried to open the door, and... the door shut again.

"Hey, bonnie." Oh, that's Aisle. "What are you do--cloak on? Where'd you go?"

I turned around to see Aisle, and he was there, in the stairs, not yet done going up. I still held the doorknob tightly behind me. I chose not to answer it, so I twisted the doorknob once more, and I pulled the door open, but it was... heavy.

"Bonnie, answer me," Aisle said once more. Ooh, wow, he's being bossy now.

"I'll go back to the south," I said as I turned around to face the door. "Please tell your auntie that... she's really nice."

I pulled the door again, hoping that I could finally open it. Well, I did it.

"Oh, yeah, Athene, you're strong," I whispered to myself then giggled.

"No, you're not." I knew it was Aisle, so I looked around to see where he was. He was there, standing behind me, and he was holding the heavy door by the edge in order to stop it from closing.

"Of course, I'm not," I said then rolled my eyes. I ran out of the house as quick as I can without looking at Aisle. I knew that he wouldn't ask me to stay, maybe, but I would want to stay when I look at him.

I walked through the same trees while breathing heavily under the large green cloak's hood. Questions were all over me, and I tried not to look for answers that might be hanging around me, but no matter how hard I tried to ignore them, they kept on bothering me more. Even my existence was counted as my question. Why do I have to stay here when I don't really know what's going on? Why do humans have these strange things they use and do? Why do I have to walk on this world of... heavy pull? Why do I feel pounding on my chest whenever I see people--no, Aisle?

I stopped walking and thinking. Well, Aisle was the first human I met, so... I could say that it was the reason, but my mind still said no. Whatever.

I paced again but this time, slowly. I didn't want to reach that old house as quick as possible. I wanted as slowly as possible. After all, what would I do in that house? No humans. No things to do. That house was entirely boring. I couldn't convince myself it wasn't.

"Speaking of," I mumbled as I found the same old door of that house. The red bricks of the house were fading. I rolled my eyes as I remembered I should've mumbled 'thinking of' instead of 'speaking of.' I wasn't speaking. I was thinking about the house.

I carelessly opened the door by twisting the doorknob. I remembered Aisle. He... he opened their house by inserting a key in it. It was curious that I didn't have a key for this house when all I had for home was this.

As I took my first step, I had more memories of Aisle playing in my head--the way he walked carelessly, the way he looked at the plates, and the way he forcibly opened their door. I looked at the door. Wow, this door isn't that heavy. I wouldn't wish it to be that heavy, anyway.

I closed the door then locked it. The temperature was warm enough, so I rushed to the wall where a nail was half-buried in. I removed the cloak off of me, I kicked my galoshes off, and hung the cloak on the nail. Slowly. I walked to the couch where the old man lay. How curious.

I sat down on the couch as I roamed my eyes around. This house was... boring. No other adjective was as good as boring and its synonyms. No choice but to stare at the floor like how Aisle stared at the plates. Plates, plates, plates. Food, dinner, food. After repeating those words, still, I wasn't hungry.

Then one thing caught my eyes' attention--a room's door. I hurried and entered the room. The door wasn't heavy, too. A twin-size bed was placed on the corner, and two cabinets were placed by the walls. The room was plain and dull. The color of the bedsheet was dull, too. It could be a choice of an old man--of the old man I saw moments ago.

But no matter how hard I tried to look for more things to set my eyes on, I couldn't get enough. It felt like I needed to find something, so I looked around once more. There was nothing strange except for the oversized wooden headboard of the bed. Curious. It sounded crazy, There might be something behind the headboard.

I walked to the footboard and held onto it. With all my strength, I tried pulling the bed in order to make a gap between the headboard and the overly plain wall. The bed was as heavy as the door of the house I entered moments ago. Yeah, I kind of remembered Aisle--scratch. I remembered him. I pulled the bed with the strength I tried to maintain for about seven times. Finally, I had the little gap I needed in order to see what lies on the wall.

I walked to it, and I found something a lot more than what I had expected--a door with the half of a normal one's size. Curious.

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