"From the moment we draw our first breath on this earth, it sometimes feels like our lives are part of a story that was prewritten. That our birth is not mere coincidence, but rather, it serves a purpose - perhaps for ourselves, or perhaps for someone else's narrative"
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"So, what happened then?" Nathalene asked, focusing on applying a sheet mask.
"Then… I don't remember," Hisa replied, scrolling through her phone while leaning against the headboard.
Nathalene frowned, turning toward her. "What do you mean you don't remember? Did someone hit you on the head or something?"
Hisa sighed and nodded slightly. "Yeah, I felt like something hard hit my head. When I applied the antiseptic cream, I heard a loud thunder, I think it rained there. Then everything went blank."
Nathalene walked toward the bed and sat beside Hisa, her voice laced with concern and curiosity. "And?"
Hisa shrugged. "I woke up the next morning, still in the same place, lying in the dusty living hall. I guess it was just dehydration or something."
Nathalene's expression turned incredulous. "The heck, Hisa! You're talking about passing out in an abandoned palace in the middle of nowhere, on top of a mountain, in a forest, at midnight! You can't just brush it off like that."
Hisa rolled her eyes, still scrolling through her phone. "Oh, come on, Nathie. Shut up, it's nothing. I'm right here in front of you, so clearly, I can handle any situation."
Nathalene snatched the phone from Hisa's hand and glared at her. "I'm being serious here, and you're just mindlessly scrolling through your phone? What's going on, Hisa?"
Hisa's expression turned puzzled. "The photos are missing. I took some photos of the paintings in the palace, and yeah they weren't great because of the dust. But now they're gone."
Nathalene handed the phone back. "You might have deleted them by accident."
Hisa shook her head, slightly pouting. "No way, I wanted to add them to my vlog. And to make things worse, I lost the camera too."
Nathalene's eyes widened. "You lost the camera?"
"Yeah, on the way back from the palace, I tripped and it fell somewhere. I searched for it, but couldn't find it."
Nathalene sat beside Hisa, lost in thought for a minute, her eyes fixed on the wall as her mind wandered. She looked at Hisa, who was still scrolling through her phone, trying to find the missing photos.
"Hisa.." Nathalene called, making Hisa look up from her phone.
"Hmm, what?" Hisa asked, her brow furrowed in concentration.
"Don't you think it's strange?" Nathalene asked, her voice low and thoughtful.
Hisa raised an eyebrow. "What's strange?"
Nathalene leaned in slightly. "Everything that happened. You passed out, and now your photos are gone. It's like... something weird is going on."
Hisa's expression turned skeptical. "You're not going to start with that conspiracy theory stuff again, are you?"
Nathalene's eyes sparkled with intrigue. "I'm just saying, it's a lot of coincidences. Don't you think it's worth looking into?"
Hisa sighed, shaking her head. "Nathie, sometimes you think too much."
Nathie took a deep breath. "I know you, your main purpose of doing travel vlogs in such abandoned places is to prove there's nothing supernatural in this world, but don't you think, this time it's different?"
Hisa's expression turned thoughtful, her eyes narrowing slightly as she considered Nathie's words. "Different how?" she asked, her voice laced with a hint of curiosity.
Nathie leaned in closer, her voice taking on a conspiratorial tone. "Think about it, Hisa. You go to this abandoned palace, and something strange happens. You feel like you get hit on the head, and then you pass out. And now, your photos are gone, you lost the camera. It's like... something doesn't want you to be there."
Hisa raised an eyebrow, a mixture of amusement and skepticism on her face. "You're not seriously suggesting that the palace is haunted, are you?"
Nathie grasped Hisa's hands, her voice laced with concern. "I know you never listen, but please be careful, you stubborn." With that, Nathie stood up and headed to the washroom.
Hisa's brow furrowed slightly as she pondered Nathie's words, trying to piece together the strange events. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden ringing of her phone. She smiled, shrugging off her concerns, and answered her brother's call. As she walked to the balcony, she sat down and chatted with him, oblivious to the mysterious figure standing atop the building, gazing up at the moon – a man with wings, his eyes fixed on the night sky.
•°•°•
Nathie returned from the washroom, her eyes drifting to the balcony where Hisa was engrossed in her phone call. Making sure Hisa wasn't watching, Nathie slowly walked to her cupboard and slid open the doors, parting the rows of hanging dresses. Behind the clothes, a hidden keyhole for a small drawer came into view. Nathie retrieved a key from one of the shirt pockets that were hanging inside the cupboard and unlocked the drawer.
She carefully pulled out a book with a dark brown cover adorned with an intricately carved wooden wing structure.
Nathie's eyes lingered on the cover as she took a deep breath, her eyes closing for a brief moment. When she opened them again, she flipped the book open to the middle, her eyes narrowing as she read the words etched on the page.
The phrase "THE BEGINNING OF TALES TO HER DESTINY" seemed to leap off the page, sending a shiver down her spine.
As she stood there, the sound of Hisa's laughter from the balcony floated in, a stark contrast to the mysterious and ominous tone of the words on the page. Nathie's gaze remained fixed on the book, her mind racing with questions and curiosity.
[to be continued]