บท 17: Chapter 13.1: Back to Seven
Antoine and Mariano hunted last night.
There was this case of a child-eating demon from the nearby village who turns adults into seven year old children again.
He could not eat real children below seven as they are still pure. They would simply go to heaven.
He wanted those who are tainted with sin as he can easily convince them to go with him in hell.
Demons have this point system in hell, like an advantage card. The more souls they can take, the more prestige and freedom they get.
At last, I saw them approaching the house from the window. I rushed to meet them and gladly opened the door.
Mariano was holding Antoine by the sleeve. The latter is having a silly expression on his face. Upon seeing me, his gold eyes lit up and he jumped in front of me in a playful manner.
"For you!" He handed me a gumamela flower.

"Stop that! Go to your room!" Mariano ordered him as he brusquely pulled him away from me.
"But, why?"
"Because I said so!"
"You're such a meanie. Wait! Can I have those mangoes first? " He pointed at the tree.
"Go! Make it quick."
Antoine sprinted towards the tree and shook it. Ripe mangoes fell on the ground. He picked up four. He ran back, gave one to Mariano and to me.
"One for Hermana Auring." he said as he darted to the kitchen.
Wait. Something is off.
Why is Antoine talking and acting that way?
"Oh my God! Is he drunk? Or drugged?" I shrieked in confusion. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing. He saved my stupid cousin. As he was about to be hit by the demon with his spell, he pushed him away. As he is half of a fae, he did not turn into a child, but that's what happened. He thinks like a seven year old. If you only knew how many times I needed to instruct and convince him to hypnotize my cousin to forget everything that happened. It was like ten times!"
Antoine returned and embraced me. He stared at me with an angelic smile on his face.
"Do I really have to go to my room? I want to stay with you. Allow me to." he pleaded.
"No! Go and sleep until tomorrow. Don't even dare to come out!" Mariano replied as he removed his hands away from me.
Antoine looked at the ceiling, blinked a couple of times and began counting with his fingers.
"But I don't want to sleep for twenty four hours. That's so cruel!"
I broke into a fit of giggles with his childish comments.
My heart. If he is as sweet as this, I wanted him to be like this forever!
Wait, did I just say that?
I held him by the shoulders and gently instructed him like I would do to a seven year old.
"For now, go to your room."
His hopeful eyes became very sad.
"Alright." He went upstairs to his room with his shoulders slumped down in dejection.
Mariano entered the house.
"Aren't you going yet?" I tried to stop him.
"I just thought you might miss me." he answered and sat on the sofa.
Hermana* Auring came out of the kitchen smiling.
(Spanish word for "sister")
"What's with Antoine? Is he drunk?" Upon seeing Mariano, her happy expression instantly turned into a frown.
"What are you still doing here?"
"Good morning, Hermana." he greeted in an awkward manner.
She raised an eyebrow, snobbed him and went to the garden to pick vegetables.
"I wonder why she doesn't like me." he whispered.
"What?"
"Nah! Forget it! Can I ask you to babysit that boy Antoine for now? I need to go back to my father's house. My brothers said we have something urgent to talk about."
"It's fine, I can manage him." I assured him.
"I'll help you. I will be back tomorrow morning." He stood up and headed to the door. "Whatever he says and does, just ignore him."
He waved goodbye to me and gently closed the door. I sat on the sofa and thought of how I would deal with a seven year old boy.
Soon enough, I felt a gentle tug on my sleeve. I freaked out as Antoine slowly crawled out of the table. I almost screamed to death.
"I want some bread and coconut jam, please." Antoine requested.
"H-How long have you been there?"
He just sat on the floor staring innocently at me.
"OK, let's go the kitchen. But you have yo go back to your room after you eat."
He nodded.
I gave him the bread and jam and served it with a pitcher of hot chocolate. He made two sandwiches and gave one to me.
"For me?" I asked.
"Eat, you're a bit skinny." He poured a glass of hot chocolate on my cup and gestured for me to sit down. "Have you been eating well?"
I did not know if I should be happy for his thoughtfulness or be mad for calling me "skinny".
"Do you remember anything?" I started to test him, thinking that his memory might have been affected to.
"Remember what, ma chère*?" He mumbled as he chewed on his sandwich.
(This means "my darling" in French)
I felt uneasy with his words "ma chère".
"Like how we met?"
"Of course! You were a scaredy cat then, but I like you anyway!" he was quick to say.
"What? I'm not a scaredy cat!"
"Yes, you are. But you are so cute!"
"H-Huh?" I wondered.
Hermana came back to the kitchen with a basket of vegetables.
"There you are, join us!" Antoine greeted.
"I think you should go now." I held his arm and pulled him to stand up.
"Where are we going? Aren't you eating?"
"To your room?"
"Wait! Can I clean the backyard first?"
He looked at me with puppy-like eyes. I could not say "no".
" Yes. But behave." I let him go from my grasp.
He ran outside the kitchen and disappeared from my sight in otherworldly speed.
"He's drunk, really." I tried to convince Hermana. She scratched her cheek, shook her head and laughed.
"Follow him before he does something silly." she instructed me.
I found him sweeping dried leaves and collecting them into a pile. I took a pail of water and began watering the plants nearby.
Then, I saw a couple of leaves falling down on me. He was standing behind me, with a bundle of dried leaves on his arms. He playfully tossed all of those on us.
"Imagine these as snow!"
"How dare you? That is far from snow!" I took a handful of leaves and threw them back to him. I ran to the pile and showered him with more leaves and covered him with hay. "Now, you are Mister Snow Man! Haha!' I sneered.
"I give up! " he surrendered as he slumped helplessly on the ground. "Mister Snow Man is tired."
"Are you going back to your room, now?"
"Can I scrub the floor shiny?"
"I thought you're tired?"
"Not at all." he rushed inside, escaping my questioning.
He came up with lots of more excuses until I lost count.
Admittedly, he is no trouble so I just allowed him to do what he pleased. Everything he did was for my advantage anyway. He even made cards for me with the most grotesque drawings.
"For you." He sheepishly handed me several papers.
"Oh. How sweet! Is this an orange?" I attempted to appreciate his work of art
"No. It is a heart."
"A...wow...a kiwi!" I guessed due to its brownish color and oblong shape.
"It is a heart." he corrected me.
"Ah! This one is uh...oh...a mango!"
"No, it is still a heart." he muttered. "I heart you." he said while pointing at his chest. "Please say, "You heart me too".
"Oh. OK. I heart you too." I obliged.
He grinned and his eyes sparkled like gold and diamonds.
Little boy Antoine is just the sweetest!
Night came and he still does not want to go back to his room.
"You should sleep, now. It's so late."
He peeked at his door with such innocent eyes. He looked at his bed, then at me.
"I'm scared, Bianca."
"Of what?"
"If I sleep now, I might never see you again."
I felt my heart skip a beat. His tone implied so much worry and fear. I stroked his hair and comforted him.
"That's not true. Where am I going anyway?"
"I don't know. I might see you now but then, you'll be gone. You do that to me all the time."
I began to feel so confused. I saw so much sorrow in his countenance.
Children never lie.
He is truly sad for reasons he is struggling to keep.
"Please, just stay." he pleaded. He took my hand and placed it on his chest.
I was surprised at his vulnerability.
I am used to seeing a strong, independent and calm man. Now, all I see is a boy who is just afraid to be left alone.
"I'm so sorry for everything." he slowly let my hand go. "Goodnight."
He closed the door. I wanted to knock and ask him what he really meant. His words were so deep and sincere that it seemed like he was trying to say something to me yet he could not.
I leaned on the wall and suddenly remembered what Mariano told me.
"Whatever he says or does, ignore him."
The huge clock made an eerie alarm.
It was twelve o'clock midnight.
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