Chapter 16: 16. In the Middle of the Night

My eyes opened. Someone greeted me in my room. It wasn't DubbAlina. For a very short while, there was a scurrying sound, like that of a mouse, except bigger. I sat up. The sound stopped, and I frowned. There was a human figure inside my very dark room, a human figure I recognized.

"Cahil?" I rumbled.

I looked at my cousin who looked as if he had committed a big mistake. His mouth was open, and he was standing on tiptoe like a robber. I couldn't see his expression very well because it was too dark, but I guessed he wasn't smiling. The window was open, so it being dark meant it was night. Why was Ahmad's cousin doing in his room in the middle of the night, I wondered.

I heaved both feet over my bed to greet him, but Cahil, face white as though he had seen a ghost, opened the door of my room and scurried outside. What the heck was that about? I hesitated, contemplating on calling him back, then I decided not to bother. I placed both feet under the mattress again. Oooh, it was so comfy.

DubbAlina sounded peppy as usual, "So you're up." She didn't seem tired at all, though it was in the middle of the night.

"Yes." I answered her. I yawned. Though the tiredness from the afternoon run had dropped away from me, I still didn't want to move. I felt sleepy, and my eyes wanted to close. I should quickly go back to sleep, I decided. I could ponder it all over in the morning.

"Be careful. Conceal yourself." DubbAlina started to say, then she sighed. "What am I even telling you this for." She said snarkily, annoyed. "It's not like you have the ability anyway."

I wondered what DubbAlina was talking about, but it didn't matter- I had already started to drift off into sleep. My eyes closed, and I tugged my blanket closer to my body.

When I woke up in the morning, nothing had changed. There was still the same breakfast that was prepared for me every day as Ahmad. Today it was something that looked like yogurt and flat pancakes. I bit into my pancake, marveling at the excellent cooking. Really, I was starting to envy Sahar.

I didn't see Cahil at all in the morning. It was as if he was specially avoiding me. Or it was because we were both grounded. Maybe. But there were two plates on the breakfast table, I remembered, while mine was inside my room. No, Cahil was allowed outside of his room, so that couldn't be the reason I didn't see Cahil all day. And the giant bucket in the Crafts Room was filled with water- I peeked into the room when nobody was there.

And that reminded me of Cahil's night visit to my room- how he acted so jumpy, like a squirrel. Grandpa wouldn't be happy if he knew Cahil snuck out of his room into mine, possibly to make trouble for me.

Cahil acted friendly enough at the beginning, I recalled. But after I fiddled with the Golem heart... not so much. I wondered if he held a grudge against me. No, that didn't make any sense. There was nothing to gain- on the contrary, if Cahil did something troublesome, then he would be on the receiving end of Grandpa's ire. Adding to Grandpa's displeasure wouldn't be a good idea, and Cahil must know that. I didn't peg him for an idiot.

There was nothing inside my room to be of much use. Except maybe me.

Grandpa didn't seem to be in good spirits today. He didn't look busy, despite the talk he had with Melias the other day. He seemed to have nothing to do, but his expression was strained, as though the apocalypse could spring up on us any second. I supposed I was partially responsible for everything. No, I wasn't partially responsible. I sighed. I was entirely responsible.

I waited in my room in the afternoon, then I couldn't take it any longer. I marched out.

"This is not a good idea." DubbAlina deadpanned.

Did I say this was a good idea? I just knew it wasn't a horrible one, and that was enough. I needed to talk to Grandpa.

As everything had already come out to the open, and there was no use trying to hide my mistake, it would be better to lay everything out on the open, I judged. Adults liked that sort of thing. Adults that weren't Jun and his crazy wife, anyway. And I might add my dear homeroom teacher into the mix.

Grandpa was in the Crafts room. I opened the door, and as soon as I did, he turned to look at me. He was wearing the same clothes as ever, as if he only had long white cloth in his wardrobe. I noticed he wasn't smiling. It would be weirder if he was, I thought.

The Crafts Room had changed, I noticed. It was better organized than before. Some of the items were in glass boxes or some sort of protective material. Not all of it had changed, however. The layout was still mostly the same. I bowed and stepped closer to Grandpa, whose eyes turned softer upon seeing me. His voice was stern:

"Don't touch anything." He said. "Get out."

I would go out, just not now. His order didn't have any time restriction.

"Grandpa," I lifted my head, "I apologize for breaking the Golem Heart. I shouldn't have touched something that didn't belong to me. And-" I paused, then continued, "I promise not to repeat that mistake."

Grandpa paused. And was it my imagination? His face turned slacker, as if all the tension was suddenly released.

It was silent for a while after that.

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"Don't make anymore moves." DubbAlina warned. Her voice was a panicked, "You should have investigated a bit more about his personality, dumbass! Ah, fuck. If he decides to just be done with you it's going to be the end of-"

It'll be the end of you, or would it be the end of me? I wondered. I hoped Grandpa liked the silence, because DubbAlina chattering nonstop in my ear didn't make it a great experience. Grandpa smiled.

See? I did the right thing. I thought in my mind. DubbAlina didn't answer. I heard a sigh of relief, and guessed it was from her. Grandpa was old. I know old people. Grandma had been the very same. She liked it when people admitted their mistakes and vowed to never repeat the same mistake again. Of course, that wasn't the end. Grandma was a cold lady and didn't like to trust people twice. Once she had her hatred, she'll hang on to it until the end. She'll pretend to be weak and forgiving of course, but you could see it in her eyes. But Grandpa's eyes weren't cold. He was warm.

"I'll teach you what you can and can't touch. All in due time." Grandpa said. His eyes regained their twinkle. "But not now. And not today."

He stood up.

"Follow him!" DubbAlina hissed.

And so I did.

I followed him to the kitchens, to where the water was. Grandpa pointed to a large pail on the ground. I took it as a signal and held it up. Grandpa gestured towards the water spout. "Fill it."

The pail wasn't big, and so it barely took any time to fill. I did the task happily, knowing that our relationship must be a lot better now. The risk paid off. After the pail was filled, I picked it back up.

Grandpa led me to the back, where there was a garden.

The garden was beautiful. It had a fence to protect it from wild animals and wild people. I took a sniff, then I took a step back.

In every other aspect, the garden was ordinary. It was filled with veggie plants and herbs and some other plants I couldn't recognize. There was soil, half-withered plants here and there and there were also insects. Luckily, none could bite me due to my long clothing. The mosquitoes couldn't find any skin to bite. Since Grandpa wanted me to bring the pail the gardens, it obviously also needed to be watered.

But there was no smell of manure. You see, I know gardens. I was raised in the countryside all my life, so no surprise there. Gardens are places of earth, life and death. And the second you step into one, one of the most obvious signs is the stench of earth- of fertilizer. However, this garden didn't smell like that at all. If the typical garden was a place of earth, this one felt more part sky. It was difficult to describe.

"Put the pail down." Grandpa ordered.

I put it down. I kept sniffing the air, my mind wandering. What a pleasant surprise, I thought. It was decided. My garden in the apocalypse would also be such a garden. It was a pity I couldn't move anything between the two worlds, or I could take some of the soil and seeds as samples.

Grandpa waved his hand around the pail, then brought out a small pouch. He sprinkled some powder inside the pail. It smelled of herbs. I guessed Grandpa was creating homemade insecticide for his garden. With all the insects, the garden certainly needed it, I thought.

Grandpa's expression was grave. He stirred the pail a few times, then recited, "???????????????????????? ????????????."

"Shudah ja," I muttered. Grandpa shook his head so I must have gotten it wrong.

"???????????????????????? ????????????." He repeated.

"Shuddah jah." I tried to say, "Shudda jal. ???????????????????????? ????????????."

Grandpa nodded at last, and I repeated the word. I didn't know what it meant, I just knew it probably meant something.

Grandpa poured the mixture all over the plants, starting from the ones at the front. The mixture wasn't enough, though. I watched as Grandpa put the pail in my arms. He had finished watering. The mixture wasn't insecticide, or if it was, it was completely ineffective.

"From now on," he said, "It will be your duty."

And so from now on I will apparently start apprentice duties. Which are coincidentally all water-related.