It was six feet deep, which reminded Arash of funerals. 

 

The dark loamy soil was slightly wet but not grainy. Unsurprisingly, it felt cold and clammy to the touch. Most probably because they were deep underground and near to a water source. The sensation of something crawling on every part of Arash's body nearly made him insane. Prior to entering the 'soil bed', he had checked thoroughly and made Tok Silihan remove all bugs, especially the dangerous ones. 

 

It was just being paranoid, right? There's impossible to be more bugs. Arash tried to be rational by being as positive as possible. 

 

However, at this moment, he was still wondering whether he was taking the right action. 

 

He won't die, right?

 

Contrary to Arash's expectation, the soil buildup wasn't packed or filled the hole in its entirety. The soil covering Arash was only 3 feet deep. Tok Silihan sat directly at the edge of the 'grave' with a worried look plastered over his face. He wanted to be ready to save Arash's life in the nick of the moment.

 

Tok Silihan vouched to himself that he would not let the boy die in vain. 

 

...

 

Arash was wide awake and was feeling increasingly uncomfortable. 

 

This was his first time doing nothing while he was not on his phone, hence the amplified sensory experience. It felt empty and scary. Arash tried his hardest not to move any of his limbs lest he might give a false response to Tok Silihan outside.

 

The fact that he couldn't check the time with his smartwatch or even his smartphone really irked him. Tok Silihan had asked him to remove all disturbances except for his wife's song. Not even alarms that signified the flow of time.

 

He finally realized that his gadget addiction was quite severe. 

 

He couldn't stretch his body.

 

He fought hard not to open his eyes.

 

He couldn't breathe with his nose and continued breathing from his mouth. The dried-up lotus tube tasted strange and coarse. It made his throat feel dry and parched.

 

The absolute darkness and the feeling of being cramped up with no room to move had made his heart thump faster by the minute. Arash acknowledged that these were not good signs.

 

Although he knew he should've tried to relax, he just couldn't. His mind was going into hyperdrive without consent. He could feel that he was unconsciously spiraling into a panic attack. 

 

Calm down, calm down! Remember your objective! Arash shouted to himself internally to rouse himself up!

 

To alleviate his nervousness, subconsciously, he thought about many things to make himself busy.

 

With the soft sultry song replaying over and over again in Arash's ears,

the first thing he thought about was his beautiful wife. It was the image of her younger self, serenading for the first time while sweeping the class floor. He was a passing senior peeping by the door, and she was a junior, enjoying herself while settling the duty roster. He didn't get to know her, but her voice unknowingly pierced through his heart and left a permanent impression on him. 

 

His two beautiful daughters. 

 

They both inherited a lot of their mother's gentle beauty, but unfortunately, the first one was on the way to get her laser tongue, who trash-talks all the time when she's in a bad mood.

 

His career; it was, how to say, strangely developing too well, too fast, once he encountered his over-achieving Boss. 

 

Which came down to Boss Alan's motives.

 

What is it that the Boss really wanted from him?

 

The pending engineering projects! 

 

The tutorials he needed to complete for Hana about agriculture. He only told Hana what he knew on the spot. Will it be enough? 

 

The house that was left unkempt. He wasted a lot of time looking for his missing smartphone. Maintaining the house was one of the most challenging duties when Hana was away. The kids messed up the whole place practically all of the time!

 

The unfulfilled promise about unicorns. One for Aira, one for Aina. Are they okay staying with a stranger?

 

The unpaid extra fees for Madam Lisa.

 

...

 

..

 

.

 

Time ticked by unknowingly.

 

Arash's mind was mentally exhausted and finally slowed down.

 

As someone who lived in the information age, he couldn't blank out his mind from random info outpour. Still, he could finally learn to zero in on one subject only.

 

It started with a smile.

 

Hana's warm smile was full of understanding.

 

Hana's cheerful laughter.

 

Hana's foul mouth when she started cursing.

 

Hana's crocodile tears.

 

Hana's bright eyes when she watched furry animals.

 

Hana's scrunched-up brow when she disagreed with something but refused to speak up.

 

Hana's starry eyes when she was excitedly narrating her success in obtaining a fifty-cent discount.

 

Hana...

 

Hana...

 

Hana...

 

At some point, as Arash was so immersed in his fond memories of his beloved wife, his tensed-up mind and body relaxed.

 

...

 

Arash had been subjected to a lot of stress since Hana's disappearance, and his emotions had gone through a roller coaster ride numerous times. Although outwardly he looked fine, the event had reduced his immunity and, in turn, affected his overall health. Additionally, Arash hadn't gotten a single good night's rest except on the day he became unconscious from the previous accident during trekking. This was the first time he totally let go and embraced his wife's exotic serenade without interference.

 

As the Soul Cultivation Chant innovated by Hana repeated itself with the power of technology, the barely noticeable foreign soul energy clinging to Arash's body slowly thickened by the second. Even Tok Silihan was oblivious to the presence of this energy as his abilities inherited from his forefathers only taught him about the existence of Spiritual Energy. Their knowledge wasn't complete enough, and they had not explored other kinds of energy within the universe. Hence their lack of knowledge hereof.

 

Since the Soul Energy generated wasn't technically chanted by Arash himself, Arash's body exhibited an unconscious rejection towards it, preventing it from entering as it treated the energy like a virus. However, due to mysterious reasons, the energy didn't dissipate. Instead, it clung to his outer body like a cloak, as if refusing to let go. 

 

Once Arash truly relaxed his rigid body and mind, he quickly succumbed to Hana's 'voice', which was a form of total acceptance by his body towards the lingering foreign energy.

 

A minute amount of Soul Energy slowly permeated through Arash's body via his skin. It rejuvenated his cells once it passed through and seeped into his bloodstream as Arash entered a trance state. Once it successfully invaded Arash's bloodstream, it slowly moved with purpose toward the heart's location by following the established blood circulation system.

 

Many hours passed by before the first Soul Energy seemed to reach its destination; it nested comfortably somewhere near Arash's heart. To be precise, it finally found the location of Arash's soul and integrated within, rejuvenating it in the process. Arash's colorless soul shimmered with a pale rainbow-colored light for a fraction of a second before it faded from view. Once the first one arrived, it was like the start of countless raindrops, gently falling down to nourish his soul.

 

Arash's colorless soul flickered before a tinge of pastel hue tinted it ever so slightly.

 

...

 

Arash couldn't remember whether he fell asleep and started dreaming or was imagining things due to immense longing.

 

He saw a familiar pair of hands.

 

They were slightly tanned, two tones darker than himself, to be exact.

 

A gold band adorned with a simple line encircling the ring fitted the ring finger of the right hand. 

 

Arash was in awe, and he could feel his eye misted.

 

That familiar pair of hands were definitely his wife's hands. He still remembered the hidden message he inscribed on the inner part of the wedding ring, "Loving you until the hereafter."

 

The lovely pair of hands were busy sieving through vegetation, plucking them. To be exact, the vegetation looked like water spinach she loved so much. He could even hear her voice!

 

You've done well, Ta-chan. These taste great with a bit of saute-ing. If only I bought belacan before... Wanna try?

 

The hand fed a weird mashup deer-tapir-like animal that appeared out of nowhere in the frame. 

 

Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?! Arash's heart thumped vigorously from thinking about the possibilities!

 

His heartbeat was so fast and loud, that it drowned and numbed him at the same time. 

...

 

A whooshing sound overwhelmed Arash's senses as he experienced being as light as air. His butt hit the ground heavily with a thud. The pain jolted Arash up as he realized he was already outside the 'soil bed' (he refused to acknowledge it as a grave!). He was half-lying down in a daze in front of Tok Silihan. His head was ringing, and his vision, impeded. 

 

Squatting, Tok Silihan slapped his face a few times. The wrinkles ran deep on his forehead as he scrunched his brow in concern, though Arash was too overwhelmed to notice.

 

"Boy! Boy! Wake up! Come on!"

 

"I'm alright, Tok. I'm alright. It's okay." Arash tried to sound as calm as possible, although his dilating pupils betrayed him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. 

 

"Give me a second to catch my breath." 

 

The Elder walked back a pace and gave him breathing ground. After five minutes or so, he walked back and grabbed Arash's hand to check his pulse and forehead. Arash opened his eyes slowly to look back at the Elder. He wanted to show the Elder that he was fine.

 

However, Tok Silihan could only see the reddened eyes and the anguished look. 

 

"Let me do it again, Tok. Please."

 

...

 

Alan looked at his smartwatch briefly before observing the faraway misty hills filled to the brim with lush greenery. Rays of gentle light penetrated through the thick leaves giving off an otherworldly beauty. It was the sight he admired the most, which only appeared when the morning sun kissed the horizon, just barely.

 

It has been three days.

 

Alan's butler, Miles, walked over with a cup of hot coffee and passed it to him before he adjourned himself.

 

"Miles."

 

"Yes, Young Master. What can I do for you?" He stopped and turned around, wondering.

 

"Pass me the satellite phone."

 

Uncle Miles paused for a second and nodded meaningfully. He took out a bulky-looking old-school-styled phone and gracefully passed it to Alan.

 

Alan called a few of his connections to find a specific product. 

 

Pink unicorn plushies with rainbow manes.

 

They must be of the finest quality and allergen-free since another one must be given to a baby.

 

He immediately arranged for two plush toys to be sent to the caretaker's center and addressed to the two lovely girls. 

 

You're welcome. Let's see how you're going to repay this favor. 

 

Alan smirked while feeling victorious. He had one-upped his subordinate fair and square. The more favors Arash received, the harder it will be to repay them. As such, one day, he could only be indebted to him and genuinely followed him as a subordinate.

 

Seeing Alan's childish smirk, the old butler could only shake his head and chuckled slightly. Although Alan had shown a cold-hearted image to the public, in his eyes, he was just a boy who had been desperate for attention and success since he was a toddler. He was glad that the young master had shown positive interest in some other things except for work.

 

...