Chapter 9 – What the world doesn’t know

…

Cleo took a deep, deep breath. Her expression seemed lost.

She turned the oven’s knob whilst her hand reached for the cake but her gaze elsewhere. The right adjustments and actions – even blindfolded, she could feel it and knew when and where to stop.

The years of practice made her an expert baker. Though still not reaching the peak of baking, she felt satisfied that her culinary skills could provide for her family. She even almost reached cum laude in the best culinary school in the country, a feat that she wasn’t proud of. Still, her family used it to boast to their friends, which made her feel loved and embarrassed at the same time.

But she had a secret.

To others, she was a role model. Loving, compassionate, demure, and elegant. A person who would prioritize others more than herself. She was a kind person for as long as she and others could remember. 

Yet, people didn’t know that she could see through a person. As in seeing through the fiber of their existence!

And it was the reason she decided to become kind.

Her parentage and environment molded her to combat hate and pain with love and care. Though she knew others didn’t have the same good luck as her.

Knowing she had this ability, she told no one because she knew how important it was for people to hide their secrets… and darkness!

And then something unimaginable happened to her.

She met Emanuel. The man with layers upon layers of secret.

They were high schoolers back then. Cleo lived a quiet but competitive life because of the pressure her super-intelligent sister gave her. She wanted to reach the same heights as the latter. Straight A, valedictorian, a walking encyclopedia, and the chosen one. But Cleo struggled to climb such an impossible task.

On the other hand, Emanuel seemed mysterious. He didn’t enjoy talking with people, but people kept gravitating around him. Quiet but weird at some times, smart but not competitive, and very scheduled person. People won’t see him loitering, and his movements and actions appeared pretty robotic. He looked like the personification of routine.

But despite Emanuel’s seemingly perfect appearance, Cleo could see something beneath his persona.

“Just for show.”

Cleo thought she understood him back then. A hypocrite. A two-faceted person was just another number to the people she knew were evil, despite hypocrisy being the least of the evil.

But it was a mistake.

He was more dangerous than any of them!!!

Right in the alley, Cleo covered her mouth as she saw blood spilling on the floor. The man she thought she knew was crouching beside a body. The latter didn’t have any visual wounds, but she already perceived him as dead.

“What did you do?” Cleo screamed while confronting him. Not because she wasn’t afraid, but because of her morality that made her stand up to him.

The boy stood and approached her, though. Only then she realized how big he was. Not too tall, but the pressure he gave was larger than any saint or evil man she met!

“A monster. He is.”

The two gazed at each other.

“I didn’t kill him. He killed himself.” Cleo knew it was a lie. But she also comprehended his words.

No law could prove him guilty.

There was no camera, but even if the place had it, she knew it won’t matter because the guy seemed confident with his words that he didn’t kill the man. She shivered, recognizing the fact that he could do anything to anyone without even touching them. Time and place became useless to him.

“You can’t do this.” She spoke, quivering, mustering all the courage despite her pounding heart.

But what happened next attacked her sanity!

“He catcalled my Little Sister. And so, he must die. Death from the very mouth he used. Now, no foul words will be uttered by such a mouth. A worthy of celebration.”

To think the guy would kill someone just because of a set of words!

“I recorded your words.” She gritted her teeth.

The boy’s eyes glinted and reached to her hair. “So be it. Good guys deserved an opportunity to defeat evil. And you have that right. But I will tell you, it's futile. I’m not evil nor good. I’m just cleaning. And everything is clean. Even if the police, detectives, or forensics check him, they won’t find anything.”

“Unless god helped them.”

Cleo looked at him once again. Now more serious than any time she looked at any person!

And then she saw… nothing. No guilt, evil, goodness, or any fluctuations in his being. Just an unconcealable indifference towards life. Moreover, there was another layer hiding underneath. Or maybe more. She wasn’t so sure now.

“You can’t do this!” Desperate, Cleo wanted to shove some sense to him. “People’s lives are…”

But the indifferent boy interjected. “Just a number.”

“What if I destroyed the world, who will criticize me then? Can you? No, because you are already dead by the time.”

“Eventually, people will notice! You’ll be in jail or worst, die from your wrongdoings!”

“I will not die.” His voice became magnetic. “There are no things worth dying for. So… I will not die.”

Cleo became quiet. She hid her expression by bowing her head. Maybe to Emanuel, it was a sign of defeat. Thus, he turned around and didn’t see the fire ignited in her eyes!

“I’ll make you repent!”

But Cleo regretted everything the next day and felt embarrassed for minding others’ business. Despite being a good person, she didn’t have the power and wealth to accuse him. She was smart and not a steadfast person anyway, so she continued her daily life.

But fate didn’t seem to let her off the hook.

Just as she turned around the corner, she saw Emanuel playing with his best friend. Only on this day of the week, they would play. Another reflection of his routine. In his hand, he held a vial of glitters. She witnessed the boy’s eyes glint when he saw her. From that moment, she already perceived the danger.

But she reacted too slow! He smeared a lot of glitters on her face, even leaving a stinging pain on her face. Next, he laughed as if he got his revenge from yesterday. She could see the devil inside himself playing with her! In addition, he didn’t seem finished with her yet!

Shame and other unknown feelings bubbled up in her chest. She visualized the things that might happen to her in the future. Pressured already by the school and her sister, she felt herself trembling from fear and suffocation. And then her tears just fell. Her mind became blank as she poured her feelings away.

But in the next moment, she could sense a quick change in the boy’s body. He actually panicked and helped to wipe her tear! She couldn’t see his face because of her blurry eyes, but with her ability to see through a person, she saw a human emotion in him for the first time!

The day ended with Cleo feeling disheartened the entire day. She still couldn’t forget everything–from the start to finish. She kicked her pillows for not being able to forget the boy.

Emanuel.

“Emanuel.” She muttered, not knowing she engraved the name on her mind.

By the next morning, the boy came with his daily routine again: passing her room after going to the canteen. But this time, he approached her and pinched her cheeks lightly.

And he smiled at her.

Every one of her classmates cheered and teased both of them.

“T-that.” Cleo could hear a thump on her chest and felt her face hot. She gawked as she watched his back entering his classroom. But she could see his inner self, laughing with amusement while secretly observing her shock.

Back in the current time, Cleo still felt amused by everything. But she grew worried again. The man she loved just did something again after a long time of hibernation.

“People know what they are after. Power, money, and peace. But what about the unknown? People strive to seek the unknown because it’s exciting. Because it’s for the supposed innovation.”

“But is it the right thing?”

“When you look at the abyss, you’ll find the abyss looking right back at you. Still alright though, because as long as the abyss has a cage, nothing will happen.”

“They shouldn’t stir things up because when the cage has somehow opened, they will know regret.”

“Then, people will ask why it’s open.”

“But it’s not the correct question. People should instead ask why there is a cage in the first place.”

Cleo looked at the cats, who seemed exhausted.

“I hope… that people won’t scare my husband so much he had to let himself go all out.”

…