Graven landed in front of Terros's Bamboo house.
He was about to climb the bamboo stairs but the old man exited the door and looked at him.
Graven settled himself on the wooden bench and waited for his friend to come to his side.
Terros lowered himself on Graven's side. "What's up? Anything new?" he asked.
"I already know Rebecca's whereabouts!"
"That's good news! How did you find Rebecca?" Terros asked curiously.
"A big butterfly landed on the table outside our headquarter carrying a message in the bottle. It was Rebecca's message telling me that she escaped the vampire couple's clutches and gone in hiding at her friend's place. She won't be returning to us because she feared that the vampire couple put a tracker on her body and she might lead them to Laura. She will visit us one day, but no exact time when..." Graven concluded his narration.
"Wow, a message in the bottle, that is one way to send a message. I know someone who uses that kind of messaging system," Terros muses, remembering somebody close to his heart.
"Really? Who?" Graven asked curiously.
"Just an old friend of mine," Terros replied. "But maybe she's not the one and there are others out there who are using such system. Anyways, how's your brother Luke? Any news from him?" he asked.
Graven released a deep sigh. "He's tracking me already," he replied.
Terros brows furrowed. "Huh? He found you and currently following you? Is that right?"
Graven nodded his head. "Yeah... he's outside your place right now, lost in the mist. He's trying to figure out where I'm hiding or where I have gone to because he can no longer track my scent after I passed through your invisible barrier," he said.
Terros chuckled. "Ah, I see... poor Luke!" he said. "The moment you entered my place he lost track of you. I bet he will spend the rest of his day and night waiting for you outside the invisible barrier that was meant to ward off intruders from accessing this place. So... what you're gonna do now?"
Graven sighed. "Luke is after all my twin brother. I wish we didn't fall in love with the same woman, things would have been easier for the two of us," he said morosely.
Terros patted Graven's shoulder to impart his sympathy. "I feel your pain, son. You love your twin brother but your love for Laura is greater... because if you don't love her that much... you will be willing to let go of her and surrender her completely to your brother. But you can't do that... right?"
Graven nodded his head. "You are correct, old man," he admitted in a wretched tone. "I'm willing to let go of Laura but after learning that she is pregnant with our child, that completely changed my mind. I want to continue protecting and caring for my wife and our unborn child, it's just a normal feeling for any man at my position," he defended his decision.
Terros nods his head. "I understand your feelings, son. If I'm in your position I would do the same. It's your wife and your child we are talking about here, you should be the one protecting and taking care of them - not your brother," he said.
Graven breathed deeply. "I can't run and hide away from my brother for too long, sooner or later I have to face him," he said with a downcast face.
"Yeah, you have to talk to your brother and settled this problem with him once and for all," Terros agreed.
Graven looked at his companion. "By the way, what is the update regarding the mysterious black liquid?" he asked to change their depressing topic.
"Well, I'm running in circles regarding the perplexing mystery of the black liquid. I've been trying some experiments lately but to no avail. All of my experiments ended in failures. I'm sorry, son," Terros admitted shamefully.
It's now Graven's turn to pat Terros shoulder. "Take it easy, old man! Don't burden yourself too much with the black liquid. Maybe, it's my destiny to die in the hands of that cursed King," he said sadly resigning to his fate.
"Ah, don't say that. As long there is hope we can find a way to make a cure. We still have the thousand-year-old tree, the Oakenblossom Tree! It's showing a promising result so far, maybe if my friend Veronica can persuade her friend to help us in making the most potent elixir out of the tree, we might be able to flush out the black liquid from your body so that we can finally cut the ties that bind you to that cursed King," Terros said confidently.
Graven looked at the bamboo house. "By the way, where is your lady friend? I haven't seen her around, where is she?" he asked.
Terros shook his head. " Ah, about that... it's been more than two weeks already since the last time I saw her. She went to her friend's place to ask a favor about the thousand-year-old tree and she hasn't come back yet. I'm kind of getting worried about her. It's unusual for her to be gone for too long every time she visits that friend of hers," he explained worriedly.
"Hmm... maybe she encountered an accident along the way?" Graven suggested.
"I hope not, but she's capable enough to take care of herself, she will survive," Terros said trying to uplift his sagging spirit.
Now it's time for Graven to comfort his friend. "Don't worry old man. If Veronica can't still come home this week, I'll volunteer myself to find her. Because of the thousand-year-old tree, she went missing, I felt guilty about it," he said sadly.
"No, son. It's not your fault. Maybe something happened to her friend that's why she's not able to come home right away. Anyways, I'll visit that place one of these days to find out what happened to Veronica," Terros said.
"Okay, as you say so," Graven said.
Silenced enveloped them for a few minutes.
"So, where do you go from here?" Terros asked.
Graven rose to his feet. "I'm going to visit my wife," he replied. "I'll be back here to check on you and Veronica," he added.
"Okay, give my regards to your wife and the baby inside her tummy, tell the baby that Grandpa is excited to see him," he said.
"Him... how did you know that the baby is a boy?" Graven asked, surprised.
Terros smiled. "Just a hunch, but I'm not 100% sure about the gender of the baby. I just want to think of him as a boy just like you for the moment," he said.
Graven smiled. "Alright, I gotta go, old man!"
"Wait... how about your brother waiting outside?" Terros asked.
"Just let him be, he won't die. He will eventually give up after he got tired waiting outside," Graven answered.
"Okay, you may go now," Terros said.
Graven disappeared from the place in the blink of an eye.
Terros returned to the house to get the water jug and get drinking water from the stream nearby.
A few minutes later.
Terros can be seen walking into the forest and ended at the stream, he filled the jug with clean water and set it aside. He walked towards the big rock to see if the bamboo fish trap he set for the prawns and fish had caught anything at all.
Oh, la la!
He was delighted upon seeing six medium size fish and ten pieces of prawns inside the bamboo trap. He removed the trap from the water and carried it with his left hand, then he picked up the water jug with his right hand and went home.
After he arrived home, he boiled rice on the pot and washed the fishes and the prawns while waiting for the rice to get cook. He put them on the plate, rubbed salt all over them, and set them aside.
A few minutes later the rice was finally cooked, he removed the pot and starts grilling the fishes and the prawns above the fire.
Half an hour later.
Terros finished cooking his food for dinner. He put three pieces of fish and five pieces of prawns on the plate along with two servings of rice, spoon, and fork. Then he picked up a plastic bottle and filled it with drinking water. Done!
He suddenly disappeared from the house.
He reappeared outside his place in his invisible form. He saw Luke looking up at the trees.
"Brother, stop hiding! Show yourself to me! Where did you hide, Laura!?" Luke shouted at the top of his lungs over and over again.
Terros looked at Luke shaking his head. Such a stubborn guy!
He put the plate and the water bottle above the trunk of the tree which was cut in half.
Suddenly, Luke glanced in Terros direction. His nostrils caught a scent but not his brother's scent. But he can't see anyone, only the plate filled with food and a plastic bottle. Someone put the food in there. "Who are you? Show yourself to me!" he demanded in a loud voice.
"Young man, the night is fast approaching! Stop shouting and go home!" Terros said.
Luke only saw Grandpa Terros once, but he remembered his voice clearly. "Grandpa! Tell me where is my brother! Where did he hide Laura?!" he asked.
Terros sighed. "I don't know what you are talking about, lad. Your brother already left long ago. I don't know where he's going, he didn't tell me. Go home now!" he commanded.
"No! I don't believe you! You are lying to me! My brother is still hiding at your place, tell him to come out and talk to me!" Luke commanded. He didn't notice his brother's scent leaving the forest, therefore his brother is still out there somewhere, hiding in his old friend's house!
pαпdα`noνɐ1`сoМ "I told you the truth, it's up to you if you don't believe me! If you plan to stay here overnight waiting for your brother that is already long gone, then at least eat the food that I prepared for you so that you won't be starved. I gotta go, I'm going to eat my dinner in my house," Terros said and disappeared from the place.
Luke continues shouting at the trees until he got exhausted, hungry, and thirsty.
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