Fire Breath
Gathering

A girl sits in the front porch of a cozy little house. The house is fenced perdu with trees shade the yard is also tiny. Green grass and colorful flowers beautify the garden on the face of the house. A walkway towards the veranda makes the atmosphere of the courtyard of the house look ancient and simple.

In front of the pastel purple-walled house, the girl sat comfortably while enjoying a cup of warm tea. The girl was pale-skinned and her long black hair was scattered in the wind. His eyeballs are also black, but the occasional – is mysteriously - silvery shiny. The afternoon seemed so bright and calm in the area.

A few meters from the house, a man walked barreling through a crowd of passersby on the city sidewalk. His steps were lethargic, as if without energy. He walked without direction with his dirty clothes and messy hair. Some of the people who passed him whispered while looking at him as if they were disturbed. But the man did not care and continued walking.

Shortly after, the man arrived in front of the girl's tiny house. From behind the tree, his gaze suddenly stopped on a girl who was inhaling the smell of a steaming cup. Although her skin was very pale, the girl looked so beautiful in a long blood-colored dress that covered her body up to her entire legs. Her long, smooth hair drew the man's gaze so he could not blink.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" suddenly a voice shocked the man.

It turned out that the girl was already looking at him with a friendly smile adorning her face.

The man came out from behind the tree and looked back at the girl timidly.

"I'm sorry I interrupted your tea time. I'm just a lost man" replied the man.

"I'd be so happy to receive you for tea with me while exchanging stories."

The man thought for a moment. He felt sad to go to the house of a girl who had just met him for the first time. But for days he walked without proper food and drink. Even without any place to live at all. Therefore he decided to fulfill the invitation of the girl and walked through a small path towards the veranda. The girl began to prepare another cup of tea for her foreign guests.

"I'm really grateful for your invitation. I haven't eaten and drank properly for almost a week. My place was only on the sidewalks and narrow alleys on the edge of the city. Therefore forgive me if my arrival soiled your house."

"No need to be confused. I'm not at all disturbed. I was happy to have a friend to have tea with." said the girl holding out a cup of tea to the man.

"Ah, thank you," said the man receiving the tea that he immediately drank. Suddenly his whole body became light and warmed by the tea. His fatigue disappeared instantly and his spirit returned again.

"This tea is amazing. I feel like I'm back to life" the man praised.

"That tea was concocting my own parents. They have a large tea garden in the north." the girl smiled faintly.

The man nodded and sipped his tea. The same feeling happened in his body again and he started to enjoy it.

"My name's Aiden. Aiden Catbones," the man said later. He extended his hand to the girl.

The girl looked at Aiden's hands hesitantly. But then he welcomed Aiden's hand.

"Sabina Rickle." said the girl short.

An outside cold could seep into Aiden's body while shaking hands with Sabina. He was shocked and pulled his hand so surprised.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." said Aiden nervously.

"It's okay. I was indeed a little cold to be outside for too long," Sabina explained. "I've never seen you. You're not here of course," Sabina said, switching the conversation.

"I'm from Woodlock in the south. I came here looking for something."

"Something? Meaning something?"

"Only a small thing left by my family. Because it was lost a while ago, and reportedly now it's in this area."

"A very important thing for sure."

"I heard you were lost? How long have you been walking?"

"A little over a week."

"Why not stay. Many hotels and inns are quite cheap in this city."

"Unfortunately I did not bring any money or valuables to exchange for shelter and food."

"You left with no preparation at all like that?"

"More or less so"

For a while they talked until the sun was almost gone. The more they told the story, somehow Aiden felt more and more fascinated by Sabina. They refused to stop their conversation and left the house. But finally, after holding back as much as possible to stop looking at Sabina, Aiden decided to leave. Sabina deftly wrapped up a lot of food and snacks for Aiden to carry. He also gave Aiden a small thermos of tea.

"I can't give you money or a place to live. This is all I can give you for your trip" Sabina said.

"This is more than enough. I am so grateful for all your kindness. Someday I will repay my debt, "Aiden said.

"Come back for tea with me when the thing you're looking for is found. That's enough to repay my bud."

With a goodbye, Aiden finally passed from Sabina's house. It was already night when Sabina went back inside her house. He then settles down onto a soft white sofa in his small living room. A bushy black cat jumped into his lap.

"Oh, hi Nora. Why didn't you come with me to talk to my guest?" sabina asked the cat as if she understood what he was saying.

But Nora, the cat's name, did understand what Sabina said. More than that, Nora could even reply to Sabina's words. The cat can talk!

"I don't want to bother you about teasing that man" replied Nora.

"Huh?! I'm not teasing him! I just had tea with him. Not more."

"Huh, little liar, you've even made him come here since he was in town. And then you pulled the party with your pheromones that you took out when he got to the front of the house."

Sabina sniggered small.

"Indeed my strength when pulling him here is too strong huh? I'm inexperienced" Sabina said, stroking Nora.

"I wonder why don't you tell her to stay here for the night and you bite her while she sleeps." asked Nora who started to roll in Sabina's lap.

"I don't know. When he was in front of me, it felt different. I suspect he's not human. He's not here anyway. He said he was from the South."

"But I don't feel the scent of bloodsucking from him. I don't think he's human, but he's not your kind."

"You feel weird too? That's why I invited him here. Fortunately I was full because last night I had finished off a fat thieving man who had come here."

"You call a thief even you made him come here. He's the mayor, not a thief."

"Ah right also yes." said Sabina who again giggled small. Nora simply looked at her employer saturatedly, then coiled back comfortably. Not long after that he fell asleep.

***