Under Her Cursed Scythe

Alivia raised her head at once and Joshua's face came into sight!

"Sniff sniff...oh ...h-hi!" she said awkwardly and hurriedly mopped her eyes. "I...don't expect to see you here." she said, swallowing the whimpering, hysterical note in her voice, and looked aside.

"Oh, I'm here to grab some Halloween decorations for my mum...the store near my place ran out of-" Joshua ate the rest of his words as he strained forward and then cocked his head, trying to get a clearer look of Alivia's face. "Are you alright?" he inquired.

"I'm fine! Thank you for asking…" Alivia answered.

Unlike the way she reacted to the boy in the white cloak, she didn't feel disturbed by Joshua's abrupt intrusion of her private space or the need to back off. Instead, her body went stiff and her heart even pounded madly at the base of her throat. It took her some effort to calm her fluttering heart down and brought her brows closer to form a vexed frown.

"Sorry…" apologized Joshua and retreated the instant he acknowledged the annoyance on her face.

"So... how about you?" he changed the topic. "What are you doing here? Oh! Is today your birthday?" he queried when he saw the leftover bits of cake and the melted candle that was set aside.

"You don't have to care. It's none of your-"

"Sorry if I'm being annoying but I just can't help myself not noticing it. You were crying, am I right? Why are you sad? Is there something bothering you?"

"I'm not crying. I just have sand in my eyes. I'm fine!" Alivia insisted.

"Hey, I heard that when people are sad, the best way is to tell someone about it." Joshua pressed on. "It will make you feel much-"

"It's wasabi! Okay?" Alivia yelled, feeling so on edge. "Just leave me alone! I'm fine."

"Don't be shy. I will listen. Just-"

For a moment Joshua's hand hovered in the air as though he wanted to pat Alivia on the shoulder but when he picked up on Alivia shifting uncomfortably at his words, he dropped his hand and ceased from raising any more questions.

Still, his voice sounded once more when he took note of something opposite to them.

"Hey!" He snapped his fingers at Alivia to get her attention. "Hey! Wait here. Don't leave. Do you hear me? Don't leave. Wait until I come back." he uttered with a commanding tone and ran off towards the gift shop across the street, leaving Alivia with an interrogatory expression and a frustrated mind.

15 minutes later, he came back, gasping, with a delicate box which was covered by gleaming wrapping paper.

"Sorry for waiting… Here." He put the box down on the table and said, "Happy birthday, Alivia!"

"What's this?" she asked even though she knew exactly what it is.

"It's a present for you!" Joshua answered, lightly, and pushed the box towards her.

"For me? Why?"

"Why!? It's your birthday!" Joshua exclaimed in disbelief. "Isn't it normal to receive presents on your birthday?"

'Normal!? Lucky you.' A small, treacherous part of Alivia's brain whispered.

"No, I mean why are you being nice to me? I'm just your classmate, a classmate who barely speaks to you…hang on-" She paused, her mind giving her an idea. "Are you giving me this because you thought I was sad and alone?" she resumed. "To make it clear, I weren't crying and you know what? Even if I'm really sad and alone, I don't want your sympathy or...comfort! I don't need anyone's pity. I am fine. I can handle my own business! I can do it on my own. I can..." she kept on justifying herself that she was mentally strong. "So give it to someone else, someone who is worth giving to, someone who is PATHETIC enough to accept it! I don't want to become another charity case of yours so that you can prove to others that you are indeed the kindest of all!" she said, rudely, and returned the box back to Joshua with a look of disdain.

"You got me all wrong, Alivia. I'm not pitying you." Joshua said in a patient tone and pushed the box towards Alivia. "I'm celebrating this day with you! Reminding you of how lucky you are to be chosen to be born into this world and to still be alive until this day!" he uttered.

'Lucky? I doubt that.' Alivia thought.

"Besides," Joshua went on, "For me...you are not just my classmate, not just my friend...you are- something more than that- in a way- um..." Joshua wanted to express something but he found himself temporarily at a loss for words, and his face was slightly blushed when he tried to speak of the words hidden in his mind. "Ju-just accept it, please."

"No!" Alivia rejected strongly, "I don't need your pity. I'm fine!" she stressed, almost shouting.

"It's not a pity!"

"I don't want it!"

"Why can't you just believe in me? " Joshua queried as he amiably grabbed onto Alivia's left hand and placed the box on her upturned palm.

In response to Joshua's second sudden action, Alivia's heart almost burst out from her chest this time and for a moment, she lost the strength to pull her hand out of Joshua's grip.

During that period, he said to Alivia, "If you think I'm doing this to prove to others that I am kind, let it be. But it is something that makes me happy, right? So perhaps you can think of it as you are doing this to return me the favour of finding your burlap bag, helping you to pick up your pans, waking you up during class that day, speaking-"

"Okay, okay! Stop it! I get it!" Alivia snapped, trying her best to stop her heart from fluttering with hope.

"Or is this too much to ask from you?" Joshua lowered his tone and gave her the pouty face.

That successfully captured Alivia's heart. "Urgh! Okay, okay, I will take it…" she acceded.

While acting annoyed and unconcerned, she wrapped her fingers around the tiny box and extracted her hand from Joshua's grasp.

"Open it!" Joshua urged while his eyes alight with agitation as if he was the one who received a present.

Alivia gingerly unwrapped the paper and opened the box. Inside of it, there was a light blue multi-wrap leather bracelet with 6 silver star beads and one larger hexagram charm in the middle attached to it.

It's gorgeous! A growing joy jiggled her chest as she eyed at the glinting beads and the exquisite eight-pointed gold star that bore so much resemblance to her birthmark. Her cheeks turned scarlet and an astonished grin covertly spread across her face. Yet, she contained the brightness in her heart then and there, and pretended to be composed as well as unimpressed by the beautiful leather bracelet when she realised Joshua had been goggling at her face all along.

"That's a Polaris star." Joshua referred to the hexagon in the middle with a satisfied beam. "My father was an astronomer. We used to observe the stars together with the telescope in his room before he passed away." He offered this naturally, purely, informationally, but it brought Alivia up short. She never expected that pure, bright Joshua had a tragic past too. "He used to point at the brightest star in the sky and say to me, 'Joshua, from now on, even without me by your side, remember this, no matter how dark, how hard life is, there will always be a Polaris star that will guide you out of misery. You just have to believe in it and let it guide you out.'" he recalled. "I have found my Polaris star and have been able to get through my toughest times. I want that for you too. I don't know what your story is but if you feel helpless and lonely, this bracelet will remind you that there's always a Polaris star around you and all you have to do is just figure out who or what it is…If you haven't figure it out yet, perhaps…" He paused. " I can be…you know..." he hesitated. His words ,once again, got lost in his way to his mouth.

"I know what?" Alivia asked.

"Uh...I...uh…" Joshua's cheeks were rosy as though he was having a fever. "Forget what I just said… it's nothing important." He ended his speech hastily but his mouth curled in a little slantwise smile.

"Okay…" Alivia squinted her eyes at him suspiciously.

"So…do you want to talk about it...about why you cried just now?" Joshua dared after Alivia dried her tears.

Alivia went quiet when she could sense that Joshua was teeming with questions once again. However, something was different this time.

After that kindness presented by Joshua, instead of giving him a firm "no", a struggle emerged in her head with part of her urging herself to express all her inner thoughts and deepest secrets at once, while the other part tried to stifle that impulse of spilling the beans.

'Should I tell him about the daemon? About my zombie brother? And about my witchy mother?

No, he will think that I'm insane. Maybe just tell him about my father?

But how can I explain the rest? I could tell him part of the truth…no…'

Her nose scrunched up and eyebrows knitted close together in thought.

"Alivia," Joshua uttered with a gentle tone when he noted the puzzled expression on Alivia's face,

"It's alright if you don't want to tell me now. I know I have been prying a bit too much but whatever it is you are going through, if you need someone to talk to, to help you, I'm here for you." he said with a sincere attitude.

'Screw it! Just tell him. He won't judge.' For a second, both parts of her mind agreed with each other. He will understand. "I-"

"Hey! What happened to you? Did you get hurt?" Suddenly becoming aware of the incurable scars on Alivia's wrists, Joshua's eyes promptly narrowed with concern and he outstretched his hands in attempt to take hold of them.

Alivia, however, retracted her arm at once and pulled down her sleeve in reaction. "Oh...I-"

Feeling a bit awkward towards the inconsistency between her action and her thought, she ate the rest of her words.

"Did you-"

*DONG DONG DONG...

Before Joshua could complete his sentence, the bell on the clock tower began to ring.

"Oh no! It's that late already!?" Alivia raised her head and saw the huge clock that was hanging on the wall of the shopping mall, had struck six. Mother should be home by now. I will get myself in trouble if she finds out that I've gone out without her permission! She thought in panic.

"I must leave!" she said and stood up from her chair.

"So soon? I can walk you home." Joshua proposed.

"NO! Oh, I'm sorry I don't mean to-" Alivia apologized when she realised her reaction was a bit too harsh. "I really must go. It's getting late." She gave Joshua a half-wave and paced towards the exit of the Cafe just like Cinderella leaving the wonderful, glamorous ball and the charming prince behind.

"Alivia! Alivia!" Joshua called out to her before she stepped out of the Cafe.

"Yes?"