Arjun inbreathes and begins to slowly break into a cold sweat, while his heart sinks from his chest.

Even though he just met this strange woman, for some reason, deep down, he could sense that what she just said was most likely the truth. Even still, he can’t quite fool himself into believing such a tall tale from a complete stranger.

“S-Stop joking around.”

Arjun wryly responds, in an attempt to shake off the tension surrounding the two. However the serious yet somber look on Seri’s face does not diminish.

*RING*

*RING*

*RING*

A cold shiver runs up Arjun’s spine as his phone rings aloud, equally surprising the two of them.

He cautiously answers the phone.

*BEEP*

“He-hello?”

“Yo, Arjun!”

“O-o-old man! What’s up?”

He was relieved to hear a familiar voice but even more so, to have been momentarily saved from the ponderous atmosphere he was just experiencing.

“Just checkin’ up on ya after last night is all.”

“I-oh, yea. I’m still a little hungover but other than that I’m fine. Thanks for helping me out last night also.”

“No problem! But you really should learn to hold your alcohol better—”

*BAHAHAHA*

The old man's signature boisterous laugh could be heard blasting through the phone. Which, causes even Seri who is in ear shot, to wince in pain.

“Oh yea, by the way.” Arjun interrupts.

“Was there perhaps a girl that tagged along with us last night?”

“A girl?” He pauses.

“NO WAY! AS IF YOU’D GET THAT LUCKY—”

*BAHAHAHAHA*

Arjun is now visibly annoyed.

“...I’m hanging up now...”

“Wai-wait a sec kiddo! Another reason I called was to give you the day off. Figured you’d need it after pulling off all those all nighters.”

“Gee, thanks.” He dryly responds.

“Oh, yea. One more thing.”

The old man's voice was suddenly uncharacteristically serious.

“And what’s that?”

“Put in a good word with that cousin of—!”

“NO-WAY-IN-HELL!”

*BEEP*

Arjun swiftly hangs up the phone, still annoyed from the conversation.

“Ummm...”

Seri hums under her breath to grab Arjun’s attention, snapping him back to his reality before the phone call.

“Ah, what’s up?”

*GROWL*

A nightmarishly chasmic sound echoes from Seri’s stomach, while she frowns in embarrassment.

“I gotcha. I’ll cook us up a meal but, in exchange, you have to fill me in on the details of whatever is going on, okay?”

She zealously nods her head in agreement while impatiently pursing her lips in anticipation. A faint smile slides across Arjun’s face, as he reaches over and flicks her on the forehead.

*THUMP*

“...uhhhh…”

She holds her forehead and lowly moans as Arjun slowly stands and exits the room. Without his knowledge Seri closely followed behind.

Continuing toward the kitchen, while in the hallway he can hear Nori’s beastly snoring penetrating through the walls.

‘Heh, Snori-Nori.’

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

He creepily chuckles to himself in delight while relishing his own terrible pun.

Once in the kitchen Arjun makes his way to the fridge only to find that it’s been whipped completely clean. This was definitely the work of the worlds worst cousin no doubt. Even though she’s only eighteen she has the appetite of three large-sized adult men. In fact where does she even hide it all?

*GROWL*

A thunderous growl fills the kitchen.

All the while, Arjun turns completely pale from the shock. He slowly turns around only to finally notice Suri has followed him to this point.

“WHAT THE HELL—”

Arjun quickly silences himself, in order to not wake the sleeping gorilla down the hall. The last thing he wants right now is for her to come rampaging again. There’s no way it could end well a second time.

“Y-y-you nearly gave me a heart attack!”

Seri is squatting over, inches behind Arjun, gawping intently into the desolate fridge. Seeming to completely ignore his irascible disposition.

“There’s no food?”

She says woefully, while nibbling on her left index finger as if imagining it to be a toothsome snack.

“Seems that way...” Arjun replies with a piteous sigh.

“Looks like I’ll have to do a bit of shopping.”

Siri looks at Arjun with guileless innocence sparkling in her golden eyes. Swaying Arjun’s virgin heart, which isn’t used to such an attack.

“Okay. You can come along.” He replies begrudgingly.

They exit the kitchen and make they’re way to the front door that leads outside. After tossing on his shoes, Arjun looks at Seri’s still bare feet.

“Uhhh, where are your shoes?”

Seri tilts her head in confusion and replies in an unaffected tone.

“...Shoes?”

Arjun looks around the foyer but can’t seem to find an additional pair of shoes, aside from Nori’s run down workout sneakers. And he let’s escape an all too familiar—

*SIGH*

“On second thought, you stay here. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Arjun turns for the door but a sudden thought strikes him.

‘Why exactly am I being so familiar with a stranger? I mean, she’s hot and all but this could totally be some warped case of breaking and entering; right?’

He lulls over this thought for a moment and turns back to Seri.

“...Please don’t do anything shady while I’m gone. I beg you.”

With these words, he turns back to the door and exits the house.

◼️◼️◼️

After an approximate fifteen minute walk, Arjun finally arrives at the shopping center.

‘As usual this area is overwhelmingly crowded.’

However, fortunately for him, he lives well within the heart of Santa Lupe. One of the most bustling metropolis in the country, that is well known for its edge in technological marvels and innovations as well as having a large influence in the world of fashion. So needless to say, mundane tasks such as this are no big matter.

In no time at all Arjun is able to acquire the groceries he set off to get.

‘Let’s see...Steak, cheese, potatoes, cereal—’

He exits the grocery store lost in thought, as he mentally goes over the assorted food items, stacked neatly in the bags he’s carrying in both hands.

“Nice, seems like I have everything.”

Content with his haul, Arjun smilingly strolls through the city continuing his way home.

While walking, he is momentarily distracted as he passes by a clothing store, that is advertising a substantial range of female footwear. From the popular Dr. Martins combat boots to the newest athletic shoes, this place clearly had it all.

He thinks back to Seri’s bare feet and Nori’s worn down shoes.

‘Hmmm, maybe I could splurge a little.’

Still deep in thought Arjun is abruptly stopped, as he feels a small figure bump into his chest.

*BUMP*

“Oi, watch it!”

A sweet and angelic voice, albeit one with a very harsh tone of speaking can be heard as he focuses his sights back in front of him.

Beneath him stood a woman of below average stature. Wearing an oversized, lite-pink, shoulderless sweatshirt; coupled with black leggings and the exact same boots that are currently on display.

With her platinum-blonde shoulder length hair pulled into a stylish bun and sharp rose-red eyes that were beaming up at him, even Arjun could tell that this woman was definitely looking down on him.

Unable to weather her harsh gaze any longer, Arjun breaks the intense silence.

“Uhhh, s-sorry about that. I wasn’t—”

“Hmmm, that’s strange. I could’ve sworn the scent came from this area.”

The woman mumbles to herself, interrupting Arjun’s apology. As pretty as she may be, he definitely sensed a strange vibe coming from her. Something telling him, that he should definitely keep his distance from yet another weird woman.

“Ummm, well I’ll be leaving.”

As he begins to walk past, she grabs him by the sleeve stopping him in his tracks once more.

“Hey, you, Boy.”

“M-me?”

Arjun stutters over his own question while pointing blankly at himself. No matter how anyone looked at it, he’s clearly much older than she is, so—

‘What’s with the Boy?’ He thought to himself.

“Have you been in contact with any strange women recently?”

“Geh!”

He is caught completely off guard by such an invasive question, however he is still manages to keep his poker face.

‘How the hell could she possibly know something like that?’

‘Could it be that she’s possibly connected to Seri somehow?’

“Wh-who knows?”

Arjun lightly scratches his chin, and avoids direct eye contact, as he feigns ignorance.

“Don’t play daft with me. You’re life may depend on it.”

She whisks him by the collar and pulls him closer.

Arjun acutely begins to blush from embarrassment. Needless to say, as a virgin with no experience with women, this is the closest that his face has ever come to one. Especially one as pretty as her.

*SNIFF*

*SNIFF*

“You definitely have it…the scent of a witch.”

She calmly releases her grip after she speaks.

“W-witch?.”

*BA BUMP*

*BA BUMP*

*BA BUMP*

‘What the hell IS this feeling?’

Arjun’s chest suddenly tightens, as his heart begins to beat sporadically.

“Well in any case, I’d lock myself away until the scent fades, but that’s just my advice.”

She says shrugging.

“You can run off and die for all I care.”

With those cold parting words, she slowly walks away.

“What the hell was that just now?”

Throughout the remainder of his walk home, Arjuns heart continued to race erratically.