It was a rather good day for Maveth. Jumping hither and thither on the bed, her frail body danced to the upbeat melody of Pietists.

♪♪♪ Co- condemn my ego as if you have none

I am the devil, and you're the nun ♪♪♪

Along with the fast tempo, her body followed through in an excited movement. Her white locks bounced with the beat. And all the while, the frissons caused by her intercourse with its passionate tune sent multiple bumps on her unsullied skin.

Downstairs, the same music was muffled. Barely… audible.

Her mother stared at a flower vase adamantly. Had those flowers given a pair of legs, they would’ve fled from the intense aura that this woman exudes.

“Ma, just eat already,” remarked Mr. Lezori as he munched a mildly burnt toast.

Upon hearing his words, she glanced at him and remained stiff with her eyebrows furrowed. It was yet another wave of mood swings, her husband thought, but he could only make fun of her annoyed expression.

Two minutes. Three minutes, and four minutes have passed but Maveth’s mother uttered no word all throughout their breakfast. Her husband, on the other hand, drank the last drops of his chocolate tea and stood up.

“We’re leaving,” the man bantered, trying to get a reaction out of his wife.

But she remained still on her seat while her eyes lingered on the flower vase on their dining table. Her food was untouched.

Inhaling a lung-ful of air, Mr. Lezori called for his daughter, telling her to come down and say good-bye to her mother.

“What are you talking about? Your daughter hasn’t eaten yet.” Mrs. Lezori cut in as soon as she snapped out of her head.

Upon hearing his wife speak, he turned to face her and smirked. He just felt victorious.

Footsteps reverberated from the stairways. A young woman of average stature and serene demeanor came into view, yet her serenity quickly turned into a chaotic hubbub as soon as she spoke.

“I’m sorry, I’ll eat breakfast before we leave, mama. D’you understand how excited I am?” her voice hit a sharp pitch. “I’d get to see Nil and Une perform live! You should go see them too! They’re our generation’s incarnated gods, baby!”

Mr. Lezori scrunched up his nose.

And Mrs. Lezori forced a smile.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

They weren’t used to her outlandish gestures and booming voice, and both of them undoubtedly felt a mix of confusion and surprise.

“The tickets were sold out, I’m sure,” her father interjected before he climbed upstairs. His wife, on one hand, didn’t utter another word and followed after him, leaving Maveth alone to eat.

Inside the couple's bedroom, the man sat on a chair. One by one, he pulled off his shoes and let his feet rest freely on top of an adjacent table.

"Why would you just let her move out?" His wife, Lourise, blurted out. She overheard him snort, which caused her to grow stiffer.

"We can have the whole house to ourselves. Don't you want that?" Ruben, still daft and unserious, responded to her in a comical tone. And his wife, who felt so wronged, threw him a heavy pillow.

"What now? You want a pillow fight?" he jested.

"Don't be ridiculous!!" his wife growled.

"Am I?... You can't even refuse her yourself. You know she needed to go out and experience things on her own. There's no way she'd stay here locked up forever. My god, she's turning 19! Worse still, she seemed to be a naive imbecile!" retorted Ruben while trying to keep his voice down.

"Don't you call my daughter an imbecile." Lourise hissed.

"OUR DAUGHTER," he hollered. "I wanted the best for her like you do."

Lourise clamped shut her mouth and stormed out of the room. There was no use talking to a man who refuses to help with her distress, she thought. Had she given her a tougher body, Maveth wouldn't have had to go often into the hospital. It was also her fault, after all, that her only son died several months after he was conceived. I'm weak, she mumbled.

"Aren't you coming with us?"

With Maveth's luggage in tow, Ruben sauntered as he spoke to his wife. He will drive Maveth to a neighboring city, where she would temporarily stay with her cousin who insisted to have her acquaintance.

“No, I’ll visit her myself after a week,” Lourise replied.

After they said their good-byes, the pair left.

Grinning like it was the end of the world, Maveth had her headphones play the duo’s debut album, “Masquerade”— a collection of satire reflections concealed in wispy melodies, often accompanied with a piano and a violin.

She tapped her feet as the wheels spinned and accelerated. And as the song continued to play, Une's wispy voice gradually seeped through her skin, making her hairs stand on end. It was her dream to see them live.

Hopefully, she thought, she’d also see their faces during the concert. Even though their first names were no secret, the two artists hid their faces with masquerade masks, only exposing their lips, chin, and jaw.

It was also to her utter shock, upon discovering that the two were twins. Must’ve been nice to have a sibling, she always thought.

With the red lights putting them on a stop, Ruben turned towards his daughter to speak. “Benni offered to let you stay in her apartment since she’s alone and wants a companion. What d’you think?”

Maveth raised her brows in surprise, looking forward to her cousin’s company. “Sure, that’d be fun!”

“Yeah, I bet it’s better, so your mama doesn't go cray cray,” he chortled. “Your university’s not far from Benni’s place anyway.”

Maveth nodded.

Benni was two years older than her, and looking back, they used to collect ladybugs at her mother’s garden. It had been a while since they'd last seen each other, since her cousin wasn’t really into video calls. Weird, she would call it.