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It was 7th November and everyone in Madeline Highschool was preparing for the school festival. Decorations were being hung, and students were setting up booths and getting ready with their costumes. Once the students were done for the day, they all headed home talking excitedly about the upcoming festival.
Everyone was excited.
Except for Brianna.
Curled up in her bedroom she stared at the window wondering where her brother was and wept. Her foster parents helped her file a police report but she blamed herself for being too scared to tell them about the harassment she faced in school. As Agatha’s warning echoed in her ears, she hugged the stuffed animal the only gift gotten from her late family she cried again.
Meanwhile, Detective Walsh was looking into the case of her missing brother but found no leads. The only lead he had was the eyewitness who saw him being led away by a group of boys when he came out of the convenience store a few days ago.
“If the store had cameras things would have been easier.” He muttered.
The temperature in the room dropped and the lights flickered making the atmosphere uncomfortable. Groaning, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.
“Electrical services how can I help you?” a monotone voice asked.
“Yeah I am calling about the light bulbs?” the detective pinched the bridge of his nose, “They are flickering again.”
“What do you mean?”
The box on one of the shelves fell to the ground with a huge thud startling the Detective. Still holding the phone in his hand, he stared at the contents and frowned.
“Hello?”
“I’ll call you back,” with that he ended the call, crouched down, and picked up a picture of a young boy with white hair standing next to someone but the face was ripped off.
“I have been so preoccupied with mysteries in this town that I forgot all about you little brother,” He whispered.
Unbeknownst to him, the computer behind him flickered and the same image appeared on his computer but it had a sad look on his face.
“I promise. I will find out what happened to you,” then he picked up a smiling picture of Emma. “Are you the key to this mystery?”
Meanwhile, Emma was walking down the street holding a basket. The new bakery Jake was talking about was opened and she decided to check it out. As she walked, the scent of freshly baked bread made it clear she was on the right path, and turning round the corner, she bumped into someone wearing a brown hoodie.
“Sorry,” she said.
“Ugh!” The person turned to stare at her with an annoyed look on her face but it fell the minute when they locked eyes. “Oh, you came back,”
Emma recognized the red-haired student wearing glasses as the new transfer student and smiled. “Hello, Mao Ito. Are you here to buy bread as well?”
The girl’s stomach did a backflip and she sheepishly scratched the back of her head. “Yeah, but I don’t feel like buying the bread anymore.”
“Oh, okay.” As Emma walked passed her, she heard a click of a camera and swiftly turned around but the girl disappeared. “What the…”
“Hello,”
Upon hearing that voice Emma turned around and dropped her basket in terror.
“Don’t be afraid,” the person walked towards her with a sweet smile on her face. “My name is Amai Odayaka and you are you looking for our bakery?”
Blinking twice, Emma mentally compared the girl standing before her with the image she recalled seeing at the cyber café a few months ago; average height with slightly wavy hair shoulder-length light brown hair pulled back with a green handkerchief that matched her green eyes.
‘The facial features were too similar. It was her!’ she thought. “Y…yes. I am looking for the bakery.”
Amai clapped her hands in glee and took Emma by the hand.
‘Her hand is so cold,’ Emma thought as Amai lead her deeper and deeper into the ally. Soon they arrived at a peach-colored building with the sign, ‘Odayaka’s Bakery’ written boldly on it.
“Here we are,” she said with a huge smile on her face. “Come on lets go inside.”
“Uh…okay,”
They walked in and the smell of freshly baked bread filled the air. The glass display showed an array of cakes and tasty-looking pastries and behind it was a shelf filled with freshly baked bread.
“So, what do want to buy?” she asked.
Emma hesitated for a while, “Umm…I want to buy some bread, please. Two loaves of bread.”
“Okay,” Amai turned around to retrieve the bread, wrapped them, and handed it over to her. “Here you go,”
“Th…thank you.” Emma paid her and quickly walked out of the store nearly bumping into another person who walked inside.
Her feet felt like jelly as soon as she reached her apartment. Shutting the door behind her, she slid down to the ground and covered her face.
‘Amai Odayaka,’ she uncovered her face and let her hands rest on her cheeks. ‘But she died in 2012! How…why…why is she here… selling bread?’
Emma looked at the basket of bread dropped a few feet away from her. The smell was appetizing but the feeling of dread made her look at the pastry in a different light. Standing to her feet, she picked up the basket, dropped it on the kitchen island, and headed to the room to change out of her clothes.
‘Maybe I will go at night but…’ she paused and stared at the mirror. ‘What about him?’
Shivering she walked back to the kitchen to make lunch and caught Jake munching on a piece of bread.
“Don’t eat it!” she screamed yanking it out from his grasp.
With his cheeks bulging, Jake stared at her in confusion before looking at the basket. Emma looked at it as well and realized that half a loaf was missing.
“You ate half the loaf?”
He swallowed the morsel in his mouth and wiped off the crumbs from his lips. “Yes, why?”
Emma could only stare at him debating if she should tell him about where she got the bread from.
Jake on the other hand had a look of embarrassment on his face. “I am sorry I didn’t tell you this Beloved but I like bread.”
“You…like bread?” Emma asked in shock.
He smiled. “Yeah. It’s one of my favorite things to eat! Especially the type that has a nice flaky crust and a soft tasty inside.” then the look on his face turned into that of sadness. “What’s wrong? Were you planning on using the bread for something?”
Emma took a few minutes to relax before telling him everything.
“So you are saying that the new bakery in town is being run by a ghost of a student who got killed in Akademi High I’m I right?”
Bowing her head in shame Emma nodded expecting to be reprimanded for not running away. Instead, Jake hugged her.
“It’s okay. We all make mistakes,” he rubbed her back before letting her go. “Besides, there is nothing wrong with the bread.”
“The…there isn’t?” she asked.
He nodded, tore off another piece, and stuffed it in his mouth. “See? It’s tasty.”
Emma’s heartbeat slowly returned to its normal rhythm. Jake tore off another piece of the bread and handed it to her. After hesitating for a while, she took it from him and ate it.
‘Wow! It is tasty!’ she thought.
“Do you want me to make lunch?” Jake asked. “I know a great dessert I can make with this fresh bread.”
“Desserts are meant to be for the evenings,” she said.
“Aww but I am craving for something sweet!” he whined.
“I am sorry dear but you will have to wait until the evening after dinner to have your sweets,” Emma replied.
“Or,” he pinned her close to the kitchen island. “How about I eat my dessert now?”
Emma stared at his lips which turned into a smirk and blushed madly. “I change my mind. You can make your sweets!”
“But you look more appetizing,” Jake whispered close to her neck causing her to gulp. “And I want to devour you.”
Emma’s body flinched as he planted kisses on the nape of her neck while his fingers slowly trailed down her spine sending ticking sensations through her body.
“I…I…I am sorry but…”
He chuckled and looked up at her with dreamy eyes. “You are stammering. Could it be that you are enjoying this?”
“Umm…yes…no I mean…Hey! What are you…?”
Without warning he carried her up, sat her on the kitchen island, and wrapped her legs around his waist.
“There that’s better,” he started caressing her thigh. “You were saying something.”
Still blushing madly, Emma quickly composed herself and scrambled for an excuse to get out of the situation he put her in. Smiling, she reached out to caress his face.
“Honey I would love to have sex with you but I can’t go to the bakery tonight with shaky legs can I?”
“What do you mean?” Jake asked grasping her thighs.
“Well…ugh,” She flinched when he pinched under her knees. “You see, the person running that café is actually one of the girls who was murdered during the 2012 murder mysteries in that school so I was hoping to see her tonight to gather some information on who killed her."
He stopped caressing her legs and frowned. “Is it about the ‘Osana Najimi’ case?”
Emma nodded and his frown turned into a glare. Then it slowly turned into that of concern. “Why are you still doing this Beloved?”
“Hmm?”
He grabbed her hand and held on to it. “What if it’s dangerous Beloved? What if she is an evil spirit out to get you? I don’t want you getting hurt."
Emma sighed, took his arm, and placed it on her cheeks. “I gave her my word Darling. She won’t rest in peace until I do that. Besides, nothing can harm me thanks to your...protective seal.”
Jake groaned and looked away in thought. Finally, he reached out and kissed her on her forehead.
“Please come back alive,” he whispered.
Emma was surprised. “You are not going to follow me?”
“I don’t need to Beloved. Besides,” he caressed her face lovingly. “I am always watching you,”
She gulped.
Emma’s POV
“I dodged a bullet back there,” I whispered into the night. “Still…”
Then his voice echoed in my ears.
That husky, sexy voice that sounded like Jin when he and Yuan were in the cave making…
“Argh!” I smacked both my cheeks in agony. “Pull yourself together! Don’t forget what he did to you!”
My words made me stop in my tracks and generated a sense of shame in me. “Yeah. Don’t forget what he did to you.”
I arrived at the bakery which was still open but the atmosphere inside it was…different. From the window, the usual blue painting was replaced with a shade of violet decorated with spider webs and stars. Confused, I opened the door and looked around. The pastries on the glass showcase were replaced with strange bottles housing strange liquids and the shelves holding the loaves of bread had strange objects glowing in a strange aura of different colors.
What are they?
“Oh hello,”
I turn around and see an entirely different person. She had short black hair cut into a bob hairstyle, pale-skinned, and wearing a shirt decorated with spider webs and blue jeans.
“H…how can I help you?” she asked with a warm smile.
“I…I am looking for Amai Odayaka the owner of the Bakery?” I said showing her a photo. “I need to speak to her,”
The girl looked at it and grinned. “I am sorry. Ms. Odayaka only opens her bakery during the day but it is owned by me during the night.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “By you?”
“Yes. I am Regina and welcome to the Potion and Brew House. Do you want to try a drink?” she asked thumbing to the glass showcase. “It’s on the house for new customers,”
I politely reject the offer but she smiled.
“Do you want to buy a potion?” she asked.
“No, not really,” I replied knowing it was rude of me but I was being cautious.
“Come on I insist. You are the first human to come here after seventeen years.”
My eyes widen once she said that because this means that she wasn’t a human but… she wasn’t a ghost either. Her shadow was visible behind her and she didn’t look transparent. The only thing that was suspicious about her was her pale skin but…I have pale skin as well so…
Taking a huge gamble, I sat on one of the stools behind the glass showcase and watched her pick out some bottles; a bottle full of red liquid, half a bottle of blue liquid, and a mysterious bottle full of glitter.
At least it looked like glitter.
“There,” she placed a cup on the glass table and started pouring the liquids. “Red for courage, blue for wisdom, and a drop of galaxy for brilliance.”
She covered the cup, shook it, and gave it to me. I take one look at the liquid which looked like a sky full of stars and took a sip. The sweet taste took me by surprise and my muscles relaxed but the sudden emotional boost I got was magnificent.
I suddenly felt confident.
“Wow! This is amazing! What is this?”
“I make potions and brews in my new life now,” she replied.
“Pardon?”
“When I died, I got reincarnated into a new world working for a potion master in another realm. It was nice going around and selling potions but I decide to break out on my own. So I broke free from him and started my own business.”
I take note of something, “You ‘broke free’?”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “He didn’t want me to leave but that is a story for another day.”
‘So that’s why she looks human,’ I down the rest of the drink and enjoying the feeling of comfort it gave me. “I am sorry to ask you this but…how did you die?”
Upon hearing that, she gave a huge sigh and looked away. “I can’t remember it all. One minute I was walking down the corridor in the school and the next minute it went dark.”
A wave of pity filled me and I heave a sigh.
“But its okay. I am happy with my new life as a potion maker and beer brewer so,” she shrugged.
“So why are you here then?” I ask.
“Oh, I always come here during this time of the year although, I might be staying longer than usual.”
“Why does Amai come here? Does she have any unfinished business to do here?”
Regina chuckled. “No. She just loves coming here to sell her produce. According to her, it gives her a sense of joy to watch people eat or transform them into something tasty.”
“I see,” I glance at my cup.
“But do you want to hear a secret,” she leaned forward and whispered, “Don’t you dare disrespect her produce. I’ve seen her torment someone for tossing away her half-eaten bread in the garbage.”
That caught my attention. “How did she do it?”
Regina chuckled. “You don’t want to know,”
Soon a ringing sound punctuated the air and Regina sighed.
“It looks like it’s time to close shop,” she said.
I was confused. “But it’s only 3 AM,”
“I know but Ms Odayaka always wants the place clean for her work today,” she gave a side glance, “She is always like that,”
I giggled. “Well, she is selling food and it would be a health hazard if she was selling it in a dirty environment.”
“I know, I know,” she said with a sigh then she grinned. “It’s best you should head home. Your boyfriend is getting anxious.”
This shocked me. ‘How did she know?’
“Oh, I have eyes everywhere,” she turned around and started picking off the items from the shelves. “It’s best you head home,”
Still astonished, I stand up, thank her for the free drink and leave. It was still dark out and the stars glistened in the sky as I walked back to my apartment but the silence unnerved me.
Then I heard footsteps. Stopping, I looked around and for anything suspicious but nothing seemed out of the ordinary so I swallowed saliva, I continued my journey giving a good distance between me and the footsteps.
Then I turn round the corner and hide in the dumpster. Through the cracks, I see a dark figure. It stopped, looked around, and walked away.
I wait for a while, step out of my hiding place, and looked in the direction in which the culprit disappeared.
“Who are you?” I ask myself.
Jake gave me a hug the minute I got home. “Are you alright? Your heart is beating faster than usual.”
‘Wait, he can sense my heartbeat?’ I looked at him and smiled. “It’s okay. Someone did stalk me on my way home but I lost him.”
His face fell once I said that and I gulped. “Did you see the person?”
I shake my head and he cupped my face. “From now on, I will be following you wherever you go understand?”
Embracing the feeling of helplessness, I give a stiff nod.
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