(Image is AI generated using Prompt Hunt)
Two strange things happened that day.
The first one made me look like a fool when I told my crush I liked him. And because of that, he was never talking to me ever again!
I had no intention of telling him that secret because I wasn’t really that type of girl. I could keep my emotion for as long as I want to without letting other people know what I really feel. What I find weird was that I couldn’t understand why or how I ended up telling him.
“For real?!” Trina, my best friend, blurted. “What happened to the ‘stoned-heart George’ I know? You hate it when I confess to my crush because you believe guys should confess to girls first. What happened to you?”
I flipped my newly dyed hair and frowned. “I didn’t really know what happened to me. All I remember was we were eating in this new café downtown.”
“And how did you two end up eating together?”
I paused and bit my lower lip. I couldn’t recall how it came to be. When I was about to answer her, a familiar figure caught my eye. It was Mac. The guy I just confessed my feelings for. I averted his piercing gaze. His stare was so intense I felt as though I was melting.
I grabbed Trina by the arm, pretending I didn’t see him.
“How about we try that café I was talking about?” I asked with a tensed smile.
“Fine! Be sure to tell me the entire story.”
**
We walked to the same café Mac and I ate a few hours ago.
“BE HONEST CAFÉ?” Trina read the caption on the front door. “Oh! This must be the reason.”
“Of what?” I asked.
“My dear George, this café made you confess!” She clapped her hands as if she finally solved a mystery.
“Don’t be ridiculous! It’s just the name of the place. It’s not like there’s some spell bound to it.”
Trina smirked and pointed at the female barista, who was patiently designing the coffee ordered by a tall man. And it was Mac again! How did he even come before us? We were ahead of him going to this place.
My eyes widened in disbelief. I wasn’t sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it wasn’t only Mac’s appearance that shocked me. It was also the barista. Her ears were pointed like those of elves, and her nose too was long and crooked like a witch’s.
“Do you see what I see, George?”
“Do you mean Mac?” I assumed it might be Mac she was pointing at.
“The barista, girl! She’s not a human! Perhaps she put a spell here to make people be honest!”
Cat got my tongue.
Have I been too good at suppressing my emotions that a spell would be needed for me, to be honest?
I would often hear my colleagues telling me that.
‘You’re too good at hiding your genuine emotion that we don’t even know when you’re mad or not in the mood. You still go along with our vibe even though you’re not at the same energy level as we do.’
Whenever they would say that, I couldn’t find the right response.
“Girl?” Trina asked, tapping my shoulder. “Are we still going in or not?”
I shrugged. “Nah! Let’s just go home.”
We took some steps back away from the café door when chimes clung, signaling someone was coming out. We almost scurry out of the place because it might be Mac who went out. I didn’t want him to see me. He would probably laugh at my desperation because I confessed first.
Then the second thing happened.
The blue sky turned gloomy. Grey, fluffy clouds spread like a massive blanket, making the cheerful day melancholic.
Looking up, I saw how the thick clouds accumulated and formed a silhouette of an ancient Japanese temple. Its iron gate gradually opened, releasing diffracted rays of light. Moments later, two women samurais appeared, wielding their weapons against each other.
The sound of every metal strike imitated the thunder, and every slash was the lightning.
“What on Earth is going on?”
My jaw dropped when two suns appeared above us. The one at the right was the usual sun with its bright, yellow light. The one to our left was not round but heart-shaped. Its radiance emitted red and orange hues, making it look like the dawn.
The atmosphere thickened as three enormous tornados came swirling against each other like giant spinning tops.
“George! George, look out!”
Trina’s voice broke the chaotic environment I was in.
Then a loud honk followed. When I looked to my left, a speeding car was approaching. I was in the middle of the road. Because of my frustration to myself due to confessing my feelings for Mac, I didn’t realize that I was walking absent-mindedly. My mind is in tumult.
It was too late for me. Before I knew it, the surrounding was already spinning. All I heard was Trina’s shaky voice calling out my name. She was crying, and that was it. Everything went blank.