Chapter 9 Part 1: Haunting Melody

The clinking of coins sounded hard as a small bag was put in his hand. Jun looked them over.

“Thanks for the help. Is it enough?” The young man before him asked.

“Yes,” Jun bowed his head a bit. As expected, the Jinshari had no intention of helping them financially. Amalie had given them much. However, even she believed in hard work instead of handouts. Despite his ability as a white flame, which he still hid, she wouldn’t play favorites. The amount she gave to them was the same she gave to her other disciples, minus the home in her gardens. Jun had stretched it as far as he could, but now, he was finding himself doing odd jobs as a mercenary. It beat the 9-5 grind of work life, but it also was sporadic on the jobs—freelancing in essence.

“Hey Jun.” He looked over at a stall and saw Christopher waving.

“Morning,” Jun greeted. Christopher paused him as a customer interacted and then came to him afterwards.

“How’s work?”

Jun shrugged in response.

“I’d hire you, but I have a feeling your buddies would target the family business,” Christopher indicated to a few Jinshari who were following. They were nearly halfway through the first year, and yet, work was sparse because of the fear. The Jinshari had more of an influence than he had thought. It made his mother-in-law seem like a saint.

Jun shifted the coins, noticing something in the store. Christopher laughed and held the purse open, allowing Jun to juggle the money till he payed for the food.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Christopher said as he wrapped it up and helped put it in Jun’s pack.

Jun walked back to his home, thankful for the weekend. Mei waited at the door, perusing through their books.

“I’m home,” he said out of habit. Mei didn’t raise her head from her studies. He set his things down, opening the pack and unwrapping the contents. Mei’s nose twitched and she finally looked over.

“Thought you might notice,” Jun hummed as he moved to the fireplace. Grabbing a pan, he moved to their food reserves. He grabbed some salt, and layered it on, then procured a small jar of sauce and added it. Mei’s soulless eyes seemed to gleam.

“Fish? Trout?” she murmured. Jun smirked as she came over and began to help. The fillets were well prepared—boneless and easy to manage. With the impromptu fish sauce and their vegetables, they would have a delicious meal tonight. Mei eagerly helped, recounting days of old when they camped and fished. Jun hummed one of Ellen’s songs and Mei joined in, her new voice a pleasing sound compared to her teenage youth on earth.

As the sun began to set, Jun cleaned the dishes with Mei and the two reminisced in quiet tones.

It was only after Mei fell asleep, that he wandered outside. While they had bathed in nostalgic, it was also painful. Jun wandered the grounds, keeping his feet moving to process the complex weave of emotions that battered his heart. Despite having been here for half a year, he hadn’t heard any rumors he could track down, and he had tried to hum Ellen’s tunes, seeing if anyone would react to those earthen songs.

While his mind played back memories of their camping trips, he froze. A soft melody flitted through the night air. He listened, his right ear tickling.

‘Seek.’

He let his feet carry him towards the building and opened it, familiarity catching his chest. This was the same tune he had sung with Mei only hours before. He dashed inside, eyes darting to find the source. The voice was feminine. Was it Ellen? The melody echoed, making it impossible to track. He paced around the first floor and made his way up. Then, the song vanished. His mouth dropped as he attempted to find anyone in this building. It was empty, the sound becoming a faded haunting melody. He began to hum the tune, willing it to come back to life, but only faced silence. Undeterred he scoured the place, finding a few staff on the upper floors, surprised to see him—the place absent of students.

He searched till he could barely keep his eyes open.

“Jun?” a voice called. He looked to see Amalie and let his head drop in disappointment. He had nearly heard Ellen’s voice then. He clutched at his head, realizing he was growing delirious from fatigue. He circulated the prayer to clean up his mind, though he would need to stop and sleep.

“Have you slept?” Amalie asked and he shook his head. She stared at him, forcing him to look away. She may have been their benefactor, but there were still things he didn’t feel were safe to discuss with her. Then he felt a hard smack against his forehead. Amalie’s fingers had flicked him. He stumbled back at the impact and she sighed with a guttural groan.

“Go to bed you idiot.”

She forced Jun back to his abode, the sky still dark. Mei was resting peacefully and Jun hardly remembered collapsing in his bed.

The next week he visited the building often, hoping to find Ellen. On the seventh night, he heard the song again but like before, he could not find the owner. The next night, he also heard the song. Chasing the elusive songstress, he started to falter in his classes, the sleepless nights affecting him.

“Hey old man. You told me to be careful, so why are you acting like a nut?” Mei cornered him and he huffed.

“Someone is singing one of the songs from Earth. I think it’s your mother.” He hadn’t exactly tried to hide it, but he had hoped to meet Ellen before having Mei know. A part of him wanted a reunion to be the two of them. Thinking about it now though, he found it selfish and arrogant. Mei did not answer immediately, but her lower mask and wide eyes turned fierce.

“Why didn’t you say something earlier!”

Jun clamped his mouth down. It was something he wouldn’t reveal. Mei’s hand moved to slap him and he caught it, preventing its arc. He froze as he saw the tears threatening to spill. Mei yanked her hand free and then struck at him with her foot. Jun blocked it and she used her other hand to strike his face.

“Stupid old man!” She turned on her heels. Jun moved his hand to where she had struck, flinching at the sting. He froze as Arvad stood there awkwardly, looking to Mei as she passed. Jun averted his gaze when the man glanced at him. He heard the pattering of their feet as they left—leaving him alone.