Clarity is Not Born in Confusion

Quinn’s meal - something Jarel couldn’t hope to name, though it looked vaguely like a gourmet cheese toastie - was delicious.

Better than anything he’d ever tasted.

Well… almost. The meal she’d made the previous day was about equal.

If she didn’t still have unlimited funds - another thing they had confirmed - then a career as a chef was definitely waiting for her.

Across the table, the old couple were just as lost in the flavour.

Jarel still wasn’t entirely sure what to call them, so he settled on something simple. When they were like this, separate, Sayang would be Aunty, as always, and Mahalina would be… Mahalina.

It made sense.

And they didn’t seem to mind.

But there were bigger questions to answer.

Once everyone had recovered enough to speak, he cleared his throat.

“So. I’m guessing this relationship…”

He pointed at the pair across from him.

“…is the reason you know my location at all times.”

They glanced at each other.

Then grinned.

Mahalina spoke.

“That’s my doing. Sorry, Jarel.”

He nodded.

“I’d like to know how. Preferably in a way I can actually understand.”

She shrugged.

“Possessing a human is a mixed bag. On one hand, your freedom is limited to the body and its surroundings. On the other, you gain a bunch of… unusual abilities.”

She began counting on her fingers.

“First off, you gain all the knowledge of the person you’re possessing. And I mean everything.”

She glanced warmly at Sayang.

“But we never kept anything from each other, so I didn’t gain much there.”

Sayang giggled.

Jarel nodded quickly, cutting off any potential elaboration.

“What else?”

Mahalina snapped back from her trip down memory lane.

“Right. There’s also the whole spirit thing. I can exist like this, separate, or as part of the body.”

She smiled.

“And then comes the fun stuff.”

Jarel didn’t like the sound of that.

“Omnipresence is the big one. I’m not physically everywhere, but I know everything happening within a certain radius.”

He frowned.

“How big?”

She shrugged.

“From here? The suburbs and outskirts of the city.”

He gestured toward Sayang.

“So every time she comes out to see me, it’s because you tell her?”

Mahalina wobbled her hand.

“Not quite. It’s more like I’ve been tracking you, and we decide together when to show up.”

He sighed.

“May I ask why?”

They answered in perfect unison.

“Because you’re our nephew. It would be rude not to.”

Then they both smiled.

“And besides,” Mahalina added, “we wanted to relive our younger days. You were our best option.”

Quinn blinked.

“Did you set me up?”

Mahalina laughed.

“No, that was pure chance. Same with Jinxia when she arrived years ago, though she was a loose cannon.”

Quinn frowned.

“But she didn’t go for the cookie recipe until I showed up?”

Sayang picked that one up.

“She was busy. Thought she could win me over with luxuries. But when you arrived, she had competition. And your relationship convinced her that love was actually worth pursuing.”

She smiled.

“And now look, we get to watch two romances unfold.”

Their shared chuckle carried the weight of decades.

Jarel sighed.

His brain was filling up too fast.

“So what else can you do?”

Mahalina shrugged.

“Subtle mind influence, light mind reading, and a bit of sight-stealing-”

Jarel raised a hand.

“Slow down. One at a time.”

She nodded.

“The mind influence only works on people neither of us know, and even then, it’s very weak.”

She grinned.

“You’ve never wondered why people accept dearie’s ears and tail so easily?”

He groaned.

“I thought they assumed it was cosplay.”

“Well… now you know.”

Quinn looked mildly offended, but Mahalina continued.

“Mind reading is also limited. Only surface-level thoughts, the ones right at the front of your mind, and only if they’re strong.”

She shrugged.

“It doesn’t work on the neurodiverse, and honestly, it’s not that useful. Most of the time you can tell what someone’s thinking from their body language anyway.”

She paused.

“And sight-stealing is even simpler. One frame. Like a photograph through someone else’s eyes.”

Jarel frowned.

“That means you can see into people’s private lives.”

Mahalina chuckled.

“Why would we want to do that when we have each other?”

Sayang blushed and turned away.

Mahalina continued, unfazed.

“The final ability comes from me being the Demon of Lust-”

Jarel immediately threw his hands up.

“I think that’ll be all, thanks.”

The couple chuckled as he and Quinn wallowed in their own thoughts, trying to process monstrous amounts of information. It was worse for Jarel, who didn’t understand the spiritual universe at all.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Sayang suddenly piped up.

“Ooo! Dearie! You’ve got a new ring.”

Quinn blinked, then seemed to remember. She held up her hand.

“Oh, I do!”

The couple’s sly eyes turned slowly to Jarel, both wearing identical knowing smiles. His heart began to pound as Mahalina licked her lips.

“Ohhh, Jarel… you sly dog.”

He grit his teeth.

“What? What did I do wrong?”

She rested her chin in her hands.

“Nothing, nothing… besides not letting us recover from our separation in time to see it happen.”

He sighed.

“So being separated had an effect on your abilities, then?”

She didn’t take the bait.

“Don’t change the subject, dear. This is a monumental occasion.”

Sayang nodded.

“So when’s the wedding?”

Jarel shrugged.

“We haven’t discussed that.”

Quinn chose that moment to speak.

“But it’s going to be really soon!”

Sayang chuckled gently, but there was a note of authority in her voice now.

“Well, don’t you worry. We’ll see to the guests, won’t we?”

Mahalina nodded.

“We certainly will. Don’t worry about a thing.”

Jarel blinked.

“You’re… you’re not going to take over?”

The pair laughed, Sayang answering.

“No! We’ve got what we wanted. This is your story. We helped orchestrate the prologue, now we’re just watching it being written.”

He smiled.

“Thank you.”

Sayang waved it off.

“Nonsense, dear. Now, the real question is, who gets married first? You two, or Jinxia and Gerald?”

Quinn’s expression darkened instantly.

“That burglar! She’s turning this into a contest too?”

Mahalina smiled.

“She’s already won. They eloped a few hours ago.”

Jarel could absolutely believe that. Quinn, on the other hand, was fuming.

“She… that… that…”

She exhaled sharply, nearly growled, then slumped back in her chair with her arms folded.

Jarel raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t know you could have a tantrum.”

The punch to his shoulder was well deserved - and earned a laugh from Sayang. She stood, Mahalina following.

“Well, we’ll take our leave. Thank you for the meal, dearie. It was incredible.”

Quinn brightened.

“Thanks for the lessons!”

Sayang chuckled.

“I’ll be sure to send you a box of the…”

She narrowed her eyes at Jarel.

“You know what.”

Quinn nodded happily.

“Okay!”

The couple left with a cheerful wave, and finally, the pair were alone again.

Jarel exhaled.

“I think I need a break.”

Quinn smiled.

“What did you think we were going to do next?”

He shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe obsess over the wedding.”

Her face hardened instantly. Jarel knew right away he’d said the wrong thing.

The air thickened with her presence as she spoke - sweet, but unmistakably dangerous.

“You’re exactly right. We are going to do that.”

He nodded quickly.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The tension vanished as Quinn giggled.

“Yippee!”

He couldn’t help but smile at her excitement. Sayang was right - she really was the master of the household. But he didn’t mind. The lack of worries, the lack of responsibilities… they more than made up for the lack of control.

So he asked the obvious question.

“When were you thinking? I’m assuming you already have a date in mind.”

She nodded.

Then, with absolute seriousness:

“Tomorrow.”