Stomping through the hallways, Amanises was overtaken by emotions, so much so that she didn't even realize she missed the last step on the staircase and stumbled in the most ungracious manner.
Among the sun-drenched corridors, a young university student was walking idly, waiting for his upcoming lecture to start, when he suddenly heard a thud and a shuffle that sounded like a dress' ruffle.
He peaked around the corner and saw the clumsy lady he noticed the day before, once again fainting from possible exhaustion. He wasn't sure what was up with her.
As a respectable gentleman, he hurried towards the lady to help her back on her feet, but was surprised when she pushed him away, lifting herself up with an angry mumble.
Nonetheless, the young student opened his mouth to strike a conversation, not wanting to seem like his years here were completely wasted, which they were.
"H-hello, you're—" But he couldn't even finish his sentence, when he was instantly shot a killing glare from the woman, freezing in place at that same moment.
Amanises dusted off her dress and continued her march through the empty hallways, mumbling incomprehensibly.
Fuck! That scared me so bad!
She was, of course, scared.
Shaking in her boots, one might say.
The moment Azik Eggers stated that she was a Beyonder, Amanises was already prepared to dig her own grave.
She had never felt such a strong fear before!
It was like witnessing a natural predator, while simply being a small, newborn bunny.
I nearly jumped from fright! She continued to mumble.
***
Old Neil's mysticism classes were as pleasant as ever. The old man was filled with witty jokes that she could let out a hearty laugh to.
Young people would find them of poor taste, but for her they seemed quite refreshing.
It's like talking to pops back at the nursing home! He used to give me all sorts of candy with that too!
Amanises saw her grandfather's image in him, albeit faintly.
Though her elder family member's features were sharper and his head presented more hair, the differences were mild.
She had incredible fun hearing him describe the other colleagues,with his advanced age he had much more to say than Daly!
Speaking of which, I should head home by now. It's almost time for the orchestra performance to start!
It was not yet late, she could make a run home, pick up Daly and even have enough time for a light snack.
Still, the woman always preferred to be punctual. Often, opting to run throughout her house rather than be one minute late for work.
Old habits die hard, what can I say?
She bid farewell to the kind teacher, who pinched the frame of his glasses and flashed a warm smile in return.
***
"It's almost time. Are we too early?" Rozanne checked her hand watch, looking at the ticking hands while silently questioning.
Her shift today was much shorter compared to the usual, so the woman opted to call upon Seeka and Royale to meet up earlier.
The ladies in question, each holding a small hand-held fan trimmed with lace, scanned the crowded area.
They were not the only ones excited for the show.
Not even a few minutes later, two different sets of clicking heels could be heard. Seeka and Royale, with their heightened perception, recognized them easily.
It was none other than Evelyn Dusk and the Spirit Medium, Miss Daly.
Both were trying to navigate through the crowd, attempting to not accidentally push the other bystanders around.
It was incredibly hard.
Why are the streets so full, damn it! I thought it would be easier to walk during the evening!
This is kinda similar to nightly concerts back on Earth, which is surprising.
With her increased hearing from digesting the Sleepless potion, and the fact it was rapidly turning nighttime, she could hear bits of unwanted conversations.
Men, dressed in brown slacks, white shirts and thin vests, raised their hands to light up the gas lamps on the side of the streets, slowly bringing Tingen back to life.
Amanises noticed the three women gathered by the decorative fountain, grabbing Daly by the hand, she headed towards them in a heartbeat.
"I apologize for having you wait for so long! It wasn't my intention."
Rozanne greeted them by nodding her head a little, and so did Royale and Seeka. When she actually digested what Evelyn said, Rozanne immediately wanted to allay her concerns.
"Oh no! That's not the case at all, my lady! We were just a tad early since I had little work for today. No need to worry, you're right on time!"
"Oh, how reassuring." She chuckled while fluttering her decorative fan, only a little bit since it was quite chilly outside.
After a small chat about today's affairs and some jokes thrown around, these dignified ladies made their way to the Concert Hall.
Navigating through the people, they quickly found suitable seats, they were placed exactly in the middle, not too far to not hear anything, but also not too close to not remain deaf.
Simply perfect, of course as per Amanises's arrangements.
I sure hope this will go better than the last outing. She was a little nervous. Like being responsible for how good a movie was at a sleepover after suggesting it countless times.
She would watch their reactions each second, as if she were the actual producer!
Only for them to end up saying it's mid. She silently sighed in her heart.
Suddenly, all chat inside the Hall died out, as everyone fixed their gazes on the grand stage.
One by one, numerous musicians made their way towards their respective instruments: violins, drums, basses and the like.
Once they were all in place one last man walked with utmost confidence on the stage.
Dressed in a white tie and tails, he held a thin back and white baton in one hand.
The conductor entered the stage.
He held his nose high, overlooking the performers, as if evaluating each one by gaze alone.
While looking at that, Amanises felt a strange knot in her chest, like she was one of the musicians herself, and this conductor was overseeing her entire career.
How scary!
But it was also incredibly interesting.
Tap! Tap! He tapped his baton on the stand before him twice, not even flipping the pages. He raised his hands in the air for two seconds then dropping them suddenly!
The concert had begun!
***
Not bad—not bad at all!
Unlike the opera, this was much more enjoyable!
She watched each performer with great interest, each showing the world their talent and skills. It was quite amazing!
Of course, Amanises took note to glance at her companions from time to time, watching each of their expressions and hoping that they would not end up regretting listening to her.
And to her surprise, they actually seemed to enjoy it!
Seeka was the one who paid the most attention, followed by Rozanne and Royale who both leaned back to enjoy it, sometimes closing their eyes to feel the loud music.
To her dismay, Daly wasn't all that interested. Granted, the woman wasn't much of a fan of loud noises.
I shouldn't have made her come...
She felt incredibly bad for not noticing it sooner. Amanises made a mental note to leave her friend alone on such matters.
Once the conductor waved the last one, everyone present in the auditorium got up and started clapping their hands in tandem. Some even throwing roses on the stage.
One of those people was so excited that he started praising each element of the concert.
"Gosh this was perfect! The tempo, the phrasing, the articulation, everything! Bravo, bravo!" His voice was mostly deafened by the loud clapping, but Amanises heard it clearly, as the young gentleman was just two rows behind her.
He wanted to open his mouth and spew some more praises, when suddenly the man nearby, who seemed he were acquaintances with, grabbed him by the shoulder and seated him back down.
He whispered something angrily, but this time Amanises couldn't pick up on anything.
She turned her head around to her side, looking at the ladies seated in the row.
"I think this is enough for today, my friends. What do you say? Shall we call it a night?"
Walking out of the Concert Hall, the three women fluttered their fans and expressed their gratitude one after another.
"I should trust you more regarding music, your taste is impeccable!" Praised Rozanne, holding onto her hat.
You should discover the wonders of my randomized playlists. Now that's something to praise!
This was almost nothing compared to Earth's countless music genres. She suddenly missed her late nights with an iPod and a pair of wired headphones from her teenage years.
So much nostalgia is going to kill me one day...
She made an effort to smile back, and bid farewell to her colleagues. Each turned to the side they came from, Amanises and Daly walking towards their rental house.
"Why didn't you refuse me?" Asked Amansies, shifting her face towards the company to the left.
Daly sighed, "You seemed too enthusiastic to invite them, I would've felt bad."
She didn't wish to continue the conversation any further, her back slowly forming beads of sweat.
It was completely dark by now, the oil lamps doing little to alleviate her heart.
As a good friend, Amanises held Daly's hand in reassurance, she picked up the pace, hoping to reach their destination earlier.
***
Moonlight poured through the covered windows, but not enough to discern any expressions in the dark.
Still, Amanises could distinguish her surroundings clearly, she put her camisole up to dry on a rope attached to the walls of the bathroom and stepped out, brushing off her hands in quick motions.
As if engraved into her brain, the motion to dress up and head out for a nightwalk was already being made.
She started rummaging through her closet, looking for something to wear when a rugged voice stopped her.
Shifting around, Daly opened her mouth, flipping over the covers. "Aren't you done with digestion? What's the point of heading out now?"
Amanises was broken out of her absentmindedness, turning around to face the sleepy lady, who didn't even open her eyes.
"I have nothing to do..."
"Then go to sleep for once." She turned around to face the wall, flipping the covers back onto herself, shielded from the outside.
Amanises closed the closet doors back and mumbled in a low voice. "Well, if you say so."
Still dressed in her spare camisole, she patted down the custom-made pocket from the inside of the breast, checking for the charm.
Once she felt the small piece of metal, she breathed a sigh of relief and headed to her own bed. Slipping in easily, and melting over the soft mattress and even softer covers.
She patted down her pillow once, put another one between her legs, and fell asleep instantly, letting the dreamland take her.
Only, it was not a dreamland, but a nightmarish space that only featured an endless river and all kinds of monsters.
How unfortunate, I can't turn this off like a switch. Oh how much she wished to be able to sleep like a normal person.
She started her pace along the current, continuing to stay within her thoughts.
I wonder, do I always appear in the same place as always?
Do I switch back to the place I left off before, transported to a completely different side of the river, or do I spawn in the coordinates.
If coordinates could even be used here...
That monster...It's jaw is hanging basically by a thread! It might fall off soon!
She continued to walk, occasionally pointing out the distinct features of the monsters.
That thing changes its form and color like a chameleon. That's so cool!
Sometimes, the creatures were pretty unique.
That guy looks so lost, too bad he can't see where he's going, his eyes have been ripped out! And other times, the residents of the river were humans.
She didn't pay much attention to them. Humans or humanoid creatures were much scarier than animal-looking ones.
It brought a strange sense of eeriness.
Suddenly, she stopped.
One of the residents looked incredibly polished!
And by that, she meant that there was no clear withering, wrinkles or dirt on the man's form, as if he died while being encased in wax.
How strange.
She moved closer to the man, who was slowly moving against the endless current, as if trying to fight it with all his absent might.
He had a soft looking face with bronze skin and long dark black hair that framed his features nicely, making him look almost ancient.
She circled the man, walking over the running currents of the water.
He looked incredibly familiar, of course.
He looked like Azik!
What are you doing here?!
Countless questions popped up in her head. Her natural mind wanted to disprove them gradually.
Could he be someone with the same face? That's not out of the question, the way he is dressed speaks of an old—no, extremely old person! No more than a thousand years ago.
He wore a black, blood-stained armor, had bronze skin and black hair.
His hands wore black metallic gloves, embedded with a red gemstone.
She moved towards his right, and just like she felt it, a tiny mole was there right under his ear, one that goes usually unnoticed, unless you look clearly.
She turned back and looked deeply into the man's empty gaze, watching the still dark pool that was his eyes.
Just as she always thought, human residents of the river are always incredibly eerie, and nerve-wracking.
With his slow moves, she took notice of a dangling necklace, one that looked incredibly expensive.
Her hands moved to touch it.
This is such a pretty colour, it looks like an amethyst—
As per usual, her hand passed right through, but to her surprise it couldn't be removed from his chest.
Wh—what?!
Her heart started nervously beating again, no matter how much she tried, her hand just couldn't be plucked out of the empty shell that was his heart.
Only, she could feel a small point of light coming from the inside, like it was the man's soul, shining dimly.
Curiosity won within the flash of a second, and instead of fruitlessly continuing to thug at her hand, she moved forward and grasped that point of light.
!
Everything darkened for a moment, before an incredibly bright light was penetrating her eyelids.
It was time for a new day.