When A Ghoul Falls In Love

“You are Nell’s” Eli finds it hard to believe the cat’s words. Nell does have some magic inside her, but she doesn’t seem to be aware of it.

“I was born nine years ago.” The cat introduces itself with an arrogant look. “She fed me her emotions and thoughts over the years. I was ready to take a form, but she kept holding me back. She didn’t know what kind of form she wanted me to have. She was happy after getting this random cat’s approval. So, I was able to manifest. Unfortunately, this cat was found dead. She realized too early who I was. She even found out that her mother at home was an illusion because her mother could see me. It was quite a blow to her. I wonder how she will react if she finds out that you can also see me.”

Eli massages his forehead. If Nell’s mother was an illusion, how is this cat not an illusion?

“Didn’t I tell you? I have a part of her soul.” The Devil points at Nell’s body on the bed. “Her mother and other ghosts of her past don’t have any piece of her soul or magic. Our lives are connected. I am a part of her heart. I can hear all of her thoughts. She can hear me too. If she dies, I will disappear. If I disappear, she will die too.”

This is crazy. How could he not see this creature before? There must be some way to put these broken pieces together.

“Kekeke!” The Devil’s green eyes gleam. “I can tell what you are thinking about. But that is impossible. I might be a part of her, but I have also grown into my own being. I am no longer a small piece that fell out of her soul. I was nurtured until I turned into what I am today. It’s been too long. The shape of the puzzle piece has changed. The shape of the empty spot has also changed. We can’t be joined together anymore. But the spell is breaking little by little. Before the spring arrives, she will remember. That person will also come for her. It’s better if she kills herself before he comes to get her.”

Why does everyone want her to die? The cat flinches when Eli slams his fist on the table. “Do you also ask her to die?”

The cat c.o.c.ks his head. “What do you know about her? Evie Meyers isn’t wrong. Baek Joon-Woo was murdered because of her. The missing three women and one boy? They were taken to the Fae realm in front of her eyes. Maisie and Oliver were killed. If she had died that night, Baek Joon-Woo wouldn’t have died.”

“I don’t care who died nine years ago.” Eli looks at the cat darkly. The cat knows a lot. “Who was behind the incident? Who is still trying to take her away?”

“Who! Who! Who!” The Devil chants with a mocking voice. The Little Marshmallow is angry. He shakes his head and laughs. “Don’t be mad at me if you don’t want me to kiss you. Besides, the spell prevents me from revealing more.”

A cat is telling him that he wants to kiss him. Eli doesn’t know what to say at first. Even if this cat is a part of his wife, he’s not sure if he would like being kissed by a cat. He wants to kiss his wife only. “You are lying.”

“Little Marshmallow, you should worry about yourself.” The Devil stretches his body on the table. “When she wakes up, I am going to tell her. You can’t stop me from doing that. How will she react? Would she think that you are an illusion because you can see me or would she consider me real? But this is nothing compared to the time when she remembers. Would she also abhor you for not being a human? Would she detest you for lying to her about what you are? I can’t wait to find out.”

As the Devil’s voice trails off, Eli sees it dissolving into nothing. The cat’s hiding from him.

So, it wasn’t coincidental that she pointed at the same spot where the puppet disintegrated at his house on that day. This cat can go anywhere and see anything.

She will remember before spring arrives. He has to find out what happened before she remembers.

***

“Wake up.”

I flinch when I feel the cat smack my forehead. But I don’t open my eyes. I listen for the voices. I can’t hear their voices. I stare at the green pair of eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to wake you up.” The Devil hits my head again. “You have slept for a day.”

It seems so. I sit up and find myself in a familiar place — the hospital ward. I wonder if I will receive discounts on the bill as his wife? I don’t even have money. I don’t want to use his money. I must tell him to shove me in the general ward if something happens to me again.

“I have something to tell you.” The Devil sits on my lap and laughs sarcastically. “You trust your husband over me, right?”

Not again. I scowl at the Devil. “Go away.”

“I don’t want to.” He turns his head toward the door. “He is back.”

The door opens at the same time. Eli steps inside. He halts on his track and widens his eyes. I notice that he’s holding a small bag.”My love, you are awake.”

“Yeah” I remember some stuff that I did. He’s still looking at me like I am a normal person. “I am sorry about what happened.”

“Don’t be sorry.” He sits on the stool next to the bed. He smiles at me and asks, “How do you feel now?”

“Better.” They are gone except for this devil. He’s still wearing yesterday’s clothes. “Did you sleep?”

“I watched you all night.” He takes out the drinks from the bag. “Have some juices first. Then, we will head to our new home.”

“I heard him talking on the phone.” The Devil clicks his tongue. “Nell, he brought an apartment when you were asleep. He even moved your things without your permission. But that’s not the important part. He can also see me.”

I frown at the Devil. Why is he making up stuff now? If Eli could see him, he would have already reacted by now. Eli is still oblivious to the Devil. Nobody can see something that only exists in the mind.

“I am telling the truth!!!” The Devil steps over my legs and moves toward Eli who is reading a bottle’s label with a frown. “Hey, why are you pretending not to see me now?”

“I was in a hurry when I was buying these. This one already expired..” He puts away the juice bottle and brings out another one. He checks the label and says, “Do you like gr.a.p.es?”

The Devil scowls at him and uses his paw to slap his face. “Little Marshmallow, this trick won’t work. I know that you can see me. You are not human. How long are you going to fool her?”

It seems like Devil has gone crazy too. It’s not like he wasn’t crazy before. The Devil is trying to shake my trust in Eli. That won’t work on me. I have decided to trust Eli and I will keep trusting him till the end. I take the bottle from Eli’s hand. “Gr.a.p.es are fine.”

“Damn!” The Devil curses. He climbs over Eli’s shoulder. “I will see how do you keep lying ”

Eli smiles at me while the cat messes up his hair. He doesn’t flinch once when the cat tries to shove his paw inside his ear. The cat rubs his tail on Eli’s nose. When nothing works, the annoyed cat opens his mouth wide to bite Eli’s nose.

“Stop.” I grab the cat’s pointy ear and drag it away from Eli. “Though you are not real, I don’t like you messing with him. If you don’t behave, I will do the same thing to you that happened to the original cat. You can’t die. Imagine how many times I will do it to you if I start.”

He’s been bothering me for a long time. I didn’t care before, but I don’t like it bothering Eli. I know that Eli can’t see or hear it. But it is disturbing to watch.

The Devil yells at Eli, “How long can you fool her? If you love her for real, you should tell her the truth. You will regret this a lot.”

I let out a sigh. This Devil is being Delusional. I wish that there was a way to get rid of it.

“Wife, do you see something again?” Eli asks me curiously. He glances at my lap where I am still holding the cat’s ear.

“No.” I let go of the cat. “If you don’t see it, then I don’t see it either.”

That’s what I decided on. Eli will become my eyes and ears. His reality is my reality. If he didn’t force me to look into his eyes when I kept seeing Baek Joon-Woo and others, I don’t know what would have happened.

He kept whispering to me that it was okay. His voice was most soothing and kind to me. He stroked my head to sleep. I haven’t forgotten the worry and fear in his eyes. He kept whispering to me that I should only listen to his voice.

And I did.

Maybe it is possible to fight my demons if he is next to me. I am a little less afraid. I still don’t want to remember. But I want to move forward with Eli. I will love this man next to me and put Baek Joon-Woo to rest. “Doctor Sanguine, where’s Evie?”

“She’s outside,” The Devil answers me. “Little Marshmallow wanted to kill her, but I stopped him.”

“She’s waiting for you outside,” Eli replies to me with a complicated gaze. “I told her to leave, but she insists on meeting you.”

That sounds like something she would do. I give him a nod. “I also want to talk to her alone.

“Are you sure?” Eli squeezes my hand. “Let me stay with you.”

“Don’t believe this pervert’s fake face.” The Devil croaks, “Looking at this double-faced man makes me want to throw up.”

As usual, I ignore the Devil. He’s acting strange today. It can’t be helped. I could never predict how the Devil would react.

“No, I need to talk to her alone.” I tell him, “After I am done, let’s go back to our new home.”

Eli sighs. “Fine, but I will come inside if she tries to hurt you again.”

“Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!” The cat shakes his head. “He doesn’t know you at all.”

He doesn’t need to know how I used to be.