🍀 Novels Event 🍀 A Lucky Encounter (Chance to win 30,000 Ink!)

Hi!

So this is part of my big story. It started in 1915 and is meant to go through 1974. The main story is in 1918, but this little one shot is set in 1921. It's bl, lgbt+, historical, and paranormal. Please come give it a read and subscribe if it appeals! Thank you

Gael has had a very bad day. He got shot. He hates Prohibition. He can't marry the man he loves and he has no whiskey. Jack is doing the very best he can!

https://tapas.io/episode/2101294

Here is the first episode of my short story Graffiti. The whole story is about a lucky encounter, so I'm not sure one episode will work, but I'll submit it anyway!

https://tapas.io/episode/2099378

(Marked Mature for language)

Link to profile: https://tapas.io/littlelilylee5683

Hello, good day! My submission links are below. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing it, being inspired by this prompt.

Lucky Encounter Episode (Warning: Rated M): https://tapas.io/episode/2093192

Creator's Wall: https://tapas.io/ruqi

This is the prompt for a new upcoming novel I'm about to start publishing! Hope you enjoy it!				


The Heart of an Angel

Carmin's POV:
No one knows what they're supposed to do as they go about living their everyday lives. They don't stick to any sort of routine or system; just letting fate decide what is best for them. It comes as such an easy thought process that no one even questions their life choices anymore.

I never knew life as a crooked road with many paths; instead, I lived a boring and useless life. Starting from as far as I can remember, I always lived in this clear and blank cell. I only had four pieces of white furniture; bed, desk, nightstand, and a small chair. The only thing I had going for me in this boring routine, was to sit and look pretty. I mean, I guess that is what an experiment's job is supposed to do for the black market, right? Just sit still, move your wings when told, and let the scientists talk about you. That was my life; one of the genetically modified avians. 

That was the system, until a sudden chance with an unpredictable man, changed my life by setting me free. The only question is; how does he know me?

This is a flashback in a friends to lovers BL I'm drafting.

1947, Age 7

Benjamin had always been a very proper child. His family set many rules and expectations for him, which he always followed without question. The first seven years of his life had been fairly uneventful. Benjamin had never been one to squabble with other students, let alone find himself in a fight. Until now.

“Archer, you must leave her alone!” Benjamin protested.

“I don’t know why you’re getting so upset,” the other boy sneered. “It was you she stole from!”

Benjamin could feel his face go red with frustration. “How many times do I have to tell you, she didn’t steal from me!”

“So I’m supposed to believe someone as poor as her could afford that coat?”

“It was mine, but I gave it away!” he tried to explain for the umpteenth time. Benjamin’s parents were the wealthiest people in town. He probably had more coats in his closet than every student at the school put together. He could handle being chilly for one day.

He looked around the playground for support. Aside from Archer’s cronies, the only other student nearby was that Finley boy, and he always kept to himself. The closest teacher was across the yard, and heaven knows what could happen to that unlucky girl if he left her alone.

Words were getting him nowhere. Feeling emboldened, Benjamin stepped between Archer and the young girl. “You know she didn’t take it! You’re just picking on her because you’re a bully!”

“Is that right?” Archer smirked. “If I’m a bully, I guess it won’t matter if I do this!”

His massive hands fell upon Benjamin, who landed heavily on his knees. He was lucky to have fallen in a clover patch rather than pebbles, but he still managed to scrape the delicate skin. His cuts were burning and he closed his watering eyes, waiting for a blow to his face. It never came. When Benjamin did open his eyes again, it was to see a scrawny black-haired boy being pulled off his attacker.

Archer was on the ground and his nose was bleeding. A teacher had hurried across the yard at the sound of his screams. Finley, the boy who kept to himself, looked absolutely feral as a teacher grabbed his arm to take him to the office.

Benjamin could hear someone behind say, “that Finley kid is a psycho!”

“And don’t you forget it!” Finley yelled, shaking his fist like a cartoon character swearing vengeance.

Finley was suspended for three days. Benjamin tried to explain what had actually happened to the school’s administration, but no one seemed to care. The Finley family was very poor and he already had a history of lashing out. The former offense could make him guilty of anything.

On the day of Finley’s return, Benjamin scoured the lunchroom for his dark-haired savior. Eventually, he found him eating alone in a corner of the cafeteria. He hovered near him without setting down his tray. Benjamin tapped his shoulder to gain his attention, but Finley didn’t look up.

“I want to thank you for helping me the other day,” Benjamin said nervously.

“S’nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” he assured. “You saved me and Evelyn, then you got in trouble for it. I want you to know I appreciate it.”

“Alright.” He still hadn’t looked up from his food, which appeared to be a plain bologna sandwich and a bruised apple.

The boy obviously had no desire to talk to Benjamin. He was tempted to walk away, but he couldn’t help himself. “Why did you do it?” he asked.

“Wut?”

“Why did you stop those bullies? Why did you put yourself in harm's way for people you didn’t know?”

Finley gave a casual shrug. “S’nice of you to give your stuff away like that. Shouldn’t be punished for it.”

Satisfied by his answer, Benjamin gave him a nod and another word of thanks before making his way to leave.

“I’ve seen you give other stuff away too,” the boy called from over his shoulder.

Benjamin blushed. “You have?”

The poorer boy nodded. “Usually just food from your lunch, or a toy. Never a nice jacket like that.”

Benjamin stared down at his feet, embarrassed. “My father always gets upset when I share my things. He says it’s unbecoming of a young gentleman.”

“Your father is a twit,” Finley stated matter of factly.

Benjamin knew he shouldn’t laugh, but he couldn’t help it. His chuckles earned a lopsided grin from the boy in front of him. “What’s your name?” Benjamin asked through his giggles.

“Noah Finley.” He stretched out his hand, which Benjamin gladly shook.

“But everyone calls you Finley, right?”

Finley nodded. “Except you. You can call me Noah.”

“Really?”

Finley smiled his approval, and Benjamin could feel the significance of the gesture.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Benjamin Walton.”

Finley drew his eyebrows together. “Benjamin sounds so stuffy. Do you go by anything shorter?”

Benjamin ran a hand through his blonde hair. “Mary, our head house-maidcalls me Benny.”

“Benny,” Finley repeated the nickname slowly. “Yeah,” he said, looking him over appraisingly. “I like it. We’ll stick with that.”

“I usually eat lunch in the library, but is it alright if I eat with you today, Noah?”

“Sure thing, Benny,” he grinned.

Each boy felt extremely lucky. They had made a new friend.

My creator page: https://tapas.io/charlies-korner

My entry:

"A Lucky Encounter"
Lauren did not consider herself the luckiest person. Her first relationship ended because her boyfriend was a pilot. He took a vacation to see his family and the plane fell out of the sky. Killing everyone on board. Lauren was not a quitter. It was not her first run in with death.
Their parents died when she was small. She and her older sister were raised by their grandparents on their vineyard in the Australian countryside after their parents died. She spent her childhood living in a caravan. Her sister wasn’t lucky either. Her sister’s first relationship broke apart and left Bethany with two children.
Lauren prepared herself for work. She was part of the local police force. The town was small and peaceful so the most exciting thing she delt with after transferring was the occasional noise complaint or parking violation. It seemed like Lauren’s luck was finally turning around.
On her way out of the door, Lauren checked her rabbit’s hutch. She had always loved rabbits to the point of obsession. As usual, the Dwarf Lop peeked out from the log and twitched his nose. She dipped her hand into the enclosure, petting him between the ears. After closing the lid, and ensuring it was secure, she giggled to herself as she shrugged into her jacket and walked out of the door. Feeling better already. Not that her job was awfully stressful here. This town provided her a sense of stability and tranquillity that she had been looking for.

---

It had been quite an intense day at work, by the small town’s usual standards. All Lauren wanted to do was sit down and binge some tv and snacks with her rabbit curled on her lap.
However, when she got home, the lid was off the hutch and her beloved pet was…missing!
Lauren panicked. She searched the house frantically and when that failed, she searched the small yard and back garden. Still nothing. She searched for the rest of the afternoon, asking her neighbours to keep an eye out on her behalf. Lauren turned on a small flashlight. Even the darkness was not going to stop her. If she did not find him tonight, he would end up consumed by a large dog or cat. Indi was slow and trusting.
“Hey there. You shouldn’t be out at this hour.” A voice said from behind Lauren.
She whirled around, ready to lie, but she came face to face with someone also in a uniform.
“I need to find my pet. He escaped while I was at work.”
“I’ll help you look.” The stranger offered. “You really shouldn’t be out here, but you might stand a chance if you’re not alone.”
“Thank you…”
“Milly. My name’s Milly. What’s the little guy or girl look like?”
“He’s white with brown patches. He’s a rabbit. He responds to the name Indi.”
“You must be new in town.”
“How can you tell?”
“Your accent.”
“Oh, it’s that obvious?”
Milly nodded. “Don’t be embarrassed. Irish is nice accent. What’s your name?”
“Lauren.” She admitted shyly, sweeping her fringe behind one ear with her hand.

---

“Earth to Lolo.” Milly said, waving his hand in front of Lauren’s face. “What’s the problem?”
Lauren had been spacing out a lot since Milly and Lauren started to plan their engagement.
“Nothing. I was just remembering how we met.” Lauren was picking clovers from the garden to give to her rabbit to eat. “I was thinking about how lucky I was that night when we met.”
“Our lucky encounter.” Milly smiled, embracing his girlfriend from behind.
“Yes. Our lucky encounter.” Lauren nodded, her freckled cheeks flushed with adoration.

Word Count: 610

Hello everyone!
Thank you for this opportunity tapas staff! I'm really happy to share my story of A Lucky Encounter. This is a special episode to my on-going series that I have been writing. I will post a link to my series and I'll post the episode here. Thank you again. Enjoy!
Link to series:

Link to episode:
https://m.tapas.io/episode/2093276

"A Lucky Encounter" by Quinn Sky
The Feather Flyer came to a complete stop as the crew attached the ship to the dock. Anette watched as some of the men hopped off the massive boat and went into town. At that time, Captain Ren was in her office discussing the next step of travel with her first mate, Nico. The Feather Flyer was docked in a little town called Petesburg. The captain wanted to stop there to restock on supplies; food, rum ect.

Anette leaned against the railing of the ship, she had just gotten her legs a month ago and she hasn't really gotten the chance to use them. Sure she went into the caves with Ren and Nico, that was quite an adventure. However she hasn't gotten the chance to see anything of the human world yet. All she's observed were the things the Captain showed her. Like the many books with strange stories or the drawings that Ren drew of parts of the ship.
~But I want to see how others live.~ Anette thought. She knew Ren would never let her go off on her own. Ren would probably insist on coming along, Anette didn't want to cause her any trouble. And if the captain couldn't go she'd probably have Nico accompany her, Anette cringed at the thought. There wasn't any valid reason to dislike a man so much and yet, Anette hated the thought of him being around the captain all the time. She hated the thought of him.
Finally realizing that this was her only chance, Anette snuck onto the plank and walked down onto the docks. One of the crewmates noticed her with wondering eyes. The maiden put her finger to her smiling lips as a sign not to tell Ren. The sailor raised his brow then walked on by.
Anette started into the main part of town, her bare feet felt the hot stone. It didn't bother her that much since was use to walking around bare foot. The maiden planned on exploring the little shops and booths in the town square. Even though she didn't have any money, she still wanted to explore and observe the things she had never seen. Her eyes could not stay in one place as she came upon the middle of the town that split into different paths, it looked like the town square. There were so many things that fascinated her. There were little wooden carts parked everywhere next to the streets. These carts were filled with tasty looking fruits vegetables. Some were filled with unusual looking meats and others carried trinkets and jewelry. One cart even carried flowers. Beautiful flowers that shown brightly in the sun. Each petal looked so delicate and lovely, this was the cart that Anette couldn't stay away from.
Anette wanted so badly to take a flower back to the ship to show Ren of her wonderful find. Even if it was just one petal she would be happy. At that moment a little gust of wind picked up. It blew three little petals off of a wilting tulip. They were still colorful enough to be beautiful and Anette had to have them. She ran after the flying flower petals.
The wind blew them toward a darker area of the town. She managed to catch one as the wind died down. She smiled, relieved she had at least cought one. However that smile faded as she realized where she was, a dark street that was filled with shadows. She was lost. The maiden, desperately looked around for a solution. Then she found herself in front of a mysterious looking shop. It read "Velina's Fortunes" on a wooden sign.
Anette stepped inside, wondering if whomever owned this place could help her. As the maiden stepped inside she felt the lavish carpet on her rough feet, curtains of purple and pinks hung around all the walls and doorways in the room. There was but one small table and two chairs in the middle of the little room. On the table were things Anette recognized such as a lit candle, cards of some kind and a strange looking glass ball.
"Someone has come inside my humble home." An almost serpant like voice was heard. Then a woman, wearing colorful garb much like that of the curtains lifted up the silk over the doorway and entered from the back room of the building. "Hello young one." The woman came up close to Anette's face, examining every feature of the maiden's person. "My, my, you have quite a strange appearance."
"I ... I do?" Anette finally spoke.
"Yes. Your purple hair and delicate features are quite unusual. Almost like you are not from this world."
"I am not from this town."
"Right... This town." The woman sat down at the little wooden table. In the candle light, glitter could be shown all over the woman's body, making her dark skin shimmer in the light. "Let me read your fortune."
"But I - I don't have any money."
"Well... This once will be on the house." The woman smiled, a gold tooth shown in the corner of her mouth. "I am called Velina. If you tell me your given name and give me something dear to you, I will read your fortune." Velina pointed to the chair across from her.
Anette hesitantly sat down, she looked down at her hand. "A name given to me is Anette. And this
..." She unfolded her fingers, revealing the petal in her hand...
"Oh my, let me see." Velina gently caressed the petal with her fingers. "Would you like a fortune of love told?"
"L - love?"
"Yes... Hmmm. " The woman shut her eyes. "Ah, the person you love is very close to you. You share a special connection but for some reason, there is still quite the distance between you two."
"There is?" Anette sat up in her seat.
"Yes... And there will be many obstacles to come. Including a certain person who also shares a special connection and who has become close to your love."
"He... Has? Um, have they -"
"Oh I'm sorry, the vision has seemed to fade. Now off you go. "
Velina stood from the table and saw Anette out the door. The maiden thanked the woman the left, however she quickly turned back around.
"Wait, I forgot to ask for-" When Anette turned back around, the little building was no where to be seen. "Directions ...?" The confused maiden looked around, still unclear of how to get back to the ship.
Something caught her eye, on the stone ground lay a path of glitter. It shown just as it did on Velina, except much brighter as the light bounced off of it in the sunny places and twinkled in the shadows. Anette followed the glitter and eventually it lead her right back to the pirate ship.
There, Ren was in front of the ship. Anette saw one of the crew mates tap the captain's shoulder and point to the maiden. As he did this, Ren ran toward Anette, a worried expression across her face.
"Why the bloody hell did you go off on your own?" Were the first words to come out of her mouth.
"I'm sorry Ren, it's just I, well I knew you wouldn't let me visit the town without you and I didn't want to bother-"
"Ugh, your so . . . silly." Ren hugged Anette and smiled. "I suppose it doesn't matter now. I'm just glad you're alright lovely." She wrapped her arms tighter around the girl's body, then hesitantly let go.
"Oh, I found this and I thought you should have it. It's a bit wilted but still pretty." Anette opened her hand to reveal the petal she had protected the whole time.
Ren looked at Anette then down at the tulip petal. She gently took it in her hand. A loving grin began to form on her face. "This is . . . well, it's lovely." The captain chuckled and then put her hand on the maiden's head, petting gently. "Thank you."

A Lucky Encounter: Cafe Terror

This is based off and an alternate view on one of my chapters in my story Curse of the Lycan. Lycan at the bottom.

Word count: 903

Cafe Terror

Alfie rested his head against the window of the car and simply stared towards the outside. Thoughts rummaged through his head, and they refused to quiet down even for a second. This was the moment of truth, would she be a lycan or would she be human?

"Alfie, shut up," London mumbled under her breath as they continued down the freeway. London Julico, beta female. Strict but understanding, she was independent and not willing to be belittled by others. Yet, why did she have to bring Alfie along for a scouting trip that might have taken, oh, twenty or so minutes?

The two pulled off an exit and Alfie's ears perked up as he spotted the little cafe in the corner of the street. He was eager to get out and stretch his legs after being pent up in the car for five hours. Despite the pent-up nerves in his stomach, Alfie was beyond eager to get up and explore an unknown area, perhaps find his mate down here.

Yet, he was hesitant. Finding him would be slim to nearly impossible. Alfie had to pull his mind away from finding his mate and switch it back to the issue at hand... diagnosing whether this girl was a threat or not.

London parked and both of them exited the car. Alfie peeked through the windows of the cafe and caught sight of a young lady studying. Her brown hair appeared to be silky and she stared blankly at worksheets, looking to be half asleep. Alfie immediately knew that was the one they were scouting. He nudged London who also seemed intrigued by the girl.

"She's a lycan, no doubt."

"Hush it, Alfie, we will see in a little bit." Alfie shut his mouth and the two entered through the cafe door. A little cling brought the girl's eyes towards both Alfie and London. Alfie did his best to keep on an emotionless mask, but, on the inside, his lycanthropy roared to life. The sensation that soared through his blood stream screamed at him to be on edge, there was no doubt in his mind ... this girl was a lycan.

A young barista perked up from around the corner as Alfie and London walked, rather slowly, towards the desk.

"Hi, welcome to Cafe Gemire! My name is Miranda, what can I get for ya?"

"Machta tea for me. Do you want anything Alfie?" I could only keep my eyes on the girl; the scent she wore was sweet, cupcakes and cherries. Yet, despite the sweetness to her looks, there was something unruly beneath her, something was looming.

"No," he responded, coughing a little bit to stare back towards the ground. Only when the soft sound of music filled the cafe did a gasp fill the air. All eyes filed towards the direction of the girl where she nearly fell out of her chair running towards the bathroom. From her last few steps before the restroom, she appeared pale, ill beyond death itself.

London looked at Aflie before sighing,

"I'm going in."

"Are you sure it is a good idea? She could just be ---"

"Alfie, don't make me repeat myself. This might be our one chance before she shifts."

Alfie wanted to protest, but he could only nod his head. London headed to the restroom whilst Alfie took a booth seat that gave a clear view of the freeway. He noticed only two other cars here, one being a small, white Toyota Avalon and the other being a black GT Mustang.

Alfie scoffed, talk about being rich; it was a nice car, no doubt. However, things quickly changed when he noticed a well-dressed man step out of the car. He wore black dress pants and a tucked-in long sleeved white shirt, not to mention that his dark brown hair was dashed to the side but still messy. He had a cigarette in between his fingers and a phone in his other hand.

Alfie's stomach sank as he could only admire the young man. He only got more nervous, however, when the man entered the cafe and the two locked eyes. His breath got stuck in his throat as he had to tear away from the contact. Yet, deep within him, something stormed to life. It screamed, it raged, it wanted to storm over and just inhale the depths of the man's secrets. He could only take in a shallow breath, unsure of what this feeling was. It was just a lucky encounter with a dashing gentleman, right?

He couldn't ponder long when a series of screams sounded from inside the lady's restroom. Alfie could feel a spark of lighting go down his spine when the screams only grew louder. He leapt from his chair and raced around to the door only to fall behind where others stood. Everyone was concerned as a murmur spread around the cafe and the folks residing within.

London stood, her arms crossed as she gave a deadpanned look at Alfie. He let out a low grumble before shaking his head, disappointed. His mind kept replaying the image of that man; he could have just stared at him forever. He cursed London for stealing those precious few seconds from him.

He could only ponder one thing between the wails of the girl and the glare he received from London ... who was that man? And why did Alfie feel so attracted to him?

Click me to read Curse of the Lycan!

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This is for my submission 🤭:

My page:

Well this is my entry

My hero one shot

Hope you guys enjoy =D

That Guy in the Alley
one shot story by ZEN
https://m.tapas.io/episode/2107683

---

It happened in the middle of the street, where the darkest part is. When I saw a guy who's just looking up the sky while the moon is hiding behind those clouds. I was mesmerized on how he look in the sky, I feel the passion to his shining eyes that I guess just finished crying.

When the moon finish hiding, I saw him look forward and pratice smilling. I felt a fang of pain on my chest as he practice everything to make him look cheerful. And that was the first and last time, that I felt such a mixed emotions.

It's two years and it feels like I'm longing for it, still holding the passion I saw in his eyes. My hands unconciously draw what I see on that night.

In the middle of wander, someone knock at my desk to wake me up in reality.

"What can I help you?" I ask without even looking to that someone who disturb my day dreaming.

"I just wanna say Hi, I'm the new employee." A new employee? I look at him and got shock on what I saw.

Those pair of eyes and his psyque even. It's him... wait am I hallucinating. It can't be real... this can't be real.

"Wow! Your drawing skill is such a real deal. Who's this guy?" His eyes twinkles when he saw what I drew. I knew it he did not recognized himself.

"Oh? I don't know I just drew it." I said, "My name is Zoey, Zoey Anderson."

"Oh my bad, I'm Kael Sanders, pleased to meet you Ms. Zoey." He said and smile lively. And there I was mesmerized again by him.

After that I always got distracted by him. Everytime his eyes met mine it feel like I'm drawning into them. When I'm with him, I feel alive. Whenever I glance or stare to him, I feel motivated to live.

If this continues I totally goin' to creep him out. That's what I thought but that day come.

"Ms. Zoey, can I talk to you in private?" He ask and look to people around us.

We walk to the empty room and sit at the vacant seats.

"What's the matter?" I ask worriedly because this is the first time I saw him serious. And his eyes have a glint of a uneasiness.

"About Ms. Raine, she absolutely harassing me, I can't take it anymore. Do I look like I'm seducing a woman?" I'm out of words, I can't believe Raine would do such a thing she looks like a angel (for the boys tho).

"You're now going to work under me, don't open up that matter to someone in the office. I'm going to report it, if you want we can put her in jail, that's disgusting little shit really knows how to dirty someone." I angerly said, I don't attach feelings into work but when it comes to him I can't help but to got mixed emotions.

That day on wards we become closer than I think we can get. Greets, lunch, walking to home. I'm happy and it feels like I'm contented even tho we're just friend.

"That guy, he look familiar." He said and look at it seriously.

"Maybe because you always look at it whenever you have a chance." I said and distance the paper on him.

"Can I have that one? You already have many copies of it so one copy won't hurt." He said and smile, a smile that no one would dare to want to say no.

"Here." I handed to him the piece of paper where I drew him.

He walked out as it's time for him yo leave. It's already night and his work time is over. And I in the other hand, having a overtime work. I heard a familiar footsteps of him heading yo my direction.

"Ms. Zoey, I'm heading off." He said and I look at him, I smile as I saw him looking like his self two years ago. That familiar hoodie his wearing, even his passionate eyes are still intact. His smiles make my the dark night bright.

"Be careful at your way home. Bye." I said and gesture a dismissed.

I did my usual routine when I'm in over time work. When it's time for me to leave, I checked out then organize my thing from the locker.

In the middle of my way home, I saw Kael I'm about to call his name, but stop when I realized that his looking at the sky where the moon is hiding behind those cloud. I saw him on what I exactly seen two years ago. The same pose and the same eyes who I think just finished crying. I can't help but to feel that mixed emotion being refresh at my recent feelings.

I smile and take a picture of him but I forgot that it has an automatic flash since where at the dark.

"Ms. Zoey? Did you just take a picture of me?" He ask and he took my phone, it surprisingly fast, I look dumbfounded whose looking at him seeing his photo.

"I-it's me who you always drew? Did you see this already? Wow do you have some kind of super powe...rs-" I look at him confusedly when his voice volume down. "No, wait you saw this already, two years ago when I'm here crying looking at the sky? Right?" He said seriously, I become nervous as I really didn't seen him this serious before.

"T-two years ago, when I'm about to give up in life, I saw you looking at the sky, it's dark and the moon is the only source of light yet it's hiding beneath the clouds. Under the dim of its light, I saw you. I saw how your eyes look so passionate and its warmth. You just finished crying that time, I guess." I said and avoid looking at him. He stayed silence so I decided to talk more. "After two years I still holding onto the warm I felt. And I feel like I'm longing to the mixed emotion I felt. Then when I accidentally think of you when I'm in office and I drew you subconciously, that's the same day you knock on my desk and wake me up to the reality where I saw that passionate eyes of yours." I heard him sigh in relief.

"That's why you're always making eye contact with me." He stated and giggles, my heart pound harder than normal and I feel like my oxygen's gone. I didn't breath for a little while. "I'm going to confess something,"

"Wait, are you going to say that I creep you out?" I panicked and he put his hand in my cheeks where my blood rush is.

"No, I like how you're always looking at my eyes straight. I want to say that your eyes speak a lot more than you do. I love how it felt to see your eyes speak and become louder and louder as are eyes met everytime." He said and smile. "Whenever your eyes are expressing your mixes emotions, it twinkle and everytime it does I'm being drown to them. As you can see I'm confessing my feelings right now." He said and from his hold on my cheeks to my hands.

"I ahm I love you too." I said and look at him in eyes. I saw how his eyes twinkle due to the emotion his feeling right now. "Ahm thank you, I know you didn't know but you save me from giving up. I'm lucky enough to see you in this alley." I said and kissed him softly.

And that's how I become a girlfriend of a guy named Kael. That same guy who suddenly give me mixed emotions in the middle of an alley.

Thanks for the big giveaway!

Here's a little side story with the younger versions of the characters in my main story.

A Lucky Encounter (679 words)

https://tapas.io/episode/2107733

Here's the main story for those interested!

“A Lucky Encounter”

Everything happened so fast. Enrique Ortega was studying in his room at night, it was the 17th Century. A light emerged close to the lamp and continued to grow while coming closer to him; it pulled him in with such force that even when he held tight to his bed, he could not avoid being swallowed into it. Suddenly, his vision turned to black.

“Tall or venti” said a voice which caught his attention.

When Enrique focused his sight, he found Sean Thiel's look. Light blue eyes and blonde hair, white uniform and brown apron. Enrique recognized that face. Scared, he wanted to move aside, but lost balance and fell back. After hitting the ground he almost lost consciousness, suddenly he remembered: he had to escape from there, his life was in danger.

“Excuse me!” said a female voice. “Are you ok”

Enrique turned around and found the worried look of a girl of approximately 20 years old and brown hair, wearing the same uniform as Sean. He was stunned for a second. Where was he exactly? What was that girl doing next to Sean? Sitting on the floor, Enrique Ortega took a look around. He was at a modern-world café. Many people turned to look at him. He felt an emptiness which turned him pale. Where was the world he knew?

“Excuse me!” repeated the girl, catching his attention. “May I help you to get up?”

While he was standing up, he checked his surroundings. It was true, he was not in Terros, that planet in its 17th Century which had been his home for one year after being transported there. Now he was in another world, was he back on Earth?

“Are you ok?”

Enrique Ortega ignored her words and put his hand into his pant's pocket. His smartphone was there. His breathing accelerated, the device was working, the telephone's signal was active.

“Am I… back?” said Enrique.

The girl in uniform beside him sighed and calmed down.

“It is good that you are ok” she told him. “Can I…”

Enrique interrupted her. From one lunge he was in front of Sean Thiel, who was looking down on him from behind the counter. They both went silent for a while. Enrique didn't hold back and spoke decidedly.

“Tell me what's going on here. Now.”

---

Enrique, who was sitting in front of the large counter, did not believe what had happened. Last night, he had been in Terros, a completely different world where he had spent more than a year. There, Sean Thiel had committed a terrible act, something for what he had to pay. However, now he just seemed as nothing more than a café's employee in the middle of a city. What was happening now? He wanted to ask Sean about it, but an impatient group of customers prevented it with their requests.

"It wasn't a dream, right?" thought Enrique. Meanwhile, someone put a cup of hot coffee in front of him. As he looked up he found the girl from before next to him, a card on her uniform had her name on it: "Clara".
“On the house” she said.

Enrique didn't answer. Clara felt a little bit worried, there had been very few times when she had to deal with someone feeling so down. She turned toward Sean Thiel, who was still attending the clients from before, in front of the cash register.

“Sorry to ask, but have you two met before?” said Clara.

Enrique Ortega didn't answer. Suddenly, a figure was standing in front of him. It was Sean Thiel, with arms crossed, standing in front of the counter. Sean was looking down on him, Enrique answered with a cold look. The warm ambience, music and the conversations from afar mixed with the silence between them.

“Sean Thiel!” said Clara out of a sudden, surprising them. She now had a serious and dominant look.
Slightly irritated, Sean turned toward her.
“I have already told you that you have to be friendlier!” Clara began. “If you continue with that look we will continue to lose clients. Full-time supervisor? Knock-knock? Where was the military experience you told us about?” she sighed and looked around inside the place. “Business is also a battlefield, isn't it?”
“I asked for his order as soon as he got here!” Sean answered, facing her. “I am even paying for that coffee he is having!”
“So!?” Clara pointed toward Enrique. “Look at his face! There is no room for sadness in my own business! Ah…!”

Clara noted Enrique's incredulous look observing them. Then she noticed that it wasn't only him, but instead many customers had turned toward them. She coughed and took a formal attitude, slightly ashamed. Sean crossed his arms and spoke.

“It seems like you still have things to learn, Ms. Secret Business Own…” he was interrupted. From the other side, Clara took him hard by the shoulder and made him bow down with her in front of Enrique.
“I am sorry” she said, smiling and trying to hide the struggle. “Now, Sean, you will take his order.” Sean was silent. Enrique noted that, upset, he didn't seem to want to say anything.
“Sean Thiel!” Clara took her hand to his mouth, trying to make him talk.
“Fine!” finally said Sean “Clara let go of him.”

Enrique and Sean crossed looks again. Clara was waiting next to them, expectant. Sean cleared his throat.

“Tall or venti, traveller from another world?” he told Enrique.

• I hope you like it

Here's my Lucky Encounter story, a bonus chapter for Hands Held in the Snow:

https://tapas.io/episode/21083501

(It's a full chapter lol, oops)

Here's my entry for this event.

"Welcome to Paradise."

The door to the greatest turning point in his life loomed before him.

Although he had never once gambled in his life, the craze swept the country, the world, by storm and the curiosity wouldn't stop plaguing his mind. And now, in the middle of the night, he stood before Paradise, the overwhelming adrenaline coursing through him. The grandiose exterior made other buildings in the area seem like mere outhouses - with its multi-storey structure layered with neon lights that spelled the casino’s name in a cursive font, who wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the mere aura of superiority this casino radiated? The sign alone lit up the whole area around him, putting moonlight to shame.

"This is it," he breathed. His eyes wandered the sign above the entrance, his hand coming up to trace the infinity sign engraved upon the steel of the double door.

Many casinos were run by greedy and corrupt managers, sifting through the rich and the poor patrons and milking them dry of cash. But this particular casino was a place of equal ground for all, a true paradise... it had him intrigued. People of vastly different statuses came here - homeless people, big-shot CEOs, the young, the elderly - it was reassuring to know they would welcome an ordinary businessman such as himself.

Perhaps he could consider himself lucky to have a chance at this casino.

He reached towards the doorknob, his hand hovering over the golden knob. It felt almost like he did not deserve to sully it with his commoner’s hands. Before he could muster the courage to place his hand on the doorknob, the door swung back ominously with a loud creaking noise. Two attendants stepped out, as if expecting him. They were donned in common butlers’ attire, with black suits and white cuffs, and a strong build that anyone would cower before. Where there should have been human heads, however, were the heads of black goats, with spiraled horns and slitted blood-red eyes.

They looked him over as if they were scrutinising him, fit for the slaughter. Once satisfied, they stepped back and simultaneously parted from the entrance for him and gestured toward the interior of the building.

Immediately excitement filled him to the brim; this experience was all too new for him, never having a chance to gamble because of everyday hindrances, the nagging from his girlfriend, the constant influx of calls and emails from work, but now he could throw all of those worries away for a moment and enjoy his ordinary life in a completely new way.

He eagerly stepped into the casino and was instantly greeted with a shower of bright, emerald-coloured bills floating down like angel's feathers. The multitude of fluttering sounds of the myriad of bills falling was a sight to behold, like real paradise. The second sound his ears picked up were the many sounds not a stranger to casinos - the murmurs and conversations between guests, the clacking of roulettes, the flipping of cards, coins and chips being dealt. The checkered floor stretched beneath him to the rest of the casino where it was mostly layered with lush red carpet embroidered with golden patterns. Bills scattered along the floor abundantly.

His eyes darted around, noticing the variety of different patrons that mingled around the main hall - some seemed to be reaching their late 50’s, others looked as if they were still in college. Hell, he thought for a moment he saw a famous pop star in the crowd somewhere. Towards the table games he could see a few guests dressed in casual wear laughing and joking around with each other while throwing down some bills while others sitting at the corner bar were dressed in formal suits and sipped from tall glasses of champagne.

Waitresses with the heads of white rabbits were scantily clad in crimson-coloured bunny suits, with leotards that showed off their behinds, and black fishnets that showed off their legs. They paced around the casino with serving trays holding cocktails, occasionally offering a drink or two to patrons. He didn’t even realise he was staring until one of them caught his eye and threw him a seductive wink - he averted his eyes quickly, feeling a little guilt for thinking about the bunnies in that way.

He could see that the goats who weren’t manning the entrance stood eerily against the wall in straight lines, their slitted red eyes watching over the patrons’ actions.

His head spun with so much happening, his eyes darting here and there. To think this luxury was what he had been missing all this time! It was almost a shame he didn't do this earlier in life.

His head swiveled back around and saw the goats holding their gloved hands out in the direction of a big, fancy marble-top counter.

As he had learned to expect, a goat was waiting behind the counter too - this one had glasses. Though it had a smaller stature than the other goats, it maintained an air of sophistication, one that made the other goats appear as brutes. It seemed to be mute, along with all the other goats. After a moment of assessing the casino’s new patron, the goat took out a sheet of paper from underneath the counter.

“What’s this?” he asked confusedly, scratching his head. There was eerily no reply from the animal, so he decided to read it.

Luck, the gold a fool never knew he had. Once gone, forever gone. Luck, the gold a fool wished he had kept.

The goat took out another paper with instructions on it: it seemed that in order to use “luck”, the currency used in the casino, the customer must part with their ID.

He took out his ID and placed it on the counter. The goat behind the counter, never moving its gaze from their new customer, took something from under the counter and replaced his ID with it - a small wad of green bills, the “luck” they used in the casino. Taking a closer look at them, each bill had a four-leaf clover on them.

He assumed that he was done here and slipped the bills into his hand, stepping away from the counter. The goats made no move to stop him. Deciding to wander around and see what the casino had to offer, he walked towards an aisle of slot machines, watching them roll as fast as the hands of the people feeding the machines their bills. The machines were much larger than him, and many people sat on stools that lifted their feet over the ground. Having so many machines loom over him as he walks down the aisle as if judging him was admittedly a little pressuring.

He passed people that rolled combinations of two matched shapes, or no matched shapes. Someone almost rolled a triple seven. Either way, only a few people he passed by really won anything. They were putting in a lot of bills, or ”luck”, more than they won. Was raising the stakes so high really worth it? He would more than likely find out once he himself started betting.

As he reached the end of the aisle, there was a tremendous amount of cheers and applause from a crowd gathered around a rectangular table ahead of him. A goat stood at the end of it.

“What’s going on?” he asked himself/no one in particular/aloud/mused/etc, and approached the table, squeezing through the onlookers.

At the table was a roulette wheel and its corresponding betting table with only a few chips on it. A wave of bills were spread onto the table where the winning guests would grab their share of the payout.

So much luck was circulating, so many people riding their hopes out on a few mere chips.

He wanted to try it too.

He wanted to bet his luck and win too.

link to profile -> https://tapas.io/series/The-6th-nonSense1

The Salvation

Usually, you could find me downtown, sitting against the window of an old electronic shop, playing the guitar.
A plastic carboy in front of me used to bring me hope. I used to imagine it grow and grow like a tree of coins and bills.
On a good morning, I could get ten or fifteen euros. On a good day, I would get thirty, forty euros tops, enough to have a decent meal.
But there is a very special day I want to talk about: the very day that changed my life forever.
It was late morning, a spring morning by the way, and the downtown was packed, cheerful; you could see tourists and backpackers all over the place taking pictures and buying souvenirs. The plastic pot was half full and I was feeling inspired; my fingers were sweetly sliding throughout the guitar neck and no passerby was indifferent to the sound of my music: the tinkle of the stacked coins sounded like the tambourine’s song.
Nevertheless, my attention shifted when this tall, good looking, young man approached me to say “I've
been watching you friend, and I like your tunes. People with talent like yourself should have a better life... As he turns, he drops on the pot what appeared to be a 50 euro bill “Oh my Gosh! Thank you! You just made my day! ”
As I saw the man walking away amid the crowd in his distinctive clothes and pace, I finished that particular song, grabbed my things and called it a day. I was so excited with the money, I didn't even think about food or any other goods of first necessity ... Here’s what I thought about: the record I always wanted to buy! And now I had the money for it! So I went to the first music store I saw, picked up the record, and put it on the counter, smiling like a 6-year-old boy buying his first toy.
“That will be 23 euros, please” - Said the employer, a young and cute college girl
“Sure thing, here you go” - I said proudly.
“I'm sorry, I said 23euros. This is a 20 euro bill”
Surprised I took it back and looked closely: in fact, it was a twenty euro bill, not a 50! Did I imagine it? Did the hot morning make me hallucinate? I was so convinced it was a 50 euro bill...
”I guess I was mistaken about the note´s value” – I said to myself. I Got out of the store, went to the sunny street while other thoughts, questions, came to my mind ...
Buying bread? Cookies, tins of soda, or even a good bottle of wine right after a meal in a restaurant? No.Those things come and go like chewing gums while a record or a book stay forever. Yes, they stick to one’s soul like nails in wood . So I crossed the street and entered a bookstore. I always wanted a special edition of Dracula by Bram Stoker.

“It’s 17euro, sir” - Said the bookkeeper, an old man bothered by my smell "There you go ..." “I said. 17,
not ten,” he said , impatiently - “This is not a charity house, you know” That time I got it.
It was a stupid prank. What kind of rich idiot makes fun of a homeless struggling day by day? I wanted to rip appart the bill, but, still, I was curious about the way he crafted the bad joke. I inspected the note again. Now it was a 5 euro bill! A small, blue, crumpled 5 euro bill! And I swear that in the next second I saw with my grim eyes the five turning into four, the four into three, the three into two and the two into one ... Then the bill exploded in my hands, severely crippling me. I fell on the ground, screaming, but no passerby helped me, no one stopped to help a man in need ...
Until that tall, young, and well-dressed man came in my aid. “I have a factory where you can work like that, with no hands”

Late submission. Kind of have to cut a lot of things because word limit, but enjoy? :3

(Link goes straight to the episode)

https://tapas.io/episode/2108798

---

An Encounter Under the Ill Omened Twin Star

Adrian Marx doesn't have the best of luck. In other words, his luck stat goes straight down the drain.

There's no days passed without him getting pickpocketed on almost every occasion, the one guy who's somehow able to attract the aggro of the monsters around by doing absolutely nothing and almost always the guy who's stepped on an animal waste on the grassland among his party.

As a warrior whose main use is as a tanker, it's actually good that he can attract the aggro of the surrounding monster, but he doesn't become a tanker by choice. It's pretty much do or get done.

He's awful at incantating magic spells, bad at aiming his arrow, and not good enough at spotting traps. The one thing he's good at is swaying around his great sword and taking damages for his supporting party with his armor clad body, getting by the day with a lot of bloody wounds on his body, and moving on to his next commission when he’s healed enough.

A long time ago, when he was a child, his bad luck prompted his parents, who were also a pair of adventurers, to seek a fortune teller. Quoting his parents who were quoting the fortune teller, "He was born under the ill omened twin stars, and as long as he was alive, he would be followed by bad luck."

His parents tried to find ways to at least make his luck a little better, but from their research, it seems like that if he were somehow able to meet another person who was born under the same twin stars, the two of them can elevate their life somehow.

But the world is wide, and birth records were only available for the government officials, and even so it's not that reliable in the term of accuracy.

Today he also sighed his usual woe while staring sorrowfully at the blue sky, his somewhat long hair fluttering from the winds, "How long will this bad luck of mine go on?"

He had no lover and his family were gone—as they opted to travel the world when he reached adulthood and they lost contact along the way. Friends? Hah! The most he'll get is getting swindled, yet the one that hurt his feelings was those who were there only to laugh at his misfortune or those who will go away as they're afraid of getting 'infected' by his Ill fated future.

"I've been living with this bad luck of mine for a quire of springs and I haven't gone kaput am I?" He complained in his heart, as he walked on to the adventurer guild to check on some commissions he can get.

Living in the town isn't cheap and he gets pickpocketed often, so he often took a bunch of quests as he go when he wasn't invited to a party by some random folks.

He was silently scrutinizing the long commission board on the wall of the noisy guild while counting on his living express for this month when suddenly he heard a loud "Oh no!!" and a loud thud and a bang and splashes mixed with various curses from different voices behind him.

He took a look and saw a man in white clergy attire he had never seen before sprawled on the floor and surrounded by some angry mobs who're still spitting out curses at him. On the side, a new waitress he has just seen for a couple of days was dashing away from them.

Those party of four who were saying the various curses as fluently as you would say good morning were infamous for being good at intimidating the newbies and a boot licker with those higher ranked adventurers. A lot of people were annoyed at them for harassing the new seedlings and any pretty woman they see, but they never really go that out of the line, so the guild master could only issued some warnings and can't legally chase them out despite everyone's annoyance.

The cleric guy kept on uttering "I'm sorry I'm sorry" with a panicked face at the people around him as he tried to get up, but he slipped on the wet floor and it caused one of the angry guy to get headbutted on his solar plexus while from the force of the inertia of the collision and heavy looking backpack made the cleric guy tumble back and the back of his head hit the nose of the other angry guy behind him, while his flailing hand that tried to find a balance as he fell accidentally jabbed the other guy on his adam apple and his long staff somehow manage to landed a blow at yet another angry guy at his lower region.

And all five of them fall back down to the wet puddles of beer on the floor. The sounds of "Oh no!!!" from the cleric guy, a few thuds, a few bangs, some splashes, and curses were heard again, but there's some additional howls of pain and agony from one of the four angry guys.

Everyone who watched at the sidelines were stupefied, not knowing what to say or do as the event unfolded in an absolutely fast pace in front of them.

The cleric guy tried to get up again, still uttering his sorry and slipped on the wet floor—again. This time he accidentally kicked the chin of the guy he headbutted, stepped on the face of the guy whom he smack the nose bloody, elbowed the stomach of the guy the neck he punched, and landed heavily on his butt on the back of the guy the family jewel he ruined, exactly in the order of his hits in the first round.

Everyone could only be silent as they watch, including the four previously angry guys on the floor because all of them were out cold.

...What is this madness?

The cleric guy tried to get up yet again, and said "I'm so sorry! I really don't mean it!!!" while managed to sway his staff and knocked it on one of the guy's head on the floor that's started to wake up, and the man doesn't move at all this time.

Even if the cleric guy said it's not on purpose, who the hell would believe him?!

The waitress was walking together with the guild receptionist that was known to be more bad in temper than the guild master—namely the guild master's wife—to the crime scene, both looked unhappy. The cleric guy is still trying to apologize and now is trying to haul the beaten guys up—with no result except to add another bruises to their limp body, and the other adventurers and customers still haven't woken up from their stupor.

Seeing that the situation was dire, Adrian, for whatever reason, stepped out and took the cleric by the collar and ran away from the scene. By the time the receptionist and waitress arrived and the spectators realized that, they've already gone and only left them with one question,

"What in the Goddess's shoes just happened?!"

Adrian ran very fast, not hindered by the weight of another person and the heavy backpack on his arm since he was chased by monsters or people's pets often, so his legs were pretty fast.

When they're far away enough from the guild building, he stopped and let down the flailing cleric on the ground.

Wiping his cold sweat, he asked, "What the hell just happened over there?"

"Eh? Ah? Uh, I, I don't… know? They were harassing the lady so I told them to stop, but I slipped and knocked the tray holding the tankard hahaha..." answer the cleric with a nervous smile. Unsure why he was kidnapped.

"..."

Deciding to not ask anything about the bizarre occurrence he just witnessed anymore, Adrian shook his head, "Forget about it. The missus is probably going to blame all of the things to the four blockheads since you're out, and you probably only need to pay for some damages, but no labor or other scary stuff she might do for having a fight? I guess? On the guild grounds." thinking about those 'scary stuff', he shivered.

"O, Oh… is that so? Then I should thank you for taking me out?" still uncertain, the cleric asked.

"Nah, it's cool. I don't think you can go away unnoticed since many people saw you and a male cleric are somewhat rare in this side of town. I've never seen you before, so I guess you're from another town?" ask Adrian. The man before him doesn't look too much like a greenhorn since the 'look of an adventurer' was on him, and he was probably around his age.

"Yes, I was actually from the church of the far west, and just arrived three days ago in this town. I was about to register into the adventurer guild."

"Is that so? Well. Good luck then. Those four guys most likely won't retaliate too much except for some jeering and talking behind your back. It's not like it's their first beating anyway," And it's more likely that they'll be afraid of you and avoided you like a plague.

"Also, make sure you don't come back today and only go again tomorrow, and don't forget to bring some money. Missus usually would look the other way as long as the cost for damage was paid. There's a healer in our guild so you would only need to pay for that too, but it won't be too much," Adrian explained. But thinking about it, isn't one of a cleric's magic is healing? Now he wondered if he shouldn't have taken him after all… But seeing that the cleric became even more distressed, he frowned, "Is something the matter?"

"Um… That is… I don't have… money?" the cleric said with a cringe.

Adrian raised his eyebrow. When a new cleric were to set out from the church to the outside world, they're usually equipped with a good amount of money and equipment to set their path and as a good healer with a variation of holy magic that's often sought after, most clerics usually have a pretty heavy pocket even after some portion of it goes back to the church. You could say that they're quite pampered, so listening to the other guy said otherwise, Adrian was quite baffled.

"It is hard to say, but I think I got pickpocketed when I arrived in the town. I was sure to have it secures on my body when I entered the busy market, but I didn't realize it was gone until I finished my meal at some tavern back there..." he said with a sad expression, "Since I don't have money and I can't pay it back, the owner kindly let me do some chores these few days and I even manage to get some money for registration fee for the guild and a meal for this evening, but after that…"

The cleric was silent. Adrian was also silent.

Clerics were usually equipped with an anti robbery magical pocket. How in the world is he able to get pickpocketed?!

"Um, so, what's your plan after this?" Adrian asked.

"Probably going to wait the day out. I'll just see what I can do tomorrow." the cleric said.

"Oh. But why don't you report to the nearby church? Can they get you some funding or something?"

The cleric shook his head, "I did that, but I can't stay."

"Why not?"

"Didn't you know that the church burned down a few days ago?"

He did not. He just got back from his last commission yesterday afternoon after days in the wilderness and spent the remaining time sleeping and slouching on his bed.

The cleric continued, "It burned down from some kind of malfunction from the kitchen area fire magic when I came to this town," after a moment, he corrected himself, "Ah, no. It actually burned down the moment I stepped into the church threshold, and because of its old age and considering that a lot of the building body were made with woods, it burned quickly and thoroughly."

"..."

Someone whose more unlucky than him is so rare it's practically nonexistent.

As a fellow man who doesn't have any point on their luck stat, Adrian felt a kind of compassion towards the cleric, and before his brain could process more, his mouth started talking, "If you don't have anywhere else to stay, would you like to stay at my house for some time? I have a free room so you can stay there until you're settled."

Having someone giving him that kind of proposal out of the blue by a stranger, the shorter man in front of him stared unblinkingly at him. Realizing that that kind of proposal indeed is weird and afraid that he will ended up walking away and calling a patrolling knight on him for some kind of poor attempt at kidnapping, he hurriedly wanted to rephrase his words, but the cleric was faster.

"Are you for real? Can I? Thank you so much! If I can't find a place to stay I most likely have to sleep on some alleyway in the town but you saved me," he said happily.

...No, wait. Even I thought that my proposal is weird after all, but why won't you?!

"Oh, but if I just stayed without doing anything that wouldn't be good. Is there anything I can help with to at least pay for the room? I can help with some chores too! I can also cook, it's not that great but at least they're edible," he said enthusiastically. "Or I can help you with healing! I see that you're also an adventurer and you have some wounds in you. I use my healing magic a lot so I'm very confident with my healing magic. What do you think about it?"

Listening to his rapid fire words, Adrian could only "Oh"-ed and nodded along with whatever he said. There's a sense of cuteness when he saw the cleric's sunny disposition, so he decided to give up on taking back his proposal and just see how the future goes. He probably should educate this man to not be too trusting to strangers sometimes though...

He was still immersed with his thoughts as the cleric continued, "I don't know how long I would stay in this town, but if I could, I would like to settle here, this looks like a good town to live in," he thought for a bit before added, "Well, except for those four rude men."

"Did you move from ton to town often?" Adrian asked, curious.

"Yes. It seems like I was born under an ill omened twin star and bad luck followed me, so it would be better if I move when I have the means to do it since it makes a lot of people uncomfortable to be around me. Not to mention that the Oracle who informed me that said that if I could find another person who was born under the same twin star and stay close to them, my luck would change somewhat. Well, a lot of it seems to be me somehow hurting people around me, aside from me having an occasional pickpocket or falling on the road and the like, so the Bishop who was in charge of me wanted me to go on a journey to find the other twin star person. No clue how though," he shrugged.

He was stunned. "Is that really possible…?"

He actually has no doubts that the man before him was the one he was looking for, but he doesn't want to jump into conclusions and need more proof. If being close with him were able to change their luck, even for a tiny bit, he would hold on to this man even if it kills him!

Adrian was having a fist pump in his mind while the other man was staring curiously at him who didn't speak after listening to his story.

"You might think that this kind of story is ridiculous, but if you have a second thought because of my luck that might affect you, that's alright too. I'm used to it," he said with the same innocent smile he had throughout their conversation.

Adrian answered promptly, "No no no, it's nothing like that," he coughed to hide his embarrassment and changed the topic, "I only realized that we've been speaking this whole time but I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Adrian Marx, what's your name?"

He smiled and raised his hand, which the cleric grasped and shook firmly.

Smiling brightly, he said, "I'm Leon. Leonard Cohen."

Staring at the sunny looking man in front of him, Adrian can't help but hope that maybe this chance encounter is the beginning of everything.

…

...

...Until he realizes that he also has been pickpocketed.

END…?

Adrian : "Wait how could it end like this?" Σ(っﾟДﾟ；)っ