37 Chapter 31 - Malignan

"Medusa, do you know what's the most precious thing that human owns?" The boy asks.

"Money?" Medusa uncertainty answers.

The boy shakes his head then reply, "...No."

"Their lives?" Medusa is getting used to being around the little boy, she answers again.

The boy stops, takes a sip of his wine then closes his eyes, calmly asks, "what is being alive means to you?"

"Not dead…?" Medusa lost herself from following up with the boy's logic.

"Then what is not dead?" The boy drinks his wine one more time; pause for a second then asks.

"I don't know...Not being able to do anything…?" Medusa is lost right now because the boy jumps his logic from telling her a story to asking her weird question that has nothing to do with the topic they are on.

"Let me ask you this, from all those years you are under your parents' control. Are you able to do anything?" The boy is patient with Medusa.

"...Noz" Medusa takes a second to think to her old times when her parents abused her and kept her under their reckless control. She was not able to do anything that she adores and is looking forward.

"So...are you dead?" The boy asks again.

"No...I'm still alive right now!" Medusa 's curiosity is getting stronger and stronger for the boy's conclusion.

"So what's is being alive?" The boy jumps back to his initial question.

"..." Medusa has lost of words, not because she is speechless from the boy is keep asking her these weird questions, but the secret and thought her answer and found it contradicts her first answer.

She said that being alive means not dead, and being dead means not able to do anything this person wishes; early ago in her life, she wasn't allowed to do anything she wants. However, she is not dead. Her experience made her realize that her answer is wrong.

"It's fine! Medusa doesn't overthink about it. After I finish this story, you will have an answer for my four questions." The boy smiles then take another sip of his wine. The amount of red wine in the boy's cup is tiny; but no matter how many time the boy sips on this cup wine, the amount of wine remains in the container is still the same with what he had initially.

"So, back to what I was saying; the creature offers the couple to stay but under only one condition! What is the condition?" The boy intentionally stops to see if Medusa is paying attention to him, then his signature move, take a sip of his red wine; then he continues.

"The creature offers the couple to stay if they can provide them with a young child with a pure heart!" The boy stops then ask Medusa a question,

"Why do you think the creature wants a pure, innocence, child?" The boy looks at Medusa and asks.

"...to eat him?" Medusa hypotheses.

"You are indeed a smart girl! But not quite the answer I'm looking for." The boy shakes his head with compliments and said.

"Anyways, the couple rejects the creatures' offer, then immediately they were removed from the house. Not too long after this couple got kicked out of the house, another group of people comes by. This time it is a family of four; two parents and two kids, one of the kids is sick. The second family saw the first family standing outside of the house, so they thought that the first family is moving out of the house. Therefore, the second family walked past them and went into the house. The first family did not warn the second family what is inside the house because they are mad about not being able to find a place to stay, so they want to make other people mad too…"

"What an a**hole!" Medusa furiously comments on the story.

"Hahaha! It's not actually! That family has no obligation to warn the second family." The boy smiles and takes a sip of his wine.

"But...But..." Medusa wants to refute the boy, but the boy cuts her off.

"It's just a story! Relax Medusa! Hahaha! You're an emotional person!" The boy laughs.

"I feel bad for the second family. They are going to get upset! And they have two kids!" Medusa complaints.

"Let me finish the story, girl! Anyways, the second family went into the house; the door shuts, and the shadow creature comes out from the ground and makes the same offer deal to the second family. Guess what the second family says to the creature!" The boy asks, he is trying to get Medusa to involve into the story.

"They said no...?" Medusa answers.

"No? No. Unfortunately, the answer is yes!" The boy stops and looks at Medusa to see what is she going to react.

"What! The second family accepts the offer?!" Medusa is disappointed at the second family's decision because she is so worried about the second family not being able to find a place to stay like the first family. Now she figures that all her worries are nothing but a wishful thought. She is also disappointed because the family said yes to the creatures that means that one of their children will get eating by these creatures. The boy did not tell Medusa what will the creatures do to the child they capture; so Medusa assumes that the creatures are going to eat the child for dinner.

"Relax Medusa! It's just a story! It might not be real!" The boy gives Medusa is a weird smile then continues, "Or is it?"

Leaving Medusa wonders the liability of the story that the boy is telling.

"Looks like I am a good storyteller! Look at you, girl! You so hook onto my story! Hahaha!" The boy laughs then takes a sip of his red wine.

"..." Medusa's face blushes then put her head down like at the beginning when the boy talks to her.

"Do you think that the second family's decision is right?" The boy did not continue with the story, but instead, he asks Medusa a question regarding the fact that the second family accepts the creatures' offer.

"I don't know... I think..." Medusa put together her thought on this incident but could not speak her mind out for some reason.

The boy did not rush to say his opinion on the question; he waited for Medusa to answer him.

"I think...I think it's not right! They shouldn't abandon the kid just because they want a place to stay in! The kid is innocent! He didn't have a chance to make his own decisions! It's not fair! The kid is dead..." It's like speaking for herself; Medusa feels sympathy for the kid that the second family abandoned. The kid is like a mirror reflection of her, same position, same life, same shackles.

The boy didn't say any comments on Medusa's opinion; he just let her release his sadness.