26. Trauma

Once the situation was conducive, Alex and Irene sat across from each other while the tarot cafe was temporarily closed for the day. Jeff was just keeping a watchful eye on them from a distance.

"If you mess up, don't forget that I have your gun, Alex," Jeff threatened.

Alex didn't care. He was focused on Irene, who was closed up holding her hand. Irene's mouth also seemed to be reciting something like a mantra, which was part of her acting that Alex didn't know.

"How is it? Have you found the bright spot of Celine's whereabouts?"

"Why are you impatient, anyway?!" snapped Irene.

"Of course, a powerful shaman would get an answer quickly. Could it be that you're a fake shaman?"

Irene threw Alex's hand away. "Who said that?! Even a powerful shaman would meditate on a mountain to gain energy. So, they could find the light! So, don't talk too much if you want my help!"

"Then you need meditation too?"

"There's no need because there's no light on your lover's whereabouts."

"What?!" Jeff shook the table. "Are you a shaman? Or are you just..."

"Just what?!" challenged Irene. "Listen to me! God's energy is limited to the last night you made love to him."

"Wha-What?!" Alex was suddenly awkward. "Hey! Are you a pervert?"

Irene laughed.

"How do you only know that part?" Alex continued feeling awkward.

"God only told me up to that point."

Alex gulped his saliva roughly as he synchronized his increasingly jumbled thoughts with Irene. "Wait... You said yourself that your powers are god-given, right?"

"Of course."

"Should I say a pervert god?"

"Damn it!" Irene hit Alex's head so hard that he winced.

"Why are you hitting me? We promised to talk nicely."

"Please have mercy on the gods!" shouted Irene.

Unbeknownst to them, Jeff was laughing at this impromptu comedy. It turned out that Alex Matthew was not as scary as he imagined. He was also a moron like Irene.

Even Alex seemed to comply when asked to kowtow to the image of a Buddha god that Irene showed from her cellphone.

"So, you couldn't find Celine? Or let's say I believe you, then you find another way out or another reference like you usually do," Alex urged.

"You trust people so easily, man!"

"Yeah, that seems to be my shortcoming."

"That's one of the reasons you want to find Celine."

Alex interrupted. He never believed in superstition, but Irene's story made him believe it even more. From now on, he would believe in anything as long as it had real evidence.

"You still miss her, right?" Irene confirmed.

"Come on, I might miss her a little, but there's something much more important than that."

"I know. You're afraid she'll turn into your enemy."

Alex didn't need to answer because that was the truth.

"Don't worry! Celine even left because she loved you," Irene continued, taking a sip of her coffee.

"She left because she loved me'?" Alex chuckled. "How so? How do you know about that anyway? I mean... you don't even know where she went."

+++

Danni took out the items from each pocket of her clothes with a glum face onto the guest table in the office. Then, she left her colleagues for a moment.

"What's wrong with her?" asked the Commandant.

"Ah..." Ben explained, "Danni seems to be in shock from being flirted with by Madame Cassandra, some kind of rumored horny Genie House bigwig.

"Wow!" all the members were stunned.

"After all, Madame Cassandra is beautiful and hot."

"Danni was harassed?" another colleague confirmed.

"Something like that. But whether they made love or not, I don't know..."

"I didn't do it!" snapped Danni suddenly back with a wet face. He had just returned from the bathroom after washing up. "I was just surprised. Why would I, in such a cheap workplace, be subjected to such harassment?"

"Horny women. Really."

Danni took a sip of mineral water. "No matter how beautiful or seductive she is, it's not right. Why wouldn't she flirt with a man with a high position? It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe she's already done it to them. Bored, she's looking for something more seductive than a lowly employee."

Danni felt uncomfortable, restless, and random after Madame Cassandra's visit. All she could think about was beating her up, but she still refrained from going too far out of character. After all, Danni had a wife.

"But if she's hot, you can also have some fun with her," added another.

"Are you crazy?!" screeched Danni. "I'm not a cheap guy! For me, marriage is a responsibility. I don't want to play around!"

"Danni is right! You guys are whispering nonsense to her. How lucky your wife is!" The Commandant tapped Danni on the shoulder. "You two check this stuff one by one. Take some for research samples." He ordered the other members.

"Yes, sir."

"So what information did you get?" the Commandant continued to ask Ben and Danni.

"Like what happened to me that there was harassment. That's what Cassandra offered me for promotion," Danni explained.

"Nothing about drugs is true," Ben added. "Although we don't know for sure what those things are."

"You guys are right. The only way is to be thorough and work hard."

"Argh!" Danni massaged her throbbing forehead. "I don't even know if I'm going to the warehouse tomorrow either."

"Danni!" Ben sulked.

"I'm so traumatized. What if she's obsessed with me? Argh, she's really scary."

"But you're not out of character, right?" Mr. Commandant confirmed.

"A little. I even almost wanted to kill her."

Then his cell phone rang. Danni quickly reached for the phone in her pocket as she grunted, "Who's calling me at this time of night?"

But when he saw the name of the contact listed, Danni's gaze became calmer. Ah, it's nice to have a wife who comes at the right time. "Hello, dear?"

"You haven't slept yet. I was worried about disturbing you."

"How could I sleep."

"Then that's why. I also have trouble sleeping every night without you."

The Commandant and Ben seemed to notice the change in Danni's attitude, which had lost interest but now became more colorful. Now they understood how much Danni loved his wife to be so disgusted with Cassandra.

"What?!" Danni exclaimed in shock. "You met Alex Matthew?"

Not only Danni was shocked, but the Commandant and Ben were too.