主妇丈夫倡导的户外生活

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Harker remembered that spiral staircase again. Down and down it went, beckoning him to try and reach the bottom of it. 

Then, he remembered those glowing eyes. It was so bright in his memory that he was confused on how he was ever able to look directly at it. It was like a solar eclipse, and he was sure that looking too long would blind him.

Everything was so dark, too dark to see anything. And so was this person.

Finally, he saw the face. 

It was familiar, because he had seen that face back when he was a child.

"I know….. you belong to somebody new~ 

But tonight you belong to me~"

He heard them singing on the playground. It was just right after sundown. He had promised his mom that he would be home soon, but he wanted to wait and observe the planet Venus for himself. After all, he had just learned about how this planet would often appear like a star.

And he was only 6 years old this time. The playground was nearby, so his mother allowed him to play by himself.

But he knew he'd get a scolding for being so late.  Still, she was too busy taking care of his new sister anyway. He promised himself that he'd go home as soon as he saw Venus anyway.

Then, just as the sun had taken its slumber…..

He heard that song. 

"Although we're apart~

You're part of my heart~

And tonight you belong to me~"

Harker heard that singing on the swing. There was a woman there, swinging by herself. Her long hair cascaded even darker than the night itself, and her red dress reached up to her ankles. The sleeves reached to her wrist, and lace her neck. 

She was very beautiful, even when Harker hadn't seen her face yet. He could just tell. Her voice was also just as alluring, drawing the little boy in.

"Wait down by the stream~

How sweet it will seem~

Once more just to dream~

In the moonlight~"

The moon had indeed appeared, shining her figure with its silvery glow like a spotlight. Harker had long forgotten about the star of Venus and could only pay attention to this dark singing woman.

"My honey I know~

With the dawn that you will be gone~

But tonight you belong to me~"

Harker found himself sitting on the swing right next to her. He didn't even realize it, couldn't even remember ever sitting there. He turned to the woman slowly….

And realized that her face was covered with a veil, a red one.

The strange thing was he could see a reddish glow from below it, from the gaps where the veil ended, just right below her neck. Harker couldn't help but be reminded of brides Christian weddings.

The woman also turned to him, and though he couldn't see her face, he still knew that she was smiling at him.

This was confirmed as she lifted up her veil to show her blood red lips. Her smile was sharp, and her teeth were blinding white. 

"My honey I know~

With the dawn that you will be gone~

But tonight you belong to me~

Just to little old me~"

As she sang the last verse, Harker realized he was already sitting by her lap. He and the woman swayed as the swing, back and forth. He felt like a little child again, even littler than he was now. Back when he was still a baby, being swayed and lulled to sleep.

He felt his eyes getting heavier, and he could barely see anything besides the woman's smile. She had pushed back her veil completely, revealing her face. But it was too blurry for the sleepy little baby Harker, who craned his neck to the side as he was falling asleep. He felt a kiss on his forehead, and then something that tickled his neck—

"Harker! Harker, my baby!"

He woke up with a start. He realized that he was being carried in his mother's arms. Josephine Jones was crying, looking devastated. 

Harker had never seen her so inconsolable. She had always been a strong and tough woman. He even saw his father cry more times than her. But this....

She was shivering, gripping him so tightly that it was hard to breathe. 

"M-Mom…"

Harker felt his throat was dry. They were still in the playground, by that swing. 

He can see the star of Venus now, twinkling in its bright yellow glow. Harker thought that the beauty of this star was underwhelming, since he had seen something even more…..

What was he thinking about again?

He felt lethargic, and he felt like he was having a fever. His mother carried him all the way back home, still sobbing.

He did have a fever that night. 

Though he wasn't able to remember anything at that time, Harker could keep hearing the song again and again during his fever as a kid. And now that he could remember it again, it keeps repeating on and on in his head. 

That hauntingly sweet voice…..

It was so sweet that he thought it was from a woman. 

Or perhaps, at that time, it was really from a woman. But the person at that staircase was no doubt a man.

"Tonight you belong to me~"

Over and over. As if reminding him, reminding him where he truly—

"Harker!"

He snapped out of it when he saw Roland by his side, pressing a hand over his forehead. 

"You're heating up. Should I call Dr. Rothstein? He's still in the area since I had just woken up, he can—"

Roland also pressed his hand on Harker's neck, and he felt that it stung a bit. He ended up pushing Roland hard, knocking him to the ground.

"Ouch…." Roland hit his back pretty hard on the cobblestone floor. 

Harker's eyes widened. He touched his neck, as if expecting something there. Something wet and warm…

But there was nothing.

He snapped out of it and went to help his friend. "I'm sorry, I was….. I just…."

"What's going on here?"

Somebody else helped Roland faster than him. It was that woman again, her red high heels clacking as she approached. That beautiful, seductive woman….

Yes. She was a seductress in his eyes.

Even though she acts all prim and proper, even though she looked nothing of the type… Harker can't help but despise the way she could draw people's attention and be allured by her. She's different from a mermaid or a siren that lures on purpose. She didn't even have to do anything….

And yet the look that Roland gave her was softer than anything he had seen.

The fangs of hatred sunk its teeth deeper into Harker, causing his throat to bob as he clenched his fist.

She kept her delicate hands around Roland's shoulder, helping him. "Are you alright, Roland? Do you want me to call security? He just pushed you—"

"I'm fine." Roland waved his hands. "It was an accident. Why are you here, Artea?"

Artea smiled.

"I think I found a way to help you in the Garcia case."