“Tell me who Nari is.”

“What?”

“You know her, right? That girl who was singing at the pub. You’ve got to tell me everything you know about her.”

I vehemently demanded all of these questions, as I leaned aggressively across the receptionist counter inside the lobby of the motel, staring down to the poor young guy who was just innocently standing and working behind it. He looked at me in panic, his dilated pupils shaking as he tried to lean away from me. And as I stared at him from head to toe, it was also at that moment that I have finally noticed the nametag attached to the poor kid’s shirt, to which I hadn’t actually noticed a while ago.

Henry.

I moved my eyes up to the kid’s face again. Henry looked startlingly alarmed with widened eyes as I grabbed his collar with my hand, not quite as gentle as how I should have.

But I was already desperate.

I know, this has only been a night. But I don’t think I could ever really get any sleep after this if I still don’t find any answers right at this moment. Everything was just weird. This entire night was completely going too far from what’s even considered real. From the moment I drove from the airport to stumbling down into this weird village and finally meeting the girl who I’ve been obsessing so much about for the past nine years…

It was completely like a dream. And to call it fate would be ridiculously absurd of me. And, yes. It all sounded very cliché… But it was really happening now.

“T-the g-girl at the p-pub? N-Nari?” The skinny guy stammered nervously behind the receptionist counter while he looked at me with anxious eyes. He tried to step back away again. He looked really frightened so I loosely let go of him. And as soon as I did, he quickly pulled his collar free from my hold, backing away and nervously fidgeting with his glasses. He cleared his throat as if to compose himself after the sudden attack I just did and he settled with an uneasy smile directed at me.

“Y-you mean m-miss N-Nari Hiden?” he still stuttered as he confirmed. And my ears instantly perked up when he said it. I fervently nodded at him and grinned with utter bliss.

Nari Hiden. I hastily fished out for my phone in my pocket and immediately typed down those notable words.

“How do you spell that?” I asked inquisitively and Henry wobbly provided me the letters along with the meaning and its origin.

Nari means the flower ‘Lily’. While Hiden means ‘secret’. It was a Japanese name. And Henry knew about it because she used to say it as a part of her introduction whenever she performs at the local pub.

How oddly beautiful… And it suits her just right.

“So she’s popular?”

“Yeah, s-she is.”

And I’m not even surprised. With that voice… How could she not be?

Constantly driven by my obsessed nature, I soon bombarded the poor guy with more questions about Nari’s identity.

“How old is she?”

“Twenty-eight, I guess.”

“Single, right?”

“I don’t know. But I hadn’t heard her seeing anyone lately.”

“Good,” I smiled wider, “Where does she live?”

“Wait… W-what does this have to do with you, Mr. Takagi?” Henry somehow had gotten his senses back and abruptly stopped my questioning as he frowned at me with suspicion, “Why are you asking me these questions? I don’t think Miss Nari would like this. It’s her personal information. So why are you suddenly asking them?”

I froze and momentarily lost my will to speak as I tried to come up for any reasonable answer to give him without making myself sound more like a stalker or anything worse than that. But then, I realized I don’t really have any and that made me feel more hollow. My blank face remained unwavering as I looked back at Henry.

“Mr. Takagi? Do you know Miss Nari by chance?”

“Do you like her, Henry?” I coolly asked instead, diverting the topic to a much safer territory.

“I-I do,” The kid blushed instantly and I felt quite peeved over the sight.

“You like… Like her?”

“What?” Henry frowned and soon paled. “No! Not like that! Not to that point yet.” He shook his head too eagerly than needed. But it still did not sound reassuring enough.

“Good.” I just sighed in relief, smiling gentler.

“Wait…” the kid quickly caught up. “That’s not the point here. I’m still asking you if you know her, Mr. Takagi.”

“Why is it wrong for me to be curious, anyway?” I whined back, still ignoring to answer him directly. I gave him a straight glare instead, the kind that could make him feel threatened but the kid did not even bat an eye at me. He just met it head-on, unmoving.

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