Ravi woke up sweating and exhausted. He massaged his forehead and took a deep breath, realizing that he could still smell the chocolatey aroma. He pulled the edge of the blanket up to his nose, inhaling deeply as if it were his lifeline. Ravi initially thought that what had happened earlier was just a dream, but when he sniffed the blanket in his hand again, he knew it was all too real.

"Enjoying something, huh?" Ravi froze as if he had been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.

His cheeks grew warm as he realized that Daniel had caught him sniffing the blanket in an unusual manner. Ravi quickly let go of the blanket as if nothing had happened. He didn't understand why he had acted that way, and it seemed irrational to him. It was unlikely that he would be so affected by another man's scent.

"He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Daniel asked whom Ravi understood who his brother was referring to.

Ravi sighed and shook his head, moving the blanket away from his body. He suddenly felt anxious about what had transpired when he had lost consciousness earlier. It didn't make sense; he had been fine before, and it seemed unlikely that he would suddenly faint for no reason. "Where's Raymond, Daniel?"

Daniel stared at Ravi with narrowed eyes, his suspicious gaze a constant presence in such situations. He leaned against one of his legs, his hands folded in front of his chest. "For now, I've confined him to the storage room. Ravi, it's clear he's not human. He might have sinister intentions. We don't know why he came here. How can you trust him so easily?"

"I know, but for some reason, I believe he won't do anything bad," Ravi reassured Daniel. For a moment, silence enveloped them, but Ravi decided to stand up and walk towards the door.

"Nevertheless, Ravi, you've only known him for less than three hours, and you're already trusting a stranger like this. I can't even call him a man, with those black wings. Just feeling safe is not a reliable measure, Ravi. He's a man who walked into your room without any clothes on; I don't know what could have happened if I hadn't been there."

"Daniel, if Raymond truly wanted to do something malicious, he could have done it when I entered the room and closed the door right then. But he didn't," Ravi said, trying to convince Daniel gently. "I believe it because my heart and mind tell me so. That he's not a bad person."

Daniel sighed heavily and shook his head. "I don't feel the same way. Trusting someone is not that simple, Ravi." He then pointed at his injured finger, adding, "Look, Ravi. His feathers were sharp when I tried to touch them."

Ravi was surprised to hear Daniel's last words. He shook his head slightly and tucked his hair behind his ear. "No, his feathers are very soft. I touched one that had fallen to the floor."

"That's not possible. I did the same." Ravi knew Daniel was not lying, but the feathers were indeed soft, and Ravi wanted to touch them directly. "Listen, Ravi, he's a stranger, and he's not like us. We don't know his true intentions for coming here and why he suddenly appeared in your room without a balcony. We can't trust a stranger so easily."

Daniel repeated his concerns, but it didn't change Ravi's decision. "I know that Raymond is not a bad person, Daniel."

"Ravi, we never really know what's going on in someone's mind and what they might be planning. It's not just you I'm worried about; it's also Mom, Dad, and myself," Daniel said, gently gripping Ravi's shoulder. Ravi fell silent for a moment, contemplating these words. He realized that he didn't fully understand Raymond's true nature before the man's arrival and the potential risks his family might face. However, Ravi couldn't ignore the feeling in his heart that told him everything would be alright with Raymond's arrival.

Ravi had to end the conversation so that he could meet Raymond and ask the questions that had been on his mind since his arrival. "Daniel, I want to see Raymond first, and I'll find out."

"Just like Mom and Dad, you're too quick to trust," Daniel mumbled, resigned to Ravi's determination. "He's been crying loudly, so I had to lock him in the storage room. If anything happens, you should scream immediately."

Ravi snorted at Daniel's last statement, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. However, he eventually nodded. He also held back his questions about Raymond's reasons for crying. But he couldn't shake the uneasiness he felt when he learned that Daniel had locked Raymond in the storage room. Before he could leave his room, Daniel spoke again. "Mom and Dad have gone to buy something he can wear."

For some reason, Ravi's heart warmed upon hearing that his parents also believed in Raymond, rather than simply ejecting him without discussing it with Ravi first. It brought him relief, even though he recognized that he was quick to trust Raymond based on his heart and feelings.

Still, he was certain that Raymond's arrival was not just as the man had described to Ravi. Something more pressing had occurred in his life.

***

Ravi knocked on the storage room door, not expecting it to be unlocked since he believed Daniel would have locked it if Raymond had been confined inside. There was no response from inside, just silence when he slowly cracked the door open, revealing the dim yellow light from an old bulb that provided enough illumination for him to spot Raymond's presence. Ravi took a few steps further inside, leaving the door open behind him.

In the corner of the empty room, Raymond was huddled, his arms wrapped around his knees, oblivious to Ravi's presence. He was now wearing one of Daniel's loose-fitting shirts.

Ravi felt sympathy for him; he couldn't deny that seeing Raymond without any clothes clinging to his body exposed many scars crisscrossing his half-thin form, and Ravi couldn't simply ignore it.

Not knowing Raymond's age, he might have had some 'issues,' and Ravi winced at his earlier unkind thoughts. For some reason, it hadn't crossed Ravi's mind to kick him out from the beginning when he first saw Raymond.

Ravi chose to sit next to Raymond without saying anything. When Raymond became aware of Ravi's presence, he raised his head and turned to look, quickly forming a smile on his lips.

"Ravi?" he called weakly, his voice sounding hoarse.

As Ravi gazed into Raymond's differently colored eyes, he fell silent instantly. Raymond's left eye was golden and glowed softly in the dimly lit room. It radiated a soft golden light on the surface of his cheek. Raymond's gaze was filled with questions, with his thick eyebrows hidden beneath his unruly bangs.

He was not a human, everything about Raymond was otherworldly, including his inhuman appearance. Ravi's cheeks felt flushed, and he had to avert his gaze from Raymond who was staring at him so intensely. He rubbed his nose and asked, "Why are you in my room?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Ravi noticed Raymond's long fingers drawing an imaginary shape on the dusty floor. "At that time, Ravi made a request, and I was so happy to finally meet Ravi after waiting and hoping for so long," he said, although as time passed, his voice didn't provide a clearer answer to Ravi's question. Raymond's fingers gently rubbed his wrist, which Ravi now noticed was a deep shade of red, as if it were from tight bindings.

"What happened to your hand?" Raymond looked embarrassed and did his best to shield it from Ravi's view. "In the place I was before. I was unwanted; they called me a failed Elf. A few months ago, I made a mistake that got me locked in an underground prison."

Ravi's throat went dry after hearing Raymond's answer, and shadows formed in his mind. "What? What was your mistake?"

"I refused a girl."

Ravi fell silent for a moment, not sure how to respond until he realized his earlier words. "You're an elf?"

Raymond nodded slightly, still looking at the floor as if it held his full attention. Ravi sighed; he had read briefly about elves in a fantasy fiction book before but had never known they existed with concrete evidence, like the man beside him. At first glance, Raymond appeared to be a regular human because he didn't have the pointed ears characteristic of elves, as far as Ravi knew. "So why do you call yourself a failed elf?"

"I don't know, Ravi, maybe because I'm not a pure elf. I'm half-human," he said, sounding desperate and burying his face in his hands.

"How old are you?" Ravi knew his question might sound impolite, but when someone was going to stay in his house, he had to know.

"Only fifty years, Ravi. I'm still very young."

Ravi choked on his saliva, tucking his long bangs behind his ear. "Fifty years is not young."

Raymond's head jerked toward Ravi. "Is that true, Ravi? They said I was still young, so they didn't talk in front of me."

Ravi returned his gaze to Raymond, trying to process his words. He realized that Raymond was not human, and his age might differ from that of a regular human. "Perhaps they discussed a secret they didn't want you to know."

Raymond fell silent, and his eyes blinked. Ravi saw a flicker of sadness and disappointment on Raymond's face.

What did that expression mean?

Ravi changed the subject and regretted his earlier words. "Raymond, can your wings make you fly?"

Raymond hadn't even answered yet when Ravi was hit by the strong, intense scent of chocolate, even stronger than before, and his throat became dry. It was as if the scent enveloped Ravi tightly, and he had to remind himself to breathe.

"Ravi said my name?" he asked enthusiastically, with a gleam in his eyes and his thick eyebrows raised. He seemed to be instantly happier as if someone had flipped a switch inside him.

Ravi was taken aback, looking at Raymond, who appeared to glow in a different sense next to him. He didn't realize that the joy Raymond felt when he was called by his name had created a new feeling within Ravi, like many butterflies flying out of his chest.

"Ravi?" Ravi woke up from his reverie, seeing Raymond tilting his head in confusion, one of his eyes shining brightly. 

Ravi licked his dry lips and shifted his body away from Raymond. The intense scent of chocolate still filled Ravi's lungs. "Yes. So, can your wings make you fly?"

Raymond's smile faded, and he shook his head slowly. "No, they're just decoration. I'm the only one like this. If I were a full elf, I could use them to fly, but these wings aren't strong enough to lift my body."

Ravi took a deep breath as the scent gradually faded. He changed the subject upon realizing that Raymond didn't like it. "I was wondering if you came here to protect me?"

Raymond turned his body to face Ravi, his eyes locked onto Ravi's without blinking. "Yes, Ravi. That was my purpose even before you were born, although I arrived at an unexpected time. But I'm glad and very grateful when you requested at the last minute before I was executed," he explained, leaving Ravi speechless and tensed in his seat. Executed? Would he be executed because of a girl he mentioned earlier? And Ravi was harboring a death row convict in his house.

Raymond touched his chest, covered by a layer of a T-shirt, and continued, "This is the mark of ownership that has been there since I was born. Because I'm half-human, my owner can possess me and do anything they want with me, but I can't own them back."

The golden glint in Raymond's multicolored eyes faded slowly, leaving only the dark orbs visible to Ravi. He didn't understand the meaning of "ownership" and the mark; everything was new to him. However, he was sure that the owner Raymond referred to was himself.

Raymond remained a stranger, even though he hadn't been in his home for a full day. Ravi questioned himself whether Daniel's words were accurate. However, in the end, Ravi believed in his instincts.

"What if I don't want to own you and I reject you?" Ravi asked seriously.

Raymond stared at him in disbelief, shaking his head slightly, and his lips drooped. He averted his gaze from Ravi and spoke with a heavy tone, "I will die."