"Xenen," Efraim repeated while he stared at the woman.
Then he shook his head and closed his eyes.
"No, this is only an illusion; this is not real," he added in his thoughts.
However, the moment he opened his eyes, the woman was still there, looking and smiling at him.
"Are you going to run away again?" Xenen asked, her voice pale, haunting like a phantom.
Efraim squinted his eyes upon hearing the woman's remark. Then, he bent his knees and propelled himself upward.
He went straight towards her direction and stopped a distance in front. They held each other's gaze for a few seconds before Efraim chose to break the silence.
"There's no way you're real," he said on point.
Upon hearing his remark, the woman who still had her lips curling into a smile stood up and stepped a little closer towards the appraiser.
"Why? Is it because you thought that I'm dead when you don't even bother to check it out?" she replied, her voice soft yet cold like ice, enough to make him shiver.
