Chapter 18: Chapter 18

“What a lame name for a white rabbit.”

Avril frowned at him.

“Coming from someone who stole the name of a county's capital,” She retorted with an eyeroll.

“I don't understand. A country is called Dakar?” He asked.

“No, just the capital. The country Senegal.”

“Never knew.”

“It's getting cold. Let's get inside,” Avril said and got on her feet. Dakar did same and they entered inside.

“I have to get something for you to eat. You must be hungry.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not hungry yet.”

***

Weeks passed until it turned into months and Avril got better in shooting her arrows. Dakar hadn't taught her sword fighting or the others yet and she too wasn’t quite ready to start swinging heavy killer metals in her face.

One day, when she returned home from feeding the chickens, she met Dakar plucking oranges from a tree behind the mountain house.

“I didn't see you inside. I figured I should check around the mountain,” she announced as she reached him.

“Oh, yeah! I'm right here!” he answered.

“Why are you plucking so much?”She asked and picked one from the ground. She sat down and began to peel off the back.

“Because tomorrow is my fifty fourth anniversary. I want to make orange juice just for some celebration,” he answered.

“Oh my God! Really? Tomorrow? Wow!”Avril exclaimed and got on her feet.

“You better get me a present for tomorrow,”he jokingly said but Avril took it serious. She realized she had never really given him a present before. So that day, she secretly went to the beach and called on the mermen. She placed an order with them and they swam off to get what she wanted. The next morning, she got up early and collected her order from them. It was a very big journal, big enough for Dakar to write in. It came with a quill and ink bottle. She knew he would love it.

She sat in her room and wrote on the front page with the quill and ink. Then she placed it in front of his door.

When he woke up, he saw them and carried them. He walked to the dining table and opened it to see the sweetest message ever written to him;

Hello, Dakar! You might be wondering why I got you this. It is because I want you to replicate everything about your life. All your good memories and even your wishes.Your life is amazing and a big blessing to me. You took great care of me and treated me like a princess. I don't know how to thank you for it. I just want you to know that you mean the world to me, Dakar. And I don't want a life without you in it. I love you so much and I hope I make you super proud some day.

Yours lovely,

Avril.

He read it over and over and over again. He was touched and was so elated too.

“Happy fifty-four years anniversary,” she hailed from behind him. He turned and stared at her.

“Avril, I love the book,” he affirmed and she smiled then walked to him. She hugged him slightly and sat beside him.

“The quill is also big so I know it's complete,” She beamed at him.

“It is. The same way I feel my life is complete right now. I love you too, Avril.”He poked her shoulder jokingly and she laughed.

“I have the cooking today. You should relax and wait for me to serve you,” she pronounced and ran to the kitchen.

The day went well. They played games and drank lots of orange juice. They spent their time mostly under the trees beside the waterfall with Dakar taking a portrait of a static Avril on his new journal. Turned out, he was a very good artist.

Dakar, despite him feeling well when he went to sleep, woke up with a terrible headache the next morning. As he opened his eyes, everything seemed bigger to him. He stepped his legs on the floor and cold ran through his feet into his body. He couldn't remember the last time he felt cold and knew something was wrong with him. He groaned and his voice was lighter and lower than before.

He looked down at his legs and surprisingly, he did not see his huge furry limbs. He saw human legs. He gasped and looked over his hands and body. He couldn't believe it.

“Human…again,” he mumbled. Joy ran through his whole body. He jumped to his feet and shouted with joy. Finally, after decades, he was free from the wolf body. He wore his skirt made of animal fur for the first time since the curse, and left his room.

Avril was still asleep so he went down and stood outside, feeling the fresh island breeze against his bare skin. Everything seemed so different looking through smaller eyes. He was so grateful that his eyes welled up with tears. He couldn’t believe he was free. Shortly after, Avril got up and came outside to look for him.

“Dakar! Where are you?”She asked as she moved towards the statue. Dakar came out from that corner and she froze in her tracks. The color drained out from her face immediately.

“Avril”, he called gently. Her mouth fell open as she gazed at the very familiar man in front of her. She looked up at the statue and back at him. She then realized that the warrior man of the statue was standing right in front of her. A tall man, extremely muscular and gallant looking, long hair in a loose bun, a wolf tattoo gracing his chest, wearing a traditional skirt made of fur and the morning sun reflecting against his gorgeously tanned skin.

She moved backwards as she couldn't believe it. He was back. She broke the curse. But how?

“Avril…you did it,” he stuttered shakingly.

“Dakar, it's you. It's really you. You're free!” She exclaimed and as if whatever was restraining her was pulled away, she ran into his arms. He covered her with his muscular arms and hugged her so tight, like he was protecting her.

“I can't believe this! I can't—” she sobbed as she placed her head on his shoulder.

They disengaged from the hug but still held hands.

“So, this is what you look like? You carved yourself,” she said and looked up at the statue. He held her face in his palms, pulled it back to look at him then gently wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

“It wasn't supposed to be that big but since I was big then, I couldn't make it small,” he revealed and they chuckled.

She looked at him again and marveled. There was no single trace of his wolf form in his face. Except his green eyes.

“But how did I break the curse, Dakar?” She asked. He let go of her hands and crossed his.

“I don't know. Maybe care and love?”

“Well, I did tell you I love you. But it's not the Beauty and the Beast type of love though.”

“Does it matter?”He asked with a shrug.

“No, it doesn't,”she smiled.

“Are you hungry? Because I'm starving,” Dakar stated. She laughed and scratched her forehead.

“What if I cook for you?”She asked and he raised a brow at her.

“It's my first meal as a human in fifty-four years, I can't eat trash.”