"Eddie , wake up , work up . this is important ."
Eddie barely moved . his eyes were still half-closed .
"what happed?" he murmured . "please , i am not kidding this time . wake up properly.
"Eddie squeezed his eyes shut again . "important? what's happened this time , Aashiya ?".
before she could answer , Eddie felt something heavy on his stomach . he slowly opened his eyes , but everything was blurry . he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand .
then he looked up at Aashiya , his tired eyes slowly adjusting to the light . "why the hell are you setting on my stomach?"
Aashiya put her palm on Eddie's chest , slightly bending forward toward his face . as soon as she saw Eddie open his eyes , a big smile spread across her force . she totally ignored Eddie's complaint , she said .
"finally ! now tell me . where is my pink towel?"
" your what ?"
"what do you mean , your what ?" I am taking about my pink towel . as you know , i use it while washing my hair and today is the day i need to pamper my hair..."
Eddie's mind almost closed while listening to Aahiya , the yapping machine.
"pink...hair...pamper...what?"
"why aren't you listening to me? Aahiya said loudly , looking at Eddie , whose brain was practically shut down .
When Aahiya's sharp voice rang in his head, Eddie finally opened his eyes with a jerk.
"you just need a towel, right? Just take mine," he said calmly.
"Eww!" Aashiya made a disgusted face. "You really expect me to use your towel on my precious hair?".
Eddie took a deep breath. "All right, let's find your pink towel together."
"Okay!" Aashiya's face lit up with a bright smile.
"Just let me go first," Eddie said, gently lifting Aashiya a little higher against his chest.
"Okay, my sleepy, dark-circle raccoon!" Aashiya said, making a silly face at him.
She climbed off Eddie's stomach and sat beside him. Eddie sat up properly on the bed.
"Let's go!" Aashiya announced, raising her right hand enthusiastically.
When Eddie didn't respond, her smile faltered. She turned towards him, expecting to find him looking at her.
But Eddie wasn't even looking in her direction.
He sat motionless, his black eyes fixed on the wall clock. His usual calm expression remained, but something about it felt different this time.
There was no amusement in his eyes. No emotion at all.
He looked dangerous.
Then Aashiya remembered.
Oh, no. I woke the devil.
Eddie was always sleepy. That was just how he was. Usually, even when someone disturbed him, he remained calm and gentle. But there was one rule Aashiya had learned the hard way: never wake Eddie without a good reason.
Because the moment he opened his eyes, the gentle, sleepy boy could become someone else entirely.
Someone terrifying.
Aashiya still remembered what had happened a few days ago.
Their class bully had picked on Eddie again. Nothing unusual about that. The bully had been doing it for a long time, and Eddie had never fought back. He simply endured it, as if he couldn't be bothered to defend himself.
But that day, Eddie had been asleep in class.
And someone had made the mistake of waking him.
Aashiya hadn't seen what happened next clearly enough to explain it. She only remembered the look in Eddie's eyes—and the sudden, suffocating silence that followed.
For the first time, she hadn't seen the boy who quietly accepted every insult.
She had seen a devil.
The bully never returned to their school after that. Aashiya later learned that he had transferred elsewhere.
She had always been the one to step in whenever the bully targeted Eddie. She had protected him so many times that she'd never imagined he could handle the situation himself.
Now, looking at Eddie's emotionless face as he stared at the wall clock, that same dreadful feeling crept back into her chest.
Please tell me he's still sleepy Eddie.
Please tell me I haven't just made the biggest mistake of my life.
Aashiya turned around and bolted.
Or at least, she tried to.
Her foot got caught in the blanket, and before she could take another step, she tripped and landed face-first on the bed.
For a moment, she lay there without moving.
Then she slowly lifted her head.
"DEVIL!"
Eddie didn't even blink.
Before Aashiya could recover, he grabbed her and tossed her off the bed onto the beanbag beside it.
PLOOF!
Aashiya sank into the beanbag, her hair a mess. She stared at Eddie with watery eyes and an expression of pure betrayal.
"WHY DID YOU THROW ME?!"
Eddie looked down at her, his black eyes completely devoid of emotion.
"You deserved it."
Aashiya's mouth fell open.
This monster!
This absolute monster!
I knew it! I KNEW IT!
She scrambled out of the beanbag, grabbed the nearest pillow, and pointed it at him like a sword.
"You! You are not Eddie! Give me my Eddie back!"
Eddie raised an eyebrow.
"Your Eddie?"
Aashiya froze.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"
For the first time, the corner of Eddie's mouth twitched.
And that was all the warning she got.
He reached for her.
"AHHHHH! THE DEVIL IS ATTACKING!"
Aashiya darted around the bed, with Eddie following at a leisurely pace. Somehow, that was even more terrifying. She was running for her life while he looked like he was taking a casual evening stroll.
"RUN FASTER!" she yelled at herself. "WHY ARE YOUR LEGS SO USELESS?!"
"Because you're not using your head," Eddie replied.
"SHUT UP!"
She snatched a pillow from the bed and hurled it at him.
Eddie caught it.
Aashiya stared at him in horror.
He caught it.
HE CAUGHT IT!
"Oh, no," she whispered, backing away. "The devil has awakened his powers."
Eddie tossed the pillow aside.
"Come here."
"NO!"
"Then I'll come to you."
"THAT'S EXACTLY THE PROBLEM!"
Aashiya grabbed the blanket and flung it over his head before sprinting towards the other side of the room. For one glorious second, she believed she'd outsmarted him.
Then the blanket moved.
Aashiya stopped dead.
Two hands emerged from underneath it.
She screamed.
"THE HORNS! I CAN SEE THE HORNS!"
"Those are my hands."
"THE DEVIL HAS HANDS TOO! I KNOW THAT!"
Eddie pulled the blanket off his head and looked at her.
"Are you finished?"
"NOT EVEN CLOSE!"
She grabbed another pillow and threw it at him.
This time, Eddie ducked.
The pillow sailed past him, struck the chair, and sent a pile of clothes tumbling onto the floor.
Both of them looked at the mess.
Then Eddie looked at Aashiya.
Aashiya slowly raised one finger.
"Before you say anything—"
Eddie took a step towards her.
"RUN!" she screamed, answering her own warning.
The chase resumed.
Aashiya dashed around the room, dodging the bed, the chair, and the beanbag. Eddie followed her, occasionally reaching out to catch her, only for her to slip away at the last second.
She grabbed the blanket again and swung it between them like a curtain.
"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"
Eddie walked straight through it.
Aashiya's jaw dropped.
"WHY DOES NOTHING WORK ON YOU?!"
"Because you keep trying stupid things."
"THESE ARE STRATEGIC MOVES!"
"Your strategy is throwing pillows."
"AND IT'S WORKING! YOU'RE STILL CHASING ME!"
Eddie paused.
Aashiya paused too.
For one brief moment, she thought she'd won the argument.
Then Eddie smiled.
It was a very small smile.
A very calm smile.
A very, very dangerous smile.
Aashiya's face went pale.
"Oh, no."
Eddie took one step forward.
Aashiya took three steps back.
"I've made a terrible mistake," she whispered.
"Several," Eddie corrected.
"THE DEVIL CAN COUNT TOO?!"
And off she went again, screaming as Eddie chased her around the bed.
By now, the blanket was on the floor, the pillows were scattered everywhere, and the clothes she'd knocked off the chair were in an even bigger mess than before.
One unfortunate shirt had somehow ended up draped over the standing fan.
Aashiya glanced at the room while running.
Then she glanced at Eddie.
Then back at the room.
"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! THE ROOM IS DESTROYED!"
Eddie stared at her.
"You threw the pillows."
"You threw ME!"
"You deserved it."
"STOP SAYING THAT!"
He reached for her again.
She ducked, grabbed the beanbag, and shoved it between them like a shield.
"STAY BACK, DEMON!"
Eddie looked at the beanbag.
Then at her.
"That's a beanbag."
"IT'S MY LAST LINE OF DEFENCE!"
"It's full of beans."
"AND YOU'RE FULL OF EVIL!"
For a second, neither of them moved.
Then Eddie lunged towards the beanbag.
Aashiya shrieked and abandoned her defence immediately, leaving the beanbag behind as she sprinted towards the door.
"THE DEVIL HAS BROKEN THROUGH MY DEFENCES! EVERYONE, PRAY FOR ME!"
Eddie followed her.
"Aashiya."
"NO!"
"Aashiya."
"I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"
"I'm not going to kill you."
She stopped for half a second and looked back at him.
"Promise?"
Eddie stared at her.
"No."
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
And just like that, the chase continued.
A few minutes later, Eddie and Aashiya were sitting quietly on the bed, catching their breath as if nothing had happened.
Aashiya poured herself a glass of water, filled another, and handed it to Eddie. They drank in silence, occasionally exchanging glasses without even looking at each other.
After a while, Aashiya lowered her glass.
"Okay, so… where's my pink towel?"
Eddie slowly turned towards her, giving her a completely expressionless look.
"I don't know. If I knew, do you think we'd have gone through all that?"
Aashiya paused, then nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah, fair enough." She put her glass aside and stood up. "All right, then. Let's find it."
Eddie stared at her for a moment.
"Again?"
"What do you mean, again? We haven't found it yet!"
Eddie closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He was beginning to regret ever waking up.
"Aashiya, just get off the bed and help me find your towel," Eddie said, rubbing his forehead.
"Fine! But if we don't find it, I'm blaming you!"
"Of course you are."
Aashiya was about to get up when Eddie suddenly stopped looking at her.
Something had caught his attention.
The bathroom door slowly opened.
A tiny red-haired boy, barely four or five years old, stepped out with Aashiya's pink towel wrapped around his shoulders like a royal cape. He held the ends proudly, lifted his chin, and marched into the room with the confidence of a king inspecting his kingdom.
He even gave a little twirl.
The pink towel fluttered behind him.
Eddie stared.
His eyes widened for a moment, but then a sweet smile crept across his face. He knew that towel. He knew exactly whose towel it was.
And, more importantly, he knew exactly whose towel it was supposed to be.
He slowly leaned back against the wall, crossed his legs, and reached for the drawer beside him. From inside, he pulled out a packet of spiced peanuts.
Aashiya was still busy complaining.
"Honestly, Eddie, how difficult can it be to find one pink towel? It's not like it can grow legs and walk away!"
Eddie opened the packet.
Crinkle.
The little boy stopped walking and looked at him.
Eddie smiled at him.
The boy smiled back.
Eddie took a peanut.
The boy proudly adjusted his cape.
Eddie took another peanut.
At this point, Eddie wasn't even trying to hide his amusement. He poured himself a glass of water, settled more comfortably against the wall, and watched the little boy parade around the room.
The towel investigation had officially turned into a live entertainment show.
Aashiya finally noticed that Eddie had gone suspiciously quiet.
She turned towards him.
"Why are you smiling?"
"I'm not."
"You ARE! Your face is doing that thing!"
"What thing?"
"That suspicious thing! The thing you do when you know something and refuse to tell me!"
Eddie popped another peanut into his mouth.
"Maybe you're imagining things."
Aashiya narrowed her eyes.
"Eddie."
He pointed vaguely towards the other side of the room.
"Look over there."
Aashiya immediately turned her head.
And there he was.
A tiny red-haired boy, wearing her pink towel like a royal cape, proudly marching around as if he had just conquered an entire kingdom.
He stopped in front of the mirror, admired himself, and spread the towel wider.
Eddie took another sip of water.
Aashiya's expression went blank.
First, she looked at the boy.
Then at the towel.
Then at Eddie, who was now sitting comfortably with a packet of peanuts, looking like a man who had bought front-row tickets to the best show of his life.
Her eye twitched.
Eddie gave her an encouraging nod.
"Go ahead."
Ashiya slowly turned back towards the boy.
The little king was still admiring his reflection.
And then—
"PADDYYYYYYYY!"