NOKART: The land of wonders and terrors.

"The Butterfly?" Hitch asked curiously. 

"The Butterfly, you should find her in Nokart," said Julika. "But before you go there, you would need to be prepared."

"What is a butterfly?" Hitch asked inquisitively. 

"A Butterfly is someone who can detect a Flower," replied Julika.

"And why do I need to find a Flower?"

"Because, haven't you read the tale of the Lady of Flower?"

"Oh! That story takes me way back. But if I remember correctly, she was the one who died at human hands, right?"

"There was much more to the story, you know. The legend said that she had many children who were called Flowers. These Flowers can create happiness and love, you know. Though even if the legend said that they were all killed, I have a theory that some still survived. Though these flowers wouldn't be pure, as they might have mixed in with humans and have children, who are probably called demi-flowers. Even if you didn't find any Flowers left, I think you could find demi-flowers somewhere. But for that, you need to find a Butterfly. I know one, and she's currently in Nokart."

"Where's Nokart? I've never heard of that place!"

"It's a magical land where many fantastical creatures live, and they build a world together!" 

"Are you joking?" Hitch asked seriously. 

"No, Hitch, I'm not, and here's proof," she snapped her fingers. 

The world felt different, and Hitch suddenly felt alienated from it. As though he were transported to another part of the world. But he was still in the cafe. For some reason, Julika smiled and snapped her fingers again. Hitch then felt that the air got tighter, harder to breathe. He felt as though someone was choking him. He stood up and gagged multiple times. He then rolled on the hard, cold floor. Everything started to get darker and darker. He looked at Noah and reached for him, but he couldn't touch him, and Noah didn't seem to be aware of Hitch's situation. 

Hitch stirred around in his sleep before he woke up suddenly and found himself lying on a comfortable mattress. The mattress was soft and gave a warmth that you'd usually find in bed when you woke up. Hitch looked around and turned his head in every direction. He was in a circular and very tall room full of red furniture. There was a table and two chairs surrounding it. Hitch left the bed and walked up to the chair. His hand came in contact with the chair, and it felt cold and slightly dusty. He looked at the ceiling and saw a red insignia on it. He then sat down in the chair. Out of nowhere, Julika appeared in the chair in front of them with a table between them. 

"Do you know where this is?"

"No," Hitch said truthfully. 

"This is my office," Julika said flatly as though this wasn't as important as it seemed. "But this is not the place I want to bring you. The place I want to bring you is just behind you," she pointed her finger at the bed. Hitch turned around, and there was no bed. Instead, there was a door that stood without any support. Hitch left his chair and trotted to the door. He pushed the door open. Inside was total darkness. Then a small source of light illuminated the whole room behind the door. Hitch stepped through the threshold. He was met with a library full of shelves and books. There was a narrow space between the two shelves. Something told Hitch to trust this woman even though he doesn't completely trust her. But there was something that attracted his mind in there, and he needed to find out what it was. He then squeezed himself through the narrow space. The space seemed to be getting more narrow by the second he squeezed through. The narrow space squeezed his body like a lime, and he had to get through the other side. Then he saw a huge room just a few feet away. He got out of the narrow space. The room was the size of a cathedral. There were shelves so high that they made Hitch feel tiny. The shelves were full of small drawers. There were all brown that had the beauty of oldness and luxury in them.

"Welcome to my true office!" Boomed Julika, and it echoed throughout the entire office. 

"This is your office?" Hitch asked, amazed by its size. 

"Yes, Hitch, and we have very little time, so let's get to business, Hitch. You know, I'm a food critic and own a huge gastronomy restaurant, right? But it's just a cover-up story to my true business, Hitch. Because I'm a witch. I'm the Witch of Pacts!"

"Really? And can you show me the proof that you're magical?" 

"Here," Julika said as he handed Hitch a wand. "Wave it!"

Hitch pointed at a small table next to him, and then it exploded into a thousand pieces, and Hitch had the reflex to duck behind another table. 

"What just happened?" said Hitch, sounding shocked. 

"You just exploded one of my thousand-dollar tables. I owned so many of them, so that's fine if you just broke one of them," Julika said enthusiastically. 

"Julika, are you a witch?" Hitch handed back the wand. 

"Of course I am, Hitch," said Julika as she took back the wand. 

"Now, before you go to Nokart, you would need these things!" cried Julika. They then approached a table. Julika pushed all of the things on the table onto the ground, and they scattered everywhere. Julika then settled herself on a chair and looked at Hitch seriously. 

"There, they hate human beings. Because of what humans did three thousand years ago. Humans and fantastical creatures lived together peacefully until the humans became greedy and waged war for lands and money. They killed the Lady of Flowers, and that was the final straw. All fantastical creatures waged war against the humans. The creatures won and let the last thousands of humans left and banished them from Nokart to Earth, a place created by Eisen Jergh Fry, the ultimate and supreme god of both worlds. So, if you want to go there, you need to wear one of these," said Julika as she pulled out a mask from under the table. "If you were this, you could turn into any magical creature you want! Try it!"

Hitch then grabbed that mask, and it looked ancient. It was a mask with two holes for the eyes and no hole for the nose. He lifted the mask on his face and put it on his face. It felt cold and yet ominous. He thought of turning into a werewolf. 

"Here, look at yourself in the mirror," said Julika as she pulled out a mirror from under the desk. Hitch took the mirror and noticed that there was a tall wolf in it. The wolf was black and tall, with fangs and red eyes. Hitch then noticed his hands, and they were like a wolf's claw. He then took off the mask and looked at himself in the mirror again, and saw his normal self.

"It worked, Julika!" Hitch yelled happily. 

"Of course it's going to work, and here's something for you." Julika then dropped a bag full of what seemed to be coins. 

"Are these coins?" Hitch then took the bag and felt what the contents were. 

"Yes," confirmed Julika. "Around fifty gold coins, which should be enough to survive three weeks with it."

"How can I repay you?" 

"No need to, Hitch! But you just need to make a simple pact with me!"

"What kind of pact?" Hitch asked curiously. 

"Just that in exchange for three masks and fifty golden coins, you would give me something in return! I could, for example, ask you to give me an organ of your choice or something that has sentimental value to you!"

Hitch thought for a moment about what could be sentimental to him. Something that he would exchange for the chance of being able to find happiness again. Hitch then thought of that certain thing. He finally found it. 

"And what about the last letter from my mother, which I kept in my secret box?"

"That would be splendid!" Beamed Julika. Then she snapped her fingers, and a round and brown box appeared out of thin air and landed hard on the table. "I think you might have the key to it?"

"No, I don't. The box works in a way that it only opens when you sing a certain song," said Hitch enthusiastically. 

"Then let me guess the song!" Julika closed her eyes and seemed concentrated on the box, and then she sang the nursery rhyme. "'How should I find this box? I had better look for a fox! When the clock struck twilight! God shall show me the light!'" The box then slowly opened with a tiny click. Inside, contained multiple objects. There were papers, photos, small toys, and pencils. Then Julika dove her hand into the box and pulled out the letter. "Hitch Frederick Hiker, are you certain that you would exchange this letter? In which your mother held's last words to you. Something that warms your heart every time you think about it, and something that makes you feel closer to her?"

Hitch's face then twisted into a face of something that felt conflicted on the inside. He thought for a moment. He wanted to feel closer to his mother, which was a type of happiness that had begun to fade away, but his parents would have wanted him to be happy. And if he became happy just like how his parents wanted, they would be so proud of him, and Hitch would also feel happy that he had fulfilled the promise he had made with his parents when he was a kid.

"Yes, Julika Burton, I will exchange this for the chance of being happy again," he said confidently. 

Julika then took the letter, and it flew up high in the air, and there was a drawer that was pulled open by my magical force, and the letter landed inside of it. The drawer then closed itself. 

"Here's three masks, one that would turn your appearance into any magical creature. Then there's one that would render you invisible and one that would give you magical power. A bag containing fifty golden coins. You can wear two or three at a time, you know. And here's a map that will lead you to the Butterfly I know of." 

"Can't you just bring me there?" Hitch asked anxiously. 

"I'm extremely busy with both of my businesses in both worlds, you know. And that letter would at least create fifty manas."

"What are manas?" Hitch asked curiously. 

"Manas is a unit of power used by magicians, witches, wizards, sorcerers, and sorceresses. I'm still in the ranks of the witch. I have, in total of my power just one over a thousand manas! Magicains need at least one hundred manas while witches and wizards need at least one thousand manas. The sorcerers and sorceresses need over one million. There hadn't been a single sorcerer and sorceress in over thousands of years!"

"And how can I become a magician or wizard?!" Hitch asked excitedly. 

"I'm so sorry, my poor child, but just becoming a magician, you first need to be born in Nokat, and you're a human being." 

"But aren't you also a human being?" Hitch yelled angrily. 

"Oh no, my child. I'm actually a spirit that takes the physical form and shape of a human being. But in my true nature, I just exist as a soul that wanders between the two worlds. In fact, you can only obtain the rank of a magician if you have a pure soul. It which in human nature by default, is not. Because can't you see? Humans always wage war and cause calamities and chaos. They're not like the magical creature that can live in peace. You, Hitch, on the other hand, are just unhappy, you're not violent, but it's still impossible for you to become a magician as you're a human being, I'm sorry," said Julika sadly. 

Hitch then exhaled sharply and understood what Julika had just said. He then stood up from the chair and took the three masks by folding them on top of each other. He then took the bag full of gold. 

"You know what I think of human beings? I think that they're truly pitiful creatures. They could never fill up their empty void of desire; they take more and more, and no matter what, that void will never be full. But don't expect other magical creatures to like you as a human being there, Hitch. Because they're not as understanding as I am due to what happened to them three thousand years ago." 

Hitch nodded. Then Julika stood up from her chair. 

"Today, I'm feeling generous for some reason. So I'll take you to the Museum of Evergreen. Do you want to come?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?" 

"Take my hand," said Julika as she stretched he right hand to him. Hitch then grabbed her hand, and then he felt something icy cold on his neck. The next second, Hitch then felt, for some reason, nervous. Then the tall room they were in disappeared from their view and was replaced by a much smaller room, but still tall. They were people walking and talking around them now. Hitch released his grip from Julika's hand and realized that they had been transported to the Museum of Evergreen. 

"Thank you for bringing me here, Julika," Hitch thanked. 

"No problem, and let's go see the small artifacts!" 

They then moved from the entrance and paid for two tickets at the counter. They finally entered the museum, and there were all kinds of artifacts from ancient times: weapons, treasures, mummies, coffins, jars, tables, plates, doors, silverware, tools, and much more. Hitch wished that he had many eyes to see everything. There were even ancient books laid on for people to read, but obviously from a distance. But Julika kept dragging him as though she wanted to show him something. They then arrived at the place where very small artifacts were kept. In front of them were three pieces of what seemed to be eyes with singinia carved on them. 

"Do you know what these are?"

"No," Hitch replied honestly. 

"These represent the three primordial emotions when the world was first constructed. The first: Happiness, the true source of every other emotion. Happiness is the truth, and the powerful emotion of all. The second emotion born was love. The most honest emotion of all. The third was pleasure, a powerful emotion born from happiness and love. These three stones represent that. And you would need them on your trip to Nokart. Because these stones will unlock a passage from Earth to Nokart."

"And how are we supposed to take these stones from the bulletproof glass case?"

"Did you forget that I'm magical?" Julika then snapped her fingers. Everybody who was walking and talking suddenly stopped as though time had frozen. Julika then reached her hands for the stones, and her hand passed through the glass case so easily as though it wasn't there in the first place. She took the three stones and pocketed them. She then pulled out from her other pocket the replica of those three stones, and she laid them in the glass case like they were in the first place. Julika then snapped her fingers, and everybody began to talk and walk again. 

"Let's go," said Julika. 

They stopped at a cafe half an hour later and were drinking their tea peacefully while watching the magnificent mountains. Julika sipped all of her cold iced tea in one sip. She then looked at Hitch. She took out the stones from her pocket and laid them on the table. 

"Do you know where Goh Bridge is?"

"Yes, Julika. It's just a quarter of an hour from where I live."

"There are three holes in the bridge that these stones would fit perfectly, and you have to put them in order, and it will open a portal to Nokart, and then the empty map would have appeared to have things in them to tell you where you are and where the Butterfly would be living. After I return you home, you'll be on your own, okay? That's the most I can help you. But if you're in mortal danger, I'll be coming to your aid instantly."

"I don't understand, Julika. Why would you go to all this trouble to help me find happiness? Because I know someone like you wouldn't do that out of just pure generosity."

"You're right, Hitch. I did all this not for you, Hitch, but for me. Because I'm also bored with my life. I need someone to watch over them, like watching a movie. For me, everything is a distraction: relationships, lovers, family, movies, games. They're all distractions to distract us from the inevitable fate: death. That's why I did this, Hitch. Not for you, but for me to distract myself. You could either interpret that as me being selfish or kind. That's up to you."

Hitch didn't say anything. 

"Here's another thing, Hitch. My mindset is that we all distract ourselves from the inevitable fate that is death. But that's hidden under our subconsciousness. And we're all selfish as we always prioritize ourselves first before anything, but that's also hidden under our subconsciousness." 

Hitch didn't fully understand what Julika's monologue but he decided not to think so much about it. He then took the three stones and pocketed them. He then stood up from his chair. 

"Well, thank you for everything, Julika. You helped me so much, and I am full of gratitude right now. I'm just going to take the bus," Hitch said nervously as he crossed the road and arrived on the other side. Hitch then waited for a bus, and a car passed in front of him. He glanced at the chair Julika was sitting in, and it was now empty. Hitch then took the bus and finally arrived at the town he lived in. Hitch dropped out of his bus and walked to the cafe where Noah would probably be. Then he walked crossed the street. He heard tires screech and spun around, and there was a car that came towards him. Then everything went black.

"Hitch! Hitchy! Wakey wakey!" 

Hitch felt someone nudging him, and he woke up from his deep slumber. Hitch found himself at the same cafe, and he was sleeping on the table. So was it all a dream he had? He then reached for his pocket and felt something heavy. No, it wasn't a dream. Everything really happened. 

"Hitchy, you fell asleep, and that Burton food critic never came." 

"No, she came!" Cried Hitch. He then reached for his pockets and showed Noah his stones. 

"What are those dried shit?" Noah asked curiously. 

"They're not shits! They're stones and she gave them to me!" 

"I don't know how she could have given this to you if she never came," Noah then looked perplexed. 

"Maybe she came for just less than five minutes and left, and I fell asleep?" suggested Hitch. 

"No way," yelled Noah, "because I looked at you every one minuit and I just noticed that you fell asleep a while ago."

"Never mind, we can go somewhere to distract ourselves," then Hitch remembered what Julika had said about everything being a distraction. 

"There's a new open museum around here! It's a museum about contemporary art, so I don't know if that would catch your interest," said Noah. 

"Yeah, let's go there," said Hitch. They then got out of the cafe and walked for five minutes. It was a small museum just outside of time. Hitch paid for the ticket for ten dollars. They entered the museum and were first met with a small cup filled with ketchup and mayonnaise on a pillar. 

"What do you think this represents?" Noah asked Hitch.

"Maybe it's just a Dollar Tree budget replica of yin and yang?" Suggested Hitch. 

They then walked to another place where there was a painting of a red splash on the painting. 

"Do you think the artist behind this bled from his nose and just put it in the gallery?" Suggested Noah.

"No, it could be meta, showing how things can be contained. Maybe it showed how things can be violent in a peaceful way. That's what's beautiful about modern and contemporary art. They let you interpret as you like," said Hitch happily. 

"Yeah but for me it's just shit and just all talk and I must admit that I've seen better things at my friend's house. Like one of my friends can create an entire portrait with just flowers! Like just flowers! That guy got some talent. But of course, the flowers wilted in just a few days, but you can't deny that it's better than what's ever in this museum!" Cried Noah.

"Yeah, you're right, let's go home," said Hitch as he spun around, and they both got out of the museum. 

They finally arrived home, and Hitch knocked on the door once. He could hear the lock being removed, and it was Erika who answered it. 

"Well, you took your time," said Erika in her usual bossy tone.

"Yeah, that Burton never came," said Noah. Hitch decided not to contradict Noah, as it seemed that Julika must have made him forget about ever seeing her. 

"Hitch, I have a letter for you," said Mitch as she handed him a letter. Hitch might have the idea of whose it's from. He snatched the letter from Mitch's hands and opened it slowly, and read it

Hey, Hitch, it's Julika. I forgot to tell you that in order to open the gate to Nokart, it needs to be a full moon, which is in three days. That's all, and tell nobody about it and bring nobody with you, or else I'll personally come and take everything back. But in case somebody found out about your plan, you can take them with you, but only one! Only one! 

 signed, Julika Burton 

Hitch didn't say anything. He pocketed the letter and then walked upstairs. 

"Don't you want to have anything for lunch?" Erika asked. 

"No, thank you, I'm not hungry," said Hitch coldly. 

"What do you think he's up to?" Whispered Mitch. 

"I don't know," said Noah, shrugging. 

"Hitch's always been like this," said Erika, "it's not as if it's new that he doesn't want to talk or he just goes up to his bedroom if he's up to something, but I doubt that it's something bad because I knew Hitch for all my life and he's probably planning a vacation or something," said Erika truthfully. 

"I'm worried about the little guy," said Noah, looking at the staircase. 

"Why would you say that?" Asked Mitch. 

"Because even though he seemed to accomplish something, he doesn't seem happy at all, like it's almost as though he had depression."

"Hitch had depression," replied Erika, "we've consulted many doctors and we've put him on antidepressants for three whole years, but he stopped now as he said that he felt better already." 

"Yeah, but it feels like it came back," said Noah. 

"You don't need to worry that much about it, Noah," said Mitch, "He probably went to get antidepressants because we have a stack of stash in the closet," reassured Mitch. 

Noah still looked worried about Hitch but decided to eat lunch. 

Hitch lay on his bed, looking mindlessly at the ceiling. He thought of taking the antidepressants again. But then the thought of obtaining forever happiness from Julika was also another solution. Hitch then opened the map that he had pocketed. The map was empty, just like Julika said it would be. He then took the mask, which was hidden in a box just under his bed. Julika must have put them there. Hitch then hid the mask under his bed. He then walked to his bathroom and washed his face. He then looked into the mirror and saw Noah just behind him, looking worried. 

"Can't you just knock before you enter?" Hitch asked coldly. 

"I'm sorry, it's just that I worried about you, little guy," said Noah truthfully. 

"Yeah, but next time, could you please knock on the door?" 

"Yes, I'll do that," said Noah as he stepped out of the bathroom and left Hitch once again alone. Hitch then exhaled sharply and thought that he might have been too hard on the guy. 

"Noah, have you seen my soap?" Hitch asked. 

"Yeah, it's just in the shower," said Noah from behind the door. Hitch then took the soap and washed his face with it. He then wiped his face with a dry towel. Hitch then entered the room and saw Noah drinking a bottle of beer. 

"Are you drinking?" Hitch asked warningly. 

"Yeah, so what?" Noah doesn't seem at all bothered by what he was doing.

"You can't drink in my room!" Cried Hitch. 

"Says who?" 

"Says me, of course!" Hitch marched to Noah and took the bottle from him before Noah wrestled him to get it back. 

"Fine, you've won the battle, but it's still me who will win the war. Because after this day forward, no more alcoholic drinks in my room!" Yelled Hitch. 

"Whatever you say, little guy," Noah then threw the empty bottle across the room, and it landed in a trash bin.