Dim-Dim felt a surge of adrenaline as he flew over New York City without knowing where to go. He thought about Amma and the perfect Malcolm.Of course, from the beginning, he knew it would end up like this if one day Amma found a man who shared her interests but could be boasted about in front of her parents. And if Malcolm's parents were friends with Amma's parents, then they were undoubtedly wealthy. Dim-Dim was nothing.Tired of flying, Dim-Dim decided to stop at a park, which he had destroyed during a mission a few years ago. Now the playground had been repaired and even looked much better than in previous years.He was watching young children playing ball when suddenly his ears caught a scream from behind the bushes, and he immediately got up. Everyone turned to look in one direction, but only for a few seconds before deciding to continue playing.But Dim-Dim never ignored a scream. He leaped over the park bench and then searched through the bushes. And after a terrifying minute,
"Go ahead and try to take her from me, Malcolm."Dim-Dim's hatred towards Malcolm reached its peak. He was furious, he was angry, he wanted Malcolm gone from his sight right now. However, he wouldn't show it to Malcolm: showing emotions meant weakness."You're not worthy of her," Malcolm said, his face showing disgust. "Girls always end up with the wrong guys."And at that moment, Dim-Dim didn't realize when his fist was already on Malcolm's face. In a satisfying second, he felt Malcolm's nose bone break under his clenched fist, and Malcolm's head jerked backwards. Then one hand of the man cupped his bleeding nose, and only then did Dim-Dim realize what he had done."You don't know what I've endured and held back to be with Amma right now," Dim-Dim said with hatred, before he turned into a husky and ran away.*****For this time, Dim-Dim flew to his apartment in Safe City, New Jersey.Dim-Dim knew he shouldn't have just run away like that. But New York City was suffocating him. Amma w
The next morning, Dim-Dim woke up feeling dizzy. The motel he stayed in was indeed very cheap, and the room was not soundproof. All night he heard someone watching monstraflix from the next room, and basically, the soap opera watched by that person was just about worthless couple quarrels, screams, and cries. And what annoyed him was not just the unclear storyline, but Dim-Dim could imagine that the movie script must have been typed in all-caps letters, entirely, without exception. Ugh, Dim-Dim needed another place to stay. If only there was a motel cheaper than this $30 per night motel. Trying not to complain too much, he went to the bathroom, rinsed himself from the sweat and mess of the night before, then put on a flannel shirt, long pants, and a coat. After that, he flew to the back of the hospital where he did his research yesterday. Dim-Dim was kicking through the bushes, searching for ant-sized Type A monsters, or perhaps the burrows they created, but found none. He combed t
Tara's grandmother was delighted to see Dim-Dim in the house. At first, she thought Dim-Dim was her granddaughter's boyfriend. But when Tara said they were just classmates at university, her grandmother's attention to Dim-Dim didn't diminish at all."I'm glad to have a new person in this table," Tara's grandmother said excitedly, while moving the perfectly served lasagna in front of Dim-Dim."Thank you, Ma'am," Dim-Dim replied. "I feel honored to taste your cooking. Tara said you were a chef.""Absolutely correct," Tara's grandmother replied, joyfully. "People used to line up for hours and had to book a table weeks in advance just to try my cooking. Ah, those were the days."Dim-Dim then tasted a spoonful of the lasagna, and immediately he felt like he was in heaven. It was the most perfect lasagna he had ever tasted. Tara's grandmother used fermented soybean cake as a substitute for meat, and it was truly delicious."You know, true vegetarians don't eat cheese, right?" Tara asked. Di
Breaking up with a girlfriend is a strange feeling. Just a while ago, he was deeply hurt by Amma, but now he felt numb.Usually, everything related to Amma occupied a special place in his mind, an important place. Amma and everything about her were very important. But today, he forcibly emptied that place, and it turned out to be very difficult to put something else in that place.Dim-Dim clearly needed something to occupy himself.So, that evening he approached Ella, Tara's grandmother, and accompanied her in chatting while cooking dinner. Ella forbid him from doing anything, even helping to chop onions, so Dim-Dim could only watch her bustling around.Although Ella was a pleasant person to have a conversation with, Dim-Dim found himself not enjoying the activity much. Especially because a part of his brain demanded him to meet Amma, or Dim-Dim would lose Amma forever.Dim-Dim had to shout at himself in his mind several times, "Who cares
The next day, Dim-Dim got the permission he needed to use the Illicitor uniform and equipment. So he asked Justin to deliver everything for him, and Justin agreed in exchange for a delicious meal cooked by the chef. Meanwhile, Ella was thrilled to hear there would be an extra person at the dining table who was enthusiastic about her cooking. "You seem very happy to get your Illicitor equipment back," Tara said as they cleaned the dusty living room. Tara's house was so large that it felt like all she did here was endless cleaning, and there would always be dusty rooms."Of course, I'm thrilled," Dim-Dim replied, shifting the sofa so Tara could vacuum underneath. "I have a very good knife designed to fit my hand size, light, and efficient for killing monsters. Plus, I like the uniform. It's the kind of uniform you can wear all day without feeling uncomfortable, waterproof, hot, and cold resistant."Tara nodded, sweat dripping from her forehead. "Well, you must suffer a lot if monsters
Dim-Dim's heart sank at the sight of those monsters."That's awful. I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I were you," said Justin, grabbing one of Dim-Dim's Illicitor tools useful for efficiently crushing monsters."We have to exterminate them," Dim-Dim said. "But Ella forbids me from using anti-monster poison in her garden. So we have to kill these monsters the traditional way.""It's going to take a while," Justin muttered.For the next ten minutes, they spent their time killing the ant-sized but stone-hard monsters."Oh no," Tara muttered as she walked into Dim-Dim's room and saw what they were doing.Justin nearly jabbed the closet door out of surprise. He quickly got up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Nice to meet you, I'm Justin, Dim-Dim's friend since middle school. And you?""Tara," Tara said. She had just finished showering, her hair wrapped in a towel, and now the scent of soap emanated from her body.
Valir Campbell. When was the last time Dim-Dim met that guy? Dim-Dim doesn't remember. But one thing for sure, he needs to contact Valir soon. So that's what Dim-Dim did."Hey," he said, once the call was answered."I'm on my way, currently passing through the Holland Tunnel. Is everything safe over there?" Valir's voice sounded firm yet serious over the phone, a voice Dim-Dim hadn't heard in a long time."It is still safe for now. But those monsters have started invading the untouched corners of the house," Dim-Dim said seriously, trying not to think about Edel as he spoke. Because Valir is Edel's boyfriend, and perhaps he knows about the issues between Dim-Dim and Edel."Have you used the anti-monster poison?" Valir asked."We have. But it's a big house, with about seven bedrooms, three kitchens, and several other rooms. If I fumigate the entire house with anti-monster poison, the monsters will just flee to the garden and hide underground, but the old lady owner of the house doesn't