Darkness was creeping in from the eastern sky – dragging another cluster of dark clouds with it.

It
was raining heavily earlier, now subsided, but surely it will pour down again soon. It may be even
heavier than before.

“Hey Alim, should we just walk home?” Afizah asked me.

“Well… it’s dark and dangerous to walk at this hour. We’ll have to wait for the bus, okay?” I answered
hesitantly, but I tried to sound as calm as possible.

Honestly, I knew there wouldn’t be a slight chance that a bus will pass by at this hour; it was just an
excuse to comfort my anxious heart. Well… there were rumours spreading out in school. They said a
student of ours encountered Cerberus! The huge three-headed dog from Greek mythology, the
creature that protected the underworld. So, I just wanted to protect her from the rumoured creature.

At least I was wrong about the dark clouds and the rain. Strangely, it was a cloudless night. No stars
can be seen on the dark sky but the moon was shining elegantly as we waited at the bus stop in front
of SMK Muhibbah.

“It’s getting late. My parents will go crazy on me!” she squealed while looking at her wrist-watch.
Blue in colour, her favourite.

Well, I had to make a decision that evening. Should we keep waiting or walk home? I couldn’t think
of any other options – it wasn’t even an option! The decision was made for me, not by me. We had to
walk. There was no other way.

“Okay, let’s walk,” I said. She stood up – smiling – and grabbed her bag.

I wasn’t as zealous or even joyous at the idea. I could sense the dark feeling lurking in my gut. If I
had a conscience like Pinocchio, the cricket will be yelling, “Hey, it’s a bad idea!” Unfortunately, I
don’t have one, so... I’ll just go on with this bad idea.

“Do you think we’ll bump into the three-headed dog?” I asked her in a low husky voice – almost
whispering.

“I don’t think so. It’s just a rumour after all,” she replied. I knew she would say that. She always had
that rational thought, the one that made her so mature – she was years beyond her age.

As if she could read my inner thoughts earlier, she smiled cynically. Her left eyebrow raised and the
smile turned into a smirk. Afizah always did that when she figured out something. “Oh, now I know,”
she said.

“What do you know?” I asked, smiling and admiring her.

“I know that you were scared of the three-headed dog, and that‘s why you didn’t want to walk
home,” she said. Well, she figured it out, just half of it of course. My sole purpose is to protect her.
She’s my life. She smiled elegantly as she walked through the pavement.

“Well, I wanted to protect you actually,” I explained.

She looked at me and this time both of her eyebrows raised. “You? Protect me? My knight in shining
armour,” she said and then laughed.

At that time, I was glad she was by my side. My fear was fading away at the moment. But the feeling
suddenly vanished – the dark feelings crept out again. And this time it was right, “RRRAAGH!” It
sounded eerie, filled with darkness, cold and deep.

“Probably just a dog,” Afizah said to me. But I can sense a little tremble in her voice. Even her eyes
were out of focus – lingering through the darkness, assisted by only the dim street lights.

Strangely, the wind was blowing more often and rougher than before. Even the cloudless sky was
changing course; grey clouds were covering the sky. I thought it was going to rain but my instinct
was telling a different story. I can sense the presence of a being, maybe an animal, nearby as we
came near the park.

“Let’s take a shortcut through the park,” she convinced me. Her tone was different, filled with fear. I
couldn’t refuse the idea as the sky was getting even crowded by clouds. Plus, I wanted to comfort
her.

As we walked through the darkness in the park, Afizah came closer to me. I could sense that her
breathe was heavier. Even her rationality was hauled by her fear, I thought. “It’s gonna be okay,” I
said to her, tying to sound as calm as ever.

“HEELLP!” Afizah cried out.

I turned to my left but she wasn’t there. Where is she? My heart was pumping faster; cold sweats
were rolling down my cheeks. The darkness didn’t help at all. My body was getting weaker, as if
some outer force was acting on me. Every inch of my body ached, my muscles failing as I collapsed. I
was conscious but I couldn’t move.

“No! Help me!” she cried louder. What was happening to her? To me? To us? I couldn’t turn to see
her – I was paralyzed. Even my vision was getting blurrier. I couldn’t locate her even if I wanted to,
sheer darkness.

The atmosphere was filled with roars and growls – cold and eerie. Maybe it’s the three-headed dog,
Cerberus. If it was Cerberus, Afizah will be in danger. If it’s true...

“Stop! I’ll trade my soul for hers! Let her live and... and you can have me!” I shouted, but still lying
on the wet grassy ground.

The roaring and growling stopped. I could hear Afizah breathing harder and faster, almost
hyperventilating.

From my research on the internet, I knew Cerberus was hunting for souls to devour; and to save
another person’s soul, you have to trade yours. But that is, if your soul was of greater value.

I felt my body again and my vision was back to normal. I tried to move, pushing my body of the
ground and barely stood still. I turned and saw an enormous dog beside her – its three pairs of eyes
stared directly at me.

Its fur was darker than black, with tinge of deep red; its array of sharp teeth filled its jaws. “You said
you wanted to trade souls?” the middle head said to me.

“Uh...” I was startled by the way it talked to me “Yes, my soul for hers.” I tried to sound convincing
and bold. But I knew Cerberus could sense my fear.

“RRAARGH!” The left head barked.

Yes! Now I can stop Cerberus and escape death – for both of us. The dormant head is on the left!
According to an old literature, you can attempt to kill or injure Cerberus by damaging the dormant
head – the head that showed dog-like behaviour.

Well, it’s just a literature; I can try but... is the left one really the dormant head? It certainly barked,
growled and drooling like a normal dog. Will this work? I tried to locate anything nearby to hit it.
Luckily there was a rusty knife five feet in front of me, probably from the gang fights here.

I walked slowly towards Cerberus. Every step was a gamble. I stop near the knife, bent down,
grabbed the knife and a rock. I threw the stone at the right head, trying to make a diversion. I ran as
fast as I could towards the left head.

The three-headed dog turned towards me. Its eyes were glaring with anger, I felt like my head was
about to explode, it was aching, felt like my soul was being extracted. I was just a few inch in front of
Cerberus, almost able to just rip the flesh of its body, but I couldn’t move.

I tried to close my eyes, forcing my body to move. I was trembling for a little bit, hurting, devoured in
pain, but I endured it. I stabbed the knife to the left head’s eye, and ripped some of the skin and
flesh.

Blood was trickling out of the cut, deep crimson red. Cerberus collapsed down, barely able to move.
But Cerberus was still breathing, weaker and weaker. It’s dying.

I turned back and grabbed Afizah off the ground. She was conscious but filled with fear. Then, we
walked away, relieved. Both of us will never pass this path again, at least not at night.

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P/S: This is the edited version from my Excel paper. I wrote a another version for SPM.
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Kinda sucks, right. Wrote it under extreme condition (the TV was on!).
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Enjoy.
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