My Boyfriend Cthulhu

By N.S. Nazz

Anita is a woman haunted by her past.

Despite working at one of the most prestigious companies in Malaysia, the dreams and memories of the past chained her from moving forward. When her only pace of escape, the local aquarium called Aquaria KLCC. There, she meets one of the staffs who is very knowledgable about ichthyology and has hypnotising sea-green eyes.

But the more she spends time with him, memories that she tried to block came back through her dreams. This staff was something she did not expect and his presence has made her comfortable to the point he revealed a secret that she did not expect!

Can she handle this newfound experience or will she be trapped in her traumatic past for eternity?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Nov 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781543767407

Book preview

Prologue

Rain.

It was nothing but a downpour in the middle of November in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Most people would rather be inside their workplace while those bold enough treat the rain as their ally.

To a particular man, he was walking in the rain but at the same time keeping an eye on his Fitbit watch that counted the steps he took. He promised himself that he would do his 30 minutes exercise for a day.

Even if he doesn’t, intermittent fasting was good enough.

‘Is God crying?’ He mused to himself as he continued his walk. He does this after his shift every evening at 8P.M. The night was peaceful and the sight of the coloured fountains spouting from the pipe-works never ceased to amaze him.

After half an hour, he would have his dinner before heading back home. Most of his dinner was either something he snagged from Isetan’s food market, either two rice balls with tuna inside or maybe just a salad.

His meals were mostly lunch and dinner.

Afterwards, he would take the LRT back to Sri Rampai, where his apartment building was very close to the train station itself. In fact, it was just a five minute walking distance after swiping his Touch n’ Go card onto the toll that separates those coming in and out of the train station.

He loved his job yet he was aware on the effects he had on people.

Once he entered his apartment, he took off the band that bounded his black mane of a hair as he gazed into the man in the bathroom mirror’s reflection.

A crooked smile was formed, thinking the man in the mirror was nothing but a joke.

He sighed, deciding to take a shower before feeding his aquarium of pet fish he has collected from some of the most interesting aquarium shops in all of Selangor.

Oh yes!

His day tomorrow will consist of guiding at least three tour groups at different interval hours, from people of all walks of life. His co-workers had always recommended him to most of the visitors because of his vast knowledge for the marine and aquatic life.

Some even dubbed him as Aquaman!

He laughed at the idea but unlike the DC’s superhero, he doesn’t have a trident or a fish wife to begin with.

He shook his head before rinsing his soapy body with the warm shower, scent of sea salt and cool methol clouded his nose. He had other priorities in life, one after this would be dinner.

Does he want to cook something or does he want to order on GRAB app again? Technology was such an intricate yet blessed thing people receive in this modern world. He wondered how will these people function if they were transported back into the olden days they romanticise about?

A day where awareness was a crime and control was a privilege!

He is fascinated by how people often daydream or dream unconsciously when asleep. They have little to no control of it as dreams were perceived to be the dark part of our minds that wander when our conscious thoughts began to rest.

To him, it was easy to imagine walking into people’s dream. Think of it as channel or internet surfing where instead of favourite tv shows or websites, the dreams created by people’s unconscious thoughts.

Oh well, another time to think about it! For now, he will rest for the whole evening before preparing for tomorrow’s tour.

He doesn’t mind sharing his knowledge but he will be irked if anyone asked a stupid, insensitive question that the sea creatures don’t deserve!

Chapter 1

Anita! The shrilled voice of a middle-aged woman barked. I need those documents in twenty minutes! Schedules have changed due to the course of action done by the supervisor.

Of course, Anita nodded. No way was she going to argue with her mother. She was the one after all, who got her into this stable job at the Petronas Twin Towers in the treasury group.

Her mother was the chief financial officer and the most respected member of the team.

Without her, Petronas will be in shambles.

Most of the hours were tedious and very cutthroat. Most meetings either were met with some ideal suggestions or it was a waste of time in Anita’s opinion. Then again, fresh out of university with her masters in arts wasn’t getting her anywhere so she has to be grateful for this line of work.

Carpooling with her own mother, well-paid salary and the abundance of restaurants should make her the lucky one, right?

Anita was feeling stressed out at the moment due to the number of reports she has to submit on today’s deadline. She would rather immerse herself with her saved stories on her iPad or reread some of the mangas that comforted her through lonely nights.

Besides her work, Anita’s parents still want her to find someone and get married. She would but so far, she has not been interested in any of the men she has interacted with. The closest were the ones she has mutual respect for and shared same ideas at work.

Most of the time, Anita felt alone.

In this jungle of a city full of tall buildings and different establishments to present the growing yet stationary human civilisation, Anita yearned for companionship that most girls in her favourite novels and anime have.

Then again, she has to remind herself that life cannot replicate the art that was purely for entertainment, boosting the dopamines inside of her brain to get the satisfaction. Oh well, at least little clips from YouTube can numb her boredom for now…

…

Anita, her mother-superior crooned softly while hugging her daughter. Mummy has to stay back with her friends. You don’t have to wait for me to carpool with you tonight. I will call a Grab car.

Mum, are you sure? asked Anita, who was packing her essential items into her briefcase. I can stay and-

No need, her mother interrupted her. Go and enjoy yourself or at least sembahyang first if you don’t want to be stuck in the jam.

Ah yes…between 5 to 6 P.M the traffic jam that congested the streets of Kuala Lumpur is something no working Malaysian would ever want to experience. It will become worse during a heavy rainstorm where floods are an occurrence.

Which was why there were many pubs, restaurants and convenient stores. If anyone ever gets caught in a jam and a road might be blocked, might as well buy snacks and meals while waiting, right?

Anita decided to pray Maghrib in the prayer room, where she felt in peace for a moment. The room was cool, very spacious to stretch and move about. When she puts on her telekung and rolled out the sejadah, she felt at peace.

The prayers she asked for were simple: For everything to be okay and to ensure that the people she helped are doing well in life.

Once she was done praying, Anita descends down the lift from the 79th floor to ground floor where she decided to make a detour to Cold Storage. From there, she bought herself a delicious potato salad with some butter buns as her makeshift dinner.

Work has been very difficult.

Despite the steady income and security, Anita found it to be boring compared to her stimulating mind that triggered at exciting events at the Convention Centre or even at the ground floor of Suria KLCC, where they host certain celebrations every month.

She wondered why can’t life and work be so immersive such as an open world video game or a story with different outcomes? Why does life have to be so boring?

Anita decided to switch from her Bluetooth music to her favourite radio station. She mostly listened to the news and some of the current music to criticise the lyrics and vibes. But one of the boring advertisement caught her ears’ attention:

"Mummy, I am bored! A child whined as the advert began. There’s nothing to do this weekend!"

"Well son, I have an idea! The mother in the advert giggled. Aquaria KLCC is having a special deal for families with kids under 12. What is more exciting is that it has tour guides now! We could learn so much of the underwater world with friendly tour guides and take photos with the fish!"

"Yay! Let’s go now!"

Thus, the end of the advertisement was followed by a jingling music Anita has associated with most of the radio ads. These were the only types of ads she could tolerate since no one likes to have any advertisements interrupting any YouTube videos unless they downloaded an AdBlocker.

…

Anita arrived home and showered, pondering at the idea of visiting Aquaria KLCC after work. Her earliest time of leaving work was on Friday where she could finish at four. Perfect!

She has booked and bought herself an Aquaria KLCC ticket online. It was so convenient considering her work life at her mother’s line of work. Technology has been something that Anita loved but she will refuse to go into detail about building softwares or doing Photoshops.

They have professionals paid to do that, right?

Alas, she wants to finish a bit of her work before turning in for the night. Once everything was settled, Anita could switch on Netflix on the television upstairs to watch her favourite movie: Pirates of the Caribbean.

Jack is always the best, Anita bit back a smile as she watched the hilarious captain played by Johnny Depp running on screen. He’s makes this movie come alive. Him and Davy Jones.

Ah yes, Davy Jones was another character that Anita was fond of….

Anita sat on the sofa as she watched her movie with her favourite snack and drink. She prayed that tomorrow is a bearable day at work because she wanted to go to Aquaria KLCC for the heck of it!

She was hoping to find eels and sharks swimming peacefully in the tanks, educating people about how they are keystone species in the environment, meaning that if they were wiped out, so will the others including people in a chain of reactions.

Groaning to herself when she saw that it was getting late on the clock, Anita switched off the television and heads into her air conditioned room where it was so cool and inviting.

Slowly, she began to close her eyes and let herself drift off into the land of dreams.

Chapter 2

Anita was like a little girl feeling excited to visit the underwater world that Aquaria KLCC had to offer. Of course she has been here before when she was young with her whole family. How wide-eyed she and her brothers would be to see different kinds of fishes and life that is below the surface.

She wished that they were here with her…

Ever since both of her brothers’ death, Anita has felt more morose with people around her. Those two will always have a place in her heart and deserved better. Then again, their deaths were better than the following years yet to come where economy will crash and humanity can be so corrupted at times.

Their deaths have an impact on her life.

She felt guilty just thinking about them. Anita wondered if those two hated her for what she had done and if she had made a different choice, they would have survived or at least not feel alone…

‘Enough!’ She scolded herself. ‘I can’t hold onto my guilt and grief for so long. It’s like cancer inside of my heart and everyday it will eat away everything that I have.’

She slammed her laptop shut before leaning back against the chair in her workspace. It was only 2 P.M and yet it felt like forever!

Hey Anita! a female co-worker called her. Don’t look too eager to go home just yet! You have more reports to file in.

I know that, Anita nodded, her eyes steady at her tudung-clad co-worker. Which is why I am at least getting some done now so that I don’t have to do some later. I might complete the entire thing by tomorrow.

Well, you better! her co-worker pointed a finger at her. Just because your mom is the one who got you into this line of work, doesn’t mean that she will treat you any special. You should stop depending on her umbilical cord to string you along.

Another thing that really bothered Anita was her lack of distinguishing whether any words said by the other co-workers were insults or just statements. To her, the tone sounds almost the same so she decided to build a wall around herself as a defence.

It was easier that way and she allowed her mind to simmer at the thoughts of getting back at people who have said some of the same things along the line. However, the frustrating anger died down when Anita distracts herself with a snack or play a violent video game that desensitised her awareness for violence.

Just thirty minutes, she muttered to herself. Thirty minutes and I will get the hell out of here!

…

Aquaria KLCC was as Anita expected: another world on its own since it is at the bottom of KLCC just like the depths of the ocean.

Always mysterious, beautiful yet so unsettling.

Unlike life on land, the ocean is a whole another level. How many depths can an ocean contain? She could understand why some people have a deep set fear of the sea as it is vast and out of human knowledge.

Very much so like outer space which she knew humans have limits where they cannot travel too far or else they will be completely gone.

Anita’s fears were mostly about the unexpected turn of events in the future. It meant that whenever she feels comfortable or relaxed, there was a nagging feeling that something