***CADEN**“You must be joking right now? Do you even know what the hell are you talking about? Are you just out of your mind?” she scowls all of a sudden in the restaurant.At first, I believed she was quite uncomfortable talking in the restaurant but right now, it seems as if she isn’t scared of anything. Where did she get this much enthusiasm from?I lift my head towards her face which seems to be infuriated. There are so many questions she wants to ask me but she isn’t asking me at all.Ask me! Just ask me any questions that you want to ask. I am willing to answer it all but I also need the answers to my questions.Her red face makes my heart get distracted and she takes advantage of my distraction. She gets out of her seat and towards the exit door. She places the cash on the payment counter and walks out of there without even getting her change.“Her change?” the boy at the counter calls her but she walks so quickly.“Give me that,” I say as I grab her money and follow behind he
***ESTHER*** I hear the loud music being played in the room. It’s the music I like the most. As an enthusiastic girl who was into sports whole heartedly, it is so much unlike me when I play relaxing piano music instead of rocking ones. I close my eyes feeling the depth of that music. I feel as if I am finding peace and calmness in that soothing music. I am just out of this world and there is only serendipity around me. Oh! It’s heaven. I sense as if I am walking on the yellow field with the soft breeze inclining the fruits of paddy filled with grains. I am wearing a red velvet one-piece just below my knee and am walking through the field. I hear the laughter. It’s such a beautiful piece of art that anyone could ever hear. It’s so much beauty that I couldn’t help and smile at its melody. “Erie!” I hear someone calling me. I have only one person in the whole world who could call me by that name. I feel so much happy when I hear that name. I turn back as I hear that voice. They are
***ESTHER***“You changed my dress?” I ask.We are walking together towards the entrance of her house. It’s been a long that I haven’t walked with anyone else.“Obviously! Yes. Or else who do you think would do that? There is no woman in my house and I can’t let those men touch you,” Natalie smilesMen? I don’t want anyone to see my body. She must have seen it right? Or has she not? Suddenly, I feel as if the buds on my skin are getting quite active. It’s because of the fear that she has seen my body.“But, girl?” she stands in front of me suddenly. I can see curiosities painted clearly on her face. She wants to ask me. She wants to know something from me but I don’t know if that something is related to my body or is it related to something else.“What is it?” I ask.“You see, I find something weird in you,” she raises her brows.Don’t ask me that. Please, don’t ask me that. I don’t want anyone to ask me that question and I don’t want to answer that question to anyone.“You… You are
***CADEN*** “She woke up? It’s great then,” I cannot stop myself from being excited as I hear that news. I have never been so much happy to hear Natalie’s voice. But today, her voice is giving me such an excitement. “You seem strange? What’s wrong with you Caden?” she asks me. I answer nothing is wrong with me. It’s just that I am happy that somebody is actually saved because of me. Natalie answers, “ That’s what I like more about you. You do the good deeds and never let others to know.” We cut off the phone after few talks. I jump in joy while I hear about that. I remember that night when she was constantly telling me that she was feeling cold but I kept on ignoring what she had told me. She was all wet and in addition to that she is pregnant. Well! That’s weird kind of pregnancy but I surely know that she isn’t my dad’s wife. The fact itself makes me so much elated. She isn’t my dad’s wife. She isn’t my step-mother. I can love her. She can be my lover… These all sorts of posit
***CADEN***“What wounds?” I ask in a shock. It can’t be possible. “You see, I saw some scars on her body which are of really deep wounds, I guess. Have you asked her before making her your dad’s surrogate?” she asks. She is my dad’s surrogate and why would I ask her about that. But still, I have seen her body before. Yes! It was just for some pinch of time but I have seen her body. I didn’t notice any kinds of scars in her body. Was it because she turned off the light that night. Was that on purpose? “I didn’t know about that and Nat! Can you please do me a favor? Can you please not tell about this to anyone?” I request. She agrees and cuts off her phone. She has scars on her body? Impossible? How can that be? Should I ask her about it? I think it would be inappropriate to ask her about the scars on her body. She would feel uncomfortable right? I am thinking of such matter when the door of my room flings open. It’s Caisey. “Caden! Did you get a slap? Did dad hit you again and
***ESTHER*** “Are you ready?” the piano pedagogue asks me as I stand in front of the piano. It’s been few months that I haven’t played these keys. I had longed to play them but my melancholy wouldn’t just let me to. “Yes, teacher,” I say and sit on the bench in front of the piano. I place my fingers on the white keys and start to warm-up with the softer music and gradually, without even realizing that I have become familiar with this new set of piano which I have never played in my whole life, I start to deepen into the music enunciating from those keys. They’re just so much beautiful. I don’t even realize that I have been lost in that melody. I want to sing right now. I want to sing for him. That was his last wish. He wanted me to sing. He wished to die a melodious death. My subconscious mind keeps on ringing my heart and making my tears to flow down without even thinking. Or maybe I have never thought at all. I was always thoughtless. I was always free minded and did the things
***ESTHER*** Is he looking at me? God damn! I quickly turn away my eyes to the direction of Natalie who is with the trays of food. I give a faint smile to her making the stupidity that I did few moments ago go unnoticed. “Hey! Caden! Why are you there? Come over here,” she calls him. I’m sure they have the habit of having the lunch together but I wish they wouldn’t do that ever. “If you insist,” he says. What? He is coming over here? After what I have told him few moments ago? “Why would you call him here? I guess he is comfortable over there?” I say. “I suppose but I always call him and he never bothers to come to my table. I don’t know what is so wrong with him today? He is walking over here. Is it because….,” she steers her head towards me suspiciously. What do these eyes mean? “Because?” I shake my head to ask her the same question. Honestly, I feel so much nervous with her right now. My head feels like spinning and there is pit formed on my stomach trying to figure out what
***CADEN*** She walks away with her bag away from the cafeteria after that. I don’t like her walking away like that. “You guys stay here. I have some important business to take care of,” I stand up as I follow her behind. “Caden… but,” I hear Natalie’s voice but I don’t have any intention to stop in the middle at all. I know I have angered her but that’s what I wanted to do it. The fact that she said to stay away from her just ticked my mind a lot and because of that I can’t just stay in my right mind. She walks furiously to the exit door and I suddenly grab her wrist from the behind. She halts as she feels that I have gripped her hand and turns around. “What the hell are you doing Caden?” she glares at me. Her eyes run toward my hand which are gripping hers and towards the people around us. It makes me want to look around as well. Yeah! People surely are looking at us right now. I don’t want to embarrass her at all. So, I leave her hand and try to talk calmly. “Esther! Have yo