When Aunt Mia refused to tell her anything with a smile, Zaria guessed that the person coming at the Anderson mansion was not that much of a significant figure in Mia Anderson's eyes. After all, only some people could catch her aunt's eyes.
In her mind, Zaria simply just did not want to pay attention to that stranger because she was growing green with envy as she kept looking around.
She could not bear anyone receiving the treatment as her.
Because of that person, everyone was playing riddles with her!
She hated riddles.
She liked everything easygoing. That was one of the qualities of her Elian.
He was easygoing, so she also loved easygoing things.
Easy to have her hands-on, easy to read, easy to understand, easy to see, and easy to get along with.
'If that whosoever guest were to be a person full of importance, then aunt would have had told me already about him, and not play riddles. I should not pay him attention any longer. Yes, such simple as that.' She inwardly nodded to herself.
'But what if he-'
'He is not important! Not important at all. Humph. Erase his thought, Ria!' She scolded herself and shook her head.
Amidst walking, she realized that she had not seen her garden for a whole day! Could anyone imagine that?
Oh, her cute and beautiful flowers must be missing her. She swiftly crossed the path without noticing the luggage in front of her and took her route to her garden. She wanted to talk to her flowers very badly, wanted to let all the frustration of guessing so long.
The place she was going to, was her secret garden where she would talk to her flowers about her feelings for Elian for hours. They had bloomed hearing countless talks of her love.
No one was to be allowed to enter it without her permission.
Even Aunt Mia and Uncle John obliged the rule.
She was humming lightly and her hair was jolting; bouncing even. The day was good. She should wake up early from now on. Who knew waking up early felt this good?
Wait.
She stopped, when she stood there on the track, dead. She sniffed the air. Her sniffing sense was extraordinarily incredible among the other people.
Lisa often joked that Zaria surely was born in the year of a dog, a term she picked on from the dramas they watched together because she could easily sniff and bite.
The scent of the garden was disturbed. Someone had intruded in here!
It looked like someone was not taking her words seriously.
She had to see the person who dared not follow her wishes.
She wanted to see how much of a good person he was. He needed to give a good explanation to her.
Zaria was rather pacing lowly because she did not want the intruder to be alerted. What if he ran away? She would never be able to scold that intruder.
She cautiously examined the whole garden around her.
No one had messed with her roses.
No harm was done to her lilies, and even her jasmine flowers were safe, too!
Her sunflowers were in the sun gently. Summing up, all her flowers were smiling at her.
So, what was the intruder doing here? In the past, whenever someone came to visit her garden, all the flowers she had tirelessly grown with her blood, sweat and tears would be annihilated.
She could never let that happen again. She remembered she cried so much that day. Henceforth, she never allowed anyone in.
'Nothing would happen if I check again, right?'
What if she had not checked thoroughly and someone had attacked her children in her absence?
Another horrible thought came into her mind and her face changed.
Oh, heavens! I hope my babies are safe and sound.
She counted her flowers one by one.
Roses were there, Lilies were there, Jasmine was there, Lotus pound was safe and little lotus flowers in there were not harmed, Sunflowers were okay as well.
And her Zinnias still held their youth, innocently looking at her whilst shinning.
Then what was missing? She had counted again. Once. Twice. Thrice.
There was one thing she seemed to be missing now. She could not remember what was it, but it was important for her.
Important to her.
Wait, again!
What about her little lavender pot? It was her most favourite! Her priced possession.
It was her precious baby.
Her uncle John imported the most expensive lavenders specifically for her from abroad as they were not available in the country they lived in.
It was the most fragrant type which spread its scent whenever she walked in the garden, making it look like a magical garden from those fairytales.
They were ordered in the memory of her late mother, Cassandra Smith.
Zaria still remembered how her mother used to talk about having a lavender field near her home, so she could visit them daily and inhale their sweet scent all day long.
Growing up hearing it, Zaria had the same thought too, but she was not lucky enough.
She tried to grow them, but the success she achieved was of only one pot. That was why she cherished it more than anything.
Growing that exact one proved to be more difficult than ever as there were some serious conditions which were to be taken to plant them such, as a lavender plant needs well-drained soil and full sun.
She did not want to lose it. After all, it was rare and only one she could grow.
But now her beloved baby was missing! It was only 6 years old. So young.
She ran to every spot she knew, but her baby lavender was not there.
'Where could it be!?' She vigorously peered around.
Then her eyes widened.
Why someone other than her was holding it? Much less, a man. Who was tall from her– a punch to her stomach.
Women usually hide their ages and try to look as young as possible, but with Zaria Smith, it was contrasting!
She wanted to look older, and she wanted to let everyone know her age.
This eighteen-year-old girl was very petite which made her look like she was actually fourteen or fifteen. She was an adult! Some people had several times mistaken her for her age.
'Why did I not grow enough!?'
'Would Elian like the way I am?' That was what she thought every day. Anyone she knew had a height taller than her.
Three weeks ago, under the protection of bodyguards, she had gone to the cinema to watch that famous assassin movie with her friends from high school, but what she faced was not an ordinary situation, but a dire one.
"Look how carelessly this girl is jumping around. She belongs to the same age group as of our children, right?"
"Does she not care about what people are thinking about her? She is shouting so loud. What an imprudent child. Our fourteen years are better at manners here than her." They were hushed whispers, yet they sounded like someone throwing a grenade in the enemy's camp.
Fourteen years?
She was called a child, an imprudent child who was not listening to anyone and shouting excitingly at the action movie!
In reality, everyone in her group was shouting but she was the only one who got stares from people.
It was not her fault.
It was all because of her height!
No one knew how much insult and embarrassment she had felt that time.
At the end of the day, her short figure was the biggest trigger for her.
It was utterly humiliating!
She reached the man in no time. Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned. She now believed it was all true. What she felt right at this moment was like a mother whose child was being bullied by the big wicked monster! "What a daring person you are! You, strange guy, what have you done to my baby!? Don't you know you can't touch someone's possessions? I must say you dare to do this. Wait, just let me call someone here." The man was flabbergasted to see a girl dashing toward him with puffed cheeks. It was normal for him to receive proposals from the foreign girls whether the adults or younger ones when he was abroad studying and would be approached with peculiar strategies which could make any male have shivers, but this time this girl's eyes had nothing but wrath for him. He felt addled for a moment, but then he realized the little flower pot in his h
He stood there, dazed. He did not expect the spoilt girl he thought would apologize to him this easily. No girl could ask for forgiveness this easily, or admit that she was at fault. He could proudly say that he was experienced in this department. Seeing her embarrassed expression was an amusement for him. He wanted to see that more often in the future. Would that be called bullying? He realized he was still grinning. Perhaps, that was because he had come back after so many years? He shook his head and took steps near to his haven. Thousands of memories came by in his mind about this place. Nothing had changed. It was all the same. The familiar air, the familiar feeling. It was the place where he took his first steps, the place where he learnt to go to school from; th
Was he her Elian? Her Elian Anderson? Were uncle and aunt joking? She flipped her head right and left to see some kind of a hidden camera, but found none. So, it was true. It was her Elian. She was floating in the air in her mind. Now that she knew it was him, she found this man more charming than before. It would not be called cheating anymore. Because this man was her knight. Not only his face she was attracted to, but also to his aura. An easygoing, understanding, and calm aura which she adored most in people around her. All the menacing intentions she had for him, turned into a pure blissful smile, bringing the angel in her out. She still remembered how scared she was when she entered here, and how he teased her calling her a crybaby.
Madam Anderson took both her son and future daughter-in-law's hands in her own and pulled them together to sit with her on different sofas. Elian alone, and Zaria with her. As usual, her husband gladly followed her and sat on another sofa. For Zaria, it was surely awkward. How could she not feel restless when Elian Anderson was sitting right in front of her? From time to time, their eyes met and Elian would smile at her and she would avert her eyes with her scarlet hot cheeks. She still could not look at him in the eyes! Why did he get so handsome? It was his fault! Madam Anderson since forever, wanted this. She resembled an excited child who had been given candy for her accomplishment and hard work after the exams. She wanted a great result. She cleared h
When Elian just left for his room, the shyness of Zaria started to fly away. But still the thought of seeing and having Elian up so near her, her cheeks heated again, so she put her hands to cool them.Foo. Foo.You are an adult, Ria. Act like one.Excusing herself to her room, a minute passed or two, she was found squealing and jumping on the bed.Elian came back.Elian talked to her.Elian smiled at her.Elian teased her.Exhausted, she finally threw herself on her bed. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it closely to her chest, biting her lips in utter exhilaration. Her eyes, glimmering with her pure, innocent dreams and hope.She still could not believe that he was here."Don't be sad. I'll be back again to you, little lady Ria." She could hear his words in her ears.It was the time he
The faster she ran upstairs in her sandals with a tray in her hands, the more sound she produced. Now, everyone in the Anderson mansion knew she was holding a tray. Not looking into their prying eyes, she kept walking forward and forward. Knocking gently on the door, she expected Elian to be awakened by now, but who would have thought that he was still sleeping like there was no tomorrow. Oh, she forgot. He was a heavy sleeper. "Elian, are you awake?" Zaria's voice was gentle and soft as a feather. Very gentle which was a little incredulous. If someone on her campus were to watch her like this gentle, they would feel dizzy. Gentle Ria was totally different from the Indifferent Bossy Ria. Everyone remembered how she beat a boy when she was in her sixth grade and
Zaria was still in the clutches of her memories when someone broke her out from her reverie. "It's amazing, right?" A low and hoarse voice entered her ear. "Yes, it is... very amazing." She was still picturing Elian. Elian, laughing with her. Elian, smiling at her. Elian, holding her hands. Elian's face getting closer to her. But other than herself, who could talk with her in her fantasies? Hold on. The revelation dawned on her suddenly. She was crouching down on the floor, face to face to his level. Amidst lost in the memories of past, she did not even realize she was on the floor at this moment and he was leaning down. He was smiling at her with half-lidded eyes indicating that he had awoken just now.
"So, shall we go now?" After finishing his morning breakfast of bread toasts and fried egg, he wiped his face from the table napkin gracefully. His movement was so elegant that it could be recorded in a camera and put on a replay button. "Are you both going somewhere?" Her aunt Mia was curious. She had not even started her plan, yet all the tides were going in her direction? Elian nodded happily. "Yes, she promised to take me out on a city tour today." His mother nodded, too, pleased with the progress. "Dear, are you planning to take a day off from campus then?" Mia Anderson looked at Zaria with an adored countenance. She really dotted on her. Her grandchildren would be so cute considering both Zaria and her son's genes. Zaria Smith faltered. The silvery knife and fork in her hand stilled. She actually