The Red Bow [Chaelisa]

15. I still have fear

Notes: I would like to ask you to pay close attention to this chapter, it is the last one that I will show time passage, I think It’s enough of “future drama”, you now need to enjoy the present. Notice that the future dates are not continuous, so the events are all mixed up to confuse your mind, and believe me that when the time comes I’ll explain everything right.

December 27th, 2014. – First year of college.

The night was cold and snow was still falling outside, covering the whole terrain with its white robe. The only light outside was the faint lamp on the porch and the moon that gave frightening shapes to the trees with thick, snow-covered branches that surrounded the Park residence.

Seated on the rocking bench were Mason and Chaeyoung, studying a new book that the girl’s father had bought at a used-book store. He knew they had read all the inventory on the living room shelf, so didn’t hesitate when he saw Emily Dickinson’s name on the cover, would be the first poet they would read and the man couldn’t be more excited about the idea.

Chaeyoung read with her father accompanying her with another copy of poems, they took turns reading and this was the first time Lisa had heard her recite a poem. The girl was leaning against the doorway with a cup of warm milk in her hands and her eyes buried in the profile of the figure carrying her heart. Chaeyoung not only had the gift of music, but when she read … The feelings were exposed next to the words had a great power over Lisa, who for a moment wished she could hear that sweet voice recite poems to her for the rest of her life. She loved everything about Chaeyoung, from her thin nose to her jagged jaw whenever she sought concentration. The brown eyes … The older girl said that Lisa’s eyes enchanted her, but she had no idea that herd bound the Thai girl in a parallel world where happy endings were not an option or luck.

They just existed.

“Spying, Lisa?” Rosalie’s voice interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to the reality of the dark, cold house. “Ah, they’re still out here? My husband and Chaeyoung always lose their time when they get into those poetry books.” She laughed more to herself than to the Thai girl as she sat down at the dining room table and tidied up her yellow robe. Lisa followed. “Do you want more milk?”

The Thai girl shook her head, offering a smile to the woman who liked her so much. It was true that Rosalie had become her second mother, especially during all those days when she was “living” at Chaeyoung’s house for Christmas. The woman always made a point of asking how she was and about her family. And Mason was her father, making her feel comfortable when he was around, despite the jokes about her and Chaeyoung sleeping with the bedroom door open. Staying all these days in that house only increased her certainty of how close the two were a connected, and how she wished she could have that with her father.

“No, thank you.” Sighed, struggling to stay awake and not faint at the table. That morning she had first come a church with Chaeyoung’s parents, and in the afternoon the five of them went skating on Queen’s frozen lake. She could say she was tired and needed to sleep, considering there would be a lot to do the next day, with the idea of having breakfast with Chaeyoung at The Village and Jennie’s little party at night. “Chaeyoung and Mason have always been like this?”

The question escaped her mouth before she realized she was doing, but Rosalie nodded and folded her hands on the table.

“Mason was part of a symphonic band when he was younger.” She began to tell while observing the image of the husband and daughter through the blurred glass of the room. “I met him still in college, just like you. It was the last year and my friends decided to go to a small concert, he was the violinist and also the most charming, if I may say so.” She smiled blushing. “Half an hour after the end of the performance he called me out, and in the following weeks I was introducing him to my parents.” She laughed at the memory. “So I got pregnant of Chaeyoung and Mason decided it was time to abandon his youthful dreams to become a family father. I know it wasn’t easy for him to leave music, because throughout the gestation he insisted on playing piano as if the girl would listen to him, and I think it worked.“ She glanced toward the door with Lisa following her gaze. A weary sigh escaped her lips. “In Australia we didn’t have the money to raise Chaeyoung and follow his dreams. Mason had to give up one of them.”