Aldeheid

Prologue
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The place was calm and inviting. The area was quieted by chilly easterly air. Going through her hair and unravelling every strands as the wind passes through without exact directions. Aldeheid tightened her grip on the balcony's marble balustrade and giggled, tucking the strands that are obscure to her view.

Napatingala siya sa langit at malalim na huminga. The place was a good escape, she thought. Ibinaba niya ang tingin papunta sa kakahuyang nasa gilid na bahagi ng bahay ng kaniyang kapatid. The towering trees of various species seemed so alive. They swayed in the same direction like the birds above them, dancing with the breezes. The large mountains that encircle virtually the whole town are hidden behind them. The sun was setting when they arrived, so the mountains began to take on a silhouette and the entire sky was practically painted in a gleaming orange hue.

Hindi niya mapigilan ang ngiti habang nakatitig sa malayo. It was what she wanted and needed the whole time. Gusto niyang masilayan ang ganda ng kalikasan araw-araw bago pa man siya umalis. It was her adoptive mother's last wish for her too: to be happy.

Marahan na nagbuga siya ng hangin bago ipinatong ang kalahating braso sa railings. Six months have passed yet her heart was still mourning her mother's death. Matanda na ito kaya ay normal lang manghina na. But she never considered that little change of her mother's strength would become a suicide to her, lalo pa't nasaksihan niya mismo ang paghinto ng hininga nito.

Ignorance was the biggest disappointment she got in herself. Magmula noon ay mas lalo lamang siyang napalayo sa mga tao sa paligid niya. It was fortunate of her to only have few people left around. Her sister, Dorothy Gleen, and her sister's family. Apat na tao lang ang tanging nakakilala sa kaniya at sa buhay na mayroon siya. And it was enough number for her to live a tranquil life and avoid having strangers knock on her door.

Malcolm. It was a town of Fordice, a county in the south-east of their country. It was the oddest district of the county. Hindi tulad ng Cragmerre kung saan siya lumaki, ang Malcolm ay isang lumang distrito. Kung saan mayroong isang nagmamay-ari at mga kanang kamay na tagahatid balita sa kaniya. It was the same way as officials do in Cragmerre but somehow different as well. She found it intriguingly weird, especially how the system goes. But she had no choice but to conform to the town's rules. Malcolm was her only last option before she would follow her mother's footsteps.

Her neck snapped when she heard the familiar voice of her sister's husband, Crowick, talking from downstairs. Maingat na tumingkayad siya upang masilayan ito na nasa harap na bakuran lang ng kanilang bahay.

Her room was on the second floor, above and to the left of the house. May sarili siyang maliit na hugis bilog na balkonahe. It was the only marble on the house's front, along with the entryway entrance and window rims. Left were the same stone-built walls like some other houses around the town. It was a vintage-looking beautiful town, where old clothes and antiques dominated.

Her eyelashes flutter as she notices Crowick and another attractive man approaching towards her direction. Both were giggling at something she couldn't comprehend as they carried two massive crates on their sides. They seemingly carried the boxes as if they weren't 50 kilos, as stated in the printed ink on the opening of the box. Her face creased, and she felt her arms sag. Sometimes she wished she could be a guy so she could have equal strength to them.

She's weak, petite, and even sick. Mas lalo lamang naging bulnerable ang katawan niya.

Matamang pinakatitigan niya lamang ang dalawa habang sinusuri ang mga kilos nila. Their voices eventually reached her ears but instead of listening, she couldn't help herself but stare at the tall and gorgeous guy in front of Crowick.

It was as if love at first sight when she saw him. Crowick stood over five feet ten inches tall, but the man effortlessly towered over two meters. He was built like a football player, muscle-necked and barrel-chested. He doesn't look scary but rather stunning with his aristocratic features dominating his entirety. Instantly smitten, that's what she felt.

Mabilis siyang nag-iling sa sariling iniisip at pilit na tinutulak palayo iyon. She knew very well that she's not supposed to do such a selfish thing. Ayaw niyang makasakit at ayaw niya ring masaktan.

She's been going through pain lately and she tries to avoid passing the pain to others. Because she knows how painful it is to lose someone she knew that will never come back and later on, she'll be doing that too. She'd rather lock herself in a cage than take chances and enjoy happiness if it entails solitude.

Dahan-dahan siyang napaatras habang pinakiramdaman ang sakit sa dibdib. That's right. She went to Malcolm to prepare and to escape, and that doesn't include meeting people and befriending them.

She stared at the man for the last time. He was so beautiful that she's having a hard time taking her eyes off him. But it only lasted a few more seconds until the man's gaze shifted to the sky that she had been staring at only moments before.

A small smile escaped from her mouth, and slowly that she stepped back little by little when his attention moved to the tree beside her room. Marahan at maingat lang siyang patalikod na pumasok sa loob. As the man ate the distance between his sight and her existence, she rejected the idea of being able to meet hers.

At isang huling hakbang bago siya tuluyang nakapasok sa loob. Leaving the man's eyes the flipping of the lace curtains that shamelessly danced outside the door by the harsh wind's blow. She stood there sighing and her eyes dropped on the floor.

"For everyone..." she uttered before she shoved herself into the cozy bed Dorothy made.

Napabuga siya sa huling pagkakataon at dahan-dahan na ipinikit ang kaniyang mga mata. Forgetting all the memories of him from her mind as she drowse off.

Aldeheid was adamant about keeping her guard up and stop people from entering her life, particularly someone that has the potential to flip her heart—specifically that man.

Yet she had no clue that it was already too late, especially when the man happened to sense her before she even saw him.

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nyariina