Love in Darkness

Chapter 35: First night

After the picnic, Magnus takes his grandmother and wife to the actual nature park. Before reaching the park, Selena stops on her track. The entrance to the park is like the actual entrance of the forbidden forest. She recalls the days coming in and out of the forest to meet Eon. Selena feels again the longing in her heart. She deeply sighs and continues walking as she sees Magnus gesturing to her to come along.

Big and tall trees and cold wind breeze greet them as they enter the nature park. Selena is just quietly looking around. She thought, "This looks like the forbidden forest.". She recollects her past with the place. Magnus, however, did not focus on the beauty of nature as he notices Selena being occupied. He looks at her and he sees sadness in her eyes. So he approaches her and asks, "Is there something wrong? Do you not like it here?". Selena looks at him and smiles while shaking her head.

"No. It is beautiful here. Just like home.". She pauses for a moment and continues talking, "This looks like the place I run into whenever I am upset especially having a quarrel with my parents. This is my comfort place. Whenever I am here, I feel free and serene. It is just that I grow up going in here and live in another world.".

Magnus is just quietly listening to his wife. Hearing those from Selena, he could feel what she had been through before knowing him. Magnus cannot find the right words to say so he does the thing he knows that would comfort her. He grabs Selena by the wrist and hugs her. He hugs her tightly. Selena is caught off guard but she hugs him back. She then speaks, "Thank you for bringing us here.".

Magnus breaks off the hug and looks at Selena with a smile, "My pleasure.". Then he kisses her. Selena's eyes widen. Magnus stops the kiss and laughs seeing her expression. Selena comes to her senses and smacks her husband on the shoulder, "What are you doing? There are a lot of people here.". Magnus replies, "They will not mind and who cares. They cannot tell me what or not to do.". Selena just laughs.

Magnus takes her hand. "Come on, let us not make Nana wait. We have a long way to go before we get to the seaside.". Selena's eyes are filled with amazement as she heard the last thing in the sentence. "Did you say seaside?". He smiles at her and did not reply. "Come on, let us continue walking.". Selena happily follows.

An hour later, they reach the shore. Selena's tiredness faded as she sees the sea and hears the waves. She mutters, "Wow. It is so beautiful. I cannot believe it.". Miss Luna who seems to have heard her, asks, "Is it your first time to see a sea, dear?". Selena looks at Miss Luna and responds, "Yes, Nana. It is my first time. I had always dreamed of seeing one. I only saw this in books. And now I am seeing in person. It is so amazing.". She closes her eyes, inhales the fresh air, and exhales. She opens her eyes and a smile is formed on her lips. Magnus is just staring at his wife then Miss Luna talks to him. "Did you know it is her first time? And that is why you brought us here?". He looks at his grandmother and smiles, "It is a pure coincidence, Nana and I am glad that I chose this place.".

The night came, they are at the nature park's restaurant. They are happily chatting while having dinner. "I hope we can visit here from time to time.", Selena suddenly mentions. Magnus looks at her with a smile, "Not a problem. We can come here on every occasion to celebrate.". She smiles at him.

Miss Luna looks at them and feels joy in her heart. Her eyes start to tear up. Before Magnus and Selena could see, she wipes her eyes with the napkin. She then suggests a toast, "Let us toast this wonderful day and to the following days to come.". Then their evening ended.

Miss Luna has a separate room so Magnus and Selena are sharing a room. Selena is feeling nervous. She mutters to herself, "We are sharing a room in the mansion. Why does this feel so different? It is like day one on the mansion.". She sighs. Then the bathroom door opens which Selena jumps a bit out of shock. Magnus comes out with only a towel at the bottom. Selena looks away, pretending to get her things ready for a shower.