The Reason Why

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

"Don't worry, I guess you did the right step that time," he continued,

"Now I believed that your mother's friend is truly a nerve system doctor. And my ankle is not sprained anymore."

I stopped sipping my tea, confused. I could only hear the wind howling harder in the rain, thunder growling. Then it dawned on me.

I bursted out, laughing,"Oh my! So it's you afer all! That explains why your face is so familiar to me!"

"As I expected, you've forgotten me, right?" His eyes twinkled.

"Could it be that it's some prank that destiny made for both of us?" he  teased, "And we've met twice, all because of the accident. Yet still you didn't recognize me the second time we met at the pool."

He leaned forward over the table, making his face closer to mine on purpose. He studied my eyes, tracing them down till my lips.

I felt blood rushing to my glowing cheeks. I couldn't help noticing how graceful his hooked nose is, or how thick his lashes were, skirting the tips of his warm, mahogany eyes. The faint sun fell on his hair, resting as a golden circlet on top of his honey-dipped head. Of course, that slender figure who dissolved among the crowds was Ethan!

He laid back snuggly on his chair, grinning in amusement.

"You reminds me of my mother," he said suddenly, "And the way you smile."

"Um...Me?" I pointed at myself awkwardly.

"Yes," his smile faded away. He exhaled deeply, his eyes searching into the empty ceilings, blinking hard.

"It was a hard time for all of us," he shook his head desperately, looking back at me. "I...I really loved her. I missed the way things used to be. To have her around, waltzing around the hall with my father after his work, with her hair pinned up and wearing an apron stained with flour."

"And Dad. He was the only person I looked up to," Ethan swallowed hard,

"I always remembered how he swiped me up onto his back, saying 'Son, tonight you're gonna see the wonders of the sky,' and he'll take me outside to observe the constellations. Then he'll tuck me to sleep after a cup of chocolate at 1 am. 

"Sometimes I am angry with how things treated us, taking away people who meant so much to me," Ethan's voice almost broke at the end.

"Oh Ethan, I'm so sorry," I whispered.

"No, no, it's alright now," he said, wiping his red eyes with the sleeves of his jumper.

"Why, what am I thinking telling you all these things?" he managed a laugh.

I shook my head, "I understand it perfectly; the way you felt and how you have a great responsibility to take care of your brother and sister. To be honest, I see that you're a caring brother, trying to protect them."

He did a faint smile. 

"Yes, I did protect them. But it's not enough.  Like the day Mandy drowned at the swimming pool..." his voice trailed off.

Ethan burried his face into his palms which rested against the table, and drew out a muffled sigh.

"Where were you when it happened, Ethan?" I asked him softly.

He slowly looked up from his palms.

"I was doing a research project somewhere else," he finally replied,

"She went there all by herself with her friends. I knew from the beginnning that she couldn't swim well enough. I told her not to go there alone without me, but she ignored my words . And she went there with her friends. She didn't listen to me at al. Am I insuficient to be a responsible brother for her?"