Chapter 16: Cottagecore
It was afternoon the next day, and after lunch, Lady Massie pulled me to her favorite spot— the garden full of Azalea flowers. Though I have been here countless times now, I will never get tired of the scenery.
We were sitting under the Maple tree while she busy braiding my hair into one. Pinaglalaruan ko sa aking kamay ang isang bato na pinulot ko kanina.
"I missed this," I heard her whisper with a slight chuckle. "I can't really force Lady Dinah into doing this. It's too feminine for her, she said. Mother, on the other hand, was always busy. I had no one to do this!"
I tossed the rock back and forth on my hand while staring from afar. Mother brought Kristan with her together with Lady Dinah. Mamimitas daw sila ng mga ubas para gawing alak. Hindi ko lang alam kung nasaan si Terrence.
"The good thing about this place is you forget how the time works. We only have day and night. We don't count days. We don't count anything. But I missed you so much that it makes me think you have been gone for too long."
Even I couldn't remember it. I have been here even before I became a model. Before I had built another personality for Nathalia Cardinal.
"We only have a never-ending cycle of a single month," she even added.
Their calendar only had one month in it. They don't count how many months have passed. There are just days in a month which is thirty. No year. Sometimes it doesn't even matter.
"Is this why you agree to come with Terrence?" I questioned. "For a change."
I noticed that caught her off guard. Panandalian siyang natigilan sa pagtirintas ng buhok ko.
"You can say that." She finally tied the end of my hair, marking the end of braiding it. "But I was never really interested in the outside world until him. Maybe I just find the courage in him."
"Your turn," I said.
Ako naman ang tumayo at siya ang pumalit sa pwesto ko. It's always challenging for me to braid her hair since it's curly. Instead of binding it all into one, I tend to braid her hair into three parts then tie it into one that ends up like a bun.
"I still wonder what made you fall in love with Terrence," I said with a chuckle. I didn't want to sound like falling in love with him was a bad idea, but it was.
"He's a gentleman," she simply responded, but I could picture her smiling all ears. Her voice was hopeful and dreamy. Tragic.
"All men could be gentle if they would like to," I said with a grunt. "Is there any unique characteristics of him you find to yourself attracted of?"
I bit my bottom lip when that question silenced her. Hopefully, I didn't sound so against the idea of her dating him. Or worse, being with him.
"He's just like you," she finally said. "Mysterious and a walking puzzle. But I find him fun to be with. There was never a dull moment when I was with him."
That's somehow true. Damn. I was once fell into that trick. Yeah. I call it a trick because it's all at first. After the fun came the horrifying nightmare. I didn't want that to happen with Lady Massie. She's too vulnerable to overcome such a horrendous experience.
"How about you and Kristan?"
I suddenly saw myself in her when I caught her off guard with my question about Terrence earlier. Ang pinagkaiba lang namin ay wala dapat na nakakagulat kay Kristan. I already explained that he's nothing but a friend of mine.
"I think the man is into you."
"All men are into me, Lady Massie."
"Yeah. I noticed."
