Lethal Beauty

Lethal Beauty - Winter Wonderland Part Two

"Wait, how did you know my name?" Abel frowned when he realized that Janne had called him by his real name.

This grandmother gazed at him with languid eyes as she sat back and casually took a puff or two of the hookah while basking in the fantastic taste and sensations. Abel didn't recall his grandmother ever smoking and he wondered if this was a manifestation of who she was before she decided to take him under her wing.

"It's on your shirt," she blew the smoke on his face.

Abel coughed and waved the smoke with his hand away from his face. "Huh?" She pointed at his left breast pocket and as he glanced down at it, he saw that he did have a name tag. "They must've put this on me earlier," he muttered to himself, referring to Lexus and Milo whom he encountered at the tea party. But he didn't remember giving them his name?

"Who?" Nonna regarded him with her sleepy voice.

"Er...never mind that. Nonna, can't you help me get out of this place?"

She raised an eyebrow and looked at him sternly. "Nonna?"

"Well, I don't know what to call you."

"Nonna will do. I like it."

He smiled and stepped closer to the mushroom where she sat. She didn't seem to mind this and continued to watch him with curious eyes. "Nonna...that's what I used to call my grandmother. She looks exactly just like you. I don't even know if she is you."

"Oh?"

Abel nodded and replied very politely, "I think I understand why you are the caterpillar in my dream."

"You do?"

"Yes. When I was younger, I used to ask her what I'd be when I grew up. Sometimes, I don't feel like I'm myself."

She stared at him for a long time. "And what do you want to be? What do you desire?"

Abel frowned in concentration as he recalled his childhood with his grandmother. He furrowed his brows as he reminisced, "I wanted to be someone great. I want to do something that people will always remember. I don't want to be forgotten." He laughed at the foolishness, "Maybe, I want to be the celebrated leader of a country or a Messiah. I want to save people..."

"You do not have to be the Messiah to be the savior of mankind," she reached a hand and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear as she leaned closer. "Do good things. Be good to people. Always be patient and kind. Trust me, you can save a life by simply being nice."

Abel raised his head and met her eyes. "But how do I know if they are worth saving?"

The question caught Grandmother off-guard. She found Abel's mind quite fascinating. She smiled, "No one can really tell whether they are good or evil, sympathetic or selfish. You will never know what kind of battles they are going through at the moment. But always remember this; one kind word can change someone's entire day.

"Hmm..." Abel hummed and nibbled his finger, a trait he used to have when he was a child. But his grandmother quickly pulled his hand back to stop him from nail-biting. Surprisingly, he was too preoccupied to utter a protest.

"Have you figured out what kind of person you are?"

The question puzzled him, and Abel couldn't think of a good reason. Nonna, or he should probably call her "Lady Caterpillar" seemed to be in a pleasant mood for pondering his state of mind. He quickly looked away. As always, it felt as though she could read him even without words.

She went on, "I think you have a terrible low self-esteem!"

Abel blinked and could not speak for a long while. "I beg your pardon?"