A Cold Night's Sweetness

Feelings To Deliver

The not-so-fat and not-so-thin physique of Aunt Carol dominated a small corner of the stairs near the pond of the shrine. She was wearing nothing more than sweater and blue jeans. The cold must have started to bother her because she was starting to shiver and her legs began shaking.
The shrine became a hideout for three of us when I and Allen stayed here till six in the evening. Our family was worried and they were searching for us like crazy. Eventually Aunt Carol found us and brought us back to the hotel. We had pleaded her not to disclose our hideout location and in return of it, we will allow her to come to our hideout whenever she wants to.
I guess this was the appropriate reason to use the hideout; to vent out anger accumulated and to discard the unwanted sadness.
"The view hasn't changed a bit," I said as I sat beside her. On hearing my voice, she quickly rubbed her eyes and looked at me. "It is still beautiful and still unpopulated, isn't it? Allen," I asked looking at her and then to Allen. "Strongly agreed. It's such a waste that people don't come here often," he said as he took a seat on the other side of Aunt Carol. She looked at him and then to me and suddenly she laughed loudly. Allen and me looked at each other in confusion and looked at Aunt, begging for an explanation.
"You two will always remain naïve," she began her explanation, if it can be regarded as such. "Naïve and childish but pure at heart." She looked up at cloudy sky as if she was remembering her childhood days. "Thanks for coming for me. But I am alright now that I have seen you two. It feels as if we all three are finally together in our hideout." She laughed at how we had offered her to use the place and the immature words we used in the past. I looked down at my feet to avoid remembering those days and share some laugh with Aunt to make her feel happy.
"I always felt you two were made for each other. Now, now I sound cheesy, don't I?" Aunt Carol said but the way she said it, it seemed as if she really wanted us. "The way you two were in the past, I really miss it. I don't like the way it turned between you two." I raised my eyes and was shocked at what she was implying to," If I am not wrong, you two don't even talk let alone be like before." I lowered my eyes in somewhat I felt was in shame.
"I agree." I heard Allen talk for the first time since we reached here. As he started talking, instead of listening, these thoughts occupied my head. What does he mean by "I agree"? Is he agreeing that whatever Aunt Carol was saying was cheesy or that Aunt carol was not wrong but was right about us not talking? I don't get it.
After brushing my thoughts aside, I looked at them to listen whatever they were talking about. But I guess I was in the spotlight since two pairs of eyes watched me; one with more teasing looks. Aunt Carol grinned and looked at me with playfulness lingering in her eyes. She held my hands and I merely went with the flow without any idea about what was happening. "I know your feelings will reach her, till then try your utmost best," Aunt Carol said with her gaze fixed on me. The way she said was almost as if she was referring to me but I knew it was directed to Allen. Allen nodded on her advice and a painful smile formed on his face but somehow in the middle of that I could notice a genuine and cheerful smile.

We reached down to the entrance of the shrine; Aunt Carol leading the way. I tugged at Allen's shirt after failing to persuade aunt to explain me the earlier situation. "Tell me, Allen. What were you both talking about? Something about reaching your feelings?" he smiled as I whined the whole way down.