Try Again [Complete]

II

Author's note: I hope you enjoy this second part and the different perspectives! Like always, remember that italics will symbolize the future in this story. Happy reading!

***

"Did you give him the dried seaweed one?"

"Yes nana, I gave him all the boxes you sent me, but seriously, do you think he'll have space for all that food?"

Both his mother and grandmother gave him a pointed look for him to shut up and Krist wondered when exactly had Singto stopped being treated as another friend of his going on a trip, and more like a family member leaving for war.

"I talked to his father and he said it was fine, he can't cook for himself, so we have to make sure he has something to eat once he arrives there."

Krist could not really confirm if Singto had shoved the billion boxes inside one of his suitcases but knowing how fond he was of his mother's cooking; he had probably bought an extra bag for them. He was still surprised that his own mother could cook such bland meals for Singto when she had always cooked the opposite kind of food for her family for more than two decades.

"Come with me."

Without a question, Krist followed his nana thinking that she might need help to sit down, he should have scolded for standing up for so long shoving food on plastic containers. He guided her over to her favorite chair by the window, an addition to the house just for her. She insisted that she was fine on her own with her husband, but his parents had tried to slowly convince her that since their kids had all moved out, they also needed the company. So far, it had worked.

That place by the large glass window panes had become her favorite spot, his grandfather told them that she liked to look outside and reminisce about things that she could no longer remember.

It had sounded odd; how could someone think about something they could not remember in the first place? But like everything else, he had assumed it was just some sort of metaphor.

Before he could notice, she had pulled him along towards the balcony and closed the heavy doors behind them, making sure that they were as alone as they could be.

"Did you talk to him?"

"I don't know what you mean."

It was not the first time that they had this same conversation, with the same exact outcome each time. His grandmother insisted repeatedly that her grandson was wasting time with every passing second that he shied away from his feelings. She never spoke about someone in particular, or his name, she just asked if he had made a decision.

And like always, he would tell her that he had not. That things were not as easy as she thought and that feelings did not matter in his kind of life; he was paid to pretend and not to fall in love. He was not free of the consequences and the burdens that a rash decision would bring, and he was not sure if he was ready to face the world if it came to a point where he would have to make choices.

In simpler words, he was absolutely scared about what people would think. Supportive messages online and a whole fan club cheering for him had been his source of strength since the beginning, would he be able to carry on if all of that was gone in a blink of an eye?

So no, Krist was not unsure of his feelings in the end. He was unsure of others.

"I will help you when the time comes then, but things will be so much harder."

Always the cryptic messages. What exactly did she mean this time?

It pained to think that she might be losing some of her senses, but it was something to be expected. Krist would talk to his mother and have her keep an eye on her. Often, he wondered how his life would be without his nana in the future, and it was just too painful. She had been with him for the most part of his life, caring for him and his siblings when his parents had been unable to, his grandmother had become like a second mother to him above all else despite her odd behavior sometimes and the crazy stories from their ancestors.