I had a dream of my childhood. A very wonderful dream where I played in the playground together with other children. We swung on the swings, slid on the slides, climbed the monkey bars and played on the seesaws. It felt so real but I just couldn't recall them in my memories. "Perhaps it was really just a dream then."
I got woken up by the knock on the door.
"Amanda! Lunchtime!"
"I'll be there in just a moment."
I got up from my bed and slipped the photograph that was on the bed into one of the books I brought from home. I turned off the electricity and left the room while my sister waited outside the door for me. We went to the dining room as soon as I closed the door behind me.
The luxurious foods served on the table were totally not my taste but I thought of trying a bite since grandma spent her time cooking such a big meal. I don't really dislike lobsters but I'd prefer pancakes. I was struggling to remove the shell but my sister helped me.
Grandma placed more lobsters onto my plate. "Amana, do you like lobsters?" Even if I don't, I'll still have to eat it anyway since it's already there.
"It's Amanda…. I don't really like it but I don't dislike it either." Grandma was considerate enough to stop giving me lobsters when I said that, but I think the main reason was because my entire plate was filled with lobsters now that it could fall apart if I moved an inch.
My sister removed the shells for me even though I never asked her to but oh well, that saves my time and energy.
While I was waiting, I turned my head to take a look at the scenery outside of the window. Those well-trimmed bushes caught my eye. There were various flowers accompanied beside them so it looked even more attractive. Our place never had a garden like that since father wouldn't allow it. It felt like a dream.
"Amanda, here." I was jolted back to reality when my sister called me.
I found the lobsters on my plate had decreased and then I knew why, when I looked at my sister's plate. I don't know if she exchanged our plates or did she take them from my plate when she was removing the shells but either way is fine. It doesn't matter to me.
I consumed what was on my plate. Lobsters, crabs, prawns…. Why are they all seafood? Once again, my sister prevented me from removing the shells.
"Amana, you can't remove the shells on your own?" Grandma asked when she saw my sister removing the shells and giving me the meat in it.
"It's Amanda… I couldn't remove the shells so I had my sister to help me." This is the third time grandma miscalled my name.
"Andrea, Amana needs to learn to take care of herself."
"Grandma, it's Amanda." My sister corrected her. "We have a rule that is to not let Amanda remove the shells by herself."
Oh? I never knew we had that kind of rule. No wonder mother would always get the maids to remove them before serving.
After lunch, we helped grandma with the washing.
"Amana, why didn't you wear the dresses in your wardrobe?"
Dresses? Oh, so those were for me.
I didn't have the patience to correct her calling my name so I just let it be. Be it Amanda or Amana or whatever as long as I know she's referring to me.
"Thank you. I will wear them tomorrow."
My sister and I returned to our rooms when we were done with the dishes.
"Heh, Amanda, grandma prepared dresses for you?"
I looked at my sister in confusion. She didn't say anything just now so I thought it was a normal thing. But she seemed to be quite amused by that, like she's never experienced it before.
"Not bad." She added.
"Did grandma not give you any?" I asked her before entering my room.
"Oops. I said too much. Never mind that, return to your room."
Now she's making me curious. She definitely said that intentionally to mock me.
I went into my room and looked at the photograph again. I still couldn't recall who that familiar-looking boy was, but I'm certain we have met somewhere before.
"Black hair..."
We seldom see black haired people nowadays because everyone dyed their desired colors, even I dyed mine blonde. Black is just too plain, changing the colors won't hurt since the school allowed it.
I looked through the books on the shelves to see if I could get any information out of it. I just couldn't sit still after seeing that mysterious boy.
I shifted from shelf to shelf. None of the books interest me nor they seem useful to me. I may or may not read them someday but my top priority now is to find out the identity of that boy. I didn't think it would be in any of those books but I had my hopes up when I found a photo album.
I sat on the chair and opened the album. It was an album filled with my photos when I was little. I didn't know what expression I was making, but all I knew was that I felt so nostalgic by just seeing my childhood again.
It took a while to finish looking at every photo and it's not just one album, but two. When I finally reached the last page of the second album, I saw that boy again, and I was beside him at that time.
"I knew I'd met him somewhere before. Just who is he?"
Uncertain of his identity, I kept the photograph and the album with him in it into my luggage. I thought of finding it out when I get back.There're tons of books in my study room, it's impossible there isn't a single clue there. 'Maybe I should ask Andrea.'
Speak of the devil.
My sister knocked on the door and told me she will be joining grandma for tea in a few minutes, asking me if I would join. Of course I would, can't miss grandma's snacks!