On the other side
Valencia (The horse)...
Sir Lucas: I'm back, Valencia.
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Is that the young lady?
Sir Lucas: Yes! The whole credit for saving your life goes to this young lady and not me. If it was not for her, never would I have found you. She's the one who heard your SOS call and alerted me of your direction.
??? Thank you to you too for saving my life, miss!
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) There's no need thanking me. I did nothing special which deserves such praisings on your part.
??? You did save my life, miss. If not for you, I don't know what would have happened to me. I could never thank you enough for saving my life.
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) What's your name?
??? I'm called Sarah.
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Sarah, do you mind telling us who that man was and why he was harassing you?
Lady Sarah: …
Sir Lucas: I'm hungry! Do you know a good place around here that serves good dishes?
Lady Sarah: Yes! My family restaurant serves the best dishes there is.
Sir Lucas: Is it far from here?
Lady Sarah: No! It's just meters away from here.
Sir Lucas: Show us the way?
Lady Sarah: This way, please! Follow me!
Sir Lucas: Let's go, Jennifer!
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa)...
Esperanza Restaurant
Lady Sarah: This is my family restaurant, The "Esperanza".
Sir Lucas: It's pretty small for a restaurant, don't you think?
Lady Sarah: …
I could see by Sarah's expression that she was disappointed by what Lucas has said. To get things on the right track, I had to do something. After all, no one likes it when something they appreciate is criticized.
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Let's not judge a book by its cover Let's go in!
That was the only thing I could think of to ease the atmosphere and I was glad it worked. We entered the restaurant and saw a woman looking in our direction.
Lady Sarah: Mom, I'm back!
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) Where were you and who are those people standing alongside you?
The young woman was Sarah's mom. She was very pretty and kind at heart. Sarah resembles her a lot.
Lady Sarah: Mom, they're guests. I encountered them on my way here. They were searching for a good restaurant to dine in, so I brought them here.
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) Welcome to our restaurant! Please, have a seat!
Sir Lucas: Madame?
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) Yes, gentleman!
Sir Lucas: May our horses have something to eat too, please?
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) Surely!
Sir Lucas: Thank you, madame!
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) Wait here! I'll be back with the menu.
Sir Lucas: Okay!
"The Esperanza" is a pretty small restaurant without many clients coming in. Looking at it very closely, the place is shabby. This inn must have some serious financial issues. I was still thinking and didn't hear someone calling out to me.
Sir Lucas: Jennifer! Earth to Jennifer!
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) You startled me, Lucas! My heart was about to burst out of my chest.
Sir Lucas: I wouldn't have yelled out your name if you were paying attention to me. I called out to you several times, but with no response. What were you thinking about?
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Nothing! Nothing at all!
Sir Lucas: You're not telling the truth.
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Why would I lie to you? I have no purpose in doing so.
I tried my best to lie to him, but Lucas wasn't the kind of person that would easily be fooled by my lie. Lucas is a very kind gentleman with semi-long black hair and brown eyes. He saved my life when I was stuck in the forest and now, we're at this restaurant dining.
Sir Lucas: It's only been twenty-four hours since we met one another, but I can't be wrong in my judgment. You're hiding something from me.
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Fine! You got me there, I must admit. What can I say to that? I was thinking about this restaurant.
Sir Lucas: What about it?
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Don't you find it strange?
Sir Lucas: Strange in what way?
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Look at the restaurant! It looks pretty shabby for a restaurant, wouldn't you agree? The customers are getting fewer and fewer by the minute.
Sir Lucas: What's strange about that? The family business mustn't be going well, that's all. There's nothing strange about that.
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe him so badly, but why wasn't I convinced by his words? What was this ill-feeling?, I thought to myself.
Sir Lucas: What are you spacing out for this time?
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) …
Sir Lucas: What's worrying you so much?
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Things aren't that simple. I suggest we stay here for a bit.
Sir Lucas: Sure thing!
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) What? Aren't you against the idea?
Sir Lucas: You won't listen to anything I say if I refuse to corporate, right? It's better to help you out as I think what you said isn't completely wrong. I'll give you the benefit of doubt.
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Thank you!
Sir Lucas: Don't mention it! We're on the same boat, so we might as well help each other.
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) Here's the menu! Take a look at it and let me know what you would like to order.
Sir Lucas: Okay!
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) Would you like a drink in the meantime?
Sir Lucas: Yes, please! What would you like to drink, my lady?
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) An orange Juice for me, please?
Sir Lucas: An orange Juice for the lady it is. As for me, I'll have the same thing.
Mrs. Ebangelina (Sarah's mom) Your drinks will be ready shortly.
Sir Lucas: Thank you!
LadyJennifer (Princess Vanessa)...
"Let's decide on what to order, shall we?" Lucas showed me the menu excitedly.
"I have no idea on what to order", I replied to him.
I looked at the menu and I started to miss my family badly. Lucas noticed it and I tried changing my expression feature but to no avail.
"What seems to be the problem?" Lucas asked me with worry in his eyes.
"What exactly do you want to know?" I asked him.
"Tell me the reason why you undertook this journey?" he asked without a second thought.
His question surprised me. What I mean is, aside from Ricardo, I never thought another person would be concerned about me and that person to be Lucas surprised me even more. Lucas is someone I only met recently. He knows nothing about me, but he's concerned about me. How I would like for my family to be that way towards me. If that had been the case, I would never have run away and I wouldn't be here now. I try regaining my composure and answer Luca's question as calmly as possible.
With a calm mind, I answered his question. "To be honest, I undertook this journey to see the world. You may not know it, but it has always been my dream to go on an adventure and travel around the world", I responded.
"You wanted to go on an adventure all by yourself? Why is that?" he asked me curiously.
"I wanted to breathe out. I wanted to breathe life", I finally said.
Lucas was speechless as he didn't understand Jennifer's (Princess Vanessa) explanation.
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) Your refreshments have arrived!
Sir Lucas: Thank you!
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) Have you finally decided on what to order?
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) It'll be Omurice for me, thanks.
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) What about you, young man?
Sir Lucas: I'll have the same thing as the young lady, thank you.
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) I'll be back in half an hour with your order.
Half an hour later
Mrs. Evangelina (Sarah's mom) I'm back with your orders.
Mrs. Evangelina brought two Omurice and put it on the table. Just by the smell, I knew this Omurice was delicious and I was impatient to dig in. Lucas noticed it and quickly said----------------------------
Sir Lucas: Thank you, Mrs. Evangelina!
Mrs. Evangelina: I'll leave, so you can enjoy your meal.
Mrs. Evangelina left us some space to enjoy our meal.
Sir Lucas: Let's dig in!
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) Yes!
As I dug in, I couldn't say a word. It was so delicious that I lost my voice. I finally understood why Sarah said, "The Esperanza" serves the best dishes there is.
"How do you like the food?" asked Lucas.
"It's delicious! It's so delicious!", I said with a big smile on my face.
"What a miracle? You finally smiled!" Lucas said happily.
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa)...
Sir Lucas: Have you thought about where we will be staying at?
Lady Jennifer (Princess Vanessa) I haven't thought about that yet. Where we will be staying at, let's discuss it after we've done eating.
Lady Sarah: Are you looking for a place to stay?