That was the first time Zara saw Zandro. He was a little friendly boy, a little older than her, maybe three to five years. Zara was hiding in one corner since mostly she couldn't relate to their activity and didn't understand what the people were saying, and no one understood her either, so no one would dare to talk to her.
Besides, with the trauma and sadness she felt, she looked like a grumpy little kid that other kids even named her duck lips.
It was only that little boy, and his hair was still dark at that time since he still didn't need to find his own image yet and feel the need to dye his hair. But he had always been cute, especially in Zara's eyes.
He's being friendly and made him cuter even more. He came over to Zara and opened his palm. He was saying something that Zara didn't know, but he understood what he was saying through his action. He was inviting her to join the game.
"Huh?" Zara uttered, to let him know that she couldn't understand him. But that didn't bother Zandro. Instead, he pulled her out from where she was crouching in the corner with her two hands in his.
He brought her to the center of the grounds, where other kids who will join the game were there. Zara hesitated but didn't try to resist. Since Zandro's hand was griping hardly on her, she couldn't even pull it out easily. Besides, she didn't actually want to pull it away. It felt good on her.
She just followed what Zandro was doing, and he was dancing and as she was. Not long after, she began to understand the game they were playing, when she noticed that they had to stop every time, the music stopped and danced every time the music played.
It wasn't that hard that she began to enjoy it.
They even won the game, and Zandro even wanted to have another one with her. Same as before, she simply followed Zandro's guide. A paper was in between them, this time she noticed that every time the music was on they had to dance and as it turned off they needed to ride on the paper together and stay there for a few seconds without falling or going out from it.
Being too close to Zandro was at first awkward. She felt a bit shy, and maybe a little feeling for him developed instantly since he was the first to notice her.
The game continued, and for every set of the game, they had to pull the paper so it would end up smaller and smaller until Zandro needed to carry her behind him so they would fit on it and win the game again.
Zandro had always been displaying a winning quality, even at that age. So they always won the game. They haven't talked too much since they have a spasm between their language, but they communicated emotionally, Zara knew. And, her first love and true love began at that moment.
"Zandro, it's time to go home!" His father called him. Zara was happy to hear and know his name. She was even a bit startled that their name was quite similar. "Just say goodbye to your new friend here." His father continued.
She knew that she would be sad for him going away, for he was the only friend she had so far. However, Zandro left her the memory she was gripping for her entire life.
Before they left, Zandro left her a kiss on the cheek and handed her the set of stationeries that they won in the game.
"Goodbye! Uhm…" Zandro peeked over Zara's name tag and continued. "Zara… that's a nice name. Well anyway, goodbye and hope to see you someday."
*****
Zandro's cute voice as a little boy echoed inside Zara's mind. She was still laying herself on the tarpaulin as she was smiling dreamily for hours, waiting for Zandro's car to stop at their destination.
And finally, it stopped again, and Zara slowly crawled to peeked at Zandro once again.
They stopped in front of the gate like an old house, and the house doesn't actually look like it was well taken care of. It is huge, like probably a mansion, but the outside was filled with untrimmed bushes and grasses that usually reach up to a person's knee or longer.
He opened the gate and went back to the car. As soon as the car was inside, he got down to lock the gate again. It seemed that Zandro was alone in that house. Why did he need to open the gate if someone else was there, like if he had a helper?
Although, the house looked like it was actually deserted too.
'Was it really his house? Or was he just here to spend a creepy night wanting to be hunted?' Zara thought she knew her thoughts sounded crazy. Still, it was way crazier for Zandro, a young basketball professional with a wealthy family, and not to mention he was wealthy enough himself. She knew how much he earned with every game aside from the bonuses their company gave them, every win, also not to mention the price he got for being an MVP.
So what was he doing in this old mansion? In Zara's mind, it's kind of weird, but it seemed like she was in the best time. It would be impossible for her to see a normal Zandro this way.
Staying in this dark, old mansion alone could never be normal, and if ever Zandro was hiding any secrets, this could be one of those secrets.
And she was here to witness it.
Zara shivered, holding both her hands on her mouth while covering her shrill with excitement.
She wasn't afraid like she thought she would be. Rather, she felt great about it. She will know the hidden side of Zandro.