"And who are you?" Rose responded. She was looking at him with hints of anger in her eyes while he was looking at her with a smirk on his face and a raised eyebrow.
"I am Mr. Good Looks of course!" he said still wearing his mischievous smirk.
"That is not even your name!"
"Yes, it is. We both agreed on it!"
"No, we didn't"
"Yes, we did!"
"Not!"
"Did!"
"Not!"
"Did!"
"Ugh! Just forget it! I have bigger problems to deal with than you"
And just like that, the conversation ended. She looked back at the sky with an annoyed face while he too turned his attention back to the sky with a serious look on his face. The mischief on his face has disappeared.
While she was still looking at the sky, she took a few deep breaths and her annoyed face slowly changed to a neutral one.
They stayed like that for a few minutes with the other minding their business and avoiding the other's gaze.
"The sky...What happened to it? It's so blank and dark and empty." she said as her face turned darker with every word she spoke then, she whispered saying "Just like my life". Her eyes were looking distantly into the sky she was thinking of something deep and uncertain.
"What do you mean like your life?" he asked with sincerity on his face.
"You won't understand"
"Try me"
She began to narrate everything to him without giving it a second thought. Her mood kept shifting between different emotions as her life was a rollercoaster of emotions. She told him about Mira, Fredrick, her brother and sister, her uncle's and aunts her father, and generally all her life experiences. She didn't forget to tell him about the part where her father was getting her married soon.
"So you don't want to get married yet?" he asked
"Not exactly. I'd love to get married but I still have a lot I'm looking forward to in life. If I do get married, I would like to marry someone I love."
"But, you know your friend Mira is right. I think you should just follow her advice and wait patiently for the day your dad will introduce you to the guy, meet him, get to know him and then decide on whether you like him or not"
She rolled her eyes in disappointment and said "And here I was expecting a different answer from you"
"Well, the truth is bitter and, it will always remain the same"
She didn't bother answering him because she thought there was no use arguing with him. She hated to admit that he was right. The truth would remain the same but, she was finding it hard to accept her truth.
They sat in silence for another 5 minutes. With the both of them gazing into the blank sky.
Rose wanted to ask him so many things considering she had shared a lot about herself in one night but, among all the questions she could ask him, she chose to ask him: "My full name is Rosaline. But most people around me call me Rose so, tell me what's your real name?"
They both turned to look at themselves. It took a while for him to answer her but, he answered saying "Raphael. My name is Raphael"
"Raphael" she whispered back to him. She said his name few more times as if her tongue was trying to get accustomed to his name. "Can I call you Raph?" she continued.
He immediately creased his eyebrows. "No"
"Why? It's shorter and it sounds cooler you know?"
"Well, I don't like it"
"Raph -"
"Don't call me that"
"Why don't you like it?"
"Because my name is Raphael and not Raph. There's a difference"
"No there isn't. Raph is derived from Raphael. Raphael is the root word and Raph is the other word."
"I still don't like it. I'd appreciate it if you'd call me Raphael"
"Nope. I'll call you -" she said as she yawned. Raphael didn't want to get into that conversation with her so, he took it as an opportunity to getaway.
"Princess, it's time to go to sleep now. It's already getting late. I'll carry you". She wasn't able to protest before she carried her like a baby in his arms and placed her on her bed. He tucked her into bed and placed a blanket on her. He sat at the edge of the bed for a while she was just looking at him confused. Then, he stood up from the bed and walked towards the door when Rose stopped him in his tracks saying "Wait! Don't go yet!". He turned around and walked towards the bed again.
This time, he didn't sit down he just stared down at her, waiting patiently for her to continue.
"What I mean is I'd appreciate it if you don't leave yet. Promise me you'll stay here till I fall asleep. You can leave after I fall asleep"
"I promise," he said without thinking. He began to question himself as to why he was obeying her command without protest. It wasn't in his nature to just obey.
"You can sit over there," she said pointing to a brown chair sitting across the room.
He walked over there quietly and sat down on the chair. She didn't sleep on time because she was busy staring at him while he was watching her too like a watch guard.
"Goodnight," she said after she decided that she had stared at him enough for one day. Then, she dozed off.