As they were walking down a path, the guy saw that the path was somehow different from the previous paths that they have taken. Before, it was all a normal stone path- somewhat of a cement from his understanding but now, the path is becoming more of soil rather than a stone.
It's like the path was leading somewhere to a different scenery which greatly enticed him. He quickly ran up to catch up close to the maid and as he looked closer, it was becoming more visible. He ran towards it, leaving the maid behind. He went closer and closer and saw a modern house with a beautiful garden.
"So is this the end of our journey, a house? What do we do here?" He said with a confused tone. As he was still figuring out its purpose, the maid walked past him and entered the house.
He was shocked that it was actually a destination, let alone a place that he needed to go to. Without many contexts of what was going on, he followed the maid inside.
It was just a normal modern house. A living room and a kitchen on the first floor, bedrooms, and bathrooms on the second floor, and a small veranda to look at the garden.
He went outside and sat in a chair on the veranda. "This feels nostalgic. I can't believe I'm not on earth and yet I can still see a house for a human. Does this place even caters to humans?" He said to himself with a chuckle.
He took that time to take a breather and admire the beautiful garden.
"That flower, ah, it brings me back. My sister would always want to pick it and mom said that I should keep an eye on her so that she doesn't. Well, she is quite grown up now but she still loved those flowers. Nothing changed. I hope she is doing fine." He mumbled talking to himself.
As he was so absorbed in his leisure, he forgot about the maid that went inside the house. He hurried back inside to find the maid.
As he was about to enter the door, he felt a spike of pain from his head. "Again, why does it hurt so much?" he said as he fell down from his knees.
He grabbed the wall beside him to get a hold of himself. Instead of making it easier for him to hold on, the pain grew much worse. Certain scenarios rushed into his brain and before he knew it, he collapsed on the site.
"Sister!" He shouted as he woke up. He stood up his upper body as his breathing intensified. He was feeling a sensation that was pure pain.
He thought that he could not feel pain in this world but two things were sure to him now. He can feel the physical pain in his head and he can feel the emotional pain from his chest. Yes, in this place, he was still not immune to emotional pain.
"Why does this pain hurt so much?" He said as if the emotional pain he was feeling was stronger this time around compared to what he was used to.
He looked around and saw the maid going near him. She held his hand and the pain went away. "I do not know how you are doing this but thank you." He said while feeling relieved.
After doing that, the maid went back to the kitchen. He didn't realize it at first but he was on the living room sofa near the kitchen. He looked at what the maid was doing and saw that she was cooking something.
Although he cannot feel hunger nor thirst, he was still excited about what she was cooking. He decided to sit on a chair beside the table in the kitchen and waited patiently.
After a while, the maid brought what she had cooked to the table. It was eggs, toast, salad, and a soup. He was looking at a breakfast menu. "I thought there was no concept of time and day in this place but I guess you just know it, huh?" He said while looking at the food.
The maid sat and looked at him. He doesn't know how to respond and the only answer he could think of in that scenario was to say, "Thank you for this meal." He ate the food and was satisfied with the taste of it. Maybe because the food was a comfort to him or because it reminded him of something else.
After he was done eating and insisting to wash the dishes, the maid went to the sofa and laid down. Even though she was very meek and always doing stuff, this was the first time he saw her lying down and taking a break.
"I guess even you feel tired from time to time. Probably not physically but mentally." He said with a quiet sound. Since there was nothing to do, he decided to visit each room again and check out what's inside the rooms.
He first went to the second floor where the bathroom and bedrooms are. Since there was nothing special in the bathroom, he proceeded to the bedrooms.
The first bedroom was a big bedroom with a big bed in the middle. Just like a typical household where the parents are the ones residing in that part of the house. Big cabinets in the side as well to keep the clothes and belongings.
Nothing struck him in particular besides the photo frames that don't have photos in them. He thought that maybe this place was just a copy-cat of a house to use for the people who encounter it.
He then proceeded to the other bedroom which appears to be a room with two average size beds for children. He saw that the bed sheets for the two beds have the same cartoonish pattern.
"Ah, this brings me back. My sister and I used to have the same printed shirts and we would wear them at the same time when our family goes out. I can't believe that they have a similar trend in this house." He said with a smile while reminiscing his past. He took his time looking for more things in the cabinets, drawers, and under the bedroom.
Time passed by and he finally finished going through all the stuff inside this room. He knew that he was having too much fun and might have stayed there for too long so that's why he called it a day and came back downstairs.
As he was going down, he smells something great. The smell of meat along with the aroma of vegetables mixing in the air. He went to look in the kitchen and saw the maid cooking something again.
He went closer and saw that she was grilling some barbeques with an assortment of ingredients arranging from meat, to carrots, to corn, and so on. He asked, "What's the feast for"? He was already happy having recollected some past nostalgia but seeing this, just made him even happier.
The maid looked at him and turned her look towards the window. He then looked at the window and saw that the bright daylight sky turned into a dark carpet sprinkled with sparkles. Yes, it was the night sky. To his surprise, he went outside to see it clearly.
After opening the door, he gazed into the sky and looked at it with awe. "I thought there was no concept of time and day in this place?" He said with his jaw dropped look towards the night sky.
As he was still in amazement and glee, the maid also went outside carrying the food. It was a barbeque with drinks. He looked at her as she put them on a table near the two long back chairs that are positioned outside the veranda.
He was too focused on the dark sky that he didn't even see that there are already materials set up for them to use for their dinner feast. The maid laid on one of the long sofa-like chairs and began to look at the night sky. He, on the other hand, got himself some barbeque and drinks. He sat on the chair and took a bite.
He smiled as if this whole scenario couldn't get any better but it did. He remembered a time with his family on a Christmas Eve. The table was full of an assortment of food. Many gifts underneath the Christmas tree for himself and her sister.
He also got some food back then and opened the door. He looked at the night sky and had admired its beauty ever since. He wished that he would be able to see and admire its beauty every time.
"Such a childish wish for a teenager." He said as he chuckled. He looked towards the maid with a smile and said, "Thank you". After eating, he also laid down on the sofa-like chair and began to talk.
"You know, if I think about it, I got pretty lucky with my family. Both my parents are well and healthy. They raised me pretty well if I would say so myself. I also got a pretty sister who always looked up to me. I hope they are all doing fine. I'll make sure to spend more time with them when I get back home." He said with a content face while looking up in the night sky.
He looked towards the maid and said, "You know what, I should probably cook tomorrow. I at least want to show you my gratitude for everything you've done. Also, for being my guide. I'm pretty sure I would've just died or be stuck in a random place if it weren't for you anyway. So again, thank you."
The maid responded by looking back at him. They stared at each other for a while. He laughed and said, "Your emotionless face is really something. I don't know what you think but I'll trust you anyway."
Just like any good experience, it was bound to wrap up at some point. They went back inside to sleep. He told her that he would wash the dishes so the maid proceeded to lie on the couch and slept. After washing the dishes, he went to sleep in one of the bedrooms upstairs. He chose to sleep there because he felt the need to do so.
The night passed and morning came. In the sense that the sky is not in time's control, it was changed back to a bright morning sky. He woke up, went to the bathroom, and proceeded to the kitchen.
He went to check up on the maid but he couldn't find her. He opened the door thinking that she was outside and saw her standing in front, looking at the bright sky. "Guess it's time to cook." He said with joy.
He went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He looked for a while to see what he can do with those ingredients. "Ah, I guess this is no easy task, huh. I was bragging about cooking today but for all honesty, I wasn't good at cooking, to begin with. I do hope this turns out great." He said with a sweating reaction.
He started cooking and did his best to make it taste as good as possible. Finally, after a couple of steps done with nervousness, it was done. He called in the maid who was just standing outside looking at the garden. The maid went inside, sat on the chair beside the table, and looked at him.
"Here is what I made. Mashed potatoes with celery, peanut butter, and cherry on top. Also some bread toast but not just an ordinary bread toast. This bread toast is soaked in an egg mixture then toasted on peanut oil with jam as the filling." He explained with confidence.
The maid was looking at him all this time. He looked at the maid and waited for a response. "Do you not like it?" He said with worry. After a minute or so without anything else happening, a hint of realization suddenly hit him.
He realized that she never ate any of the food that she cooked, she never did actually approve of eating his cooking, and that her looking back at him yesterday was not an answer of approval but rather an answer of denial. It makes sense since she never had any way of actually showing what she wants by having that expressionless face.
"I actually didn't think of this sooner. Well, I even made this food, I cannot let it go to waste so I will just eat it. Don't worry, I'll tell you the taste so you won't miss out on anything." He said.
He first ate the toast. "Actually, it isn't that bad. I think I've outdone myself here. Pretty good if I say so myself. Now let's taste these mashed potatoes." He then ate the mashed potatoes. "This one, it's bad. I was trying to go a healthy route with a sweet after-taste but I guess it doesn't work together. Well, it's bearable in the least. I can still finish it, I think." He smiled.
After eating, he then washed the dishes and saw that the maid went outside again so he rushed to finish washing to see why the maid was going outside so much. He then went to the maid outside and when he was outside, the maid began to walk again.
He then realized that maybe the time spent in that place was over and that they are moving on to their next destination. And so, again, he followed her to wherever she would lead him.