" Bad dream?" Jia asked, swiftly changing his position.
"Yeah! um where are Nya and Kia?" She asked noticing their absence.
"They're on their way, just finishing up one or two things. Mind telling me what you dreamt of?"" Wait! H.h..how.. Did I get here?. I was on the couch in your..... " she trailed off"In my work studio even when I told you not to be there, you still went there" Jia said his voice always calm."S..s..so h. How did I get here?" She wanted to be sure is she was imagining things or he had carried her here because, no one was in the house except hem both." Do you always stammer this much?" Jia ignored the question.Isabelle moved to the edge of her bed. Sitting beside Jia, she placed her sweaty palms in between her legs, the top of her silk dress were soaked with sweat, the sweat screams fear. Which Jia didn't fail to notice and her heart beat had increased."I was at this place and there was coffins everywhere, it was creepy and this monster kept saying things about my mom""What did it say about your mother?""It was directed at me though. Said that if I wanted eternal peace and I wanted to see my mother again that I could j...j..Joi...Joi...join her" She dried to get her words out but her mouth quivered which made her stammer a little."You need to let go". Came the instant response from Jia. Isabelle looked at him, her eyes asking a question of what do you mean?" Its difficult I know, but in other for you to move on, you have to forget about the past" He instantly felt like a hypocrite , why? Because he once loved someone and things didn't go well but forgetting her was an issue, so he finding himself telling someone to let go when he himself hadn't was outright hypocrisy.'But, Isabelle's case was different' he told himself.
Yes, her case was different but yet similar to his. Loosing the one you love to the whirling wind of life and expectant to move on was hard enough on anybody."What if I don't want to forget." She replied but the words came out as a whisper which Jia was still able to hear, she continued "How'd you expect me to forget about my own mother, like she doesn't exist or she isn't important? Don't you have a mother too?" She whispered the last sentence near tear again. Her eyes already getting clouded with salty water."You letting your mother's death prevent you from doing the things you love or being happy or achieving whatever you wish to, is just as silly as waiting for a coconut tree to grow." He answered ignoring the question curious Isabella asked."That's going to take forever to grow" she commented."Exactly, Do you want to be like this forever? or you want to be happy. Be free, try out new things. I do agree that this world is filled with a lot of liars and pretenders and back stabbers, but there are still people who deeply care about you okay?""That was the most things you've ever said""I could say more. But I choose to keep things at the bare minimum"Isabelle she stared at Jia with quivering lips. She closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around him. Jia stared at her back shocked, he didn't know what to do until she started sobbing. He did expect her tocry but not in his arms.
How many times has she been in his arms now?"There there" He patted her head softly. Such soft and silky hair. He thought. He let her stay a little bit longer till she hiccupped and sobbed no more. He held her face"Stop crying Izzy and wipe your tears, they're annoying""Don't be a tease" She said using her palm to wipe her face.Jia had something in mind for her, but he wanted to wait till the next day before telling her."Now go back to sleep" He said softly."B.But what if....." Shush, you're not going to have any bad dreams, now go back to sleep"Isabelle nodded in obedience and covered herself with the sheets. Jia stood up about to leave,"Read me a bed time story"." You're not a child" Jia said not turning back."Just do it will you?""No! Good night""Please. Jia please read me a bed time story" Isabelle whined."Fine." Jia groaned and sat back on he edge of Isabelle's bed."Once upon a time, there was this annoying fly with blue eyes, her name was Isabelle. The most annoying fly in the world. The end. Now SLEEP!" He said and walked out of her room.
Isabelle giggled till she closed her eyes and slept with a happy and lighter heart. Jia came back 30minutes later after he had his bath to check on her.'She was less annoying while she was asleep' He thought
Jia gazed upon her face and watched her chest rise and fall.
.....Jia was an early riser. He had woken up before the sun could say hello to the world.In his studio, staring at Isabelle's painting. It was filled with so much pain that one could sense it. Jia of course knew the reason behind this pain. Well detailed, every stroke having something to say about her past.''If only her dad knew what she was going through now". Jia said to himself.He went back downstairs to make hot cocoa, placed two slices of cake on a small plate, set them both on a tray heading towards her room.
"I'm so exhausted" Kia yawned raising his arms in the air stretching."Nya is still out there?" Jia asked."Yes. She's a great friend, filling in for Isabelle isn't all that easy". Staring at the tray in Jia's hand " You're going to eat that?" He asked."No! They're for Isabelle""Since when did you start making hot cocoa for Isabelle? I thought she was too rude for your liking" Jia glared at him realising he used his own words against him."Hey kia you're back" Isabelle came out of her room still in her night dress, she made sure she had combed her hair before leaving her room."Yes. Did you miss me?" Kia smiled."Hmmmm just your hot cocoa""Which I made for you" Jia said catching Isabelle's attention. She was surprised at what she heard and what she saw, then she remembered how she cried and hugged him last night. Her face turned red in embarrassment."Um... No thank you" She said quickly and hurried to the bathroom.Jia wasn't surprised but something pinch his heart."She rejected your cocoa!" Kia laughed at Jia's face while picking up a slice of cake from the tray ."Guess she didn't like you that much. Ouch!" Kia kept laughing till he could laugh no more.
If only kia knew the way she had looked at him the night before, he would've chosen a wiser thing to say.Isabelle came out of the bathroom, all dressed up. She was tired of staying inside all day long, she decided to adhere to Jia's advice."So I've decided to go out today. To explore this strange mysterious world of yours" She said, hoping for a reply, but they said nothing. She turned to Kia,"would you like to show me around?" Jia's eyes shot at him sending him a warning glare."uh. Umm. I'm exhausted. Really exhausted, sorry I wouldn't be able to fulfil your wishes"She sat beside kia still looking at him "What were you doing all night?""Uh.. I've been uh. . . . ..... Reading. Yes! I was reading" Kia was terrible at lying, but for some reason Isabelle bought it."I'll show you around" Jia eventually volunteered and she accepted.They left the house. Starting off their journey on the rocky path."Sooooo where are we going now? Nya took me to amazing places, like the ginger bread ville and the market""Oh did she now?""I just said what she did and you're still asking me if she did?"..silence...She heaved a sigh. She was hoping he would say something but he just kept mute throughout."Where are we going ?"She asked eventually.
"Somewhere". He said" Well, we're here"
It was a shack.They both stood at the entrance of the shack .
" Well go in " Jia said while putting his hands forward so Isabelle could walk through the door."No! It looks strange and awfully quiet, I don't think its a safe place to be"She said eyeing the shack.
"Don't let me push you in there""Maybe I should've stayed back with Kia instead" Isabelle mumbled to herself.On hearing Kia's name, Jia grabbed Isabelle's hand and pulled her in along with him."Ah!" She yelped. It was all too sudden.As they walked into the shack, they were first welcomed by darkness and then Isabelle started to hear an inaudible but yet audible music coming from ahead.
The closer they stepped into the darkness, the louder the music became. A red curtain came into view with two bouncers by the side. These bouncers were the humanoid versions of triceratops. An extinct herbivorous dinosaur that existed during the Cretaceous time period.Jia made some eye contact with them and they both let themselves through.."What did you do?" Isabelle turned to ask Jia."Keep moving" Jia said ignoring her question.They got in the place eventually and the look on Isabelle's face was that of shock and confusion. She was trying to understand what she was looking at. Jia moved in front of her and moved to his usual spot where he get served drinks. Isabelle followed him squeezing her way through the dancing creatures. Her squeezing got the attention of some and they couldn't help but gossip about what they had just seen, 'a human', while the rest kept swaying their hips to the music. Isabelle sat on the wooden stool close to Jia staring at the creatures trying to make out what exactly they were. Some of the creatures had a different skin color while some were mundane like skin color, Some had horns on their fore heads, a lot of them had webbed fingers and toes and a whole lot more. Isabelle noticed some pair of eyes staring at her and she instantly felt uncomfortable where she sat, she wrapped her hands around herself.
"What would you like to drink?" She turned to look at a pair of multicolored eyes staring at her. She looked at the name tag 'Gavin'. He was what they called a fairy.Jia noticed the way Isabelle was staring at Gavin"Order something will you?" He yelled into her ear. Isabelle looked at him confused and then he remembered. She was only fifteen, never tasted alcohol in her life and shouldn't be drinking these things.