- "People respond in accordance to how you relate to them" -
~ Nelson Mandela
Liam clenched his teeth in embarrassment and his eyes darted about the environment for the nearest bush to hide. He lightly nudged Derek who could not help but ogle the girl.
"G- Girls are so beautiful... I can't believe you actually did this for me! I was totally joking at that time!"
"As if."
In his mind, he imagined magical dust and sparkles enveloping and decorating her body, cupid sending an arrow straight through his failing heart and foresaw the never-to-possibly-happen-future of the two of them dressed, ready to exchange vows, in those few seconds of seeing her for the first time. Emma gazed at the child and observed his reaction. She is sure to kill me afterwards, Liam wondered, inspecting the deceased look on her face, while also thanking the gods of nature that she did not reject his request by not showing up.
"Kid..." she croaked, "I am Emma. Nice to meet you I suppose."
"Sh- she speaks like an angel! AHHHHHH!! Derek squealed and Liam felt himself dying inside.
A dry, old, grumpy, demon like her he was calling an angel, he thought. How ironic.
She ran her eyes up and down the boy's figure and watched as he was openly fangirling over her. Surprisingly, her gaze was gentle and unlike what he had expected, suddenly, out of the blue, she slowly walked over and approached them, fixing empty gray eyes on Derek, and steadily, she got on her knee before him as though he was a king and took the boy's hands in hers before looking up at his little face. Liam's pupils dilated in shock and felt a hint of jealousy suffuse his heart.
"When I heard you wanted to see me, I didn't think we would have something in common, kid, but... I want you to remember that you're amazing."
Liam's heart skipped a beat and he remained astonished. This couldn't be the same Emma, being nice to him indirectly in a way, right? It was then when the reality of Derek's illness hit him. The thought of Derek possibly not waking up again like he normally would crossed his mind and he felt his throat burn. Derek, on the other hand, amazed, remained paralyzed, looking down at his hands in hers. For him, it was a blissful moment that he wanted to last forever, a memory that would be forever etched in his mind.
"Do what you want as long as it makes sense and there'd be no regrets. Just... hang in there," she murmured with sincerity, lowering her gaze to their woven hands.
"She's so much prettier and more graceful than you described her, Liam," Derek managed to whisper-shout.
Emma didn't dear to move her eyes off the child and spent a few minutes chatting away with him about all the random things he wanted to know about girls.
"Is it true that God specially crafted girls with his hands?"
"You can believe what you want kid. Nothing is set in stone, not even math formulas."
"My brother says you look dead inside but really you're just hot. I can look at you all day!"
"I believe it is evident that you do not leave your home often and that too, may be fine or not."
"Would you go out with someone like me?"
"You ask many questions. That's good. It's how you learn anyway."
And they went on and on and on. At the end, Derek was the happiest boy alive and Emma, wearing her usual face rinsed of emotion, remained unfazed.
Rising to her feet, she ended, "Well, this was a waste of my time."
It wasn't something he didn't expect her to say.
"While it was nice meeting you, kid-"
"It's Derek!"
"Kid- I must get going."
Later that evening, they went their separate ways. Liam got both himself ice cream and Derek, yogurt at a small café not too far from their home. They sat in a small corner of the café, devouring it whilst being alert. Liam was uneasy from the start, frozen to his seat with a mixture of contentedness for Derek and apprehension at the same time. He was preoccupied with the idea that his mother knew that Benjamin was back 'a long time ago' and it hinted to him the fact that he had probably had spies keeping watch on their every move all along and that their 'indirect encounter' was most likely no accident or coincidence if you please. Perhaps it was only meant to serve as a catalyst for Jenna's decision.
"I like Emma," Derek suddenly says through a few spoons of yogurt, "I wish I could meet her again some time."
"Hmm," Liam grunted lightly.
He loved Derek a lot as his brother but also could not see him through the same lens anymore, knowing he was betraying Sebastien.
"Why, Derek? Just why?" Liam suddenly asks him softly.
The boy slowly looked up to him and made what was like a frown before he struggled to say, "I- I did it for mom..."
Liam gritted his teeth and looked away. He felt a surge of pity and anger but he couldn't be mad at Derek. After all, he didn't know what it was like to live in his shoes anyway. He knew that Derek was too young and naive to understand the consequences of his choice. If only things could go differently.
"After all dad has done for you? Really? How ungrateful."
Derek felt a pang of guilt and his appetite immediately left him.
"Do you think he's here right now?" he whispered.
Liam scanned the surroundings quickly. Everyone else in the café seemed to be busy attending to treats, making dialogue, and others waiting in a short queue to place orders. Then, suddenly, he locked eyes with a haggard man staring through the glass pane outside the café. He was wearing a black hoodie and sweatpants. Though he could not see his face well from the distance, his gaze felt intense and threatening. His breathing immediately became irregular, like stones being forced down a narrow pipeline. Derek noticing the expression on his face became terrified but with his condition, he couldn't even turn around to see what was going on.
"What is it..." he questioned worryingly.
"Um... nothing to worry about. Don't worry," Liam lied, trying to stay calm.
He watched as the man slowly unzipped his hoodie, fiddled for something near his chest and when his fingers found it, revealed the tip of a brutal weapon from the pitch darkness. A chill ran down his spine and his body became tense. Was no one seeing him, he wondered with dilated pupils. He thought fast. The first thing that came to his mind was to run but what would be the use? He could still easily shoot them. Then he thought about trying to get the attention of workers at the café but what if they were all in it? He quickly lost appetite and looked at Derek who caught up with what was possibly going on. Was today going to be their last day he wondered? Why did it have to end that way? At least Derek's promise was fulfilled right? But why?
He reached for Derek's hand.
"We have to go," he whispered, in efforts to alert but not frighten the boy.
"W-What's happening- Why do we need to leave?"
"What sort of a question is that? It's getting late and you already know why. We need to be home quick," he tried to play off his fright.
He averted his gaze back to the window pane and searched everywhere for sight of the strange man. There was nothing but the scenery of the mild traffic outside, passers-by on the sidewalk and the lonely lamp post. Suddenly, he had vanished. He was nowhere to be seen.