Guinevere woke up the next morning quite early. She went about her chores, got them all done, then set off for her place of work. However, she closed quite early that day as she had other plans in mind. Or more accurately, there was one thing on her mind.
Saying goodbye to her friends at work later that afternoon, she headed, not back home as she usually did, but straight towards the river, which was odd. Even more bizarre was the fact that she had no buckets in hand, which would have implied that she was going to fetch some water at the river, she wasn't heading there with a bunch of dirty clothes either, so going to do some washing at the river was definitely out of the picture. And she sure as hell wasn't going there to establish or sustain some camaraderie with the people there. The truth is, she wasn't going to the river at all, she was going past the river. Her destination was the woods which lay beyond.
She was going to see Leander!
She remembered so vividly, Leander had asked her to stay away. He has warned her never to come back to see him ever again, and yet, there she went, doing the very thing he had ordered her not to do. Last night, after her brief discussion with her dad, she had come to a decision to make this daring move. Why?
"Yes, he ordered me to stay away from him," Guinevere thought to herself, "but what if he didn't really mean it that way? What if he didn't say it because he disliked or hated me, but because of something else entirely? Might he be trying to avoid something else entirely, or perhaps be scared of something? He did mention the words 'for your own good'. Perhaps he's trying to keep me away from all the mystery that surrounds him, in the hope of protecting me?"
She continued extensively in her thoughts: "He said that he has no family and no friends. That sounds like a very miserable way to live. He must be a sad person inside. He also added that he doesn't need any friends at all, but I feel that that statement of his isn't the truth. I mean, no one in this world can survive without someone to call a friend, someone to confide in, right? Perhaps what he really needs a friend, someone to talk to, to open up to. Maybe he really does want me to come back to him. But even if he doesn't want me back, I'll just go to him anyways. He can't keep on living like that. I won't let him."
With these thoughts in mind, she marched determinedly to his house in the woods. Despite her resolve and courage, she was still very scared! What if he lost his temper upon setting his eyes on her? She was going alone, a young lady such as she, into the woods by herself, to the home of a mysterious man she knew little or nothing about. Although this was indeed a brave move, it was also a foolish one, she thought to herself. What if he tried to harm her?
Regardless of these thoughts, she kept on going. The reason was because she felt so convinced about what she was doing. She had this feeling that somehow, it was the right move. And when Guinevere was sure about something, practically nothing could stop her!
She got to his house, walked up into the verandah and, after what seemed like a brief eternity, knocked on the door twice in quick succession... and waited.
There was no response.
She knocked again, thrice, this time louder, then waited once more. Again, there was no response at all. She took a quick glance around her, as if looking for any sign at all of whether Leander was around, then knocked one more time. The response she got this time was the same as the other times — none. Everywhere was silent, save for the sounds coming from the forest around her. She listened to see if she could hear anything from the inside of the house, anything that could indicate that he was in the house, but she couldn't hear anything. That was when she concluded that Leander most likely wasn't at home today. Thereafter, she turned and left, disappointed, yet relieved. She felt disappointed by the fact that the person she came to see was not around, but at the same time, felt relieved because she was indeed scared and anxious of what the man would do the moment he saw her at his doorstep.
"Well then, I guess today isn't the day. Tomorrow it is." Guinevere muttered to herself as she left the place.
The next day, she came back to that same place, Leander's house. This time, however, she brought along a basket and had purchased a number of fruits along the way and filled the basket with it. She intended to give them to him as a goodwill present. Unfortunately, on arriving and knocking at his door, she found out that, once again, Leander was not home. This time, she was a bit cross.
"Why isn't he home today as well?" She wondered. She then availed herself the liberty of sauntering all the way to his backyard, wanting to know whether she might find him there, but there was no one. Disappointedly, she left for home once more.
On the third consecutive day, she gave it a shot once more and went there. This time, she wasn't leaving anything up to chance. She was determined to try and meet him today! She left the house in the morning and headed straight for his place, for she was more likely to meet him at home in the early hours of morn, she reasoned. After all, that was around the time when she had met him the time before. She took along with her the basket of fruits she had brought along with her the day before. She had even added a few more.
Guinevere arrived at his place not long thereafter, and was soon enough standing face to face with his door once more. She then knocked firmly and waited for a response.
To her annoyance, there was none!
She knocked again and again, but just like the previous times, there was no one answering. Now, this time around, she was mad! This was her third consecutive day of coming here, and this particular time, she had made effort to come early enough, at a time when he will most definitely be home, and still, her efforts were still in vain. At this point, she was beginning to feel that it was not that she was just unlucky to not meet him at home, but that he was actively avoiding her!
Setting the basket of fruits she brought down in front of the door, she came out from under the veranda and took a stroll around the house, but didn't find anyone. Coming back to the front of the house, she paused for a brief moment, as if pondering on what exactly she would do. Then, she did something that surprised even herself.
Although she had zero proof and zero evidence whatsoever, she had this strong feeling that Leander was somewhere in that house, silently waiting for her to leave. If there was a chance that he was actually in there, watching her at that very moment, she was going to take it. For that very reason, she called out in a loud voice, saying:
"Leander! Leander, I know you can hear me! I know you're in there, so answer me! I don't know what you're so afraid of, I don't know what you're trying to avoid by sending me away, but I know that deep down, you don't want me gone for good, like you said you did. You don't want to keep living in solitude. You need someone to talk to, you need a friend, and I can be that for you! I don't know what you're so scared of, but I know that you're not a coward at all. So come out and answer me, Leander! Face me and stop hiding."
So saying, she paused for a moment, took in a deep breath and listened for a response. She had no idea where the courage she had just used to speak out like this came from, but no amount of courage could quell the violent thumping in her chest and the uneasiness within her as she stood there, listening for an answer. She was dreadfully tensed up!
A few seconds passed and, met with silence, she called out his name again. And then again for the third time, in a voice as loud as she could muster. It seemed totally useless and fruitless. There was no one answering her calls.
Letting out a sigh of disappointment, she turned around and began to leave. Abandoning the basket of fruits beside his door, she was already exiting the house when...
There was a sound from inside the house!
She heard the movement of someone coming from within the house all of a sudden. Dramatically, she swung around immediately to be sure that her ears were not perhaps deceiving her. No, they were not! There was someone in the house, and he was approaching the door!
The next few seconds that followed seemed to drag on for an agonizing eternity. Her heart thumped loudly within her chest, her breathing became somewhat erratic, and she fidgeted as she waited for him to open the door. She had hoped for this very moment, and now that if was upon her, she almost wished the ground would open and swallow her up.
What would his reaction be upon setting those beautiful, yet dangerous looking eyes upon her?
The sound of the door lock being unlocked could be heard, and momentarily, the door gave way to reveal who she knew it was going to be...