Chapter 15 – Married?
"Ars… Arston.. what should I do??" Whispered the nervous Renica
"Don't panic, remember always to be calm when facing any situation, if what aunt Laura said is true, only she can see spirits here, but, what she also didn't mention is that, she's the only one who can sense your existence, if my parents and sisters could, they would already acting up like aunt Laura right now back when you first entered the house"
"Umm, are you sure?" Renica asked for more assurance from the boy.
"Relax, the more you panic, the more slip ups you'll do, just follow my lead, and don't touch anything, nor let anything touches you"
Arston walks down the stairs without waiting for any reply .
Laura looks at the little boy who's walking towards the dining table, she still feels the cold feelings coming from the direction of the boy.
"What's wrong aunt Laura?" The Irvina's younger version wondered why her mom's friend acting weird this evening, from the ghost thingy and now this stares on her little brother.
Anya turns her gaze towards the walking boy, yet, she doesn't notice anything strange at all. Her little brother still has that red hair, the same hue as herself and their mom, the black eyes similar to their dad's. But, she still couldn't figure out why her aunt won't move her gaze from her little brother, despite the dinner has already started. When suddenly, a thought pops inside her head;
"oh no, could it be? Aunt Laura likes my little brother? But, isn't she's too old for him?? my Arston is quite cute though, and aunt Laura still hasn't married yet, what should I do ? what should I do?" Anya's cheeks got a little red from her mad assumption, thanks to Irvina early teachings about man and woman relationships, the ten years old pictured the twenty-five years old Laura having an interest on her four years old brother.
The dark-browned little girl next to Anya saw the redden cheeks on her sister. Amanda then nudges her elbow to the tyrant.
"Hey, hey! What's wrong with .." called Amanda to her still dazing off sister, Although it was only a whisper,, the sudden nudging spooked the already tensed Anya, thus she yelled out loud;
"AUNT LAURA!!! YOU CAN'T MARRY MY LITTLE BROTHER!!!"
The whole dining room goes silent. Not long after, a clinking sound from an eating utensil hitting the floor is heard.
"Wha… whaa… what do you me, me, mean?" Laura was having difficulties on speaking the thoughts in all of the people currently around the table.
"I… I know you haven't got married yet, but please don't take my little brother as your hus… husband" Anya was faltering a bit on calling out her aunt desire for her brother.
Soon some more clinking noises can be heard.
"Wh, wh, who taught you that Anya? Laura still couldn't wrap her mind from earlier, yet, another blow already come for her.
"mom, mommy told me when a man or woman keep looking at their opposite gender, it meant they like them" Anya told what her mom taught her a few months ago, not long after her tenth birthday, throwing her mom in Laura's crosshair in the process.
"I KNEW IT!!! YOU Perverted Woman!!! WHAT ELSE DID YOU TAUGHT YOUR DAUGHTER!!??" Laura threw her concerns of Lenfort's feeling to the window and started questioning his wife.
"I… I… didn't taught her that!!!, I… I…" Irvina tried to defend herself from Laura's accusation.
"DON'T YOU DARE THROWING EXCUSES YOU PERVERT!!!! YOU MAY BE PERVERTED AS MUCH AS YOU WANT!!! BUT DON'T TURN YOUR CHILDREN INTO ONE TOO!!!" Laura didn't gave any chances for the perverted woman on giving alibis.
"I SWEAR!!! DEAR PLEASE SAVE ME!!!" Irvina pled for a rescue but no one heated her pled .
Lenfort massages his even more aching head, he felt even tired.
"You deserve it darling, how could you told a ten years old girl about those stuffs"
Amanda who still bewildered couldn't close her opened jaw, she knows that her sister is a bit slow, however, the scene that happened earlier is just plain idiotic.
The four years old boy doesn't know whether he should laugh or cry. The look on his aunt Laura's face was priceless after she got accused of being a paedophile by Anya. Yet, the victim in her sister's accusation was him. If not for him being included in the inconceivable story, he would have already laughed his a/s, in spite of dumbly staring.
Even so, Arston still thanks his too clever sister for saving the desperate situation and his mom for her brave sacrifice. Otherwise, he might really got into a muddied water.
The girl who can't be seen nor heard except by one boy, laughed her lungs out seeing the family fiasco. Regardless the fact where she couldn't understand what they're talking about. Watching the boy's mother getting shook by the keen lady really eased her nervousness from earlier by a mile.
Arston reminded the dumb princess spirit on which dish that she would like to have for dinner by nudging his let noiselessly. Followed by the pointing of the fork in his hand in the direction of the dishes once he caught her full attention.
Renica thus points a few dishes including some cakes, a piece of roasted chicken, and a fruit juice which tasted like a mix between an orange, lychees, and perhaps mangos? The many dishes receive some frowns from the boy, since it's just too many for him to take upstairs. And so, he only takes the cakes, and juice. Anything more than that, might causes some unwanted concerns from the keen lady.
The dinner ended with Irvina losing all appetite from the interrogation. Laura, whose face still as red as a tomato, left soon after the cleaning and telling Lenfort to monitor his wife's tendencies on perverted behaviours. Which received a sigh and a nod from the exhausted man. Anya received some scolding from both Laura and Lenfort. the kids then, they all return to their respective rooms.
"I think you need to hide yourself whenever aunt Laura comes for a visit. I'd say, I have to thank my lucky stars for that" Suggested Arston while closing the door to his room.
"Okay… but Arston, is there really a lucky star up there? Renica replied amidst the munching of her cake.
"Don't think of it, it's only a saying of some sorts, anyhow, could you not finish all of the cakes? I mean leave some piece for each of them" Reminded Arston.
"But, why? Mommy told me not to leave leftovers when I'm eating, she said that…"
"I know, I know, leaving leftovers is bad, wasteful, and not appreciating the one who made it, however, if you eat them all clean, I mean particularly in your current state, the food will still be there, yet their flavours are all gone, and it's up to me to finish them all of, I would really thank you if you place back the little remains of them back to their previous place, I don't wanna munching on some plain, flavourless cakes and juice once you done eating" Arston cut the dumb princess rambling of her mom's teachings and described her eating traits.
"Huh? But there's nothing left on the plate once i have eaten the"
"Just listen to me okay, just please, don't finish them clean, leave a small piece of each, and put them back to their previous place, do you want to eat paper in a shape of cakes?"
"No, they have no flavour and sometimes smelly too"
"Neither do I, so please, don't swipe them clean"
"Okay, okay.. " agreed the dumb princess
Arston watches the now eating Renica , he picks one cake which she has eaten. He throws it into his mouth and munch on it. Sure enough, the cake still has some sweetness on it, albeit not as sweet as it supposed to be.
"I really have become soft, since when I would care about others? Owh right," Arston was ridiculing himself when he recalled something.
He waits a little more until Renica finishes her dinner.
Once he sees she sips the juice down to a quarter, he said;
"Are you full yet? Or you still to eat some more?"
"No, I'm already full, thank you so much Arston" Thanked Renica while picking the white kitten doll.
"Don't thank me yet, you still owe me some explanations and reading assistance"
"Owh, okay" Renica recalled the earlier conversation.
"I'm not sure if you can see it or not, but I think, back when I…. (gulped), alive, I couldn't see it either" Renica uncomfortably spelled her current state.
"See what?" pursued Arston.
"The emotion of people, I mean the living and the , dead ones" Renica reduced her voice to a murmured when mentioning the 'dead ones'.
"You mean you know and can differentiate the living and the dead all along?" Arston felt his temple getting heated.
"I… I wasn't sure back then, please don't be mad…. I thought I … was still alive" Her voice reduced to a whisper yet again when stating her current condition.
"Then? How could you tell the different?" Arston didn't back down after seeing the sorrowful expression on the little girl's face.
"They, they , " Stuttered Renica
"They what?"
"They usually in horrible appearance, that's why, I thought I'm different" Renica was having difficulties on speaking, yet she said it nonetheless.
"Like what?"
Arston questioned the shivering girl further, but she didn't replies. All she does is performing a cutting motion with her hands on her shoulders, legs , head, then lies on her stomach , dragging her body with only a hand while her other hand just lies next to her. She stands up and points her index to her head, then performing a bird flying gestures with her hands.
"But not all are like the… them, sometimes, they" Renica was about to describe more when Arston stopped her.
Arston takes a deep breath and after a gulp of saliva, he said;
"Please just move on to the emotion part!"