After waiting for a while without receiving any answer Elara became confused, "Hello? Terry? Are you still there?"
Terrence's lips parted, but no words came out; what was he to say? Someone like Elara who had everything, how would she understand his pain? The last thing he wanted was to be pitied.
"I'm alright, just a bit drowsy," he answered calmly.
"Ah, no wonder your voice is so gruff and you seem dazed. My call must have woken you up, sorry for disturbing you. If you have things to do then go on, I don't wish to inconvenience you with my invitation," Elara hurriedly explained.
Terrence was silent for a while before finally replying, "No, I'll come."
"You sure….?" Elara trailed off but Terrence could tell she was wondering if she was being a disturbance.
"Yeah," he reassured.
"Great! I'm sure you'll love what I made! Bye. See you in a while?" she asked excitedly in anticipation.
"Alright."
"Awesome! See you then!"
Terrence's eyes darkened as he stared blankly at his phone.
Every anniversary he had spent was filled with pain and misery, isolated from everything and everyone and wallowing in the painful memories of that night.
The last time he defaulted to this ended terribly and yet he was here again about to default once more.
He chuckled softly to himself, "I never truly learn my lesson do I?"
Plopping his phone down beside the giant peach teddy bear Elara had gifted him he stripped down before moving into the bathroom to prepare.
****
Ding Dong! Ding Dong! Click—
"Welcome!" Elara greeted with a bright smile as she opened the door only for her smile to drop when met with Terrence's haggard look.
"You—" Elara started but was cut off by Terrence.
"Can I come in?"
"Yes… Yes, come in."
After guiding Terrence to the living room, Elara left for the kitchen while he sat comfortably on the sofa.
Elara soon came out holding an opaque large bottle and two glasses. She poured the drink for Terrence before pouring hers.
Picking up the glass Terrence stared at the drink confusedly, "What is this?"
It smelled a bit like milk, but its texture was like that of a yogurt.
Elara blinked in surprise, "You don't know about soymilk?"
"I'm more of a wine enthusiast than milk," Terrence responded casually; bringing the soymilk to his lips, he took a slight sip.
It was sweet and creamy and held a hint of vanilla to it. It was good.
"Where did you buy them?" he asked curiously.
Elara smiled, happy that Terrence liked it; she replied enthusiastically, "I made it myself; it was one of the things I learned from my granny."
"mhmm."
Watching Terrence readily finish a cup and pour himself another she recommended excitedly, "I could give you a couple of bottles to take home if you want."
He was about to diligently refuse when his eyes met Elara's eager and bright ones causing him to swallow down his rejection, "Okay."
Seeing Elara smile even more happily he suddenly felt proud of himself for accepting her offer.
"You look quite better now, I was so worried when you came in looking so sullen…. Want to talk about it?" she questioned, her smile morphing into a serious look.
Her eyes were filled with genuine care; however, she didn't push any further. She stared at Terrence silently; everything was entirely up to him if he wanted to let her know or not.
Gulping his soy, he licked his lips before replying casually, "It's my family's death anniversary, and I am still haunted by their deaths."
He looked towards Elara, curious to see her reaction, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that he wasn't being pitied. Instead, Elara's eyes were filled with genuine care and worry.
"How can I help?" she asked with slightly furrowed brows, eyes staring right at him.
It was like everything around them had faded, Elara's gaze was fixated on him and her eyes held nothing but his image. He felt his heartbeat quicken, this feeling of having all of Elara's attention all to himself wasn't bad at all. It felt… thrilling.
"... I think I'm hungry."
***
"How's the food?" Elara asked with bright eyes, seeking an answer from him.
Truthfully, he couldn't tell if he liked or hated the meal; during this day, food went bland in his mouth no matter how delicious it was. However, when he could taste the soymilk, he had hoped a bit that this time was different and that he would enjoy a meal, but he was sorely mistaken.
He sighed before replying honestly, "Food doesn't taste good to me today. I guess the soymilk was an exception; sorry."
A soft chuckle echoed through the dining room, "You don't have to be; it's not like you can control it… that means you haven't eaten anything, right? Is there anything you'd like to eat especially? Since you liked the soymilk maybe something sweet?"
"You don't have to bother yourself; instead, save that energy for when I'm myself," Terrence smiled softly at Elara, "Then you can make me something special. Okay?"
Elara's eyes widened before she burst out laughing, "You're already slightly back to your original self. I'm glad!"
Watching Elara laughing hysterically, Terrence scoffed softly; this lady was so odd; that's not how you respond to a flirt, you know.
He felt his mood slightly sore, being treated like a mischievous child was not what he expected when he said that.
'Ugh, this lady is so insufferable!'
After that, everything somehow changed to cater to him; the birthday had somehow pivoted into a cheer-up event for him.
After eating, Elara had asked if he was up for chess or a movie. Feeling lax, he decided to go for something more relaxing and they ended up watching an anime show while drinking soymilk for half of the day.
After the show, Elara brought out the cake. There were no chants; she simply blew out the candle, made a silent wish, and cut up the cake.
"Can you taste it?" she asked while watching Terrence take a bite of the small slice she had cut up.
"No, I can't."
"Guess you'll have to take it back home along with your gift," Elara said carefreely while packaging both the cake and some bottles of soymilk for Terrence, "Reminds me of my childhood. I was quite popular as a kid, so I went to a lot of birthday parties, and because my siblings were too young, I couldn't bring them along, so to have them feel included, I always took home as many birthday goodies as I could, which was easy considering all the kids wanted to impress me."
After placing the package safely, she sat next to Terrence, who had been listening rather attentively.
"I think I understand why you'd be popular as a kid."
"You do? Everyone I ever told said exactly the same thing, I guess I'm just naturally great with people," Elara concluded with a shrug.
"By the way… what gift?" Terrence asked.
Was that how birthdays worked?
"That's how I do my birthdays. You give me a gift, and I return one to you. But since I didn't inform you in advance I'll be expecting my gift next time~," Elara replied, winking at him playfully.
"I refuse, expect your gift soon," Terrence stubbornly replied.
"I don't really—"
"No."
"You do—"
"No."
"I'm serious; my gift isn't even that great; I—."
"No."
"....."
"...."
"You—"
"No."
Elara: Okay, now you're pissing me off -_-
Elara sighed, "Fine you stubborn mole, just don't make it too much, so I don't feel bad for giving you something less."
"We'll see about that," Terrence answered curtly.
"You are so annoying!"
"***
After the whole day of watching movies, drinking soymilk, and breaking into arguments along the way because of certain disagreements. It was finally nighttime.
Somehow, it turned into a sleepover per Elara's suggestion.
Elara did not feel comfortable sleeping in the bed while Terrence slept on a floor mattress, and Terrence refused her offer to take the bed; thus, after much bantering, they both ended up sleeping in the living room with Elara on the floor mattress and Terrence on the sofa.
It was an odd sleeping arrangement but the only one they managed to compromise on. Elara still felt a bit guilty but knowing her sofa was just quite large and just as comfortable as a mattress as long as you're not a terrible sleeper she decided to
let it go.
"Do you prefer the lights turned on or dim or completely off?" Elara asked.
Terrence was taken aback by the question, he didn't even consider he'd be the one to choose.
"Can you sleep with them on?"
"Yup, I'm very versatile. So I'm guessing that's your choice then?"
"Yeah."
"After turning off the lights, Elara fell onto the mattress, covering herself with a blanket.
"Are you always this kind?" Terrence suddenly asked while facing Elara who turned to face him as well.
She smiled softly; she always did; he had come to know Elara as an avid smiler, not that he minded that; her smile was so adorable it could light up a dreary place in an instant.
He liked watching her smile because it always subconsciously placed him in a good mood.
"Only to my loved ones," she began merrily, "That's why I am very critical of those I let into my inner circle. I keep most people in my outer circle and the special ones in my inner circle. They are the ones I shower with all the love and care I have."
"You know Terrence, you're a very special case to me. I don't make friends that easily but I was drawn to you instinctively. I know you're probably suspicious of my true motive, and simply explaining won't do, but I just want to let you know that all I need from you is for you to accept all the love and care I can give you. It'll make me very glad."
Looking at Elara's eyes, he could tell her words were real; she spoke no lies, and everything she said was true. However, who could truly tell the heart of man? Why would she want to simply give and not take? What was in for her?
"Isn't it worrying to show someone who was once a stranger that much love?"
"It is indeed but I don't care. To me, there is nothing more fulfilling than loving another. It's not something equitable to materialistic things. It's something unique and special; the more I give, the happier I am. Do you know why I'm always happy? It's because I have people around me that I can love, and it makes me glad," Elara paused for a while before continuing.
"That's why I understand and empathize with you in the loss of your loved ones; if I ever lose the people I love, I genuinely think I would lose my mind."
Terrence was left at a loss, conflicted, he questioned more, "What if they don't love you?"
Elara chuckled, facing Terrence, she looked deeply into his eyes with an indescribable expression, "Then I'll make them love me; I just need them to never let me go."
Terrence frowned lightly; something about Elara's reply was weird; he couldn't quite place his hands on it, but something in his gut told him so.
'I'm too tired for this,' he groaned internally before shoving the problematic thoughts aside.
"You're so odd, Elara, but I guess—" he yawned sleepily, "That's part of your charm."
Elara didn't reply, only smiling softly, "Goodnight."
"Night."
****
As usual, he was back in the same dream, walking down the dim corridor as a child and opening doors. But just as he reached out to the last door, a familiar hand grabbed him.
He turned around and to his surprise, behind him stood Elara holding a cake.
She pulled him away from the door with a bright smile, "What are you doing dummy? Have you forgotten? It's my birthday today! Let's go!"
"Okay…" he replied blankly headlessly following Elara as he was led farther and farther away from the door until it varnished and all faded to white.
Blinking vigorously, Terrence parted his lashes drowsily only to come face-to-face with Elara, who was seated beside him, staring at him with an oddly passionate gaze.
His heartbeat quickened at this thought, but he decided to brush it off; what passion? The drowsiness must be getting to him.
"Is there a problem?" he asked groggily.
Elara shook her head, raising her hand, which was interlocked to his, before explaining, "You seemed troubled in your sleep, so I decided to hold your hand, hoping it would help. Sorry for intruding."
Watching Elara about to slip away her hand, he grasped it tightly, stopping her in her tracks, "I don't mind, but you should sleep soon, okay?"
"Okay."
Soon, Terrence dozed off and hearing his soft snores, Elara confirmed he had truly Fallen asleep.
Closing in on him, she parted his messy locks with light movement to avoid waking him up before kissing his forehead lightly.
"Have a good night, my angel," she muttered, her smile morphing into a bright grin. Her eyes sparkled brightly as she kissed Terrence's forehead a few more times before disembarking.
Her angel was so defenseless that it worried her, but it didn't matter anyway because now she was here.
'Now that I am here, angel, I'll make all the pain and misery go away.'