C4: The Bazaar

Myra was astounded by the eccentric old lady who was standing before them with a basket of fruits.

“Bibik Ina,” Hart pronounced, approaching the elderly woman slowly. Myra observed the guilt written over his face.

Right, the name the old lady had called was Milla, not Myra… she vaguely remembered that Hart had even called her Milla unconsciously.

“You have aged,” Hart said in a foreign language. He sounded more solemn than ever, his eyes looking downcast. Myra assumed this old lady was someone he knew, watching them slowly while maintaining her distance. The old woman was still staring at her as they spoke.

After a few exchanges of sentences, Ina gradually appeared more agitated. Myra noticed how Hart attempted to console her, offering her a wad of tissues to dry her tears, but Ina stormed at him, livid. In the end, he failed to stall her as she stalked off. 

“Auntie…” Myra was overcome by sympathy but without even looking at her, Ina had departed. Myra couldn’t fathom what was going on and her inquisitive nature made her impatient to find the right time to ask.

She felt awkward in the crop top and short jeans Hart had handed her in the morning. Now that an elder had mistaken her for Milla, Myra wondered if it had anything with the clothes she had on her.

But how could she break the question to Hart? 

The bazaar was massive and consisted of a few food stalls. As Myra had been born in a metropolis, she barely had the opportunity to experience natural surroundings. The air was fresh and some small breezes cooled them. Seated on a bench, she eagerly awaited Hart to return with breakfast: a bowl of sliced fish porridge. 

Hart observed her gingerly. As he was getting to know this audacious young woman, he was absolutely sure that she had to be someone overprotected and leading a very comfortable life. She had yet to see much of the world. The fact that she had an overcontrolling father suggested she was the only child of a magnate. She had not mentioned any siblings. He knew so far that Sierra would soon be her stepsister, and of the existence of two other friends, but other than that, Myra had not much company.

“Is the food to your liking?”

Myra just nodded. She spooned a mouthful of cooled porridge in her mouth. 

How great it was to be able to taste something that wasn’t full of additives and MSG, she thought. But the porridge was plain and had few ingredients, a delicacy she wasn’t quite used to. Nevertheless, she didn’t have much choice when she was away from home. 

She missed home and being with her friends. But even then, she wasn’t keen on seeing Jake and his new girl. It would take her some time before she could find the courage to return to them.

“What about you? Are you not eating?” Myra asked, noticing how Hart looked distracted. She could not read what was on the attractive older man’s mind and she hoped it was not Bibik Ina.

“I’m not a breakfast person.”

His answer was straightforward. Myra pouted, which in the past would have worked on her father to get him to join her in eating, but had no effect on Hart.

“The old lady…”

“Bibik Ina is Milla’s mother.”

Silence fell between them. Myra realised that though this name had popped up before, Hart would often look lost or guilty when he pronounced Milla’s name. There were few times that he had called her using Milla’s name, however, she had thought that he had problems pronouncing her name. 

While she didn’t expect much out of their unusual relationship, she hoped that he wasn’t taking her as a replacement for Milla.

An endless sea of questions floated in her mind. Who was this Milla to him? Did he love her? Was he unable to move on from Milla? Was she dead? What happened?

“She didn’t seem very happy earlier,” Myra said after a long pause. Hart looked a little depressed. However, he said not a word.

As they were walking through the bazaar after Milla finished her breakfast, she sensed Hart’s hand on hers. Some couples passing them just smiled and clapped their hands, conversing in a language she didn’t fathom.

She peered down at her hand in Hart, engrossing herself in how secure she felt with him. A brief memory of her and Jake slipped into her mind.

“I’ll get you some clothes if you don’t mind.”

“But for what?”

“The conference.”

“Oh. Okay…”

They hadn’t even held hands as they shopped for Myra’s outfit. Jake had convinced her into attending the conference with him after they hooked up that night, all because ‘it was good for her’. He was always that cold that she didn’t feel like a queen with him. When she was with Hart today, though, she felt appreciated. 

Even though Hart did not have that much money to spend.

They ended up outside a clothes stall, with merely a curtain separating the changing area from the rest of the stall. Hart picked out a few dresses and asked for her opinion, to which she just laughed at his sense of fashion. However, she eventually kept one of his choices, which had been a vintage Balinese sundress. She enjoyed his gentlemanly attitude. Perhaps it was only him, she thought, that would treat her like a princess. 

Good things would come to an end ultimately. 

Hart had paid for her clothes. She didn’t understand why, as she had always paid for her own purchases except for that one time with Jake, however, that time had been distinct as he had bought her a corporate outfit to attend the conference with him. 

From the unusual stares of the shopkeeper, Myra suspected that she was again being seen as the substitute of Milla.

They explored the area, garnering weirder stares from more vendors, which frustrated her further. To cheer her up, he introduced her to a few local street snacks and finger food at the night market. The most popular dishes were skewered sliced meat known as satay, Jengo rice which was a portion of white rice with a mix of nuts, anchovies and fermented beancurd in banana leaf, rojak which was a fruit and vegetable salad dish and lastly,  spicy-sweet grilled sweet corn. 

“Ah!” she screamed, rushing to the nearest stall for a glass of cold water. Quenching her thirst, she cried out, “I’m dying, Hart!”

Hart chuckled at Myra’s adorableness. 

“Lesson learned,” the man grinned. She had such a sweet tongue but could not tolerate the smallest bit of spice in her dishes. The other fact about her was that she was such a glutton for his country’s street food. She finally settled on some local ice cream. 

Hart placed an arm on her as she finished her last bite.  

“I just need to tell you that we can’t spend too much time in a particular spot,” Hart tightened his grasp on her hand. She sensed something was wrong, but hesitated to speak her mind until they were out of the area. Back on the bike, Hart asked if there was any particular place she wanted to go.

In a place she was not familiar with, where could she ask to go?

“If you have somewhere you wish to go, please go ahead.” She had given him her word that she would trust him, after all. She would welcome any ideas he had on where to go.

He didn’t plan to tell her where they were going until they arrived. It was one of the most secluded beaches located along the southwest coast of Bali. He had a plan, which he wasn’t sure of yet. Considering that she was someone who had been hurt before, would she be willing to give herself a second chance at love. Although it was fast that he was already developing feelings for her, love was unpredictable.

He helped her alight from the bike meticulously, assisting her out of her flats to sense the warmth of the soft sands through her feet. 

“Where are we, Hart?” she said, her mouth wide open like an “O”. He grinned, tickling her below the chin.

Tegal Wangi Beach was where he would often escape when he needed a break. Apart from the hideout which by now, his father must have caught wind of, this was the one place he would disappear into. He exceptionally loved its serenity and how it was hidden away from the public.

Myra closed her eyes as she listened to the rumbles of the waves blasting the rocks on the shore. She had never encountered such a peacefully and aesthetically pleasing place. All the beaches she had seen, including the one at the hotel, had been crowded and bustling with tourists.

She hadn’t expected to be caught by surprise when all of a sudden, Hart embraced her and whispered in her ear. 

“Myra, many things happen for a reason in our lives. But it is fate that brought us together. Myra, would you be willing to take another go at love?”

“Love,” she repeated confusedly, holding her fluffy hair in place as the strong breeze swept her hair around her face.

“Be with me, Myra. I like you very much.” 

His confession struck her out of the blue. How could he have liked her, when it had been just two days that they had known each other? Also, the question of Milla’s presence in his life just perturbed her further, leaving her with an unreal feeling in her bones. But she recognised the answer in her heart. 

She was conflicted.