Before I reached home, I saw a red spot around my home. It was Felix. He was leaning against a wall, smoking. It was a dark corner, so dark that unless you glanced over, you wouldn't have noticed that someone was there.The cigarette flickered in the dark. The lightless environment concealed Felix's face from everyone's view."It's late. Your mom will be worried about you," said Felix as he blew out a perfect smoke ring.Colin raised his brow. Before I could say anything, he blurted out, "Why? Are you worried that Lulu will be abandoned once more? Not everyone is as heartless as you."Felix snuffed out the cigarette and stood upright. He looked at Colin and then at me. After that, he left without saying a word.I wasn't sure if I saw it wrongly, but Felix's silhouette looked so… lonely. So, he felt lonely when Lilac wasn't with him, huh? They must be a match made in heaven.Colin knocked on my home's door and returned me to my mom. "Aunt Harper, Luna's here."He grabbed my hand
I'd love to tell Felix what I saw, even though he had hurt me in the past. We grew up together, so I didn't want him to get hurt. Yet, I found it hard to do that because he didn't trust me. Perhaps feeling uncomfortable under my intense scrutiny, he covered my eyes and offered to buy me a meal. I turned him down right away. What happened last time still traumatized me. I didn't want to relive it again."Why not? Is it because of what happened last time? Don't worry. It's winter now. It won't rain as much. Come with me. I don't want to be all alone.""Felix, you have a girlfriend. Lilac doesn't like me. We should avoid hanging out together in case she gets the wrong idea again.""Luna, you've changed. We grew up together. You used to follow me around except for when we slept or went to the toilet. Why are you shunning me now?" protested Felix.I chuckled. "You chose to forsake our past."Felix was stunned. The silence dragged on for a while until he decided to leave my house. I w
January 15th was a big day—it was my birthday. One day before my birthday, under my request, Dad reserved a table at the restaurant we went to previously. I simply loved their food and their garden decor.And for my big day, I put on the rose dress that I had bought in Oceanum and a beige jacket. Jade and Zara styled my hair into an elegant pompadour and applied plain makeup on me."Lulu, you're a flaming hot rose now," exclaimed Jade."The makeup gives your innocent face a hint of maturity and sexiness. Your fair skin brings out the red of your dress. Babe, you're going to turn some heads.""You're just saying that to make me happy." I took some time to admire myself before a mirror. I had to say that I did look good—my teeth were white, my skin was healthy, and my eyelashes could kill.Zara dragged me to the dressing mirror and shook her head in amazement. "Don't sell yourself short. You might just be more beautiful than Cleopatra."At the age of 20, I did look gorgeous. "That
It seemed like Felix was hellbent on tagging along. Urgh, whatever. I could just stay away from him later. After we arrived at the amusement park, I regrouped with those who were already there.They were all my friends from high school. We were close but got separated as we went to different universities. However, we kept in touch. Had I not celebrated Christmas abroad, I would have hung out with them.If I had to pick the purest thing in this world, I'd say it was the friends I made in high school. We disembarked from Colin's car as he went to find a parking spot. Jade, Zara, and I walked together. Felix was two steps away from me to my left.During the trip here, he was dead silent. He would check his phone from time to time, as if he dissociated from his environment. Even as he walked next to me, I could barely notice his presence.Someone teased us as soon as we showed our faces. "Oh, look at the lovebirds. Get a room!""Can I cut out your tongue?" Zara almost clawed at the te
It was cold. Everyone breathed out white mist, but Felix's face was as red as an apple. His eyes wandered to Matthew and lingered on me. Then, he looked away as he said, "You were young. I didn't want you to be distracted from your studies. If you need those letters back, I can give them to you."Matthew immediately retorted, "Felix, you're the biggest prick ever. You took more things than just the letters. You know it's true."Felix barked back, and they got into an argument. It escalated quickly, causing the other guys to jump in to mediate the conflict.I was appalled. Felix confiscated the love letters others had written for me? He didn't like me. Why did he take those things? There was no way he kept them for fun.The commotion grew louder and louder, so much so that passersby at great distance turned around to look at us. The day started with a fight. Was this what my birthday would turn out to be?"More things? So you didn't just take my love letters? What's wrong with you,
I vowed internally to settle the beef with Felix once we went back. As for Matthew, his inconsiderate act made me realize that it wasn't worth keeping him as a friend.The guys in the group managed to hype us up, and the women were all excited and giddy. Soon enough, we forgot what happened and enjoyed ourselves on the rides.The entrance to the haunted house was right under an old willow tree. There was a bottomless well there that read "You're doomed!"The staffer gathered us and explained the rules. He reassured us that the haunted mansion was all about an immersive experience and that all ghosts were played by employees. They looked scary, but they would never abduct us.The group then descended into the well in a cheery mood. When I went down, Felix and Colin were waiting for me."Follow me. No need to be afraid." Colin held my hand and led me down the middle tunnel.It was my first time in a haunted house. My ears picked up howling winds and harrowing cries. They sent chill
I squealed. I couldn't dodge the ghost's attack in time, so I hopped on Colin's back. "Run! There's a monster!"Colin laughed. He carried me and made a beeline for the exit. I clung to Colin's neck desperately and shouted into Colin's ears. Silently, Colin dashed past all sorts of scary creatures until we reached the light at the end of the tunnel."We're out now. Perhaps you should come down now?" Colin slapped some sense into my brain.I was still horrified, so I refused to let go of Colin's neck. "No! No!"Then, I heard a burst of laughter. I opened my eyes and saw that everyone was laughing at me. Abashed, I climbed down Colin's back. Somehow, my timid expression made everyone laugh out loud.However, I felt comfortable with everyone here, so I wasn't too embarrassed. I eventually joined them and laughed at my own cowardice too. I was a chicken, wasn't I?As I turned around, I realized that Felix was standing behind Colin with a long face. He looked like he had just come out
In the end, Zara got the queen and Jade got the witch. I was the last one to draw and was surprised to see that I'd be playing the role of the princess.Felix had it worse, though. He was supposed to portray the boy laborer who was bullied. Poor thing. I wondered who would play the chef, then. They could give Felix a good smack!Meanwhile, Colin peered at me affectionately before the glass window. He was several years my senior. He wouldn't be playing such a childish game if it were not for my birthday. This kind of game was far beneath his sophisticated demeanor."Colin, which character did you get?" I wanted to check his character card. Felix stood in front of me, seemingly trying to tell me something. But I ignored him and rushed to Colin's side.Colin's fingers unfurled as he showed me the crumpled paper. The word "prince" was written on top. I blushed. At the end of the fairytale, the prince would wake the princess with a kiss. They then lived happily ever after.In other wor