Chapter 4 - Admire

Despite the silence of the surroundings that I passed, I still continued to walk on the rocky part of the path to this mansion.

"Please be careful." a warm touch of a hand from my waist woke me up completely from my meditation and the difficulty of walking on this rock.

"What are you doing here?" Simoun glanced my way while he's holding my left waist to support me.

"There is another way." he looked at me again. This time, he put me gently and I felt the shivering water on my feet.

"Because it's faster here," I said as I continued to look at my feet.

It hurts. There's blood in it, while the ocean water makes it more of a torture to bear.

"Even so, you might end up in danger here." he kept looking at my feet and then called someone on the phone to ask for a first aid kit to be delivered to his room.

"Good afternoon, Manang. Please bring a first aid kit to my room. Thank you." he said as he glanced at me. I was still in shock encountering him here.

"Yes, I'm coming back." he put the phone down while keeping his gaze at me.

I just bowed down. I really don't know why Simoun has this effect on me. Every time he is there, I feel like there is not enough space for him… or for both of us. I don't want to be with him.

I know that I may seem to be exaggerating, but this is how I feel. His presence intimidates me. And his aura, it makes me vanish in this world, that I shouldn't be there, where he is.

"Come with me. Let's treat your wound." he looked at my feet again.

I looked at it, there's blood on it. Maybe I was injured when I forced myself to pass along this rocky path.

"Okay," I bluntly said and started to walk.

Every second, I'm getting very nervous. I hope he disappears. I know I looked disrespectful because I turned my back on him right away, but that was better. Because if I didn't do that, I probably would have drowned in the space between the two of us.

I really can't be with him, just the two of us.

While I was walking, Simoun continued to follow me. I don't know if he was following me or the other worker, because he was talking to a lot of people. That's why he constantly stopped.

"Have a nice afternoon, Señorito!" the maids greeted them enthusiastically, and Simoun also nodded and greeted their staff at home.

"Good day, too, I need a cleaner in the library," said Simoun to the head maid.

I looked at him, he just glanced at me. In the library? We probably have a lot more to clean up there.

"Good day, Señorito!" the shy voices of the other maids made me hate the atmosphere. But then, if I'm the one being greeted, will my voice be this small?

As usual, I'm one of those who are assigned in cleaning the library. I am not being transferred to another place because we have many housemates here. All of us reach over ten, so I won't wonder how this vast and huge mansion is kept clean.

"Viviana, let's treat your wound first," Simoun said behind me. I froze. I looked at my feet, I can't feel my wound anymore.

The head maid was gawkily looking at me and the other maids were just glancing at us.

"Let's go." Simoun motioned and started walking to a room in the left corner of the third floor.

He opened the door for me and I entered. The room has an intricate design, with a round black table, a white king-sized bed, and white ceilings mixed with white-brown walls and a grayish floor.

"I'll treat your wound first. It looks bad. You can sit here.” he motioned to the chair near the black table and I just sat down.

I can't understand what's gotten into me. Why can I hear my own breathing? I just breathed a sigh of relief when Simoun left behind where I was sitting.

"I'll just get the first aid," he said as he passed by and bent down in front of me to pick up the first aid placed on the table.

I just looked at him because it seemed like every move he made was well-calculated. I don't know if he really behaves this systematically.

"Let's treat your wound." I gasped for more air when he knelt in front of me and reached for my right foot, where my wound is.

"I'll put your foot here, is that all right?" he asked me while I'm still overwhelmed by this.

Why did he have to do this? I can just treat my foot. It feels unreal as if I didn't deserve this scene right in front of me… his touch, him kneeling in front of me, and the peace of this place.

I just nodded. "Let's clean this first..." he said and I almost jumped when he placed my right foot on his left thighs, not minding the possible dirt on my foot.

He slowly wiped it, the same with my left foot even though it didn't have any wounds. I am very thankful that my feet are not dirty, just red maybe because of the tiredness of walking.

"It's dangerous going through the rocks, next time if you want to go there, be careful," he said firmly as his hand got the cotton and betadine. He held the soles of my feet and started gently pressing the cotton on them.

"I know it's dangerous, but that way is really close, especially when I come from school,” I answered, half closing my eyes. His touches were feathery, it's making me lose my consciousness.

"I should have renovated it, then…" he whispered.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes because of what I heard.

He looked at me as if he was also surprised by what was said. "Is the rocky path alright for you, can you walk through it?" he calmly got the band-aid and wrapped it in my soles.

"Yes, I also want to look at it sometimes. The arrangement of the rocks is very beautiful, and it also looks good in the sea."

He glanced at me. "It's not a good idea to change that, then?"

“The rocks are fine there. It's natural."

"What if injuries happen there?" I looked at him. It's true that someone might get injured, but if you think about it, the rock is actually placed there and it doesn't look like anyone will pass there because it's going to their mansion and it's literally private property as well as the sea there because it's also theirs.

"It's private property, you can just decide on what you want," I said, as a matter of fact. I don't know if he wants a suggestion or not.

"Do you like the arrangement of the rocks there?"

“Yes. I prefer to leave it like that. After all, no one will try to pass by there."

He nodded slowly, seeming satisfied by my answers. "Okay," he said as he slowly put my foot down. But before he took it down, he stressed the placement of the band-aid again, making sure that it is placed properly and wouldn't fall off. After that, he also put sandals on me.

I stood up after he released my foot. He is still kneeling, checking it. “Thank you.” I finally said the word that I'd been wanting to say to him for a long time.

He got up and quickly put things into the first aid. I couldn't help him because he fixed it quickly. "You're welcome."

"I'm going to clean up in the library." I smiled at him.

He nodded, and then, slowly opened the door for me. I started walking and didn't look back when I noticed that he hadn't closed the door yet.

We finished at six o'clock in the evening. No matter how hard the work was, I wasn't too tired, because there were no visitors.

From the dark, I saw Simoun walking towards this direction. I tried to look away and stay composed.

"Good evening. It's late. Do you always come home late from work?"

I was ready to turn around to look for a tricycle to ride when he got closer. “Yes.”

He's just looking at me. "I want to give you this book," he said casually, as if it's no big deal!

I really wanted to buy this book, it will help me with my course, but it's too pricey. And one more thing, did he know what course I'm pursuing?

"Thank you." I smiled after getting these three books.

I looked at it. The yellow book is named 'A Brief History of Economic Genius', and the one with blue layouts and a picture of the book is named 'Warren Buffett Accounting'. I think Warren Buffett is the name of the author of this book. And the third book is named 'The Bottom Line Is Betrayal'. It has the cover of people who wear all black, his cap got my attention. I am sincerely thankful for this.

"It's getting late at night, is it okay if I give you a ride? I'm also going somewhere. I'll pass by your street."

“Okay.” I simply said, just staring at the books he gave me. He smiled a little when he saw my amazement at it.

"Let's wait for my car outside."

I just nodded. Along with this is the arrival of a car. I almost took my breath away when I saw this very beautiful car. A black Aston Martin, I think? I'm quite familiar with cars since in accountancy, I try to search for cars that cost a lot.

"Get on board," Simoun said as he opened the door for me. I got into the front seat that he opened and he turned to the driver's seat.

The two of us were silent in the car. I was looking out the window when Simoun asked. "What made you choose accountancy? Actually, you look like you would take courses related to society." I looked at him. Almost the same, his eyes were expressionless while driving.

He is right. That's the course I want. Sometimes, I borrow books from their library. I really like to read political books and their relation to society.

"Parents." I simply said. He glanced at me and quickly returned his eyes to driving.

"That's not your dream?"

"No…"

"What's your dream, then?"

"Lawyer."

Maybe the night made me sad. I miss my father. They want me to become an accountant because they know I won't have a hard time getting a job right after I graduate.

"What kind of lawyer? Political, Criminal, or Legal?"

"Criminal Lawyer." my answers are just one straight line or whatever short it is.

It is because I didn't know how to stay in a conversation with him, without getting excited and nervous at the same time by his presence.

"What inspires you to be a Criminal Lawyer, then?" I looked at him, no one has ever asked me that before.

"I want to be a Defense Criminal Lawyer since I like to specialize in the defense of individuals and companies that are having problems with the charges of criminal activity." he is raising his eyebrows while I'm explaining.

And for the first time, I saw him smile without soulful eyes as he looked into me. "That's good. You can handle that. You're smart enough and all, it's just that it's dangerous, so be careful. You can receive threats from the opposing parties." he said as he seriously turned the car near our house.

I wonder how he can manage to work in their farm and study in his fourth year? Even though I'm only in my first year, it looks like I'm going to have more trouble each time I progress.

"Noted!" I replied as my lips smiled because of what he said.

"Thanks for the ride!" he opened the car door for me.

I was about to go out when Simoun's arm suddenly blocked the door. His right hand on the front seat's window view, and his left hand placed on the top of the car's roof. He then crouched a little to meet my gaze.

"Do you really like to be a Lawyer? My aunt is a former Judge. We can go to her and ask for some books." he waited patiently for my answer.

I contemplated my reason. "I want to, but, it's a four-year course and five years of study. I want to be financially stable before I take it."

His eyes seemed to twinkle with evident amusement. "It's good to know that you have planned your future already," he said as he looked at me with nothing but admiration.

And as he set the car door open for me, I felt my heart sink, watching him leave.