Lance
After an hour of staying at Aunt Andrea's house and playing with Princess, we decided to go and went to the mall.
"Tell me everything you like, okay? Let's buy it. Do not get shy about it." I told her when we got to the mall.
She shook her head.
"Why? You dislike it?" I asked her, and she nodded her head back at me. "Is it because you do not want me to spend my money on you?" I asked again and received a nod. "No. Actually, I have heard about you since we visited the orphanage before, but I forgot to buy things for you. So let me do this. Do not worry about the prices; it's on me. Let me do this for you. Just this once." I added, trying to persuade her to let me treat her today.
She turned on her notepad and wrote something.
'Alright, let's do it, but let's not buy too much. I do not need many things. Thank you :)'
"You are already expressing your gratitude when we are still at the entrance." I told her.
We both shop for things I like for her and myself. She does not like me buying things just for her, so I was forced to buy for myself. So, if that's the only way I can get something for her, buying for myself was a good choice.
After buying some school supplies for her, we headed next to where we could look for phones. I learned that she was only using someone's phone from the orphanage just to do her projects or assignments.
Just thinking about it makes me feel like it was very hard for her. Having no phone is already making me stressed since everything is on it already. Communication and information are the main reasons why we need it. I can't live without it.
"Choose what you want here." I told her.
She quickly glanced at me, surprised.
I waved my forefinger at her. "This is a no-no for turning down. This is very important. You really need a phone. You will be able to do your task conveniently if you do not have to borrow anything," I told her. "After this, I won't ask you to choose anything again. This is the last one." I assured her.
She nodded slowly and started looking for the phones on the stalls.
"Good morning, Ma'am and Sir. What do you want to look at? We have the latest phone here with good features," The staff said. "The camera is good for taking videos and photos. It has 132 internal GB, and the external card can have up to 132 GB as well. It has five cameras and a flashlight." she added.
"This is the latest?" I asked again.
"Yes, sir. But we also have other brands you might want to check out. May I know who it is for? " She asked.
I pointed at Aera, who was next to me. "She is a student and she needs a phone." I answered and turned to Aera. "What do you think? Do you like this phone?" I asked her.
She shook her hands and pointed at the price tag on the stall.
"You do not want it because it is expensive?"
She nodded her head slowly, "Okay. Ahh miss, I would like to get this one," I said and pointed to the phone beside the latest one. "This is not the latest, right, but still released this year?" I asked, confirming if the phone is still the latest according to its year.
"Yes, sir. This was released in 2022. It is still considered the latest." She answered.
"What color do you want?" I asked Aera.
She pointed to the black phone model.
"We will get the black model." I told the staff.
"Okay, sir. Wait a minute."
"Use it, okay? Tell me if you encounter some problems so that we can return them here." I reminded her.
She nodded and made a thank you sign, so I gave her the welcome sign as my answer.
After a few minutes, the staff went back with the phone and explained some things. Aera, on my side, was so focused and even taking notes on her notepad. Cute.
We ended up buying a sim card as well as a memory card so that she wouldn't have any problems and be able to use it when she got home.
"Make sure to put a lot of memories in it," I told her when we got out of the store. "You can use it to communicate too. You do not have to use your notepad because it also has one on it." I added.
She nodded and smiled at me. She brought out her pad and showed me the 'thank you' sign.
"You're welcome." I replied. "Thank you for letting me treat you too. I had fun. It's been years since the last time I saw you and I have been wanting to do this for you since then."
"Remember when I promised you before that there would be a time where we could go outside and stroll around the mall?" I asked her.
She nodded and turned to her notepad.
'You told me that you would bring me here and would stroll me around the mall'
"Yeah, and now that I have work, I can also treat you. I could only say that I would stroll you around because I was still a student at the time and I did not have any money. Now, we can do as much as we want," I said. "Just tell me what you want, okay?" I told her.
She faced her notepad and began to write something excitedly.
"What is it?" I asked her out of curiosity. "You look so excited." I added.
I stopped asking when she turned to me and showed her notepad.
'You said before that you would treat me to ice cream'
"I thought it was something already. Let's go. I will treat you to one. Let's buy their best-selling ice cream." I told her, laughing.
We headed to the ice cream parlor we saw on the way.
"What do you want to try?" I asked her and handed her the menu.
She immediately pointed out the cookies and cream.
"Oh, you love this one?" I asked.
She nodded and resumed writing on her pad.
'Before, you said you liked it and it was good. Since then, I have been eating this ice cream flavor. Like what you have said, it was good'
Why does it feel like she remembers everything I told her?
I did not say anything embarrassing, right?
It would be embarrassing if I did and she happened to mention it.
I should watch what I am telling her. She is too smart for me.
"Then two cookies and cream will be our dessert. Just wait there, I will order it. Wait a second." I told her and headed to the counter.
As I went to the line, I fished out my phone and tried to message Lizzy, asking if she wanted something so that I would be able to buy it while we were still at the mall.
After sending a message, I turned back to see what Aera was doing. She put her new phone out; it was on the table with her handkerchief below it. She was cutely tapping on the phone. It looked like she was a child who was using the phone for the first time. She was tapping things on the phone one by one and would swipe them after.
"Good afternoon, Sir. It is your turn already."
I looked back to see that it was my turn already. So I quickly walked in front. "Sorry about that. I want two cookies and cream, a medium one." I told her my order.
"Is it for dine-in or take-out, Sir?" She asked again.
"Dine in." I answered.
"Is there anything you want to add, Sir?"
I shook my head. "None."
I handed her my card to pay for our order and went back to our chair with the ice cream.
"How is it?" I asked.
Aera gave her two thumbs up before pointing to the ice cream and then pointed at the phone afterwards.
"You want to take a photo of it?" I asked if I understood what she wanted to tell me.
She nodded.
"Go on. Take a photo." I told her.
She tapped the camera button, and she snapped a photo and showed it to me.
"It's good." I told her. "The quality of the camera is good." I added.
Then she pointed at me and herself, then pointed again at her phone.
"Do you want me to take one for us?" I initiated.
She handed the phone carefully to me. I moved my chair a little beside her and put the phone up.
"Smile. 1...2...3 smile." I said before taking a shot. "Another one. 1...2...3 cheese!" I added and took another shot.
I looked at our photos and it went well. I showed the photos to her. "Make sure to take a lot of photos here. This can serve as your memories." I shared and handed her phone back.
She nodded, and we started eating our ice cream.
"Can I ask something?"
Aera looked at me.
Can I really ask her about it?
"Uh, a-about your mother. That day, were you able to escape from her or not?" I still asked.
She nodded.
"Do you have any idea where she is now?" I asked again.
She shook her head and got her pen and notepad.
'When I got the chance to escape, I ran outside. The house was already burning, and I do not know what happened to her.'
That was her answer.
So there is still a possibility that she is still alive and hiding. There are no records that someone died in that house either. Where is she hiding?
We need to catch her so that she can't harm Aera anymore.
"Aera, if one day... this is just our plan, okay? If one day she is back, whatever situation it is, run to me. If you see her accidentally, hide quickly, run away and tell me quickly," I reminded her. "We have to make sure that she will not be able to come to you and hurt you like before. Are we clear?"
"I tried to find you before, as well as your mother, but I was not able to get any information about you. We thought that you were still with her since you guys went away after that incident."
"I do not want that to happen again as much as possible. This is your new life now and you do not have to go back to what you have experienced before, alright?"
"Now, do what you want to do. Achieve what you want to do. If you need help, tell me. I will do my best to help you. This is the only thing I can help you with, so do not be shy." I added.
After we had ice cream, I decided to send her off to her home.
"Lance! Oh my gosh! Did you know who Aera's friend was?" Lizzy said when she saw me entering our house.
"Who is he? I heard that Bricx knew him and that he was your ideal man?" I asked.
"Son, you are here. Did you have your dinner already?" Mom asked after I hugged her.
"Yes, Mom. I was with Aera a while ago." I answered, and that made them come at me.
"Did you guys go on a date? I told you to bring her here!" Mom said, while pouting, acting like a teenager.
"What happened? How is it?" Lizzy asked continuously, forgetting what I had asked her a while ago.
I stopped them from being aggressive. "We didn't, alright?" I said, clarifying things. "We just bought some for her and myself, since she doesn't like to buy just for her. I also bought her a phone. I heard that she was borrowing someone's phone in the orphanage to do her assignments or projects." I added.
"I forgot to buy one for her," I interrupted, as they were about to open their mouths. "I only bought it for the children. It's not because I like her, just to make myself clear," I explained before they could even say anything. "Who's her friend, who is your ideal man?" I asked Lizzy.
"It's King Leus Concepcion. The handsome student is all over the HRM department. No, all departments rather," that's why Bricx knew him. It is their business partner as well. "I think they are close already, Lance. You should get ready to make Aera yours already! They might like each other, and it is a no! I want her for you, not for him." she added.
"Cut your fantasies already, Lizzy."
When will they stop this?