My Perfect Lady

But then, he realized what she was afraid of.

The flight of steps, apparently, which lead below.

Jim rolled his eyes.

"Come out," he said impatiently, and then nudged her by the arm. Grudgingly, Miya held Ben tighter and walked out. Jim exhaled satisfactorily.

"Now, this way. Come on, be faster!"

Miya made a face. The young master was way too excited. But then, she remembered this expression of his. He had only looked that happy twice. Once, when she had given him a plate of black currant ice cream. Second, when he had eaten it himself, back in the airplane.

Judging by that, she automatically calmed down.

If Mr. Hunter was so excited about this place, it could only be something childish.

The thought comforted her down ma.s.sively, enough to actually chuckle at the superbly excited Jim who lead the way.

As if there was some science to even climbing down stairs.

Once Miya began to descend the steps though, her heart calmed down completely. These steps were made of red bricks, and somehow were really muddy. She was careful in her walk. She was carrying Ben after all. Jimmy did offer to take the child, but she vehemently said no.

She needed Ben for moral support.

There were barely twenty steps that they needed to go down, when Miya was oddly surprised. Ahead of the last step, seemed to be a long road, except that it was all covered with sand.

A thought flashed across Miya"s mind, and she looked up at him in surprise.

"Oh My G.o.d," she mumbled, whereas Jim beamed.

"I know right?" he exclaimed, then pulled off his shoes and placed them on the last stair. Miya was only wearing slippers, so she didn"t have to put in any extra effort. She simply walked out of her slippers, tucked at them with her toe, and placed them neatly beside Jim"s shoes.

Then they began to walk.

The sand was soft under her feet, and she felt like she was walking on clouds. It was white in colour too, so it gave effect to her imagination. Not to mention, the sun wasn"t too bright, and the soft rays felt just perfect against her face. Miya had the urge to lay down.

On both sides of the sand-laden path though, she could see the outlines of stalls and stands, and some even permanent shops. It amazed her, that Jimmy Hunter had it all shut down for the day, simply because he wanted to come here.

The power this man executed…

It was unreal, walking beside someone like him so casually…

Meanwhile Jim was pretty much lost in his own world.

He didn"t notice the thoughtful expression on Miya"s face, he had been so entranced by the sand. He simply turned around, and walked backwards while dragging one of his feet in the sand so that his toes made visible dents. When he saw a hollow line form before him, he was simply over the moon. Beaming, he turned around again, and began to flip the sand forward as he walked.

Sand was always fun!

"Miya!" he finally called out, "You"ve got to try this. Let the sand run between your toes. It"s like making your own hourgla.s.s!"

It was at that moment that Miya snapped out of her thoughts. She looked at Jim lifting each leg again and again, letting the sand pa.s.s between his toes as he chuckled merrily. Somehow, she wanted to hit her head.

Why did the internet not know that Jimmy Hunter was such a big brat?

And really, that toe thing was nowhere close to an actual hourgla.s.s.

They had almost walked for a kilometre before Miya"s suspicion was confirmed. Because when the path had finally come to an end, what lay before her was an immense area covered with white sand that seemed to spread to eternity. And halfway through it, were waved crashing against the sh.o.r.e, depositing more silt on the ground.

Miya"s eyes were wide with amazement.

It was as if she had walked into Heaven.

The air was cool against her skin, and it ruffled her hair. The sky was a clear blue, the sun faint. There were a few palm trees rooted to the ground, separated by miles of distance it seemed. The rustling of the leaves, the crashing of the waves, and the goose b.u.mps emerging on her skin made Miya want to pa.s.s out.

She held Jimmy"s hand by instinct.

"It"s a beach," she whispered.

Jim nodded, his voice low as well, "A white sand beach. The only one in Country S. And the one I find the prettiest, if I may add."

"I"ve never seen one for real… only pictures."

"Then what are you standing here for?"

With that, Jim pulled her lightly by the arm. Her movement was unsteady as the young master dragged her, but her eyes were fixed on the thrashing waves behind him. Far away from them, the waves of water leaped miles high, and rushed forward with immense speed. Seeing the waves rise to that height scared Miya, and thrilled her at the same time.

When they were only a few steps away from where the water reached its bottom level and deposited pebbles and silt, Jim looked down at the girl.

"Hand over Ben to me," he said quickly, "And don"t be alarmed."

Miya"s heart started beating faster, and she obediently handed over Ben to Jimmy. Jim tried to imitate best, how Miya had been holding the boy, and although did a lousy job, was still able to cuddle the boy. He didn"t let go of Miya"s hand.

Just as they were done, the whipping water hit Miya"s feet.

"Oh!" she jumped up in surprise, her eyes wide.

It was so cold!

Jim laughed deeply.

"Told you," he said, winking at the missus.

That was all the permission Miya needed.

She immediately let go of his hand, and walked carefully into the water, going only slightly deeper. It was cold enough to make her hair stand on end, but soon, the thrashing waves came again. They hit her knees.

Miya almost bowled over, as she felt the sand slipping from her feet.

And then, before she could fall, the waves had gone again.

This was like magic!

A deep, loud laughter escaped from her throat, and the girl was lost.

Jim sat down on the sand, a safe distance away, so that only his feet were hit occasionally by the waves. He enjoyed the feeling of the sand between his fingers, but besides that, he wasn"t much of a water man. Also, he preferred admiring the missus from afar.

Her laugh had sounded like melody after all.

He balanced Ben on his knees, deciding he would wake the kid up after a while. They were going to be here for quite some time, anyway.

Miya seemed to have befriended the freezing water pretty soon, and was now playing with both her hands and legs. She would exclaim every now and then, and then would laugh out loud. She started to walk deeper into the water too.

That was when Jim was on alert.

"Hey!" he called out, "Th waves come out with a lot of force, don"t go in too deep! If they pull you in, you won"t be able to get out. People have actually drowned in here before!"

Miya, however, paid no attention. It was as if she hadn"t heard him at all.

Jim began to get nervous.

First off, the woman was too small. Then, if she walked in too deep, she"d definitely drown!

The young master called out to her again.

"You have a son, alright? Can you behave for Ben?"

The trick worked like a charm.

Miya immediately looked back at him. When he gave her a warning glare, she frowned in response but nodded.

Jim heaved a sigh of relief.

Just then though, a piercing scream almost made him jump.

"Whaaaaaa!" Ben was suddenly wailing, his small hands wrapped tightly around Jim"s neck, "Water! Ocean! Why is there water all around?! Mum, where"s my mommy?"

Jimmy was so startled, he immediately stood up, and wrapped a single arm around the boy"s body.

"Hey, hey, big guy," he said in a shocked voice, "What"s wrong?"

Ben clenched at Jimmy"s throat tighter.

"We"re going to drown!" he cried.

"What?" Jim was thoroughly confused.

"There"s water all around! We will drown, Jimmy! Where"s mommy?"

"Yes, there"s water Ben, but why would we drown? And your mum"s out there, look."

Ben quickly turned around.

When he saw Miya standing knee deep in the water, and walking towards him worriedly, the boy"s cry could have split the skies.

"Save my mommy, Jimmy!" he sobbed, "I read last night, when there was water on all sides, everyone in Indus Valley Civilization drowned. It"s called flood!"

… What?

Jim"s shock turned to thorough amus.e.m.e.nt, and despite himself he began to laugh.

This child! He was as hilarious as his mother!

But then again… it also meant that he had actually been reading those books…

When Ben"s sobs turned to small hiccups, Jim lightly patted his back. Then he picked him up with both hands and placed him on his shoulders instead. Then in a firm, yet gentle voice, he said:

"Watch."

The boy wrapped his legs around Jim"s neck, as Jim began to move towards the water. Miya had crossed the water and was closing in on him now. When he reached her, she opened her mouth in worry, but Jim just smiled and held her hand, thus cutting her off. Then slowly, he walked into the heart of the water.

Miya was amazed.

She was neck deep into the water now, her feet had long lost the ground. But thanks to Jim"s hold, she was able to stay above the water. She was floating. So, when the waves came at them again, Miya"s breath quickened. She didn"t know how she would avoid going under now that she wasn"t on the ground.

Just then though, as the waves. .h.i.t her neck, Jim let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her small waist. Then, he pulled her towards himself and gave her an upward push. The thrashing water hit her waist instead, as she leapt above.

It was like jumping mid-water, mid-air!

Jim also held his breath at the same time and took a slight dip into the water. His other hand was wrapped tightly around Ben"s back. So when he went under, the boy"s feet were immersed into the water, but only for a second. Jim came out again.

That second had been enough.

Ben shrieked at the cold water"s touch, and then the feeling was gone from his legs. He was astonished.

Jim, who was completely drenched now, let go of the missus" waist and held her hand. Then he walked out from the depth.

When he reached the sh.o.r.e, Miya was positively leaping, holding onto Jim"s hand.

"Oh My G.o.d!" she shrieked, bouncing, "Oh My G.o.d, Oh My G.o.d! I can"t believe that happened! That was so cool!"

Overhead, Ben, who had instinctively clutched at Jim"s hair, let go of him.

"You"re like Superman!" he yelled excitedly, in a voice full of amazement.

Jim chuckled heartily, feeling like he had just played entertainer to two over excited kids.

The thing was, he didn"t mind right then.

Ben"s encounter with the water had been enough to thrill him, and he too decided that he wasn"t a water person, like Jimmy. And when the young master began to talk to him about sh.e.l.ls that could be found on the sh.o.r.e, and how the flood was only one of the reasons of the end of the Indus Civilization, Ben lost all interest in the thrashing water.

He stayed on the sh.o.r.e, helping Jim make a fort out of sand. He even collected sh.e.l.ls and put them as decoration on the doors.

His mother, however, was a whole other deal.

Even though Jim had given her another warning look and said, "Behave" rather scarily, she was nowhere under control. In fact, it was amusing, as she ran about the sh.o.r.e, chasing crabs.

"Mr. Hunter! Ben!" she called out, as she ran about in the sand, "Look! This one is so small! But it"s faster than me! It just hid in the sand again!"

Jim and Ben had paid her full attention the first time, but when she called out to them again and again, they both decided to ignore her. There was a fort to be looked after anyway.

"Oh My G.o.d, a bone!" Miya was now shouting, "Do you think it"s human? Oh, oh! That big poppy crab from before is back again! Let"s race big guy!"

When Miya"s running steps got closer to Ben and Jimmy"s fort, they were both immediately scared. They both warned her together, one calling out "Miya!", the other "Mum!" simultaneously.

Miya stopped at the entrance of the lousy-looking fort, hopping on one foot.

"Oh," she said with an embarra.s.sed smile, "Sorry."

Just then, she saw her big crab getting into the fort though.

"The crab-poppy got in!" she exclaimed, almost dashing at the fort, when Jim held her arm and pulled her over.

The fort was saved, but the missus fell into Jimmy"s lap, who was sitting cross legged on the sand, designing a chimney.

Jim instinctively put an arm on his knee, so that Miya"s back wasn"t hurt. She lay sprawled over him now, and her eyes were fixed on his face. Somehow, Jim grew conscious.

"Mr. Hunter?" Miya said thoughtfully, still looking into his eyes.

Surprisingly, Jim"s heart began to pound.

"Yes?" he whispered hesitantly.

"Do you think there are cobras in this water?"

… What?

Miya didn"t wait for his reply.

"If there aren"t," she said with an unnatural gleam in her eyes, "You should get some and put them in here! That"d be so cute!"

What!

Jim looked at her exasperatedly.

"You think cobras are cute?" he asked with a lot of doubt.

"Yes!" Miya nodded enthusiastically.

Jim wanted to hit his head.

The Hayabusa, the cobra… what was up with this woman?!

"But I like the crabs too!" She was still speaking, "And well… now that I think about it, cobras would be dangerous for the normal people who come here. They wouldn"t know how to deal with them. How sad though! Don"t you think cobras and crabs would make a good pair?"

Jim was instantly grossed out.

"No I don"t!" his reply was automatic, "And G.o.d, woman, do you realize you"re still talking?"

Miya stared at him, then sulked.

"What? Of course I know I"m talking! And what"s wrong with a cobra and a crab being together?"

Okay. Jim was not having this discussion.

"Miya," he said in a tight voice, "There"s nothing wrong with them at all. Except the fact that one is a snake, and the other an insect!"

"So what? It"s just a difference in height. You"re taller than me too!"

"Yeah but –"

Wait.

Jim suddenly shut up.

Had he been compared to a cobra right now? Or worse… a crab?

Ooh. She had also just said something dubious…

Jim"s bottom was immediately on fire. Swallowing, he looked at her, then said, "So, you think we make a nice pair?"

Miya fell into thought.

And after barely a second of thought, she said casually, "I like cobra and crab better." Then her eyes found something more interesting, the crab-poppy who had come out of the fort finally.

"You"re back!" She shrieked, and immediately launched herself up from Jim"s lap and ran after the crab, yelling, "The fort won"t save you now!"

Jim, meanwhile, held his head in his hands.

Too cruel!

His wife was too cruel!