After brunch, they headed out of the restaurant hand-in-hand. The earlier awkwardness had dissipated. They looked like a young couple on a date as they went to the movies.Carl wanted to choose a movie without the romance theme but since it"s her day he wanted her to do things she liked.
"I"ve never been to the cinema before." She said as her sparkling eyes swept through the place.
Pointing towards a standee, Carl said, "Let"s see that movie, I think it"s interesting." For one, he enjoyed mystery, thrillers and detective/crime movies. It keeps you thinking. You get to learn a thing or two. And you"re not certain as to how it ends, unlike romance.
Kim raised her brows at him, "I don"t think I want to be sh.e.l.l-shocked. It can only be romance."
"As you wish, my lady." He sighed.
"Right, what snacks do you want?" When he saw her childlike eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with innocence and hope, he couldn"t stop his heart from running wild. "Such beautiful eyes," he said in a whisper, she didn"t hear. For some unknown reason, he didn"t want her gaze to change. He wanted to protect those eyes from the world, he wasn"t sure how to go about it. He didn"t want to prevent her from seeing the world too.
As quickly as the thought came, he pushed them aside. "Forget I asked, sit here, I"ll be back."
Straightway, he moved to the counter purchased the tickets. He saw different snacks, he decided to buy one of every kind just so he could see her eyes sparkle in excitement again.
And his plan worked, as soon as she spotted him, she couldn"t control herself, she started jumping happily. He wondered if she was truly nineteen. While he was looking at her eyes, Kim was ruffling the bags of snacks. She brought out a can of Pringles to start with.
He laughed heartily, seeing her relaxed and happy. "Slow down, it"s all yours."
"You didn"t get any for yourself?" She asked.
"Watching you eat is enough to fill me up."
She looked at him with blinking eyes then clicked her tongue, "take tsk tsk."
"When did you become romantic? Go get yourself some snacks so I can join you when I"m done with mine." The said it like it was the reasonable thing to do.
He laughed so hard his cheeks hurt and eyes became teary. How does she do it? He has laughed more in the few months he has lived with her than his entire life without his mother. "Your wish is my command."
Half an hour later, they were in their seats. Kim had devoured her snacks and now her hands were moving through his. He wasn"t really paying attention to the movie, he didn"t care for it, he just wanted to see her eyes, words are not enough to describe them. They were inviting, drawing him closer to her even though he wanted to keep his distance.
He watched her laugh merrily, he watched her shed a tear, he watched her gasp, he watched her smile in satisfaction. She was his own movie, the greatest ever made. He doesn"t know why he was like this today, the only thing he was sure off was that he didn"t want it to end.
Time pa.s.sed briskly and the movie was over, but his own movie wasn"t over, he could always see her expressions, most importantly her eyes. She suggested they walked as she was too full from eating. They spent their afternoon moving from street to street window shopping.
"This is an excellent reward for studying so hard.. thank you." She said.
"You"re welcome."
"You know, you still haven"t told me your score." He said patting her head.
She looked at him with mysterious eyes, "It"s a secret. Just know I can get a scholarship."
"Oh.. your eyes can also show that expression," he thought. "Then congratulations to my baby sister."
Once he said that, her mood turned sour. He had to spoil the fun, she thought. It was going so well, it was like a date.. then again, it"s probably normal to eat brunch, go to the cinema and tour the streets with your siblings.
She walked ahead leaving him behind. He realized he shouldn"t have said that. Then he tried to convince himself that telling her that was better for both of them. If she explored the world and still liked him after then, he could probably marry her. But not now, for now, she"s grateful to have a companion, right now, she has a friend she never had and might be confused. Right now, he was the only male close to her, maybe once she gets into school, or should I say resume.. she"ll come in contact with young men, she"ll make new friends and then her little crush would disappear... Someday, but not now he might find the courage to show his feelings. Maybe five years from now, he must have cleared his name and taken revenge. Maybe by then she would be sure of her feelings. Or she might forget about him by then.. his eyes became gla.s.sy at the realization.. he couldn"t hold on, not yet and he didn"t want to let go either.
He ran towards her, linking their arms, she pulled free and walked away, leaving him behind again. "I"m sorry!" He shouted. She instantly stopped.. she whirled around and looked at him, "do you know what you did wrong?"
The words were stuck in his throat, he didn"t want to give an answer. He didn"t want to confirm her guess. He lowered his eyes.
"I see." She nodded. "You should go back to work. I"ll go take a look at the restaurant." She didn"t wait for his answer as she left swiftly.
Maybe he should have said that another day, now he made her sad. He remembered her eyes, it wasn"t as sparkling as earlier when they were at the cinema, they looked teary.. if anything haunting. He was still rooted in his spot, was it the right decision? He couldn"t convince himself that it was, remembering her eyes. He felt stuffy, so he continued his tour round the city in a bus.