Shall we?

I know we just met, but can I ask for your help?

He was a bit taken aback but still nodded his head.

Could you help me dress my wounds?

I can't reach some. I say with embarrassment.

I can't believe I am asking a stranger for help.

"Why don't you ask your own grandpa for help?" he asks me.

Well... It is complex. I say to him.

Will you just help me?

It seems like you know what you are doing.

"Uhmm, okay. Where?" he says.

Let's go to my room. My grandpa has already made everything ready. I say to him while walking towards it.

But could you give me a sec? I ask him.

He nods his head, and I go into my room quickly.

I quickly put on my undergarments and a loose black silk robe.

I open the door and tell him to come inside.

He looks at me for a few seconds, then coughs and passes me.

"Where do you want me to bandage you?" he says.

Here. I say while putting my hair on my shoulders.

Aren't you going to do anything? I say to him because it seemed like he was daydreaming.

"Uhum, yeah. Then pardon me," he said while he bandaged my wounds on my back.

Why was his touch so thingly and magical?

"How did this happen?"

No questions. I say.

"I am helping you. I at least deserve to know, right?"

Let's just say that I got them from someone that was supposed to be the hero of my story. I said.

"Hero?" he asks me, amused.

Yeah.

I guess.

But what did I expect, honestly?

It is not like it was entirely her fault.

"Whose fault was it then?"

Didn't I already answer your question?

"Okay then. Why would you ask me for help when we just met? Aren't you afraid I will do something to you?" he asks.

If you wanted to do something, you would have done it. I say while facing him.

How can someone have such mesmerising eyes? I say to myself.

"I got them from my mother," he says, smiling.

What?..

You heard me?

"I wasn't supposed to?" he asks gently.

Not really.

"Oh, but I heard that it is good to compliment, so don't keep it to yourself," he said, grinning.

Is that so?

"But you are not bad yourself,"

Is that supposed to be a compliment? I ask.

"You should be happy. I don't like complimenting people," he says while turning me around to finish up.

Oh, so I am special? I tease him.

"I am just returning the favour," he says.

I laugh.

I can't believe how a stranger is making me feel this way.

"You should keep smiling like this. Only this way can you survive in this world," he says while putting my garment up to cover me.

I turn to him.

Who are you?

He smiles.

"I could say the same to you. How could you be soo brave and trust me to do this for you?" he says.

But you didn't do anything, and anyway, I won't meet you again after this, so don't worry about it.

"Not everyone is the same. Some can exploit you.

You ought to pay special attention to yourself," he says, walking to the door.

Thank you.

"You should rest. You look like you could faint anytime," he says while walking out the door.

I smile in his way.

Even strangers are soo sweet. How could they be like this to me?

I clean everything up and then go to sleep for a bit.

*7 hours later*

"You will never be happy! And I will make sure of that! Believe me!!"

I wake up gasping for air, depleted in sweat.

That was just a nightmare. I say to calm myself down a bit.

I look to my side and see grandpa sleeping on the chair next to the bed.

There was a cool cloth on my forehead.

He must have taken care of me while I was sleeping.

I gently go to the bathroom to wash my face and walk out again.

"You are already awake? How are you feeling now?" he asks me.

I smile gently at him.

I am fine now, thanks to you. I say.

"You must be hungry. Shall I order food for us?" grandpa asks me.

Yeah, a little bit.

Aren't you tired?

You must be tired of taking care of me all this time.

"No, no, my darling. I am okay. Don't worry about me," he smiles.

"Why don't you change into comfortable clothes while I get us some food? We will arrive in over an hour."

I nod my head, and he walks out.

I walk to the dresser.

I check for a while, and this dress catches my eye.

It was an exquisite dark dress with long sleeves and a belt around the midsection. It was long and high-waisted.

I take it from the holder and give it a shot.

It looked beautiful on me.

I brushed my hair and put it in a messy bun.

I put on earrings and finished.

I hope my new family will find me beautiful and accept me for who I am. I say while thinking about her saying I was ugly and no one wanted me.

A tear tumbles from my eye, and somebody wipes it away for me.

Gracious, I didn't hear you coming inside. I tell granddad while faking a smile.

"Are you okay? It seemed like you were thinking about something," he says while putting the tray with food down, and two other women come after him and put something different down.

"I didn't know what you wanted to eat, so I got various things," he says while signalling me to sit down.

I sat down, and one of the women put something on my lap while the other helped granddad.

I am alright with everything. I say.

"Are you nervous? I can see you shaking," he asks me while we begin to eat.

Yeah. I don't know what is coming my way, so I am a bit anxious.

"You don't have to worry about anything. Your dad missed you," he says, smiling.

Why didn't he come to see me if he missed me?

Why did it take soo long for him to look for me?

"I know you have a lot of questions, and you want answers to them, but is it okay if you wait for your dad to answer them?" he asks.

I didn't say anything.

I just ate in silence.

How will my life change, and does he have a new wife?

What if she is just the same as my aunt?

What will I do this time?

After a while, I put my knife and fork down.

I am full. I say to grandpa.

"You didn't eat that much, love. Why don't you try to eat some more?"

No, I am really full.

At this rate, I may gain 30 pounds in just a day. I say to him while smiling.

He laughed.

He looked soo adorable.

"We will be there in just less than 10 minutes. Why don't you make yourself ready, and then we will land," he says while standing up.

I knick my head, and he goes out of the door.

A minute later, the same woman came in while I put the plates on each other and tried to clean up the table.

"Ma'am, don't bother. We will do that," she says while taking the plates from my hands.

It's no problem.

I can do it too.

I have been doing it my whole life, so it is an easy job.

You guys rest and leave it to me. I say to them.

"No, ma'am. I don't think we should be doing that," one of the women says.

My name is not ma'am.

It is Mia. I say to her.

At that moment, grandpa comes in.

"Charlotte and Amelia, It is fine. We will do it," he says, and they respectfully go out for them.

Grandpa comes in and helps me.

After a while, we had finished.

Someone knocks on the door.

"Come in," says grandpa.

"Good evening, sir. We have just landed," says the man in a suit.

"Oh, thank you for the heads up, John," says grandpa smiling.

"Shall we?" says grandpa to me while holding his arm up for me.

I take a deep breath and put my arm in his.

We took slow steps because my legs were trembling.

I grabbed the handrails of the stairs for support.

Wow, I never thought that they would be soo many.

I saw a whole family waiting for us.

I just thought he would have a new spouse and one kid or something.

The man takes a few steps toward us.

I look at him for a few seconds.

I don't know what came over me, but I ran to him, and he put me into an embrace.