169 Counseling

"So, what would you like to talk about?" I asked him as I pulled the pull tab on the can of hot coffee and took a small sip from it while leaning against the wall by the vending machine that was underneath the covers of the outdoor hallway.

My eyes looked over towards the location where the camera and lights were set up and at the two familiar looking celebrities that were preparing for a shoot. One of them was Irina and the other was Henvle. From what Irina's father had informed me earlier, the two were recording a commercial that would be aired on television about health awareness, which explains why the hospital was chosen as a scene of filming it.

"I see that there appears to be some sort of conflict between you and Irina," the man answered calmly as he watched the filming session continue on in the not too far distance.

"..."

"I'm not here to blame you for it," the man chuckled before he proceeded with his words. "I don't understand the full story behind it all so I can't really pass a judgment in regards to it. For all I know, there's an equal likelihood of you doing something that seriously upset my daughter and her doing something that made you upset with her."

"I think it's not the latter," I sighed as I took another gulp from the can of warm coffee.

The man simply looked over and stared at me with composure in his eyes, something that he had lacked a few months ago when he was simply crazed by greed. In his eyes, I could no longer sense that greed as he appeared to have finally become a competent father after learning from his mistakes.

"From the limited amount of exposure I have to you," the man smiled and chuckled, "I'm not seriously catching that vibe."

I glanced over at him, taking in that smile that seemed to have stemmed from who knows where. Maybe it was something that came with maturity and age, but all I know is that I am unsure as to what prompted him to think that way. My best guess is that it might be something about being a father?

"What would make you think that?" I asked and took another sip from the can of warm coffee, tasting the bitterness of the drink in my mouth lingering about after it had run down my esophagus.

"Well," the man nodded. "I've probably said this before, but it's the fact that you helped us, that's why."

"That again," I sighed and shook my head. "Both you and your daughter are blinded by this simple deed, over-romanticizing things and painting me in an almost godly stature. I'm not anything special like that. What I did was simply something that's simple, and it's just a one-time thing."

"Well," the man smiled and nodded. "The thing is, I think you're blinded as well."

"By what?" I looked over and asked.

"By yourself," the man responded. "You see it as something simple, but to me, to Irina, it's something major. It turned our lives around for the better. It made her future bright once again, offering her an opportunity to enjoy life. It's not as simple as you put it." He paused and glanced over at me with a grateful smile on his face. "You saved our lives."

"I wouldn't put it like that," I looked away, almost as if I was trying to escape from it.

"That's the problem there," the man continued. "That attitude of yours towards things..."

Her father then paused momentarily as he observed the filming session, almost as if waiting for me to answer back. However, due to my silence, it would appear that our conversation had to end there.

"I think I should head back now," her father said as he started walking towards the filming area. However, he stopped before he left earshot, and without turning around to face me, he started speaking. "Recently," he said, "due to popular demand by the people, Henvle's team has contacted us to request more cooperations."

"..." I didn't say anything in response to it. Rather, I simply listened on in silence to hear what the man was going to deliver to me.

"Irina agreed to it."

Leaving that information with me, her father started walking away once again, and this time, he did not stop. He didn't look over his shoulder at me or anything, and simply just returned to the side of his daughter. My eyes followed him as he left and focused on Irina as she interacted with her father while having a smile on her face. It would appear that her father had informed her about his conversation with me as Irina's countenance suddenly became a somewhat melancholic one as she looked over towards me. From the looks of it, I do not sense any hatred. Rather, it was simply a desire for avoidance, to avoid the possible awkwardness that she believes might sprout from us.

I don't know why but I chose to stick around for a bit more to watch the filming of the commercial. I simply stood there by the vending machine after throwing away the empty aluminum can and peered over. From my angle, there weren't any spectators blocking the view so I was able to see clearly what was occurring. However, I was still a bit far to hear what lines they were saying when the camera started rolling. All I know was that I saw the two embrace tightly as they appeared to film an emotional scene. However, for some reason, it wasn't exactly tear-jerking for me.

With my mood fouled by the reminder of this situation with Irina, I slowly made my way towards the train station by taking the longer route to avoid the film crew. It was actually quite pleasant as I was able to walk and just think about things as the cold, winter air blew in from the river and onto my face, chilling and calming my mind. When combining that with the overall atmosphere of the winter city, it was actually quite soothing.

I walked past numerous pedestrians on the sidewalk on my way who didn't pay any attention to me. They simply walked with their eyes kept straight on the road before them or with their heads buried in their phones. Life in Palisia, or in any city in general, is like that. No one gives a damn about you. Everybody is simply to busy minding their own business...

Just as I approached the main entrance of the busy train station to begin my journey home, I was abruptly stopped by a familiar figure who crossed my path. Still dressed in her work outfit, Mura simply stared at me with her mouth slightly open in surprise when our eyes made contact.

"It's weird to see you outside of school."

She greeted me with a smile on her face as she crossed her arms in a confident manner that seemed to accompany her with her understanding of her higher status as my teacher and as an older member of society. However, I really do not believe that the authoritativeness of her voice was only directed towards me simply because of that. Rather, I feel as if it was a part of her character that led to her developing that almost empress type of persona.

"What're you doing? Visiting Luna?" she guessed.

I nodded in response. "What about you, Ms. Edel? What're you doing so far from the school?"

"There's some family business that I had to attend to," she sighed. "And didn't I tell you before that when it's just us you could call me by my name?"

"Well," I looked away out of nervousness. "That just feels a bit awkward..."

She shrugged and shook her head as if in disbelief. Then, she simply stared at me in silence, and since she's my teacher, it would appear quite rude of me if I were to excuse myself then and there as I didn't really have a legitimate reason to do so myself. Therefore, I had to wait for her to give me the dismissal I needed. However, it was quite awkward since she was simply staring at me with a smile on her face.

"You had dinner yet?" she asked me finally.

"No," I responded.

"I'm about to go get some food," she informed me. "You're coming with me."

"It's not another bar, is it?" I muttered in a nervous voice as I kept my eyes looking towards the side.

"Of course not," she crossed her arms and smiled in a confident manner. "I've learned my lesson already."

***

The restaurant that she led me to was a pretty typical family restaurant in the city. However, judging from the filled seats in the restaurant, it must be quite popular, but despite this, the two of us were quickly lead to our seats and handed tablets to order from.

"Order whatever you would like," Mura said as she started flipping through the different pages of the digital menu on the tablet. "It's on me."

"Ugh... I can pay for myself," I weakly rebutted her.

"I dragged you here," she responded to my rebuttal. "So it's only right that I'm paying. Stop resisting it and just go along with it."

"O-okay..." I weakly whispered before I escaped from the conversation by looking through the menu. "So...when's Muria coming?"

"You want to see her?" On Mura's face was an entertained and teasing smile as she obviously had mistaken something in my statement.

"Well..." I muttered in response. "I was thinking since she's always around you and you love her to such a degree that um...she would want to eat dinner with you."

"Muria is a bit clingy," Mura nodded as she rested her back against the backrest of her seat and crossed her arms. "But that's the cute part about her. Don't you agree?"

"I guess so..." I muttered in response.

"See," Mura laughed. "You think Muria's cute too."

"Well," I sighed. "If I were to say she's not, then I would get an earful."

"So you're saying you're being pressured into saying she's cute?" Mura then leaned forward slightly and looked at me with a testing gaze.

"I'm not saying that," I sighed and responded. "She's...well...pretty."

"Of course she is," Mura nodded and smiled as she received an answer she was satisfied with. "She's my little sister after all." The content smile on her face soon softened as it developed into a smile that appeared to be mixed with hints of concern. "And they just grow up so quickly... It's like yesterday that she's following me into my room and wanting to watch me as I'm doing homework..."

"I would guess it's not that much different now than before," I bravely commented.

"Well," Mura chuckled. "You're not exactly wrong about that, but she's been improving and more independent now. But... I still believe she needs to be even more so."

"She's pretty independent in my eyes," I said.

"You don't see the whole picture in regards to her," Mura sighed. "You don't know her like I do as her sister. She's...still rather dependent on others." She remained silent for a bit as her countenance indicated her reminiscence on the past before her expression changed as she prepared to change the subject. "So enough about Muria, how's everything been with you? I could tell that something's been bothering you."

"Well," I sighed as this was the third time today that someone has confronted me. "There's just been lots of things going on at the same time..."

"And you're trying to deal with it by keeping everything suppressed within yourself?" Mura interrupted, causing me to look up and into her eyes. "I guess I'm right," she smiled. "You don't have to deal with it all by yourself, you know. If you would just communicate with others, then it would be less of a load on your shoulders."

"Well," I sighed once again. "There are certain things that I promised someone I wouldn't talk to others about."

"Then don't talk to others about that," Mura analyzed for me. "Try and see if you can have the other troubles alleviated from yourself. Don't be afraid of communicating. I have full faith that people you choose to associate with, however, they may be, they would not mock you for attempting."

"Well..." I muttered, having a vacillating stance in regards to what she was informing me.

"Alevian," her countenance softened. "You have to know that not everyone in this world is out to hurt you."