Chapter 6: The Gift

Days passed and I noticed that my energy is lower than usual. How I wish I could already get out of this world.

I miss my family.

My cell phone.

My television.

And, my laptop.

Everything seemed so slow.

Worse, Antoine seemed to avoid me. Too good I have a chatty company, Hermana* Auring to keep me entertained in the house. Life can get a little lonely once I finished the household chores.

(Spanish term for "Sister")

A month passed and he, with his servants, became busier. I rarely saw him stay in the house at daytime. It was the time for harvesting rice and all men in the hacienda* are working overtime.

(A vast land with a dwelling house)

One night, he joined us for dinner. He was carrying two boxes. He handed one to Hermana and the other to me.

"Those are yours."

"For me?" I asked, very surprised with the sudden and unexpected present he gave me.

"Yes." he simply replied.

Hermana excitedly opened her gift. She got a beaded shawl, an emerald necklace and a jar of tasty-looking chocolate cookies.

"Beautiful! Are this from France?"

"Yes."

She shrieked in delight. I felt happy for her wonderful gifts but I could not help but desire the chocolate cookies she had. Maybe, I could ask her for some because they looked really tasty.

"Open yours." Hermana prodded me.

I hesitantly reached for my gift. With a gentle shake, I listened to its soft rattle for me to guess what could be inside.

"Unwrap it." Antoine told me. I smiled shyly and removed the red ribbon that sealed the pink box. I took out the most beautiful bag I ever saw. Bags from my time would be ashamed. It is a silver bag with precious stones carefully embedded on it.

"W-Wow!" I stammered. "Are you sure this is mine?"

He nodded. "Take a peek, there's still something in it."

"Really?"

I was quick to unbutton the bag and he is right, there is still a small box inside. It contained chocolates with different flavors and designs.

"Chocolates! Thank you!" I squealed happily yet restrained myself from jumping like a child.

I think I saw Antoine's eyes smile.

I could not believe it!

He did smile!

For as long as I could remember, he rarely showed any expression, particularly, joy.

I could not blame him. He had a lonely life.

If my memory serves me right, his father died a year ago. Most of the time, he is alone, not because he is a snob but he chose to be all by himself because of all the mysteries surrounding him.

He never saw his mother.

His father met his mother in France while he was studying to be a doctor. She is an extremely beautiful lady with porcelain white skin, dark brown hair and violet eyes. Just one glance and he was mesmerized. After a whirlwind courtship they married.

Soon, they had Antoine.

The happy marriage was soon disturbed by his wife's unusual possessiveness of the baby. Sometimes he would see her talking and crying alone, like she was afraid that someone might take her baby away.

Once, when he arrived earlier in their home, he caught her floating in mid air while singing a lullaby to their son.

He was scared not for himself but for his son. He assumed that he might have married a fae, an earthbound spirit who took human form. As she might be a malevolent one with intention of taking their child to the spiritual realm, he did not take any more risks to confront her. While she was busy preparing meals in the kitchen, he took their son away. They went back to the Philippines.

Thinking that his son would be in danger of being hurt by other spirits, he trained young Antoine how to fight and defend himself. Sometimes his training with other hunters would be too tough for him. He endured painful wounds, bruises and countless bullying from his seniors.

He was strictly forbidden to mingle with other children. From his room's window, he would sadly look at the servants' children playing in the fields. There were times that he will be home-schooled because he and his father were busy hunting evil spirits and demons.

Antoine, despite his lack of formal schooling is gifted with a brilliant mind. He invented a lot of stuffs not yet known during the 1900s. His father greatly supported him with this. The friars considered him a crazy young man. He was even excommunicated and banned from the Church.

I must say that he grew up to be extremely handsome. He has dark hair like roasted coffee beans and light brown skin that glows faintly when he is out in the sunlight. His gentle eyes are gold with specks of silver, framed by thick and dark lashes. To avoid accidentally enchanting people with his hypnotic orbs, he is too considerate to just wear eyeglasses. He had this combined manly and boyish features that made him very attractive to women of all ages. I estimate him to be at six feet and two inches tall, with a lean but athletic built. Simple clothing just looked good on him. Even from afar and with the crowd, he could easily be noticed.

Young women from the village secretly had a crush on him. It was a secret as they were made to believe that it was a sin to desire an excommunicated man like him. After the mass, they would gather in a corner and wait for him to pass by. Their inappropriate stares made him very uncomfortable. They fondly called him "Hermoso"*. The young men, though, were envious of him.

(Spanish word for "Handsome")

His father knew and joked about his "gorgeous son's predicament". They could never hire young females in the house. Just once, they gave a timid-looking teenage girl a chance to work at the household.

Big mistake.

She gave Mr. Antoine Sta. Maria the fright of his life that is scarier than ghosts, demons and other evil elements combined.

She was like a fanatic who would go to great lengths to invade their idol's privacy.

He caught her hiding in the closet.

Under his bed.

Even in the bathroom...

When he was taking a bath!

Mysteriously, she was able to climb on the bathroom's window located at the second floor. When she was about to land on the marble floor, she saw him in all his splendor.

The girl slipped and almost fainted from the otherworldly sight that will fulfill every woman's fantasy.

Poor girl.

I mean, poor Antoine.

In a second, he did not know if he would catch the girl's fall or cover his glorious self.

Inherently kind, he chose to save her life, humiliating himself in the process.

Then, she embraced him and would never let go.

This was indeed, his unluckiest day.

His father was passing by the corridor. Hearing the commotion, he barged in the bathroom, adding so much to his shame.

And, a lot of explanation and lecturing later.

That was the last straw.

As much as he pitied the girl, he was forced to hypnotize her to forget everything about him. He and his father sent her back home to her parents saying she was just homesick.

The girl's mother and older sisters, upon seeing Antoine made the sign of the cross. One of the sisters suggested she can replace her "homesick sister" instead. His father could not help but laugh and make fun of him even more.

They soon hired an elderly female servant, Hermana Auring. She is caring, nice and loyal to them like real family. She and Antoine are really close, comparable to how a mother and son should be. He will help her with the household chores while she made sure that her masters get everything they need.

When his father got sick due to a mysterious illness and soon died, he was so grief-stricken that he never came out of the house for days.

From then on, he rarely hunted and turned his attention in planting whatever he could plant. Whatever he planted, the seedling grew faster than usual and trees have borne more fruits even if it was out of season. He decided to take farming as his day job.

No matter how many sad events or even the numerous good qualities he had, one stood out the most.

It is his kindness.

He never kept a grudge on anyone.

He never abused his power.

He is just a nice boy.

Like my best friend, Anthony.

I returned the bag and chocolates inside the box. Antoine is too kind, he deserves a better life. I decided that from the moment I return to my world, I will create a happier life for him and maybe, my stories would cease depending on my dreams.

A happy ending is the best gift I can give to him.

"Didn't you like them?" Antoine asked with a tone of worry.

"What are you talking about?" I gave him a wide grin. "I love them!"

Relief was seen on his face as he let out a soft sigh.

This time, he did smile genuinely.

Oh my Lord!

My knees became weak with the marvelous sight coming from my obra maestra*.

(Spanish term for "masterpiece")

What a very gorgeous man!