Section 12: Amity

"Thanks for helping us Aria", Ellis smiled to me kindly. "There must be something we could do to repay your kindness".

"Yeah! My wife is a great cook! We could whip you some nice food after she heals", Nash grinned like an idiot.

That reminds me, I wonder how Joel is doing right now. He was so enthusiastic to cook an edible dinner for us but here I am with strangers. I opened the curtain a little bit and saw the orange sunset on the vast sky.

"No thanks, I'm heading back", I told them.

"But isn't it dangerous Aria!? You should stay with us!", Ellis looked at me worriedly.

"No, I don't want to impose your time", I smiled at them. "Besides I'll check you guys tomorrow, how's that sounds?".

Nash and Ellis looked at each other, their eyes sparkled in excitement when I mentioned that I will come by the next day. The couple is very easygoing aren't they? Sometimes they irked me but they gave me a warm feeling.

"Ah, that's right...I felt this before, this warmness", I smiled to myself

However, before I left, Nash grabbed my shoulder awkwardly. He looked down for a moment with an awkward gesture.

"Say can you take care of my wife for a while? I want to go outside and search for a first aid kit", he whispered shyly. "She's been lonely all this time since she couldn't contact her parents and her friends, but she won't admit it that she's lonely".

Nash is worried about his wife's wellbeing and mental state, I salute to his concern and kindness.

"Sure, but I have to get back soon", I replied. "I can wait around here for about half an hour".

"Okay! I'll be quick about it then!", Nash rushed outside with all his might.

After Nash left, his wife gestured to me to sit next to her. Ellis called me to her side, I awkwardly sat next to her with a stiffened gesture. I took out my cell phone from my sling bag and played an offline game just to hide the awkwardness I felt.

When I looked at my cell phone screen, I noticed the timer on the Wishmaker was still on, two hours left from the time limit. I wonder if I could ask J about this timer.

"J, what's this time limit for?", I asked the sleeping AI that resided in my cellphone.

J didn't show up, of course, thanks to my order. I told him to never show his physical body. Otherwise, Joel would know about my AI identity and that would be awkward.

"Ah, you haven't slept yet huh? Dummy", I could feel his smirk even if he's invisible to the eyes.

"Answer me", I sighed.

"Well I don't know about that but I think it had something to do with Joel, cause when you stay together the timer stops ticking", J answered plainly.

If I could smack my cell phone, I would smack this good for nothing AI for not telling me sooner. I also thanked the technology that I hated for keeping my cell phone battery alive for days.

So the timer had something to do with Joel's presence, I'm not sure what's the consequences if the timer reaches zero but that's also a cue for me to never leave Joel alone. As I let my train of thoughts consume my mind, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Oh my! Your cell phone has a signal!? I mean there's someone talking!", Ellis's eyes sparkled in hope.

"No, it's just my home AI", I told her.

Ellis dropped her head in disappointment, she might have thought that I had a backup or something. I spectated Ellis once again, she's pretty and I had a feeling that she was a shy woman. She looks like the obedient type, also not to mention she's a caring person. I wished I could be like her but that's just doing the impossible.

"May I ask you something?", Ellis asked me politely.

"Sure do", I grimaced.

"Are you perhaps feeling lonely?", Ellis asked me with an innocent face.

Her questions caught me off guard, I thought about it for a moment when she asked that. I never thought someone would ask a personal question like that to me directly, I had to say she's pretty sensitive to other people's feelings and facade.

"What makes you say that?", I smiled at her as my eyes brimming in fake joy.

"Hmm it's hard to say but you've been holding back, aren't you?", she asked again with a sad tone.

I couldn't answer that question, she's invading my personal space right now. I wanted to shut her up, but she's someone else's wife so I couldn't possibly shut her for real. 'I wanted to hurt her', that's what I thought as I looked at Ellis' fragile body.

"Nah, not true at all", I laughed merrily. "I'm not holding anything back, sheesh you're a weird missy".

I pinched her cheek to cheer her up, I do hope I did the right thing for her. Ellis reminded me of something that I have lost within me, her innocence, and her smile. Her concern for my wellbeing was heartfelt for me, especially when she herself was injured.

"That hurts!", Ellis pouted. "Need I remind you that I'm older than you!?".

Ellis pout was funny to see. Still, when I saw her it was as if I am reminded about myself. It makes me want to hurt her, even so, I need to suppress this urge until Nash comes back.

"So have you been surviving alone?", Ellis asked, still with a pout.

"Not really, there's someone waiting for me at the base", I frowned.

"Ah, that's why you've been anxious this time huh?", Ellis made an expression as if she just figured something incredible. "Is that person your precious someone?".

Ellis with her another sudden privacy invasion question, I wished she could shut up but she's still asking with an innocent face. Joel used to be my precious someone, or was he? I'm not sure about him. Joel has been a great help along the way, he got himself in danger and he's a slowpoke so yeah he's been a great help so far.

I thought about Joel a bit, about his positive impact on me as my companion. Joel is a kind person, he laughs easily and a little bit awkward around girls. When he was in university though, I had a crush on him somehow but I don't really know the reason why I even had a crush on him.

"It could be a fling", I thought to myself.

I envied the way Joel lived his life, he seems as if nothing burdened him so far. He's lazy but nevertheless, he always managed to finish his task. He didn't care about other people's expectations, different from me. I always had this urge to follow a certain standard, otherwise, I couldn't feel calm about it. That's why every time I see how free-spirited Joel is, I am angry.

Perhaps it's just me being selfish and blamed Joel for the raging anger I hid beneath my calm exterior. However, Joel never treated me badly, he's a gentleman I could assure that. We had a little bit of history, but only a bit. I'm sure at some point Joel saw me differently, but that was a long time ago.

"You're in deep thoughts, did my question irritate you?", Ellis asked me.

"If you know then shut up", I snarled under my breath.

I smiled at Ellis, grinning like an idiot I am.

"Not really, but it makes me think about lots of stuff, like reflecting my actions", I answered awkwardlly to her question.

"I see, I hope you can keep in touch with your feelings because it's bad to keep it all in you know!", Ellis said proudly. "As a doctor, I could attest that bottled emotions are bad for health".

What she said was true though, but to express my emotions and feelings freely was like a taboo to me. It was so hard to do such a thing in the first place, I am a lowly liar after all. Being a liar was far better than being me, a person who lacks everything.

Not long after our colorful chat, we may say, Nash came with a bunch of medicines. He sweated a lot, I'm sure he's worried about his wife's health.

"Thanks for accompanying her Aria, I'll take over", Nash grimaced.

"Sure, no problem", I smiled at the couple.

I said goodbye to them and headed to our temporary base, the love hotel suite. I promised them that I'll come back by tomorrow, I'm sure Joel would be ecstatic to know other survivors than me.