GRAVE MISTAKE

3. HER ADMIRER

The following day was an eve before the day of the celebration and everyone was busy decorating the streets and buying a lot of food stuff.

This time around, Jecinta went round the market purchasing what her family would need for the grand celebration.

She had a big basket with half of the items already bought and she looked stressed because of how crowded the place was, coupled with the cold.

In their town, when the twelfth month of the year arrived, they experienced harsh cold but no snow.

As she pushed through the crowd, she heard someone call her name and it made her look around to see who it was until she found someone waving in her direction.

Her skin cringed in irritation and she quickly acted like she hadn't seen the old man wave at her. Turning, she quickly rushed into the crowd so she could go far away from the elderly man.

The old man found interest in her and he had come to her home to ask for her hand in marriage.

She was glad her parents declined the proposal if not she would've run away. The man already had four sons and two daughters and yet he still wanted to marry, wasn't that unfair?

       "Lady Jecinta," another person called her in the crowd and it got her really worried. But still, she turned to see who it was and her heart melted when she saw that it was one of the noble men in their village. He was quite handsome and had curly black hair.

       "Sir Obed," she breathed his name dreamily as he approached her. He walked elegantly and came to stand tall before her with a charming smile powerful enough to make her blush.

       "Greetings Sir," she dutifully curtsied and he responded to her greeting.

       "Greetings to you too dear, did you come here all by yourself?"

He swiftly questioned her after the greeting and her mood turned sour when it dawned on her what his intention was.

        "Yes Sir."

"That's quite unusual as you're always escorted by lady Clara," he hinted while looking everywhere but her and it made her heart sink.

       Was she that bad to look at?

She had freckles on her cheeks and nose and people found it unattractive but most women found it adorable and they were Mrs Jane, Clara and her mother.

         "Well, she has a lot to do at home Sire and so I decided to come alone," she explained and he nodded shortly as he gave her a short look.

         "I'll see you around lady Jecinta, do have a lovely day," with that, he left her side like the wind and it pricked her heart to see him go.

Her eyes watched his back until she was satisfied watching him, then she resumed from where she left off and fortunately for her, her eyes fell on a certain someone.

Her breath hitched in shock when she saw him stare right at her, unabashedly.

Her heart began to thud and she couldn't seem to look away from him. People walked by and past her and if she were to walk up to him, it would be stressful for her, but she felt like going to him.

Someone spoke to him and he responded to the person with his eyes still on her which was quite worrisome.

The more she stared at him, the more she felt drawn to him. Her feet moved and unfortunately for her, someone walked past her, hitting her in the process but she was lucky not to fall.

That little incident made her take her eyes off him and after apologizing to the annoyed stranger, she returned her gaze back to him but he was no longer there.

Did he get mixed up in the crowd? She wondered to herself and searched for him in the crowd.

She wanted to see him again and it frustrated her that he was nowhere to be found.

        "Where did he go?" She muttered to herself with a deep frown of confusion.

In the crowd and at a good distance stood a strong built man. His sharp eyes longingly watched a young maiden with curly orange long hair and she stood out in the crowd like an angel.

She was frowning as she searched for someone.

       'HIM,' he thought to himself and his heart yearned to be close to her but he didn't want to go any closer than this.

He shouldn't even be here in the first place but he couldn't leave because of how drawn he was to her.

He hummed in satisfaction but all too soon, his eyes hardened and he quickly turned and left the marketplace with people's eyes on him.

The more he walked away, the more it hurt to stay away and it provoked him.

He wanted to have nothing to do with her but here he was, stalking her wherever she went.

It was very clear he was obsessed with her and it was not good at all. He had other better things to do.

The more he walked father from the marketplace, the more he yearned to return.

Was God trying to show him that he was powerless?

Was he challenging him?

He could already imagine how God was laughing down at his fate and it vexed him.

His feet felt heavy as he walked away from the village entirely.

Was God mocking him? He thought angrily and the more he tried to get the thought of the young maiden he admired out of his head, the more she stubbornly overpowered his mind.

He could clearly recall how her face looked, especially the way freckles adorned her face and gave a look of an innocent, naive young lady.

He could still smell her scent and it was as clear as the air he breathed. It was so strong it made him believe she was nearby but she wasn't.

As he walked away, he vowed to never set foot in that village after the celebration that would be held the very next day.