Eight-Piece

Hanna : An Awkward Start

This is like a dream; coming back to this place. The first time she went to his house, she was too nervous about meeting him to even notice how amazing the house is. When she was told the King hasn't come back home yet, she truly felt disappointed. 

Standing on top of a small hill, the house looked enormous but if you try to look at it without focusing on just the house but also taking in the surroundings, you will see how it is camouflaged; almost as if it isn't there. The glass reflects the nature it is surrounded with. Very few elements give clues to the structure. The columns and visible foundations are of wood or maybe just made to look like wood while some stone masonry is the color of moss. I wonder who designed this house.

"Let's go in?" Hanna heard his invitation and suddenly felt shy. She will be entering a man's home and staying for a few weeks.

"Uhhmm I..." She didn't think It would be this awkward. Even if she knows he isn't a stranger, the fact that he forgot about their time together makes it weird. It makes her a stranger to him...

"Hmm! I see... Okay, Hanna, look at me." She did.

"One, I have a very nice guest room. Two, I am not a perv ok? Three, I am giving you permission to slap me or even knock me unconscious if I ever do something without your consent."

She was caught. Was it too obvious? Did I make it seem like I was a helpless little girl? Huh! You really forgot who I am, J.

"Who says I'm afraid? Jared, you may have forgotten but first thing's first, you must know that I was not a helpless little girl when you met me; I saved you by giving you CPR, okay? I technically kissed a stranger back to life and I'm not flustered by it, you on the other hand were a cry baby. So shut it" She walked past him and hurried towards the entrance leaving Jared with his mouth open.

She waited for him by the door, her arms crossed on her chest and looking all strong and empowered when deep inside her heart is pounding. Embarrassed that she was caught feeling scared of getting inside, even more ashamed that he automatically knew she was thinking of intimacy and too flustered that he spelled it out to her face.

He caught up with her and without saying a word, he scrambled through the keys. Hanna squints at how he seems to be trembling and could not get the right key.

"You okay?" She whisked her head to face him, smiling and feeling triumphant.

"Oh shit..." He whispered while he turned his face the other way. But too late, she noticed how red his face had become. "You go ahead inside, I'll get your luggage for you." With that, the man opened the front door and ran back to the car.

Still crossed arms, she stepped inside when it hit her, if he lost his memories then he surely doesn't know that - "Did I just tell him I kissed him back to life?!!!!!" She blurted her thoughts aloud.

"You did." She jumped when he whispered in her ears and just walked past her towards the living area. She screamed inside. This man doesn't just drive fast... He walks fast too. It was her turn to blush hard. Head down, she literally dragged her feet inside.

She noticed the walls again. Just a few weeks ago, she was staring at the same walls. Although back then the mission was to place the artworks where they would hang nicely. This time, she was finally able to just enjoy the exhibition of art pieces, a few of which she could recognize. She was utterly amazed with his collection. And then she turned to focus on the furniture which she found to be almost non-existent. Suddenly, she understood what Cherry meant by writing the word lonely on that list. This whole place reeks of loneliness.

"How do you like my place?" His voice interrupted her musings.

"It's OK." She replied. "I mean it's nice" She saw him frown at that.

"It reminds me of a museum... an art gallery... You know... where there is more art than furniture and seating" She was teasing him.

"Oh!... Sorry... I live alone. But we have this area here to sit on... I mostly do my work at my studio and watch TV inside my bedroom"

True. There was seating: a long and slim, expensive looking, white cushioned bench but it looked like the ones shoe stores have for customers to sit on while trying on shoes. She suddenly felt ashamed of her thoughts. Why am I complaining? This house is so grand and it doesn't matter that it looks like a museum rather than a home. The whole point of staying here is to help him recover his memories.

She looked at him and she laughed at how she's made him look sheepish. "Hey, it's beautiful. Your house is very beautiful. So where is my room?"

"Right. Come with me." He grabbed Hanna's luggage by the handle the same time she did and it sent electricity to them both. "I got this" she heard him say quietly and Hanna just nodded. That incident switched the mood entirely because the awkwardness of it all stabbed her heart.

As they were walking on the unusually long corridor going to his guest room, Hanna felt heaviness creeping inside her. She tried to swallow it down but it just swells all over again. Like a riptide pulling her emotions, she wanted to bring it back to safety; keep them at bay and never let them make waves. But it wasn't easy.

We weren't supposed to be this distant. We shouldn't be feeling awkward. It just hurts. What are we now? Strangers? I missed you. You don't know what I went through. But now that I found you, you don't even remember how we felt for each other. I can't even hug you and tell you how much I've missed you. Can I even say I love you? We can't be as we were to each other before until you remember J. She kept looking at his neck. She knows how he's oblivious of the pain she feels. Her mixed feelings have concocted a rather bitter taste and she couldn't swallow it anymore.

A sob escaped, a tear rolled down... which made the cause of all this hurt stop in his tracks before they reached the door. There's nowhere to escape to, no nook to hide in, and her heart is breaking into pieces there's no other way but to slide her back on the wall and sit on the floor. She folded her arms on top of her knees. She looked sideways to hide her watery eyes from him who came to sit in front of her. When she knew the tears couldn't be held back anymore, she covered her face with both hands. Through the thin cracks between fingers she looks at him as she silently cries. He was looking up to the ceiling, not knowing what to do and quite pained himself. She was crying and her whole body trembled like she was literally crumbling into pieces.

"Babe" She was surprised he spoke to her in the midst of her outbreak. 

Everything stopped: her cries, her shaking, her breath and she could swear even time seemed to have stopped too. Apart from tiny sobs, the whole corridor was quiet. She wiped her tears and they looked at each other for some time. There was nothing to say. She knew they were in a situation that both of them could not solve with just words. 

They looked each other in the eye for almost 5 minutes before they finally moved. Or rather, their bodies moved them to crawl towards each other, each making half strides to meet in the middle. Not thinking about anything, they hugged.