A Tale In Every Tone

Chapter Two (Part Three): Blame It On The Rain

"Then your address." he dictated.

"Is that necessary?" I wondered.

"Of course." he said boldly. I jotted down my address in his phone.

"There you go." I said as I finished.

"Now everything's set." he said as he stood.

"I'll accompany you to the bus stop." I found my spot in the bus beside the window.

He waited for the bus to move before he started walking his way. He must be hurt so much. I feel really sorry for him. A lot of questions buzzed in my mind. How could she do that to him? Why would she disappear without a trace? Where could she be hiding? Sigh. I'll just save all those questions for tomorrow.

I entered sneakily through the gate, trying to be as quiet as possible. I walked with soft, light steps. Smells of herbs and soup filled the air. So Aunt is here. Nice timing. I'll just go through the back door. Yes, that's the best thing to do right now. My father had told me Aunt Ching used to be very strict towards him as an older sister. I forgot to tell her I'm going out today. I fear that she'll be going to reprimand me. I held the doorknob, and jerked as she went out from the other side. She yelled Chinese words that I didn't comprehend. Maybe she cursed out.

"Oh dear,why are you here?" She held a trash bag as she asked. She must be about to go out to throw the garbage.

"I'm home." I said cheerily, as if nothing happened.

"Why here? Don't be so shy. You can use the front door." she said in a rather broken English.

"Okay, sorry." I muttered. "The front door's locked." I fibbed. I immediately walked through her and entered the house.

"Is that so? I can't remember that I locked it. I'll go check it out." she said and then closed the door behind her.

I'm doomed. Now I feel regretful. She came back with her fists sticked to her hips. I already knew what she's going to say, so I spoke first.

"Okay, I lied. I'm sorry." I said as I sat down and rested my arms on the table in the dining room.

The delicious smells had made my stomach curl. 

"Why do you have to lie?"

"I forgot to leave a note and say that I'm going out." I mumbled. "I thought you were angry... so I lied. Dad had told me you were strict towards him when the two of you were younger. You wouldn't let him go out unless he had your permission." She let out a giggle.

"He told you that? That guy." she continued, laughing her heart out. "We were like, ages apart. I'm fifteen years older than him, and I seemed to be like his mother. Oh, that boy, how stubborn he was. He always made a ruckus when he got out of the house." she added.

"Really?" I asked in total surprise. "I never had any idea that he's that kind of guy. I always had the impression that he was so proper, that he can never be wavered by emotions."

"That's what you thought." She started telling about Dad in a story-like setting.

How he did silly things, how he got out of it, how he cried after his first heartbreak. These are stories I've never heard before, Dad wouldn't want to me to hear all of this, of course. Only a loving relative would dare tell. I listened curiously.

"He was kind of a lonely child in the house. Although he was kind of a devil when he got out." she laughed out, and I also did. "I had to be unusually strict to keep him still, but he's a good person, no doubt about that." she said in broken, but good English, yet again.