Wild Baleigh Love1️⃣✔️

48. Building sandcastle

The mansion has an elaborate marble fountain in the courtyard with a private gate surrounding the property.

"This house is so amazing." I whistle silently  my eyes roaming around.

Most of the house is made of glass. I loose my breath at the sight of the water behind the house. It's seems like the house is sitting on a lake but that's not the case here. It is built to give it that impression. The orange hue from the evening sun is casting shadows on the house thus reflecting back to the lake with its endless waters.

"Look who we have here." A young woman flashes us a smile showing her perfect set of white teeth. "Oh Smith! Your girl is so beautiful!" She gushes kneeling down to my height. She drapes an arm over my shoulders gazing at me admiringly. "Do you want anything to eat?" I shake my head the two pussycat like ties hanging on the sides of my head slapping my face across. I'm wearing a pink princess dress and black ballets. My mum divided my hair into two halves and tied it with two butterfly pink ribbons making pussycat packages.  "Ganda!"

"Am I not smart?" My lips curl downwards as I stare at her.

" Oh no! I mean pretty! You're so pretty. That's a Filipino word meaning pretty." She corrects lifting me up. My eyes move to the further end of the compound almost where the lake starts. Golden sand is shining making my hands itch. I want to touch it. There are some kids riding bicycles around. Others are playing with water and their melodic sounds are permeating in the air. They seem so happy.

"Ballice! Come here and say hello to this pretty kid we have here !" The lady interjects her tone sounding happy.

"I may leave you here, I want to talk with Mr Kenneth, we won't be staying long." My dad starts moving towards that enormous house. "She insisted to follow me, sunshine behave okay?" I nod grinning as my eyes move to the boy who the lady named Ballice. "Hello son." Dad greets the boy but he just nods his head without a word. Dad runs his hand in the kid's mop of dark hair playfully. "Deprived of sleep?" He asks him. The boy shakes his head his lips twitching slightly at the end as his eyes falls at me. Dad takes it as a cue to leave.

The boy is wearing dark blue shorts and sky blue t-shirt with collars and white sandals. He looks so tidy. He walks towards me an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Hello." He greets softly showing tiny sets of teeth. One upper tooth is broken at the edge but it's adding on his looks because it suits him.  He has chubby cheeks. "What's your name?" He asks when I fail to respond his first question.

"I'm Tleigh, and you? I know don't mind." I bleat merrily shuffling my feet on the cemented courtyard.

"You Know? How?" He squeaks out in surprise his blue eyes widening.

"She called you Ballice isn't that your name?" I raise a brow at him simpering.

" Nanny!" He bellows taking the lady's hands in his tiny ones. "I need my peeps now!" He commands, the lady smiles down at him and says,

"Why can't you play with this beautiful girl you have today here? You Know it's a privilege you have a playmate, take this advantage." She says in a singsong voice ushering him towards me. "No going out of the gate!" She warns before disappearing into the house.

"Your second name?" He asks as he approaches me.

"Can we go out there?" I ask dodging his first question as I point to the kids playing on the shore of the lake. "Please?" I plead giving him my best puppy looks.

"No! If dad will know, he will kill me! I'm not allowed to get out of the compound!" He whoops in a harsh voice.

"My dad can't do that to me! He always lets me go play with other kids, not even my mum can stop me!" I say my eyes moving back to the playing kids. I find myself smiling at them. I feel the itch to join them. When he doesn't reply I move my eyes back to him, nothing prepared me for what I see, raw pain colours his little eyes. His feelings so opaque, so dark. Only thin wisps of aquamarine shine through. The evocative picture is hauntingly painful but beautiful at the same time.

"I'm going inside." My chest tightens at his voice. I'm a kid but I can feel the layers of many emotions in it.

I feel for him, I don't know what is wrong but I pick his hand and wrap mine around it. "Bally..." I trail my voice catching on my throat.

"Ballice." He corrects. I wince at his harsh tone but I smile regardless.

"Do you know how to build sandcastle?" I question trying to bring back his mood. Such an angry kid! I mutter under my breath.

"What's that?" He asks pulling his hand away. I said that loud? Oh my bad!

"Nothing, do you know?" I repeat.

Determination glows in his eyes and the once dark aquamarines turns to bright blue. "Will you show me?" He asks. "And just so you know, I'm not an angry kid." He muses.

"But we have to get out of the compound for me to show you." I say taking his hand in mine again. Pain slashes through his face as his eyes close slowly. When he opens them, his expression is void of all emotion. He takes a step back and lets his hand fall to his side.

"I ca..n't." He stutters shaking his head.

"Okay." I state scanning around. At the further end of the compound near the shore of the lake, I see sand. "There!" I squeal excitedly running towards it. " Come here!" I call and he follows me confusedly.

When I reach the spot, I lower myself down to the ground. "Sand!" I yell dipping my fingers in it. He lowers himself beside me and his eyes sparkles.

"Show me how to make sandcastles." His voice is now warm with a hint of happiness.

I start building a castle slowly, his eyes not leaving it. He seems so interested to learn. I build it little by little, adding sand on top of the other. My aunt Hesnah thought me how to build sandcastles. And finally I make one. "Yaaaaay! You see!" I excitedly announce and I don't miss the impressed look on his face. "You wanna try?" I ask and he nods. "Okay go ahead."

For the first and second time he fails. The sand keeps falling. After showing him how to do it. He makes a good sandcastle on the fourth trial. "Wooooooo! That's Ballice!" He praises himself as he wraps his hands around me.

"You're like a princess and you're the best!" He yowls happily.

We roll down on the sand giggling. We then start playing with sand, splashing it on each other. We play for a while and now our clothes are in a mess. He runs me towards the private gate. He wants to pour sand inside my dress. I start climbing the metallic gate, he follows me, as I take my fifth step upwards, he catches up with me. He tugs at my dress and we fall back together in a thud. I hear a splitting loud sound next. My head spins and moving my eyes to Ballice I think everything stops even my heart. Lying on the ground is Ballice with his head split in two halves. Blood is oozing out from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. There's a large open cut on his forehead and blood is also oozing out from it.

"Nooooooooo!!!!!!" He bawls looking at me in horror as blood splashes out of his mouth.

"Bally..." I whisper after finding my voice. I crawl towards him.

"Don't move Tleigh, your head is split, your skull is showing, it's white and blood is oozing out from every part of your face!" He cries.
" Please don't die, we'll build more sandcastles together." He adds.

" You're the one who is injured, not me." I squeak and I see the colour of his skin turning pale. He coughs out blood severally and says, 'princess' softly as his eyes close blood covering his chubby cheeks. I look at him my eyes popping out in shock. I cry out loudly but he doesn't move even a finger.

"Baaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....!!!" I bolt my voice echoing as darkness covers the earth engulfing the both of us altogether.

Numbness.

Nothingness...

Tbc