So a bit about my Mission Trip in Baguio, Philippines:
It was AWESOME in terms of how it really broadened my horizon and made me realise how fortunate I am. It really made me reconsider my life and attitude.
Over there, we interacted with the kids who were so adorable and friendly. I have never seen anyone so happy to see me. They even asked for all of our autographs and pictures XD. One guy even said that I look like the Korean idol he likes. (I felt so flattered.)
But most importantly, I learnt to humble myself to care for others. I realised how I had been slightly prejudiced against people who are less well of than I am. And if Jesus (someone so faultless) can love prostitutes and tax collectors, who am I (someone so imperfect and sinful) to look down on others? This trip really helped me draw closer to God.
I really want to take on a job so that I can donate money to the organisation we collaborated with there as they are having financial problems. I really hope I can find a job though.
I will really appreciate prayer whether you are Christian or not. And thanks to all those who prayed for my trip and wished me luck. Love you guys!! <3
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Now moving on to the story:
Prismatic: Spectral in colour.
Exhort: To advise, admonish urgently.
Obfuscate: To confuse, bewilder.
Synchronous: Simultaneous/in synchrony.
Felicity: Happiness/the state of being happy.
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"Lillian!" Aunt Brank screeched from the dining room.
I groaned and buried my head into my pillows.
"Lillian Linton! I demand that you get dressed and come down this instance!"
I punched one of the pillows, picturing it as Mr Ambrose's head. All that did was make it more deformed and less like my employer's appearance.
Why couldn't he be an ugly old man instead? That would make it easier on my heart and life.
Are you admitting that he is good looking?
Well, I couldn't call him ugly without lying. Even a blind man could tell that Mr Ambrose was better looking than ninety-nine percent of the male population in England.
I produced a frustrated gutteral noise from the base of my throat and changed my lying position. Life felt dull and dreary ever since I stopped work. All I did was lie around and stare blankly at the walls. Either that or unwillingly hang around my group of friends.
Gossiping with Patsy, Flora, Eve, and occassionally Ella, did help temporarily snatch my mind away from the dark depths of emptiness. However the moment I was left alone, my brain would automatically drift back to things I tried to forget.
Be happy! You're free now, remember? Free from any man!
But not free for long if my Aunt decided to force me into marriage. Besides, I wasn't excused from the law which was dictated by men. Pity, because I wouldn't be able to dismember whom I pleased. Either way, I would always be under a man unless I became the Queen of England herself.
The torturer's footsteps sounded harshly on the wooden steps. "Lillian!"
I flipped the covers over my head. Oh how I wish I could just sink into the bed and disappear for good!
The closer her footsteps drew, the lower I tried to sink into my bed. The door creaked open ominously and the blankets were flung off me.
"There you are!"
Blast! Why didn't I just become the bed to escape the terrors of my Aunt?
I tried a lie that I had used multiple times and hoped it would work for once. "Lillian is not here. You are merely staring at an apparation that has taken her form."
"Stop messing around! Now get up and get dressed."
Darn! Why did my fib never work?
"What for?"
Her face lit up, sending dread coursing through my body. That smile could only mean one thing.
"A suitor!"
I was tempted to slam a cushion into her face and scram. She would stop at nothing to get me married out of this house.
"Who's that suitor?" I asked cautiously.
Her beam did not waver, likely because she didn't register the promise of murder in my eyes. "You'll find out later. He's currently in the dining room. Now go get dressed. Hurry! We won't want to keep him waiting."
I tumbled out of bed in a heap. She didn't even bother to tell me how unladylike that was as the gears in her mind began planning my wedding.
"Dress your best!" With that, she scuttled out of the room, mumbling about wedding preparations.
"God, if you're real, please kill me now." Sadly, God didn't oblige. It was likely that he wasn't real or that he couldn't give two damns about the oncoming horrors I had to face.
I lay spread eagle on the floor, ready to sell my soul to the devil, when the voice of my dear sister rang out. "Lil!" Ella rushed into the room. "You have a suitor!"
"I know." I grumbled.
She gave me a sympathetic look. "It won't be as bad as you think."
"You think?"
"I think you might even like him." She smiled hesitantly.
"Of course I will."
Ella who was immune to the art of sarcasm clapped her hands joyfully. "That's the spirit! Now, let me help you."
She managed to pull me from the ground ― in which I wanted to stay glued to for the rest of my days ― then lace me up within a record timing of ten minutes and shove me out of the door.
"Slow down!" I hissed, attempting to dig my feet into the floor. Ella was surprisingly strong and managed to drive me towards the stairs. Fear of Aunt Brank did wonders to her.
"Aunt is getting impatient!" She whispered back timidly.
"To hell with what she feels!"
"Lil!"
I pulled myself out of her grasp and began my own leisurely pace down the stairs, where one step took approximately one minute.
It's not too late to run. You can make it back up to your room and climb out of the window.
I was tempted to do so, but then what? Aunt would always find a way to get me to meet the suitor. My only hope was to put on my worst behaviour to scare him away.
I heard muffled voices followed by my Aunt's vulture-like laugh. My stomach dropped to the pits of hell.
Ella patted me comfortingly on the back and offered me a watery smile. "It'll be over before you know it."
I eventually made it down the dreadful stairway to my doom. Ella's sympathetic pats on my back were the only thing that could console me.
Run while you can you idiot!
"Lillian! There you are!" She started rambling but my attention was not on her.
I gaped at the familiar face smiling cheekily at me.
"A pleasure to meet you again, Miss Lilly Linton." Captain Carter hopped up from his seat and made his way to me. He wore a bright smile and held a bouquet of prismatic flowers in his hand.
To any other young lady in London, it would be a dream come true. She would imagine birds singing a mellifluous tune while the sun glowed against the azure sky. This man of her dreams ― who was of a high position and charming ― would then kneel down, whip out a ring and ask her for her hand in marriage. They would then live happily ever after with the woman popping out babies every other year while the man remained his chauvanistic but dashing self.
Codswallop. All that was far from a wish fulfilled. It was a nightmare for me.
Captain Carter held out the flowers to me with one hand while placing the other behind his back. He bowed snappily.
I looked cautiously at the colourful blooms then at my Aunt. She glared exhortatively, threatening me with her sharp stare.
"As I was strolling down the streets, I spotted a bouquet of alluring flowers that came in all the hues of the rainbow. Pardon me for sounding mildly cheesy, but the moment my eyes landed on its magnificent beauty, your bewitching visage unconciously surfaced within my mind. I knew that this was the present for you."
My jaw clanked noisily to the floor, or at least it felt like it did. Who knew that he could sound so proper! He had definitely charmed the stockings off my Aunt. Unfortunately for him, I was not so easily decieved.
"Let me guess. You encountered a fearsome tiger on the way to my house and decided to battle it. With a stroke of luck and skill, you slayed the mighty beast."
He grinned. "That too, milady."
Unvelievable! My Aunt actually had to good grace to look surprised. "Oh how brave you are Captain!" She fawned.
I coughed daintily in disgust.
He bowed again. "Thank you Madam."
Aunt Branks turned her attention back to me. A sickly sweet smile stretched unnaturally across her face as if someone had decided to drag each side of her mouth up and pin it in place. She tried to hint discreetly to the suitor. "Thank you Captain for the flowers. I am confident that my neice loves them." Her eyes dared me to speak otherwise.
He held out the bouquet to me, his head in a slightly demure tilt. "Will thou accept this humble gift?"
He couldn't be serious! He should have been the man who knew best how much I abhored such useless gifts. What were the point of flowers when they withered and died in a few days? Maybe they represented how short lived love could be. It should have been a crime to waste money on such things. Worse of all, they were not edible! They were useless, very useless indeed.
"Erm...thanks but no thanks." I pushed the flowers back at him. I could feel my Aunt's furious glare burning into the side of my face. "I'm allergic to pollen." I tried to soften the blow while giving a convincing little sneeze.
His beam did not waver, almost as if he had anticipated my reaction. "No worries. Pardon me for not knowing." He apologised and I almost felt bad. Almost. "How about something more to your taste?"
He picked up a dainty box from the table. "Chocolate?"
Blast! He really did know how to get to me. His cheeky smile told me everything. The bastard was just fooling around!
I almost snatched it from him but just managed to hold myself back. He flipped open the cover with flourish and presented to me an assemblage of heart-shaped chocolates.
My eyes widened. Blimey! I had never seen prettier chocolates except in the windows of shops. Such specially designed desserts cost too much for me to be willing to pay for them.
Marrying him wouldn't be so bad if he gives you boxes of chocolate everyday.
I quickly corrected myself. Marriage was out of the question. Chocolates were not meant to sway my stand on it. Yet, the desserts seemed to stare straight into my soul and whisper: Eat me.
I pulled my eyes away. I needed to refuse his offer! Rejecting the chocolates he gave would be a sign of disinterest and a non-verbal way of saying: Piss off!
My eyes strayed back to the box of temptation that was tied with a pretty ribbon of obfuscation. I stared, conflicted, at the delicious morsels.
Finally, I decided to say blast this all to hell! and made a grab for the largest piece. His smile widened.
Who cared about what he thought? Definitely not me!
"Mmhmm!" I moaned as a spectrum of rich tastes exploded in my mouth. My lips curled up in pure bliss. Whatever that had graced my tongue wasn't the same those chocolates I treated myself to with my hard earned money. It was heaven disguised as a mousy heart.
"Bloody hell!" I exclaimed. A hiss of disapproval sounded from the female devil by my side, but my mind was too consumed by the treat to care.
The consumer got consumed. I giggled at my own pun, lame as it was.
"Would you like more?"
"You don't say!" I grabbed the whole box from him.
"Lillian! Manners!"
I smiled at my Aunt. "Oh who cares!"
Long story short, Captain James Carter managed to bring me out on a date to Hyde park by bribing me with more chocolates.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"There's the fat one!" I pointed at the plumpest duck that seemed to have trouble waddling on land. "Goodness! How did it even grow to that abominable size?"
"Possibly due to all the bread it got fed." Captain Carter laughed. "Look! That one is larger."
I glanced over to the direction he was jabbing his finger at. "Mine was fatter!"
He rolled his eyes. "You're just being biased."
"No I'm not! Look at how it's oversized bottom jiggles!"
Captain Carter's idea of an ideal date was to sit next to the pond and see who could spot the pudgiest duck. I wasn't complaining as there was no lovey, mushy interaction. It felt more like two friends having fun. The chocolates were a plus.
"Fine. You win." He admitted defeat, a wide smile on his face.
I pumped a fist in the air.
"Now for the ugliest duck."
I immediately picked the same creature as before.
"You can't choose the same duck!" He protested.
"Why not?"
"It's no fun if you choose the same one. Pick another duck."
I groaned. "Fine!" My eyes searched the lush landscape. I was considering one of the white critters that was thin as a stick, when my sight landed on the one.
It stumbled around like a drunken sailor and quacked obnoxiously. It's eyes were crossed, feathers moulting and beak lopsided. It was a pathetic sight.
"That!" I practically hopped up and yelled. The synchronous holler in my ear by Captain Carter almost gave me a heart attack.
I glared at him. "Was shouting in my ear necessary?"
He laughed, eyes shining. "Of course. It was to let you know that I saw the ugliest duck first."
"No! I did!"
"Definitely not!" He asserted. "You won the last round. Give me a chance."
"There is no such thing as compassion in a competition." I was going to win and nothing was going to stand in my way.
"Alright then. But I definitely saw it first!" A massive grin was plastered across his face. I couldn't help but feel the corners of my lips tug upwards in response.
I hurriedly wiped the smile off. I wasn't backing down. "No! How would I know whether you're telling the truth? I'm pretty sure that you yelled a second later than me."
"And how would I know that you were quicker?"
Seeing my scowl, he continued, "Since neither of us know the answer to that, let's call it a draw."
"No!" I snapped.
He stared at me for a while, head cocked to the side and an eyebrow raised. He was amused. Finally, after deep consideration, he gave a deep sigh. "You win then."
I grinned triumphantly.
"But..." His eyes twinkled with mischief. My smile dropped. "Since I gave in, I get the rest of the chocolates."
Before I could leap at my precious delicacies and protect them, he had snatched up the whole box.
"You scallywag!" I hollered and tried to grab him. He was up in a second. "You grubby, lice-chomping hog!"
He popped two chocolates into his mouth at once, triggering flames of vengeance to blaze in my eyes.
No one messed with my food. No one.
"Give it back!" A number of Arabic insults were flung at him.
"It's technically mine. I bought it."
"But you gave it to me, thus it is mine!"
"How about this: I lent it to you and now I want it back?" He was clearly enjoying the whole thing. In contrast, I was ready to decapitate him with a stick, no matter how improbable that was. He was much fitter than I was, but I was confident that my anger was a more prominant factor.
Yet strangely, despite my urge to incinerate him, there was an odd fuzzy warmth somewhere in my chest. I tried to squash it down.
"You don't simply lend food, you insufferable dolt!"
He laughed and darted around me. In a final act of desperation, I lunged.
"Blas―oomph!" All the air was forced out of my lungs as we crashed into the ground. A muffled grunt came from beneath me. Grass didn't make noises and I was fairly sure that I hadn't landed on any animal capable of making such a sound. There was only one possibility of what or who was under me, and I didn't like it.
The moment I caught a glimpse of Captain Carter's face below mine, my face heated up. I rolled off frantically with a loud crash as I landed on a few misplaced twigs and leaves.
I had read too many badly writted love novels (by accident of course) to know what happened when a girl landed on a young lad. They often ended up in a passionate embrace or lip-lock. It was after all, the most cliche occurance in stories. Fortunately, I wasn't part of some cheap fiction.
Captain Carter leapt up and brushed himself off. He then held out a hand to me.
I was tempted to let myself be hauled up. Standing on my own sounded like hard work when I was winded. However, the feminist in me propelled me to pick myself up. I was a strong independent woman! I didn't need a man to help me!
With a huff and puff, I managed to get on my two feet. I had sworn to start taking more walks, but possessing motivation was my number one issue.
"The chocolates!" I stared in dismay at the fallen loves of my life. How could we be so careless as to let them tumble all over the ground? It was an abominable waste of precious money and resources.
Upon sighting my expression of utter despair, Captain Carter offered generously, "I can purchase another box for you."
My head snapped up. "Really?"
He chuckled at how wide my eyes had grown. He winked. "Anything for you, mavoureen."
I grimaced at the romantic term. "Don't call me that."
"If you wish, milady." He bowed grandly.
"Lillian. Just Lillian."
This time, his smile was softer. Less jolly but filled with wistfulness and a pinch of quietude. "Lillian it is then."
Something in me felt drawn to the prospect of replying: "You can call me anything you like.", but it was hastily overcome by a snarky little voice.
He should call you Miss Linton instead! Lillian is too personal.
"Lillian?"
My heart faltered for a split second. 'Lillian' sounded surprisingly nice when coming from his lips.
But it sounds better from another mouth that is almost always sealed shut.
I shook my head a little to clear my thoughts. Why was forgetting *him* such a tricky matter? It was as if Mr Ambrose had engraved his name into my brain such that almost everything reminded me of him.
"Lillian?"
I was jolted out of my pensive mood. "What?" I asked almost rudely.
"We were talking about chocolates, weren't we?"
"Yes!" I assumed a cheerful disposition at the word 'chocolate'. "Where do we buy it from?"
A sly grin played across his lips.
I asked cautiously, "There is a catch, isn't there?"
"What makes you think so?"
"Your smile says it all." I informed drily.
His smile broadened. "Darn! You're too observant."
"Oh just spit it out!"
"Alright. The catch is..." His eyes twinkled like how a trickster's would when success was in the palm of his hand. "You'll have to agree to go on a proper date with me."
I groaned and shot him my dirtiest look.
"It can't be that bad." He laughed. "Maybe I can even alter your biased perception against men."
"Good luck with that, Captain Carter." I mocked.
"Thank you. I believe I'll need it."
I didn't know why deep down, I found a spark of felicity, followed by tingles coursing through my veins.
It must have been the chocolates, only the chocolates.
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Sorry for missing last week's update. I am a horrible excuse for a writer XD. I am trying to make up for that by making better chapters but I'm not really suceeding.
For my other book, I guess I'll not be updating as I'm already struggling to update this one.
My wifi crashed and now my 4G is at 200MB. Someone save me.
AND CHRISTMAS IS COMING. CAN'T YOU FEEL THE JOY? I'M EXCITED HAHAHA.
MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Love,
Beth.