A Tale Beyond Destiny

Chapter 24: Back to Normal (Caleb)

Days went by, and Caliana and I returned to our normal lives. And when I mean normal, those times when I was still not acting like an assh*le towards her and we were still fine. Those times when we were talking with each other about the topic that we could think of, and I should note that it was even better than that.

I could not hide the truth that she became sweeter on me, just like I became to be the day after I confessed my love for her. I could also see that she had been trying her best to give all of her attention to me, when she had a chance to do so.

I also noticed the way she would act too shy to me whenever I became too sweet towards her, and those were the times that I just wanted to pinch her cheeks and tell her that she was too cute as she acted like that way, but then again, I stopped myself from doing so because I knew that she would get angry, adorably angry, if ever I pointed that out. And I was sure that she would try to stop acting like that way if ever I really told her that I noticed how adorable she was whenever she would act like that way.

I smiled at myself, my gaze on Caliana, who was just lazing around the sofa, because she said to me that she did not have anything to do this weekend, and I, on the other hand, had a privilege to look at her, not in a creepy way, and appreciate the way she would move around the place as if she really did not have anything better to do other than lying on the couch on my living room.

We really did get back to the normal life that we had, those times that we would do almost anything that we could think of, but we both also knew that something had changed between the two of us. We both noticed the change that had happened to both of us, right after we confessed to each other.

We both knew that it was because we did not have to hide our feelings for each other anymore. It was because we could freely show each other how we really love each other, how much both of us really mean to each other. We could freely show both of us the sweetness that we both never thought we had. We could freely do anything we wanted to do, without the fear that our secret would be revealed, and I guess that was the best thing and the best progress that we had.

I could never think of the best thing other than this. Other than looking at her, doing absolutely nothing, and living with her as if she was the person I wanted to grow old with, though I knew that it was too early to think of that. I could never think of anything else that I wanted to do, other than stare at her as if she was the best person I ever had, which was, I was proud to say, that she was indeed that person.

It was absolutely fine for me to just stare at her this whole time - though I guess that she was really getting bored with just lying around the couch as I saw her sitting up and gave me a look that was telling me she did not want this boredom anymore, and she wanted to do something else to cure the boredom that she has been feeling up until that moment when she told me that she had nothing to do this day.

She was pouting. Though she never complained about the sudden boredom that she felt, I instantly knew that she wanted to do something. I could instantly tell that she wanted to go out of this house and find something that would interest her, and I knew that I did not have a heart to reject that want from her.

And so, I knew that it was my cue to finally stand up from my seat, and stop staring at her, because really, I have been doing just that for almost an hour now. Though unlike her, I never got bored because I really thought that I was looking at the most beautiful person in the world. It was enough for me, and I could absolutely tell that I could do that the whole afternoon, but I guess that she had other idea other than that, and so I went to take a seat beside her and she immediately went beside me and hugged me at my side.

I brushed her hair, even though it was not that messy. I even kissed the top of her head as if I wanted to show her that she was the most precious person for me. Though I was forced to let go when I felt her squirming as if she wanted to get away from me, and I let her, just like I always did.

I did not have to look at her face to tell that she was still pouting at me, though the moment that I turned my attention to her, my heart instantly melted when I saw how adorable she was while she was acting as if she was a child who wanted to get something, and if that was really the case, if she really wanted to have something, then I would absolutely give it to her in a heartbeat.

I almost shook my head because of that thought. After all, I never thought that I would act like this towards someone, though I guess that I should not really get so shocked because everything that I felt towards her was new to me. Everything that I was willing to do for her, I had never really done it to someone else, but I never complained.

I never thought that it was such a sudden change in me. I never think that it was not good for me, because, again, she was the one who made me feel, made me act, and made me do something like that. I never complained because I knew, inside of me, that I would do everything that I could, just for her, and only her.

“I am bored,” she said to me, which made me focus my attention on her once again.

She already moved near me again, though not as near as earlier, but it was just alright for me, I guess. She still had this cute pout on her face that I really think was adorable for her, and she was looking at me as if she was asking me to do something, and that made me smile, wide, as I reached up for her hair again and started to smooth it out.

I looked at her with so much fondness in my eyes, and I did not think that it would change even if Caliana would decide to stay with me for a long time. No, I never thought that it would change, and, as always, I did not have the heart to complain about it because, really, I liked it, to be more prank, I loved it.

“What do you want to do?” I asked her, still wearing the same smile on my face as I focused my gaze on her, and her alone. I also started to list out every single activity that I think she would like to try, as of that moment, but then, I saw how she shook her head and pout her lips with almost every single activity that I suggested to her. I frowned as I stopped smoothing down her hair, and that action made her look up at me. “Then, what do you want to do?”

I started to think of any activities that I would be able to suggest to her, but I did not think that we would have enough time to prepare for them, and I did not think that she would be really thrilled with the idea of spending almost half of the day preparing for something that we would do for just an hour, or maybe, two.

She sat up, straight, in front of me as she tapped her finger on her chin while she hummed as if she was thinking, thoroughly, about what we would do to cure the boredom that she had been feeling. I, on the other hand, just stared at her with the same look on my face as I patiently waited for whatever she was about to say, or suggest.

She tilted her head, which I found too adorable for my own good, but I never pointed it out before she had finally snapped her head towards me and she had this bright look in her eyes that made me want to raise one of my eyebrows, but then again, I stopped myself from doing so as I wait for her to tell me what she had in her mind.

“I wanted to go out,” she told me, and I should note that I saw how her eyes sparkled with excitement because of her own suggestion. “I wanted to try something new. Maybe eat something that is new to my taste? Or maybe, doing some activities that I never really had a chance to do before.”

Somehow, the huge smile on my face suddenly turned into a small one because of what she said, but I think that she never noticed that because she was focused on telling me everything that she wanted to try for that day. Somehow, I could not shake off the sudden twinge of pain that I felt when I heard those words from her.

Maybe, it was the moment that she immediately described those things that she said she wanted to try, because for me, it was just a simple activity that I always do whenever I had a chance to do so, but for her, when I saw that excited look on her face, it was enough to tell me that she really did not have a chance to do it in all her life. Maybe I got hurt, for her, because of the thought that she was never allowed to do anything as simple as that.

I wanted to get angry, at her parents, or generally, at anyone who did not allow her to do any of that. I wanted to suddenly burst and get some revenge because she never deserved to experience something like that. No one, especially as precious as her, deserved to be treated as if she was a prisoner who had done something horrible and that resulted in never allowing her to do even the simplest thing. She never deserved to be treated as if she had done something wrong, even though I knew that she would never do something like that.

I wanted to demand her to tell me who did that to her, to get the freedom she really deserves. I wanted to get an answer from her, but I stopped myself from doing so because I knew that she would just get uncomfortable because of that. It would just make her go away from me again, and I did not want that to happen.

And so, I just decided to move near her and hug her so tight as if it was enough to make her realize what I had in my mind, and I guess that she indeed got what I suddenly thought when she started to talk and describe about those things that she wanted to do, because I felt her stiffen, and suddenly relaxed at my sudden hug, before she started to hug me back too.

It was enough for me, really, because I already knew that she got my silent message. I knew that she got whatever I wanted to tell her, but I was too afraid to speak out loud. I knew that she already knew that I wanted to tell her that I would always accompany her, that I would never do anything that could stop her from doing what she loved, that I would always be behind her back as I watched her become as free as she wanted to be.

We stayed like that for as long as I could think of. We stayed like that as we both shared the warmth that was inside our hearts. We stood like that, so close to one another, and no one was cringing away because we both knew that we wanted it, we liked it, and we never wanted to be apart. We just exchanged a silent message, a silent whisper, that we both knew we needed as of that moment.

It was not until we both felt the pain in our arms, because of our same position for a long time, that we finally decided to move away from each other, though not that far, because we refused to be apart. I just resorted to holding her hand, tight, and she returned the gesture before she finally looked at my face and gave me a smile that was full of meaning, and I, as proud as I could say, I really got the meaning behind her smile.

I squeezed her hands, though not enough to hurt her, but enough to tell her that I would always be her by her side and would not let go, before I returned the same smile she had on her face, a smile that was full of love. Then, suddenly, I reached up to her face to tuck her hair behind her ear as I looked at her with so much fondness, once again.

“I think that we should already prepare now,” I whispered to her, as if I was afraid to break the comfortable silence between the two of us.

She looked at me, and she immediately nodded her head. The excitement that she had earlier, while she was trying to picture out everything that she wanted to do for this day, before she stood up from where she sat and I followed right after her.

“Then, I will just take a quick shower and change my clothes,” she said to me, and I just nodded my head at her.

“I will just wait for you here.” I did not need to change my clothes now or take a shower because I had already done that, even before I decided that I should just stare at her and do absolutely nothing other than that. “You can take your time if you want to,” I even said the moment that I saw that she was about to run on her room, which, I note, made me shook my head.

She just showed me a thumbs up, though I already knew that she would never listen to what I had just told her and I proved that when I saw that she indeed ran all the way towards her room, and once again, I shook my head because of her antics.

I let out a short laugh right after that, before I finally decided that I should just sit down and wait for her to come out of her room. I just stared at nothing in particular as my mind started to think of her once again, though I never shook off those thoughts because I was so glad that I was thinking of her, and I just snapped out of it when I saw that she was finally back from preparing herself.

I did not know how long I had been thinking about her, though I did not bother to think about it any longer, that I wanted to focus on Caliana, and on whatever we would do for that day. I just decided to stand up from my seat as I complimented her dress and her, which she just mumbled a small ‘thanks,’ before she shyly tucked her hair behind her ear.

I laughed, a little, before I finally held out my hand in front of her, and she just stared at me with a huge smile on her face. “Then, shall we go now?” I asked her as I matched the smile she had on her face.

She immediately nodded her head at me as she answered me, “Yes. We should go now.”

After that, we finally went out of my condominium, and she was just following me around up until we reached the elevator that would lead us to the lobby of the building. We talked about some topic that we were thinking about, but most of the time that we were inside the elevator, we were just silent while holding each other’s hands.

Then, when we were already going out of the building, I was forced to stop in my tracks when I felt that Caliana stopped walking - and the moment that I looked in her direction, I frowned when I saw that she was not looking at me. Instead, she was looking behind us with a strange expression on her face that made me frown even more.

“Caliana?” I called her name, unsure, and that made her snap her head towards me as that strange look on her face was suddenly gone. I frowned at her, worry started to creep up into my heart. “Are you alright?”

She blinked at me, before she shook off her head and gave me a reassuring smile. “Yes, I am alright,” she answered me, but I doubt that she was indeed alright, though before I could even think about it and ask her again, she tugged my hands as she started to lead me out of the building. “Let’s go now and do those activities that I wanted to try,” she said and I did not have any choice but to follow her behind.