A Tale Beyond Destiny

Chapter 3: Help (Caleb)

She repeated the same question once again, which made me stunned for real. I even let out a sigh of disbelief because I never thought that I would hear something like that from someone I just literally met a few minutes ago. “Please! Please! I really needed your help!” she even said as she gave me a pleading look that made me let out a sigh again.

I could not believe this woman. At first, she suddenly drowned in that river and I did not even know how the h*ck she reached the middle part of that river. Then, she mistook me for being an angel, which I have found so absurd until now. Suddenly, as of that moment, she was asking for my help without even saying a thank you to me because I saved her from drowning.

I could not understand any single thing that she said as the minutes went by when we were talking. I remembered that she said something about being free, or something like that, then now, she was like a crazy person who was asking for my help even though I did not want to.

“Hold up right there, Miss,” I told her as I raised my hand to stop her from advancing near me. I looked straight into her eyes as I started to talk, “We literally just met a few minutes ago. Above it all, I saved you from drowning. And now you are asking me to help you, when, in fact, you did not even say any simple thanks?”

She was quite unbelievable. It seemed like she did not even realize that she had done something like that. She was looking at me as if she was trying to figure out what I had just said to her. It was as if she was not accustomed to these kinds of things, and that made me almost shake my head at her.

Then, suddenly, after a few minutes of just staring at my face, she suddenly snapped her fingers as if she had finally figured it out, though I did not know if I should believe that she indeed had gotten all the things that I said to her. After all, just like what I said earlier, it seems like she was not used to things like that.

“That’s right,” she said as she even nodded her head with a determined look on her face, and that made me look at her as if she had just lost her head. “I have not said my thanks to you yet.” She then looked at me with a huge grin on my face, which made me even more weirded out because of her antics.

Then, suddenly, she moved near me. So near that it almost took up my personal space, and it was too much for my liking, really. I thought that was the weirdest thing that she could ever do, but I guess that I was wrong.

Because she suddenly grabbed both of my hands and held them so tight while she was wearing a grin that made me so uncomfortable. She even had this oh so bright smile that made me want to cringe away from her, but I could not do it because, again, she tightly held my hands as if she found out that I wanted to get away from her.

“I am really grateful that you saved me from my death,” she said, that made me almost roll my eyes because of her exaggeration, but then again, I stopped myself from doing so. “Do you want something in return?” she asked, which made me look at her, dumbfounded.

It felt like everything that she had done all this time never failed to make me look at her as if she had gone crazy. It seems like everything that she has been doing was the weirdest thing that I ever thought anyone would do. She was like an alien to this world, a woman who came from another world and universe to be exact.

“A gold perhaps?” she asked me, which made my mouth gape in shock. “A jewel? Or anything that you would like to have?” She started rambling about every single name of the gems, and some were even so foreign to my ears that I almost could not imagine what they looked like. “Name it and I will give it to you.”

“Stop right there, Miss,” I told her as I raised my hand in front of her to stop her from speaking again. I looked straight into her eyes as I put both of my hands on her shoulder as I slightly shook her as if I wanted her to wake up and open her eyes on reality. “I am glad that I could help you. Really. I am really glad that I managed to save you and a simple thanks was enough for me.”

“But...” She was about to open her mouth and object to what I had just said, but I put my hands on my lips as I acted as if I was telling her not to talk anymore, because, really, I could not seem to comprehend everything that she was saying as of that moment.

“Above it all, Miss, I do not mean to be rude but...” I put one of my hands on her shoulder again, even though I did not know why I had been doing that all this time. “I do not think that you have something that you can give me.” I looked at her from head to toe as if I was judging her, but well, I guess that was really the case.

She then followed my gaze down on her clothes too, before she looked at me again as she bit her lip, clearly ashamed of what she had just realized. She even averted my gaze and mumbled something that I could not understand, and I did not intend to know, then, after a few minutes of breathing in and out, she looked at me again, hesitantly this time.

“Then what can I do to repay your kindness?” she asked me as she gave me a smile that I knew was so awkward. “I could not possibly ask you for another help without even giving you my gratitude for what you have done for me,” she even added, and that was the moment that I could not stop myself from laughing anymore.

I laughed and laughed as if I could not believe that I had heard something like that from a mere stranger that I just met a while ago. I laughed as she looked at me with her head tilted as if she could not understand why I was like that. I laughed till my heart’s content, before I finally looked at her as I wiped away the tears from my eyes because of too much joy.

“Is there something wrong with what I said?” she asked me, confused, as she kept on staring at me, but I just waved my hands in front of her to dismiss what she just told me.

“Miss, once again, I do not mean to be rude,” I told her as I looked straight into her eyes, the hysterical laugh that I had earlier was long gone and was replaced by a not so serious expression on my face. “But isn’t this too much?” I asked her as I pointed my finger at her. “I already saved you and now, you even wanted to ask for my help?” I acted as if I could not believe that and shook my head at her. “This is too much for me, really.” I then crossed my arms under my chest because I could already feel the chills of the night breeze.

Then, unexpectedly, she looked down and focused her gaze on the ground, but before she could do that, I caught a glimpse of sadness and defeat in her eyes. It was as if all the hopes that she had were suddenly gone because of what I just said to her. And somehow, I did not like that she had that kind of expression on her face.

“But I have nowhere to go,” she said, almost a whisper, as if she was afraid that I would say something rude to her again. “I left my home because I thought that this place was much nicer than ours. I came here because I wanted to do everything that I could not do in my own home because of the eyes that always observe me.”

I looked down at her, and even though I could not see her face, I could feel that she was utterly defeated and exhausted. It seemed like she thought that the world was already against her freedom. It seemed like she thought that she would not be able to fulfill the things that she wanted to do, and it was all because of what I just said to her.

I know that feeling. I always have, because I once thought of that way. The thought that the world had already turned its back on me. The thought that I do not have any place to go any longer. The thought that I did not have anyone or anything by my side. I once felt everything that she was feeling as of that moment, and somehow, I could not seem to remove the guilt that I had inside of my heart.

I stared at her for a whole minute, before I let out a sigh as I asked her, “What can I do to help you?” and that made her head snap so fast towards me that I almost feared that she would feel so dizzy afterwards.

Her eyes immediately brightened after that, but it was suddenly gone as if it had not even happened. “Will you really help me?” she asked, and I knew that she was hesitant if I really meant it or not.

I nodded my head at her as I subconsciously patted her head, and that made her look at me with her eyes wide open. “I really mean it,” I answered her as I gave her a smile to reassure her that I was not just being an assh*le who would let her hopes up but then would leave her hanging.

Her eyes brightened once again when she heard that from me, and she even gave me a relieved smile as if she was thanking the Gods because she met someone that was willing to help her right now.

“I...” she said, but then, she stopped again as if she was finding the right words to say to me. It was as if she was afraid that I would turn my back at her because of the wrong choice of her words.

So, I decided to encourage her and speak. “Come on, do not hesitate to tell me,” I told her, which made her snap her head towards my direction once again. I gave her an encouraging smile and said, “You are free to tell me what you want.” I then scratched my head because I remembered what I just said to her. “Just forget that I acted like an assh*le earlier.”

I gave her a sheepish smile, but that smile dropped once I saw tears start to form in her eyes as if I had said something that I should not have. And, for once in my life, I panicked and did not know what to do to console her and ask her what was wrong.

Though I guess that I did not have to do any of that when I heard her say, “This was the first time that someone told me that.” She then sobbed and gave me a grateful smile as if she thanked me because I said something like that.

My eyes softened when I saw that she was not just merely acting, that she was grateful. It was really the truth, so I decided to pat her head once again to show her that it was just alright and she could say what she wanted to do.

“You can say everything that you want to say to me right now,” I told her, and my voice was so soft that even I, myself, was so shocked about that. This was the very first time that I acted like this way towards someone. “Do not be afraid of telling me,” I even added that made me feel more shocked than before.

She was still hesitant about speaking to me, but then, she took a deep breath as if she was preparing herself to say something and taking up all her courage so that she would be able to deliver it, clearly.

“I actually wanted to find a place that I can stay at,” she said as she started to fiddle with her fingers as if she was still hesitant over everything. “A place that I can call my own home. A place where no one will be able to control me. A place where I can be free from everything that has been stopping me all this time.” Her voice was getting much quieter as she finished her sentence, as if she did not want me to hear what she just said. It was as if she was afraid that she would be judged by someone.

And somehow, I wondered what happened in her life before this happened. I wondered what had triggered her to run away from her home and go into this city. I wondered what scarce so much that she was even so afraid to voice out her own opinion. I wondered what kind of home she had, or if I could call it her home, because I could see that she never considered it as one.

It was as if she was too suffocated with that place and that made her do this thing without even a second thought. It was as if she wanted to be so free from everything, that was why she left without even looking back.

And because of those thoughts, I did not even have a second thought as I said to her, “Alright,” as I gave her a smile again. Hope and gratitude were seen in her eyes as she focused her gaze on mine. “I will help you to find a home.”

Suddenly, maybe because of the excitement that she felt, she hugged me so tight and so fast that I did not have time to react. I was frozen in place as I tried to process what just happened, but it seemed like my mind buffered just like that.

“Thank you so much.” She repeated those words over and over again, but I stopped her as I removed myself from her embrace and put my hands on her shoulders again as I squeezed them tightly.

She looked at me, confused, but I did not bother about it anymore. I looked at her with a serious expression on my face as I started to explain to her, “I will help you...” She looked at me with her eyes so bright as if those words alone were enough to make her day complete. “But it would take some time because of some circumstances.” Her eyes immediately downcast when she heard that from me.

“Does that mean that I do not have a place to go for the day?” she asked me, that sad tone in her voice returned once again, so I immediately shook my head to tell her that no, she was wrong because I already thought of that earlier.

She looked at me once again and saw that I was shaking my head at her. “For the meantime, while I am looking for a place that you can stay at...” I hesitated a bit as I started to think of the pros and cons of this action of mine, but in the end, the urge of helping this woman in front of me was much stronger than the uncomfortable atmosphere that I thought I would have because of this decision. I looked at her eyes as I finally said, “For the meantime, you can stay at my place.”

Her eyes widened because of my suggestion and I heard her ask, “I can really do that?” and that made me scratch my head because I was still unsure about that.

After all, I am a man and she is a woman, and it felt like it did not sit right. Somehow, just the thought of a stranger, above it all a woman, who would stay at my home in the meantime was already too awkward for me. Though I guess that was just the only thing that we could do right now.

“If it is just alright with you, that is,” I said to her as I averted my gaze because I was getting awkward with the situation.

But then, it seemed like I forgot that she was somehow weird, and that also affected her decision-making because I heard her say, “Alright. That’s good for me,” without even a hint of hesitation.