A Promise to the Moon [BL]

Pete stopped the car in front of the house which he had booked two weeks prior. The landlady was expecting him, she was already standing in front of the main gate, since he gave her a call as he got close to the town. “Good morning. It’s nice to meet you and thank you for coming on such short notice.” He greeted her with respect. She could be around fifty years old but her hair was already fully gray, her skin looked tired. She wore no makeup and even her clothes looked different from what he was used to seeing in the capital. “Good morning. How was your trip? You must be tired after driving all this way by yourself. Come, come. I prepared breakfast for you.” She told him, as she opened the gate for him so he could park his car inside of the area. Pete got back into his car, parked inside. As he was getting his luggage, the lady closed the gate. “Just leave it be for now. You can take your luggage later.” She stopped him before he could take out the rest of the bags . Pete picked up the one which he had already taken out before closing the car and following the owner inside of the house. The building itself looked huge and spacious but Pete noticed it was divided into several sections, each with a small parking spot inside of the closed garden. The separated ground floor apartments had private garden space, with a covered terrace to provide privacy, but there were three other floors which had separate entrances and only provided smaller apartments with balconies and access to the roof. “Thank you, ma’am.” Pete entered the house right after her, leaving the luggage beside the door together with his shoes. She had already prepared all the food, perfectly serving it on the table. Pete wasn’t used to such a heavy breakfast as he saw on the table. Normally, he would only eat porridge and not a full meal, but since she had already prepared this for him, he couldn’t refuse her without being impolite. She offered a chair to Pete before taking her seat at the head of the table. Pete sat beside her, taking the cutlery which she had handed to him. He accepted the bowl of soup that she had poured and placed it in front of him. Pete felt nervous. His mother was a caring person, but not even his mother served him so thoroughly. He wasn’t used to anything like that. “Did you receive the payment, ma’am?” He asked her. She looked up at him with a slight surprise in her eyes. “Oh dear. Don’t worry about that. We can discuss all those details later. Just eat and get some rest. In the evening I will stop by and we can sign the contract and get the details ready.” She replied to him with a broad smile on her lips. There wasn’t much to discuss. Pete had already arranged everything with her over the phone during the past two weeks when he searched for proper accommodation. Once he made that final decision to leave the capital and move to the small coastal city. He agreed with the rules she set up and with the price as well, without negotiation. Before leaving the capital, he transferred the payment for the next half a year to make sure he could stay in his chosen apartment. He just wanted confirmation that the transaction was successful. “Alright then. Thank you again.” He replied to her with a shy, slightly uncomfortable smile. They finished breakfast saying no other word. After breakfast, Pete went to unload his luggage from the car and when he returned, all the leftovers were gone and the table was perfectly clean. “I have put the leftovers in the fridge. You can finish them later. Let me give you a quick tour around the apartment.” Pete followed her. The apartment wasn’t that big. The kitchen was separated from the rest of the house, divided by a door from the rest of the rooms, which Pete welcomed. He didn’t like the smell of the food all over the apartment from cooking. Not like he would cook too much. The bedroom was spacious with a huge window leading to the garden, which meant he could keep the window open at night if he felt like doing so. The bathroom was small and without a tub, just a shower, but Pete didn’t mind. Since he moved to the coast, he could just bathe in the sea when he feels like soaking in water. He wasn’t a fan of the bathtub in the first place. The reception, the place from where he entered the house, was the biggest room in the apartment and the dining room was in the corner of the room, right beside the entrance to the kitchen. The whole place was neat and nicely situated. It made Pete feel comfortable and he really looked forward to the next months he would live there. “Here is the key.” Mrs. Aranya handed him a lot of keys, together with the remote. “This is for the gate?” Pete picked up the remote, showing it to her. “Yes. The remote is for the main gate when you go out in your car. This one is from the side gate if you want to walk out, and this is from the house itself. This one you can use from the middle entrance and this one from the roof if you would like to go there as well. Usually, I don’t give those two when you rent a garden apartment, but I guess you might find it quite relaxing.” Pete subconsciously looked up at the sky to the roof of the building, as she spoke about it. “Oh. Thank you.” He replied to her. He didn’t know why she was so generous to him. Maybe it was her real nature, taking care of her tenants. Either way, she made him feel comfortable with her heartwarming welcome. Pete didn’t know exactly how long he was going to stay there. Or more precisely, he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to stay, he was just hoping he could live his life. “You are most welcome. I can show you the neighborhood in the evening or, if you would be more comfortable, I am sure my son could give you a full tour around the town as well. You should know where to buy groceries and which restaurant to visit. I am sure you will find this place very pleasant.” She kept her broad, warming smile on her lips while talking to him. Pete feared he would bother her too much, but at the same time, he really wanted to accept her offer. He needed to get to know the town and the good places for shopping. “If that won’t be too much of a bother, I’d like to have a tour around the town.” Pete replied to her nervously. “Alright. I will talk to my son then. Get some rest now. I am sure you must be exhausted by now.” She told him, ready to leave the apartment. Pete walked her out of the house. “Have a nice day, ma’am.” He wished for her. “No need to call me like that. Just call me ma, like everyone in the town.” She spoke with a slight, gentle scolding tone while complaining about his politeness. “Oh, okay… ma.” He stuttered before getting the word ma out of his lips. Until now, the only person he called like that was his own mother and the mother of his best friend. “See you later.” She said, turning around and walking away. Pete followed her with his eyes for a moment, before he closed the side gate and went inside of the house. It was the first time he had been alone in any place. Even during his college, he lived in the house with his parents, since he attended college in the capital as well, and because of his condition, they refused to let him live alone. For the first time in his life, he was finally alone, just by himself. Pete inhaled and exhaled deeply several times, with his eyes closed, trying to calm his mind. He enjoyed the feeling of loneliness, but it scared him as well. A lot of things in his life didn’t go as he wanted, as he planned, and he wasn’t used to being alone. Now, when he was away from his parents, he realized he never had to take care of himself and the unknown experience which laid in front both scared and excited him. Pete took his luggage to the bedroom, unpacked his clothes, and carefully placed them into the wardrobe. He organized the bathroom cosmetics and towels before putting away the suitcases. He wanted to get some rest before evening, but from driving he felt sticky, sweating all over his body. Pete took a faintly cold shower before getting into clean clothes and lying on his bed. He picked up his phone, which he placed on the nightstand beside the bed before the shower, and looked up his contact list. The number he always kept as first belonged to his mother. He hesitated with his finger hanging above the call button before he finally hit it. “Hello my baby boy.” His mother greeted him in a low voice. “Hey ma.” He greeted her back. “Did you arrive?” She continued speaking. Pete only hummed a reply, not really sure what he should talk about. He didn’t leave the home on good terms. His father shouted at him yesterday because of his decision, trying to change his mind and keep him home. “Dad is still angry?” Pete asked after an awkwardly silent moment. “He will come around, dear, don’t worry. Just take care of yourself, please. You know we love you.” She told him. Her voice almost cracked in the middle. Exactly for this reason, Pete felt reluctant to call her in the first place, but he couldn’t bear to leave her with worries about his safety. She was the reason he thought about staying there and kept pretending that everything was alright. Pete didn't reply to her words. “Pete?” She called his name. “Yes, ma?” He replied to her. “Do what you always wanted to do, but please promise me, if anything happens, tell us right away, okay?” Pete knew what his mom had talked about. He knew very well what she feared the most. “I promise, mom.” He assured her. He hung up the call because he didn’t want her to hear him crying. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked up at the ceiling. His inner conflict about the decision to leave the capital, leave his parents behind, leave everything behind and just disappear from there, where everything was slowly crushing him. He couldn’t bear it any longer, but now, hearing his mother’s words, he felt guilty about leaving. The words his father shouted at him yesterday suddenly felt so real and true.