Love Candle II
1362 Words
Penelope Arden is a beautiful girl.
She's a fun, friendly, and intelligent character that loves animals. Not only is Penelope a beauty, but she's also a consistent honor student.
However, don't be mistaken. Penelope's not a weak damsel-in-distress kind of princess. In fact, she loves adventure and some thrill.
If the world was a novel, Dino wholeheartedly believes that Penelope would be one of the protagonists, the female lead even.
Boys like her, and girls envy her.
And now, this beautiful female lead is looking at Dino with fire in her eyes. Her glare was so fierce that he could feel it burn through his head.
"What is this?" she questioned.
Her shrill voice, different from the lively bell-like tone she used in public, pierced the silence that was always present in their house.
"You don't like it?" Dino quietly asked.
"Did you even remember what I told you?"
"Do you even understand the word aesthetic?"
She paced around her room back and forth, holding a wrinkled paper bag with a clenched hand.
"Tell me, Dino, is this aesthetic for you?"
Dino looked at the jar with little stars and crescent moons on it.
Earlier, he stopped by a quaint stationery shop near their house and bought stickers of stars and moon that he thought were very cute. He even asked the store owner what design girls would usually like.
He squatted in the corner outside the store, carefully peeling the stickers and putting them on the jar.
One lady passed by and asked what was wrong. Dino shook his head but was nervous if he did everything right. So he took the opportunity and asked the lady what she thought of the jar.
The lady told him it was cute and his sister would surely like it. Dino smiled and thanked the lady.
But she lied...
"It was just a simple errand, yet you can still mess it up? How stupid can you be?"
"Sorry, Penny..."
"Gosh! Could this day get any worse?!"
She stomped toward Dino and shoved the paper bag at him.
"Take this piece of junk and throw it away."
She clicked her tongue and closed her bedroom door with a bang.
Dino stood by her door for a while, thinking about the past.
When they were young, she would invite him to her room for a tea party, but it would always end up in a roleplay of a knight saving the princess from the dragon.
She was the knight while he was the princess.
Dino chuckled. His sad eyes looked at the paper bag in his hand and turned around to go to his room.
"What did you do again, Dino?
Seeing the woman in her sleek expensive suit standing in the middle of the hallway, he stopped in his tracks.
She looked at him and shook her head, her hair remaining neatly in place despite the sudden movement.
"After clocking out of work, I expect to come home and have the opportunity to rest my tired self peacefully."
She walked up to him and lightly placed her hand on his shoulder. But to Dino, this action was like heavy pressure dropped on him, causing him to freeze in his place.
"But... why can't you allow me that opportunity?"
Her face revealed a sad, gentle smile, making her delicate features bloom like a flower. Her hand gripped his shoulder and squeezed. Rubbing as if she was giving comfort to a disobedient child.
"Did I do something wrong? Am I not giving you enough attention?" She slowly asked.
Dino remained silent with his head down, afraid of looking at his mother's eyes.
Dino didn't like his mother's smile. When he was a child, after that day, his mother locked herself in her room and when she was out, she would always look at him with dead eyes and a sneer.
He always longed for his mother to gaze at him with loving eyes just like now. But, Dino didn't know why, every time she would look at him and smile, he felt slightly fearful.
"If it's not enough... Should I send you to your grandparents?"
Dino's head whipped up, and his eyes slightly widened.
"No, mom I-"
"Then, what should I do? I'm so tired, Dino."
His mother exerted some force and squeezed his shoulder harder. Dino hid his trembling hand behind his back and tried to smile ingratiatingly.
"Sorry, Mom. I'll do better."
Silence engulfed the narrow hallway, so silent that he could almost hear the fast beating of his heart. Dino felt like he was about to suffocate and couldn't help but put his head down again.
After a few minutes passed, he heard her sigh, then a fold of money appeared before his eyes.
"Your dad and I will be leaving early tomorrow. I might forget to give you your weekly allowance."
She waved the money, urging him to take it.
Dino forcefully controlled the trembling of his hands, quickly snatched the paper bills, and put his hand inside his pocket.
"Thank you, mom."
He raised his head and smiled at her. His mom nodded her head and walked past him.
Dino was about to walk away when he heard his mother call his name.
"And dino... try to be less troublesome for the next few days. The family has important business to take care of."
Dino's eyes widened and then turned dull. He felt like something got stuck in his throat, causing him to not answer instantly.
"Can you dino?" she gently asked.
"Yes, mom."
"Good Boy."
Dino watched as his mother walked away, heels clicking like an unchanging rhythm. Her hair was still neatly in place and not a single crease on her expensive clothes.
His mother was a beautiful woman. An elegant lady who is always prim and proper. But, when she was with Dino's dad, her mother was more relaxed, and child-like even.
His mother didn't change, but she was never the same as when his father was still alive.
As he sat on his bed, staring at the dark gloom outside his window, Dino remembered a memory of his father and himself.
The night before that fateful day, he and his father climbed up on the roof, ignoring his mother's shouts about them falling and breaking their necks.
How could the little him even care? They were gonna go star-gazing on the roof. How cool is that? Besides, he had his father with him. What's there to fear?
While they looked at the sky, filled with clouds and no stars in sight, a meteor suddenly passed by.
"Dad, is it true that when you wish upon a shooting star, it comes true?"
His dad joyfully laughed at him and ruffled his hair.
"Dad!"
"Silly boy, those are just rocks. Don't believe those funny stories."
"Then, I'm not blowing on any stupid candles on my next birthday."
His father looked at him with an exaggerated shocked face. His eyes wide and hands by the side of his wide open mouth.
"Why not?"
"Because they're just candles, they can't make my wish come true."
"They can"
"But they're just candles. What's the difference between a lump of wax and a lump of rock?"
"Well, you're right. Candles can't make your wish come true."
"See?"
"But... when you make a wish and blow out a candle, the smoke will bring it to the people above." his father pointed to the sky and continued, "They're the ones that can make your wish come true."
Dino gave his father a suspicious stare which made the other laugh again.
"Believe me, little Dindin."
"Ugh... don't call me that."
"Dindin, Dindin, my cute little Dindin."
"Dad!"
Dino laughed at the memory. His father was one silly man.
He grabbed the candle, took it out of the paper bag, and raised it towards his window. He looked at the sky through the glass jar of the candle and thought about his father's words.
"Does it really work, dad?"
"Then, why aren't you here anymore?"
"Was my wish too much?"
"Did my wish need more than just 135 candles?"
"I miss you dad"
"I wish you were here."
- Writer
