The Emissary of the Flame

The Fifth Chapter: Untold Affection

"Hey, Julia!" Bradley whispered, with a little bit of loudness in his voice. "Are you alright?" Even at a given distance, she could still properly hear his calming voice.

Though the young Ainsworth did not want to feel a little bit happy, the other man's effort to ask what she felt right now was enough to paint a smile on her tiny lips. She nodded at him.

The young man sighed in relief. It was almost a day when he could not stop thinking about the said young lady and whether she was alright or still alive. Yes, this might be ridiculous, but he could not stop himself from worrying about her.

At least he could finally feel relieved because, right at this moment, the little smile of the lady was enough to remove all his worry. He noticed that the eyes of the lady had these little tears. Did she cry because of Mr. Thompson's death? Well, who would not be grieving? He himself had suffered because of this loss. Maybe the older man's life also had an impact on her.

Though I am not sure about that.

Ah, before he forgot what his sole purpose of visiting at this latenight was, he pulled out a pen and paper and wrote something.

Julia was observing him and was thinking about what he was doing when Bradley showed him his message on the paper, "Can we talk?"

Her brows furrowed. As much as she wanted to converse with him, to be seen with a young man at this late hour is not good for a lady like her. What was he thinking, and what did he want to say?

Bradley noticed Julia's confusion. Well, who would it not be? She did not know that he had witnessed how overwhelmed she was a while ago. That was the main reason why he wanted to speak with her, though he still had another one.

He abruptly wrote again the words he wanted to say and showed them to the confused young lady, "Five minutes of your time is enough."

The former wanted to retort, but Bradley was swift that the moment she would answer, he had already reached her balcony and was already in front of her.

"Mr. Anderson..." She called out when she realized how close they were.

The young man was staring at her with a very affectionate expression. "Call me Bradley." He told her, "And don't worry. You have my word, five minutes only."

"Huh?"

She was about to ask why he visited him like this when Bradley pulled out a white rose from his pocket. "This is for you, Julia."

She was surprised because of what he had given him. She could feel how fast her heartbeat was right now. And even if the cold breeze of the night was present in their presence, she could still feel how hot it was right now. She was too tense by the young man's swift and sincere approach.

"Bradley, what is this for?" She told him as she received the said rose.

"I know, the incident a while ago brought sadness to everyone and made everyone forget the most important event for this day." He smiled at her with those very compassionate gazes.

Was she assuming things? Because she could feel that she was the only woman for this man, right now.

"Happy birthday, my dearest Julia."

Now, she knew she would not be able to stop herself from drawing another smile on her little lips. But compared to the first one, this one was even more genuine. She had even forgotten her own birthday today, but then two other people had remembered it properly; her Aunt Clara and this young man, Bradley.

He was the least she had expected to remember this day, because she never talked about this event to other people. There were only a few people who knew her birth date. And unexpectedly, Bradley was one of those few.

She felt that these very desirable emotions were replacing the anxiety that had put her down on her knees that she could not even explain how glad she was right now.

All I know right now is that I am happy, regardless of what happened a while ago.

"Thank you, Bradley." She told her.

Bradley giggled when he noticed Julia was actually accepting what he wanted to convey for a very long time. "You are welcome." He wanted to speak of his honest feelings for her, but he only asked for five minutes of her time.

And as a man, he should be accountable for his own words. "Now, will you excuse me? I have already taken five minutes of your time. Thank you for accepting my feelings, Julia."

If she could only tell him what she was dying to tell him, for a very long time, "Good night, Bradley."

"Yeah, good night to you too."

Oh, how endearing those words were. Julia wished to sense the aroma of the white rose Bradley had given him. But the moment he reached the ground and had faced her waving his goodbye, their eyes met. Suddenly, the lady noticed a very familiar image on his chest.

Her eyes widened when she realized it was the same as the image she had seen of Mr. Thompson's chest a while ago; a flame surrounded by these uncanny codes. But this time, the flame was fainter, as if it would disappear anytime, and right now, the codes were much more visible compared to the one she had seen a while ago. She could already read it.

"000000124..." She whispered.

What does it mean?

What were those numbers for? And why was the flame dying, as if it was like candlelight disappearing?

She wanted to examine the codes even more, but before she could bring her eyes back to it, the scene in front of her changed. Right now, she was standing on a road.

Wait, this scene was very familiar from what she had visioned a while ago.

Everyone in the said place was running. It was like most of them were asking for help. But why? What is happening?

"Help! The carriage hit the young man while crossing the road!" She heard an older woman exclaim in the middle of the road. She assumed to be the same age as her Aunt Clara.

"What happened?!" A late-30s man asked.

"That young man is dying! Please take him to the nearest hospital!"

Was she experiencing another clairvoyance right now?

She wished she was not.

But then, the moment her eyes landed on the broken carriage on the ground, her heart went on a high-speed chase. She did not want to look further anymore, but she was too late. Her gaze was caught by this young man lying on the cold hard ground, taking a bath in his own blood. He was not only affected by the impact but he was stabbed in his abdomen by the carriage's broken part .

Her mind was telling her to move away, but her curiosity won. Her feet guided her towards the man. She could witness how he was having a hard time surviving.

The moment she closed the gap between them swiftly, remorse overcame her system. She immediately covered her mouth. Tears started to flow from her orbs, and right now, she regretted why she even became curious.

And why was she having another nightmare right now?!

Was this even a nightmare?! I am not even sleeping!

Because the young man who was now dying in front of him was none other than the man who had gifted her a white rose.

"Bradley..." It was the name she was able to utter when realization had awakened her from her trance.