Whisper of the Silencee

7

Swallowing the embarrassment, cupping her swollen face, Clover headed to the backstage sorrowfully. She could feel all those eyes staring at her back and the words that they muttered pierced through her like there was no end. The black mask was drawing down her face, drenched with her tears. Even the remaining crews at the back narrowed their eyes as they saw her coming out through the curtain after seeing her unprofessional act on the stage. They were all blaming her, criticizing her though none actually shouted at her. Their gestures said it well enough for her to understand.

It was suffocating.

She needed to be alone, she needed to let it all out.

Gathering the leftover dignity in her, she pushed through the forming crowd of the crews and dashed to the exit at the end of the backstage. But the moment she stepped out of the door, she paused her attempt to run away. The view in front of her was so scenic, absorbing away the negativeness growing in her. She leaned her back against the wall, letting her troubled mind to be filled with the picture. It wasn't as greenery as the one she used to be in, but it was enough to cure her soul from crumbling any further. Holding up her hands in the air, rays of sunlight reflected in her eyes through the gaps between her fingers. The little, big greens surrounding the place of the event were dancing along with the wind, making everything seemed so simple by filling up the atmosphere with the florally smells. Autumn leaves fell down pieces by pieces in a rhythmic movement. It was so beautiful that made Clover felt wasted for spending such a wonderful day like this. And not too far away the spot she standing, she could hear cars passing, people talking. About what? She didn't know, but she was sure that it probably wouldn't be anything worse than what she was experiencing.

"Is this my punishment for staying?" She sighed, taking off her mask, staring blankly into the space, "But where else can I go?"

Bending down her knees, she circled the sandy bricky floor with her index, "I miss you... mom...dad.." she mumbled tearfully. "When are you coming for me? Or maybe.. I should go to you..."

"Huh...I'm.... tired," she sobbed. "Really...really tired.."

Suddenly, Clover saw three small curry fishballs stuck on a stick being shoved in front of her face. "Don't be." The owner of the stick said, "Here, eat this."

Her stability wavered as his face came in too instant, dropping her butt fully on the ground. "W..who are you?"

He smiled, still shoving the fishballs to her. "Not a bad man."

"Sorry. But I'm not in mood for any pranks." Clover pulled a sick face and pushed away his hand, "Go and play with the crews inside. They--"

"Clover Hon," he cut her off, correcting the position of his striking red tie. "I'm pretty sure that there's no any other Clover Hon in there. Tall and slim body. Black pearl eyes, long black silky hair. Perfect description of you."

And that jerked her head to glance directly at the man now sitting beside her. "W-who.. how..h-ow... How did you know my name?"

He smirked, displaying his deep dimples. "I'll tell you once you eat these. I heard that you never had anything up till now."

"Fine." She said as she took the fishballs.

Biting the first piece, she glared at him, demanding him to keep his words. And it actually made him chuckled, vibrating his Adam's apple. "To make it simple, I was supposed to be the special guest for the event today. But the star inside," he pointed to the inside of the backstage, "told me to check on you."

Clover chewed the fishball and asked, "Kyle?"

He nodded. "He wanted to know if you're okay....you know.. after....the...erm...." He looked away from her, trying to portray his message through his busy hand gestures crawling in the air.

"Public slap?" she rose her eyebrow.

Scratching his spiked up hair, "..Well...." he asked, "you okay?"

Clover snorted, "What are you going to do if I say I'm not?"

"I wouldn't approach you if I come unprepared you know," he said, grabbing Clover to stand up along with him. "Let's go."

"Where?" She chunked the final piece down her throat.

The unknown man took a pocket tissue from his back pocket and handed it to her. "You'll know," he said as he dragged her towards the exit of the whole place.

The second exit that wouldn't link to the main entrance nor give any hints to anyone that they were leaving. It was hidden so secretively in the bushes that Clover didn't know that such path existed. Following his acts, she bent down her body, squatted to walk on the big round stones so that her body wouldn't get stuck to the thick branches, jumped across the shallow drain with slow flowing liquid, and it went on until they finally reached their destination.

"Wait!" Clover drew back her hand from his grip and braked her steps in the middle of the narrow route. "What about your special appearance?" The shrubs were too tall and strong, blocking the view of the man in front of her. She had to drop down her body three quarter to be able to see the lower half of him.

"Kyle's got his way. Not to worry." He assured her confidently, pushing his hand through the bushes to reach out to her once more.

As soon as Clover reached the open road, she immediately turned to the back to look at the path that she just walked on. But there was no any slight hint displayed, that a hidden pathway was present in there. For a very brief moment, it seemed like she just passed through a secret garden, stimulating the familiar fairytale feel that was once alive in her.

The man brought her to the exact spot where Brandon parked his car. Among all those cars, it wasn't very difficult to guess which was his. Because there was only one that was bright in colour, which was kinda obvious that it belonged to him by judging the colour of his tie. When the spotlight of target car she had in her mind flashed as the man clicked his car key, a little joy of guessing something right ignited in her. The neon blue Audi A5 Sportback belonged to him. The smell of the Ambi Pur diffused as she entered the car, giving off a really masculine sensation.

"Seatbelt" he said, turning on the engine.

"Oh." Pulling the seatbelt, she asked, "By the way..what's your name?"

He looked at her in shock with his hand covering his lips. "I didn't tell you?"

Clover shook her head.

"My bad. I'm Danise." He flipped his curly fringe to the side a little, posing a candid pose. " A singer. And also a model," he said, flashing her a sharp look.

"Danise?" The memory of Kyle dialing his phone the other day came across her mind. She remembered him mentioning Danise to someone that he named as 'Little D' on his phone. "Ah... Little D?"

"Wow! You know!" He laughed, checking the back while reversing his car. "Yeah. That's me. You can call me Little D too."

Clover chuckled along with him. In fact, she was pretty surprised at herself for being able to laugh out together with a stranger that she just met half an hour ago. It wasn't her talent to mingle with people so easily because it was tiring and .. just.. tiring.

But if it was Danise, then maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

Danise didn't mention where were they heading to nor Clover asked. It didn't matter anyway. Anywhere was fine as long as not back there. She was desperate to be alone, even if it was just for a short little while. A short moment to feel free was better than having none at all. Danise was driving smoothly along the routes. It was nice to see people walking here and there, out of the luxurious shopping malls, into the restaurants, living their lives so carefreely. She didn't appreciate the opportunity when she had a life like them. Now that it was taken away, she could only admire.

From her view, even the traffic lights were leading a better 'life' than hers. All they needed to do was changing the colours. Red, yellow, green. Everyone followed despite they were just objects. Unlike her, whatever she did, nothing ever turned out great. Today was a very good example of how miserable her life was.

Sighing, the vision in her emotional eyes turned foggy as she decided to bid goodnight to the world.

"I wonder what's your story," Danise muttered softly. "Hopefully.. it wouldn't be so much worse than Kyle's.."

Supporting her head from sliding off the headrest, "Sleep well, child," he continued.

It had the perfect outlook of a traditional Chinese coffee shop though it appeared to be like a bungalow from afar. The dull, yet captivating beige colour of the entire structure played a very big role in spreading the historical feels. Ancient Chinese characters printed on the enormous vases put at the doorway, portraits of the ancestors since the Qing Dynasty were framed and fixed onto the walls. Between them, the writings were written calligraphically with paints, displaying and explaining how did the Chinese characters get simplified as time goes by. Laces of the tied-up translucent lavender pink blinds swinging at the door, water fountain at the front circling and performing in various patterns. A five-star certificate and a few pictures of the signature desserts were pasted on the outside of the standing alone shop, inviting the taste buds to come upon.

Of course, it would have been a real question mark if a well-known, beautiful coffee&patissiere shop like this to be lineless in front.

The queue has already lined up to the opposite road, waiting to be served.

"I'm really sorry for the long wait." A guy pushed through the glass door, carrying a tray full with small pieces of mud cakes. "Here, have a taste. I'm really very sorry." He said guiltily while giving off the pieces.

"How much l'ger do we've to wait?" A young Western lady in ripped maroon jeans asked in her rich American accent, shifting her weight to her left leg.

"Err...." He bit his lips, glancing back at the crowded space in the shop. "We are trying our best to be as fast as possible. Really sorry for the inconvenience caused."

"Damn. This is so so so superb." Someone interrupted the discourse. "Do you still have this in store?" He asked, licking the residues of the chocolate cake on his pinky.

"Yes. Yes. We do have. It's the signature of our shop. We have it 24 hours."

"Gooddd. Otherwise today would be a total waste."

"Thank you for your support. I on the behalf of the whole crew, appreciate your words." Sticking the empty tray under his arm, he bowed 90 degrees to him, and then to the remaining crowd, "and once again, I'm truly sorry for the wait."

Danise slowed down the pace of his car the moment he saw the ever-crowding famous patissiere shop, DreamMare. It was one of the places where he spent his childhood with Kyle. He remembered how they were scolded by Kyle's parents for messing up the kitchen, for running around and not helping with the chores in the shop. At that time, DreamMare wasn't a world-class renowned shop yet. But everyone in the shop was working their very best to produce five-star quality pastries and coffees, including the guy that was apologizing to the crowd a while ago.

And after solid ten years, they finally made it. Their efforts finally paid off.

"You still look the same," Danise said under his breath, "Raymond."

"I'm glad." He continued, driving away his BMW i8 to find a space to park.

Thank goodness that there were still available ones. Pressing hard onto the oil pedal, Danise sped and secured the target space. "Clover, wake up." He said, gently shaking her arm while pulling up the handbrake. "We're here."

"Hmm..?" She crinkled her brows, stretching her body. Red lines could be seen in her eyes as she opened them slightly. "Where are we?"

"DreamMare."

"What?" Clover asked.

"I thought maybe you should know," He got off his car and went over to Clover's seat. " a little bit about Kyle's story," he said, as he opened her door.

"What does that got to do with.. what?.. Drimmere?"

"DreamMare," Danise repeated. "A world-class patissiere shop, owned by Kyle's family."