Meeting him

When Ava got out of the bathroom, Anna was already waiting with the 'plainest' cloth she could find.

"This is..." Ava asked unsure of how to react. The cloth or precisely the dress that Anna had chosen was too flowery in her eyes.

"The plainest one," Anna grinned. She was certain the dress would suit the Young Miss. Actually, no matter how long she searched even with the upgrade system she planned on doing, that was the only 'plain-looking cloth' that she could find.

Such was the life of the rich. Anna could only sigh.

"Must I wear this. Sister, this is too uncomfortable for me. Can I chose something else to wear?" Ava lifted her head and tearfully looked at Anna.

'Ughh, not fair!' Anna complained in her mind. She could see the trick Ava was playing.

"Young Miss, ermmm, why don't you try this one first. If it's too uncomfortable on your skin, we'll find others?" Anna was indeed the expert in negotiating that even Ava couldn't retaliate. She finally yielded and wore the dress.

"How is it?" Anna was circling the Young Miss, looking at every corner to see the perfectly worn dressed on Ava's body.

True to what she expected, the Young Miss looked more dignified when she wore better attire. Not that the usual wearable was the worst, except they were simply unflattering and too big for Ava's small body.

Ava watched her reflection on the mirror. Surprisingly, she liked what she saw. The fabric also felt soft on her skin. It was very comfortable that she almost feels like wearing nothing. The person in the mirror also seemed to glow more than before.

While still amused by what she saw, Ava felt her hair being softly pulled. She looked up and saw Anna was combing her hair. Since she wore a short bob hairstyle; one that was suggested by the barber who volunteered at the orphanage, Anna could only tweak them a little and finalized her magic by slipping a butterfly pin on her hair.

It took an hour and a half for the whole process to end. From bathing, getting dress and hairdo, that was the longest time Ava had taken just to get ready.

Thinking that there was nothing else to do, she remembered, that her grandpa was still waiting at the dining room. She quickly urged Anna to show her the way. Anna happily did so.

"Grandpa!" Ava saw her grandpa took a sip of his drink, once she entered the dining room. And the moment her shout ended, a beautiful melody entered her ears.

She looked around and saw the back view of a boy who was playing the piano in the same room. She frowned not understanding why would her grandpa hire a pianist to play live early in the morning. And which piano prodigy is this? Ava shut the thoughts she had, realizing that she probably made the wrong guess.

She walked towards her grandpa who was already waving at her.

"Little princess, how was your sleep? Are you comfortable with your room? If not, you can choose any other rooms you like," Willow Sr. assisted her granddaughter to sit on the chair to his right side.

"No grandpa. I love the room and moving room is too much work," Ava argued.

She couldn't help but felt helpless when dealing with the views of the rich.

Willow Sr. laughed cheerfully at his granddaughter's reply. He nodded, acknowledging her opinion.

That was when the melody from the piano came to stop, and Ava could hear her grandpa called the boy's name.

"Zen, come! Let's play a round of chess while accompanying my little princess here to eat," Ava looked up and stared at the same direction to her grandpa. There he saw the face of the boy and immediately a nickname came to mind.

"A doll?" she blurted out. Both Willow Sr. and Zen, who was already taking his seat, looked at her.

"Him?" Willow Sr. pointed to Zen while looking at Ava.

"I'm a doll?" Zen asked. His face blanked. Ava coughed, knowing that she somehow expressed her thought loudly.

"It's a compliment. You look like a doll. A perfect sculpture!" Ava showed a thumb up that made Willow Sr. laughed triumphantly.

Zen, on the other hand, had a different thought. He was thinking hard, wondering why he was referred to as a doll.

Ava stole a look at Zen and saw him was staring at her. "It's really a compliment," she muttered. The fact was, she indeed came up with the nickname as a compliment.

If anyone saw Zen, they would think similarly to hers. He was like a doll, everything; the eyes, nose, lips and even the trimmed of his hair were in perfect position.

The closest thing that she could compare to was a doll; one that was perfectly crafted.

"Hmm, let's say it was," Zen with his blanked expression took a sip of his hot chocolate, one that Ava was also having.

"Alright, now that everyone is here. Let's introduce ourselves," Willow Sr. then lifted her glass and a spoon, made them clash together to get the attention of the two children sitting on his left and right sides.

"You first," He motioned the boy to introduce himself. Zen was startled before he understood what Willow Sr. was referring to.

He stood up and offered his hand to Ava who was also standing the moment she saw his hand ready for a handshake.

The moment their palm touched each other, Zen introduced himself followed by Ava using a similar pattern he used to introduce himself.

"Zen Easton. 8 years old. A guest of this residence,"

"Ava Willow. 6 years old. A new resident,"

They looked at each other, nodding before releasing their hand and sit down.

Their synchronization made Willow Sr. applauded in delight.

Some of the bystanders almost shrieked in awe, for the two of them looked adorable at that time of the event.

No one realized that when they both introduced themselves, their eyes were in constant fight, waiting for one to look away.

In the end, they both knew, the competition was useless, therefore, they both retreated the moment Ava finished her introduction. They were actually surprised to know they both thought the same.

"Alright, the introduction is done. Now, we have three people living in this big house. You two should play more to create noises for this old man," Willow Sr. was grinning from ear to ear seeing the two children getting closer.

Who knew that later on, they were indeed getting closer just to win against each other.

"Grandpa, only three of us in this big house?" Ava was surprised for she expected more family members to live in the same house.

"Well, they all have their own family and live at their own land," Willow Sr. chuckled as soon as he ended his sentence. He was careful not to show the annoyed expression on his face.

"I see," Ava mumbled while chewing the food inside her mouth. She didn't want to ask any more questions for she had noticed the split second her grandpa's face went numb, probably trying hard to maintain his normal expression.

Then, she noticed Zen was staring at her, she stared back and saw him shook his head a little.

"Don't," was what she saw him trying to say, even though he only mimicked the word with his lips.