Rhetorical Question

In the garden, Jessica was rocking her legs back and forth on the swing bench. Alfred walked a circle around the garden before stopping by the bench to greet her. "Can't sleep?"

"Mm. I have some tough questions in my mind right now. What about you?" She asked, not knowing he had seen her walk out earlier.

"I can't sleep either. If you feel stuck with a complicated problem and are comfortable with sharing it with me, I might be able to help you out." He noticed the frown on her face and hesitated to continue the conversation.

Afraid the conversation would end with awkward silence, he said. "But if you're uncomfortable talking about it, you don't have to say anything. If you do and want a listener, I'll be here." He smiled.

Nodding her head a few times, Jessica gathered her courage to speak about her family issue. "Actually, I do have a question. What would you do to convince your parents about how determined you are at a certain topic? I've tried for many years, but nothing changed."

He scratched the back of his head and took a seat beside her. "I might not be the best person you should go to for this question. Not that I don't want to help you, but I grew up in a broken family situation. My mother ran away with another man, leaving me with an alcoholic father. He gambled away all the money. For as long as I remember, I quit school early to help him pay his debt."

"Oh, I'm sorry for bringing up this topic." Jessica looked up at the crescent moon in the night sky, releasing a gentle sigh that only she could hear.

"It's alright. Are you encountering some trouble with your parents?" He studied the complicated emotions stirring in her gaze as a slight frown rested on her lips after hearing his response.

Soft breezes brushed against her hair as she tucked a strand of her hair to the curve behind her ear. Her head tilted sideways, facing him with a lopsided smile. Seeing the helplessness in her eyes, it felt as if he could hear her screaming for someone to save her. His arm raised midway, but dropped when he realized what he subconsciously wanted to do. If he didn't stop, he might have pulled her in for a tight hug.

He waited patiently for her response. Gradually, the faint smile disappeared on her face. Her gaze lowered to her feet as she stretched out her legs and hid her face from him. She didn't understand why she had the urge to lower her guard and show her weak side in front of him. Eventually, she began speaking about herself.

"You're right. Instead of calling it trouble, it is more toward having opposite perspectives on marriage topics. Ever since my brother and I were young, my mom taught us to interact with people with status. Until high school, all my friends were chosen by her before I could talk to them. Before entering high school, I've already seen many fake smiles around me."

She rubbed her kneecaps with both thumbs as she continued sharing her childhood stories with him. "Wherever I walked, I felt disgusted by those who only became friends with me after knowing my identity. Luckily, I was allowed to not expose my identity during high school, so it was quite peaceful."

"You know how lonely it feels when you are in a room with literally a room filled with guests? You have a tall birthday cake, huge crowd singing happy birthday to you and a mountain stack of presents; yet, you feel lonely. Very ironic isn't it? I've spoken to my parents plentiful times, telling them I don't want my marriage based on monetary exchange. But in their eyes, money is everything."

"Recently, I've gone on another blind date. I only told the aunty and her son what I really felt during the meeting. At the end, my mom shoved my feelings aside like she always did. She called me to rant about how disrespectful I behaved in front of elders. However, she never thought about me nor listened to my words."

Her vision blurred for a while now and a drip of tears fell down her cheek. She pretended to stretch her arms and quickly wiped away the wet trail off her face. "There were many times where I got punished for saying what was on my mind. My mother wanted to brainwash me, especially after my brother disobeyed her. So now, it is just me fighting for myself and it is very tiring."

She purposely tilted her head toward his direction again, acting as if everything was alright. With a small curve on her lips, she attempted to change the topic. "I'm fine. I'm used to it. One day, I'll find a man who loves me for me and not my status. I'll also love him truly."

"It's good that you are clear about what you want. I believe you'll find the right person for you. If you ever get forced into anything, let me or any of your friends know. We'll always be willing to help, especially Selina. Oh, I have a rhetorical question for you. Let's say you were a koala and you found yourself a comfortable tree. Would you stay with one tree or search for a more comfortable one?"

Alfred asked, thinking it would distract her from unhappy thoughts.

It took her less than a minute to come up with a response to his inquiry. "I would stay with one tree because I will be too lazy to find a better one. If this tree is comfortable, then I wouldn't bother switching trees."

"Based on your answer, you are a loyal girlfriend who knows what you want in a relationship. As long as you choose one partner, you won't think about the many other choices you have out there. You'll only focus on only one person."

After listening to his response, she had a fixed look with slightly widened eyes. A few minutes later, Jessica finally blinked and realized she was staring at him. "Pfft, sounds pretty accurate. Ah, it's already 3 A.M. We should head back in and get some rest. Thank you for listening to me. I appreciate it."

"No problem. If you need a listener, I'll always be here." Alfred smiled and stood up from the bench when he saw her getting off the edge of her seat.

Before he could turn around to see if she was ready to go back inside, he heard a shriek from behind.

"Ah!" Her voice sounded painful as she fell backward on the swing bench.

He quickly faced her and ran to check on her condition. "Jessica!"