Dorran and Caitlyn

Dorran looked into the room where his mother is kept. Kaia really did a number on her.

She has to wear casts on both her legs and has to get multiple stitches on her body and head.

Though she did a good job of protecting her face from getting hurt. Remembering how Kaia hit her, he is surprised she is even alive at this point.

After that mess, Dorran sent people to cleaned up the house and repair it. Shia protested but he did it anyway.

"This happened because my family matters weren't resolved at home. I don't know how to apologise for everything that's happened. You could have died because of us. I can never apologise enough."

Shia brushed his apology aside. "Hey, don't worry about it. Kaia was there and I didn't die. Though it would be nice to never feel that again." She laughed.

Kaia's attention was on the mark at the side of Shia's face. Without meaning to, she reached up and touch it. Shia flinched a little at the sudden touch but relaxed when she saw that it was only Kaia.

"Do I look ugly, Kaia?" She bent down to her.

Kaia shook her head vigorously and took out her phone, writing, "You're still the most beautiful girl in the world."

"Thank you, Kaia. And thank you for saving me." Shia hugged her.

Kaia pulled out of the hug, a conflicted expression on her face. She glanced at Dorran, asking him what she should do. Dor just gave her a gentle smile and walked away. She'll do what she knows is right.

Right now, he has a lot of things he needs to clear up. Especially concerning his mother and father. His mother doesn't seem to be the person he thought she was.

Leaving some people to clean up the house, he took his mother to a hospital and had her admitted to a private room, stationing guards around her room.

He has another reason for cleaning up the mess in Shia's house. He didn't want any word of this to get out to the public nor did he want the police to get involved. Her house being so secluded worked in his favour.

This is a family matter, he doesn't want any outsider's interference.

But she has to wake up first before we can ask her anything.

To think, mother was the one trying to poison father.

Yeah. This is a little too cliché, though. Don't you think?

It doesn't matter, it still happened anyway.

Why do you think she wants to do this? The newspaper just said that all that was in that house was taken. He has several other houses around the world and more assets than just this house, why was only everything in this house taken?

What about us?! If she was the one to kill him, shouldn't she have come to get us?

What makes you think we didn't?

According to Kaia's memory, we died next year on the twelfth of February, and father died tomorrow. We were in the house when we died, which means she didn't take us.

Maybe she took us and we came back?

Come on, Dor. She left us when we were nine and when's the next time we see her? When she is trying to get poison to kill father?

I'm getting a headache.

"Young master, a call for you." Alex came with the phone. "It's Miss Caitlyn."

Dorran brightened immediately hearing Caitlyn's name. He took the phone from Alex and thanked him.

"Hey, Cati."

"Dor! How are you?"

He smiled, she could tell them apart even through the phone.

"How did you know it was me?"

"It's easy. You have a different accent compared to Ran. So, are you busy today?"

He looked at his watch, "Today? It's already two o'clock."

"I know but I feel like talking to you. Can we meet? It's ok if you're busy."

Dor looked at his mother laying on the bed, motionless. "Yeah. I'm free. I'll come to pick you up ok?"

"Ok."

♣

Dorran and Caitlyn jumped into the car and slammed the door shut, out of breath from running.

"I can't believe you did that!" He shouted at her, laughing all the while.

"I had to. He's just too mean." Caitlyn laughed with him, taking an apple from the pocket of her dress and biting onto it. "Last time he kicked a kid just because he brought crumpled money. Imagine that. And if they don't meet his 'standard', he won't even sell them anything. Both adults and kids."

"Still. Stealing a handful of the shopkeeper's fruits? I could have bought it for you if you wanted." Dorran relaxed onto his seat.

"Where's the fun in that? You sound too much like an adult. Look you even dress like one." Caitlyn looked at Dorran's dress shirt and trousers with a smile.

"What's wrong with my outfit?" Dorran looked at his clothes, they were of the finest quality. What would be the problem there?

"Everything. How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

Caitlyn clapped her hands together, "We're the same age then. Well. I'm going to turn fourteen on January 29. So we are close. When's your birthday?"

"Y-yeah." He reluctantly agreed. "My birthday was on the third of June."

Caitlyn fell silent for a while then jumped on the seat of the car.

"Let's celebrate your birthday today!"

"What?"

"Come on. Remember to leave all your money here." She opened the car again and stepped out. "All your money."

"What?!?"

"The past weeks you've been treating me with such great care. Taking me to restaurants and big shopping malls. Now I want to do the same for you." She looked down a little and scratched the back of her head. "But then. I can't do as much for you as you did for me, so maybe you wouldn't want to."

"Nononono. I'm in." He jumped out of the car and left his wallet in there, taking only his phone. "I'm all yours."

"But, young master," Alex called from the car.

"I'll call you when I'm done ok, Alex? And call me if anything happens."

"Bu-"

"Come on." Dorran and Caitlyn were running again, this time she took him from the main part of town to the more secluded areas. Areas he's never even seen.

"Where are we going, Cati?" He asked her, as they kept entering little alleyways.

"First, we have to change your clothes. Here we are!" She stopped in front of a small house made of wood and entered it. "Come."

We're doing this, aren't we?

Yes. We are.

He entered the house reluctantly and saw clothes on hangers, hanging from wooden beams all around the room. It looks like a mini closet, except in a wooden house.

Caitlyn was talking to a lady there and pointed at Dorran. Chills ran down his spine when the two looked at him, smiling.

Caitlyn and the lady exchanged looks and began choosing clothes from the hangers while Dorran stared at them unsure of what to do.

"Here." Caitlyn placed a pile of clothes onto his arms and shoved him into the changing room.

"Don't worry, the shopkeeper always thoroughly washes the clothes before selling them. Sometimes Kaia and I will help her with the washing." She whispered at him from the door. "We'll be waiting."

Let's do this.

After fifty rejected outfits, which included a dragon onesie and a pirate's outfit, they finally settled on a beige t-shirt, black sweat pants, a black oversized jacket, and white sneakers.

"Basic. But it looks good on him." Caitlyn agreed with the shopkeeper.

"What do you think, Dor-Ran?" Caitlyn looked up at him, smiling.

"I-It's not bad. I think. It's comfortable." He blushed, trying to cover his face with his sleeves.

"We'll take this then, aunty," Caitlyn said.

"Good. Would you like a bag for his clothes?"

Before she could answer, the shopkeeper is already pulling out two cloth bags. "For his clothes and yours. This is for other things you plan to get. Now, try this dress." She winked at her and tossed a yellow dress at her.

"It's beautiful." Dorran saw her looking at the dress in admiration. It is a very simple golden-yellow dress that reached the floor with long sleeves. She stroked the fabric in her hands, smiling sadly. "But I won't be able to buy it, aunty."

The shopkeeper clicked her tongue when Caitlyn said that, "Nonsense, you have more than enough for it. Go try it on."

"Really? Thank you so much, aunty." She clutched the dress to her chest. "I'll be right back, ok?" Caitlyn went past Dorran and into the dressing room.

Dorran made his way to the woman and asked the price of the clothes.

"Don't worry about it. Caitlyn already paid."

"When? How much?"

She looked at him and explained, "All these clothes here are donations from people. We wash and, sometimes, redesign them then sell it to the people for cheap. Most of the money gotten here is donated to the orphanages around the town. Caitlyn and Kaia were here from the day I came to this town and opened this place. They helped in rearranging the place, cleaning it, and painting it. They would come to help me wash and redesign the clothes without asking for anything."

She laughed a little at the memory of two little girls doing hard manual labour, laughing and talking with each other, albeit in sign language.

"Whenever I told them that I would pay them. They refused, saying, and I quote, 'one day we'll ask you for something and you can't say no then, ok?' I agreed and now I'm so happy I can do something for Caitlyn, though it's not much."

"What do you think?" Caitlyn walked out and looked at them nervously.

"Beautiful! Our very own woodland fairy is amongst us." She cheered for her, making Caitlyn blush more.

Dorran could only stare at her, her long curly red hair complimented the yellow of the dress and her fair skin.

Woodland fairy is the right description of her at the moment.

"You look really pretty." He smiled when her big golden eyes gleamed at him.

"Thank you." She reached into the dressing room and gave the bag with his clothes in it to him. "I folded them."

"You didn't have to do that, but thank you." He took the bag from her, still smiling.

"Aunty, the clothes are still in the room."

"I'll take care of it. Go. Shoo. Just think of me as your fairy godmother and leave the rest to me."

"Thank you so much, aunty! I don't know how I'll repay you. I'll think about it tomorrow. Come on Dor-Ran." Caitlyn and Dorran waved at her and they were out the door.

"No. This isn't enough to repay you for what you've done for me."

♣

Dorran and Caitlyn sat on a bench at the park, watching the town glimmer as the sun began to set.

"I can't believe what just happened." Dorran finally spoke up.

"Why?" Caitlyn looked at him, concerned. "You didn't have fun?"

"No. No that. Spending time with you was magical but . . . we got all these things and we haven't spent any money. How?"

He pointed to the spread of cakes, soups, noodles, and many other eatables on the bench. There was even a Brpik cake there, a famous cake that takes hours to make, no one knows the ingredients except for a handful of chefs around the world. It's also something he's not been able to get his hands on till now.

"People literally wait in line from early morning to get this cake and by eleven, it's over. Even I couldn't get it and they just gave it to you? How did you do that?"

Caitlyn shrugged her shoulders biting into a cupcake. "They always have some tucked away and would give it to me when I passed them. I like this cupcake more than that though. You can have it all."

"You're really something else, Caitlyn. Everyone holds you so dearly." He laughed. "Every shop owner we passed complimented you, threatened me, and give you something. You're a really good person."

Caitlyn swallowed the cupcake and said, "I'm just nice because I think that's what we should be."

She leaned in closer to him, a sly smile on her face. "Want me to tell you a secret?"

"S-sure."

He could stare into her wide, golden eyes all day long.

"I hate everyone we just met." Her gentle face turned sour when she said that.

"What?"