~ 35: Fluttering - Part 3 ~

My lips were set in a thin line as I observed the lady's side. There were lines and lines of shoes on all the four-shelved racks. There was no shortage of people trying on one shoe after the other, without bothering to clear up their mess.

The sight of it made my very eyes hurt. I sat down on the nearest seat and declared to Aidan that I'm not doing it.

"This is a punishment worse than burning in hell," I complained. "How are we to get through this line and this beautiful artwork of shoes?"

"You'll great through it soon enough," he said with a chortle. "I'm glad that your sarcasm will keep me company for free laughs."

I mumbled a few curses and walked in zigzag lines to get over the shoes. In reality, I just wanted a broom to sweep them away and hope that they would land in the faces of the people who created such a disorder.

"You look really temperamental right now," said Aidan, as he pushed the trolley through the unkept aisle with difficulty. He was using the trolley as a sweeper to put the troublesome items aside.

"Anyone in their right senses would be if they had someone like you tag along with them," I said in an irritable tone. "You had to break my sleep early in the morning to get through such a tiring task. Going a little later wouldn't have made so much of a difference."

"Are you telling me that you would have preferred to go empty-handed to our dear friend?" he returned in his high pitch voice. "You are rather unbashful."

I denied his accusations, which ultimately led to a childish argument of teasing and reminding the other of their shameful moments.

"Why did people have to come in the morning?" I complained. "I thought they slept through it."

"If the shop kept an offer from morning till midnight, who wouldn't come and try to get their hands on a few items before they went out of stock?" he reasoned.

We halted near a pile of simple, chic heels that one could wear for any occasion. The ones nearest to us were the usual black and brown, while a little further, the hues changed to that of all colours.

Since we wanted them to match the dresses, we had to walk past three long racks before arriving at our desired spot. The place was deserted, probably because these items weren't set up for the grand sale. So luckily, we could rest our painful limbs before an attendant came to help us.

Aidan could finally breathe without having to hide behind his mask from the tons of people around us. He had worn his black cap to avoid seeking any attention. The only other time he had removed it was when he was trying out the tuxedo. It was good that he hadn't worn the wig and the lenses, for his tuxedo would have been difficult to determine.

Aidan shooed away the attendant with a wave of his hand as I sat on the soft seat, giving him a puzzled look. He said, "There need to be more people cleaning around this place than attending to people. I will help you out with the shoes. Either way, you are a fashion student, so we don't need an aider to get it done."

I groaned at the thought of getting up again from the comfortable position. I had briefly closed my eyes, and he had already disappeared to fetch the shoes. I sank back and dozed off in the meantime.

I had heard someone's voice nearby but had waved it out as being another customer who was bargaining for a great pair of shoes. When I felt my short boots being slipped out, I sat upright at the speed of light.

"Chillax," he panted out. "We are trying out the shoe alone."

I couldn't relax. I had my hands hold the region below my knees like I was hugging them. His fingers brushed my heels softly as he put on the first pair. I couldn't sit still with someone serving me when I was capable of doing it very well myself.

"C-can't I just do it myself?" I stuttered. "It's really not a very pleasing sight or feeling."

"Sensitive woman," he spat out. "This didn't occur to you when—"

"Okay, fine," I grunted. "Just be quick about it."

The last thing we all want to hear was what happened that night. There were moments we brought that up, or mostly Aidan did, and it got Mel into a seizure. It was a horrible nightmare best forgotten. What I had done was to save Mel, even though there could have been a better way, had I had enough backup.

I looked down at him with wonder. He had found out about our fate and rushed to visit us. What was he doing and where was he that he had found us? I never had a chance to ask that question, with all the incidents that had occupied our lives.

And then I mused on how much he had cared for me and Mel. Getting the bullies kicked in front of all, treating us and spending the little time he got with us, keeping us under his care and close to him whenever we crossed close to men, and making us laugh to enlighten any of our sad days — all of them, just make sure we were in good health.

A strong emotion seized my heart, and I placed my hand over it. I asked myself over and over again, 'What's wrong with me? Why am I feeling like this?'

He looked up at me with his dazzling green eyes. Those were eyes that one could wish to take comfort in and stare into them, wishing to dive into those and explore their hidden secrets.

"Are you ill, Celest?" he asked with concern in his voice and raised his hand to touch my forehead. "You seem to be having a fever. We'll finish up quickly here."

"I'm fine," I responded, looking away from his face. I quickly picked up two pairs of shoes that I knew would be just fine for us and said, "These will do. Now let's quickly fetch yours."

"That's wouldn't be necessary," he said. "I already have some for myself. Let's get back quickly. I don't want you catching another illness."

We exited the mall in a hurry and dozed off our tired bodies in the cabs as we travelled towards the hospital.