Chapter 7

On the next weekend, Taria called Tian and asked him to come to her house, then she started preparing breakfast for both of them. When Tian entered, Taria was singing and dancing while cooking, so he kept watching her until she turned around and saw him.

"Why didn't you knock?", Taria said while her face turned red

"I did, but someone was so busy singing and didn't hear me. You know how to cook?", Tian said while putting a boiled egg inside his mouth, but it so hot that he started blowing out

"Sho hot, sho hot", he said, and Taria started waving her hands and blowing on him to cool the food in his mouth down, then she asked him to get out of the kitchen so she could continue cooking peacefully.

Tian looked around the living room, and it was his first time seeing a picture of Taria as a child. "She was so cute", he thought, but when he saw a picture of her mother, he felt bad for a reason he didn't know, however, before he could think more about it, Taria called him to eat.

"When did you learn how to cook?", Tian said

"I had to live alone since I was 14 so I learned it automatically. Do you like it?", Taria said with sparkling eyes that were waiting for a praise

"Yes, it's really good", he said, poking her nose

"You like poking my nose, don't you?", she said while smiling

"My brother poked my nose a lot when I was young, so I poke your nose spontaneously when you seem cute, and you are one of the few people that I can make physical contact with without feeling bad", he said, making her eyes teary. "Hey hey hey, why are you crying? Ok I won't poke your nose again", he said, not knowing what to do, and getting deja vu.

"No no, sniff, I like when you poke my nose. I was just getting emotional, but Tian, why am I one of these people, I mean, we are friends now, but you poked my nose way before we got this close", she said

Tian felt heavy as he didn't know the answer himself. Taria was a special case since the start for him. He would usually feels bad in his stomach as if he was about to throw up whenever a person touched him, which is the reason he usually walks with his hands in his pockets, but he never got that feeling with her, more then that, her warm touch makes him feel good

"I don't know", he said, making himself busy with eating to not make eye contact with her

She wiped her tears and said "finish your food now, we have to go"

After Tian and Taria finished eating, they both went out of the house.

"Where are you going? The car is this way", Tian said

"Who said we are going to go using your car? come o~n I will teach you what does fun mean", Taria said while pulling him to the opposite side, then they went to the bus station and waited

"When will the bus arrive?", Tian said

"Five more minutes", Taria said

"Then tell me what are we going to do", Tian said

"No no no. It's a surprise", Taria said, shaking her head, then the bus came.

It was Tian's first time taking the bus, and he seemed so confused which made Taria laugh.

After half an hour, they reached an old store where everything was like the past century. There were a lot of stalls that sold food, accessories, and even souvenirs, and the stores were all bright and colorful. Taria held Tian's hand and started walking around, she bought some kebabs that turned out to be Tian's first, then she listened to a hex while telling her about their future.

"You were strangers not long ago, but your fate threads were wrapped around each other from the start. You both have a future full of obstacles, but you won't be alone", the hex said, then Tian pulled Taria away while she wanted to ask more questions.

"I wanted to know what kind of obstacles we would fa~ce", Taria said

"Don't believe her, idiot", Tian said, then Taria suddenly disappeared.

Tian felt a heavy feeling in his chest and he started looking for Taria everywhere. He called her many times but her phone was closed, and he was going to call someone else when he felt a gentle pat on his shoulder. When he turned around, Taria was holding two cotton candies and staring at him with smiley eyes, then she handed one of the cotton candies to him while she was drowning in the other. Tian sighed and took the cotton candy, then Taria asked him "Whatsh wong (what's wrong)", but he pinched her ear saying "don't disappear like that again", then he put his hand on his pocket and walked in front of her. Taria felt concerned that Tian gets worried fast, but she didn't hate it, so she ran towards him and said "wait for me, sister".

After they finished looking around the stores, they waited for the bus again, then they went to the fountain of wishes. Taria clasped her hands while holding them close to her heart, then she opened her eyes, and made a ring with her fingers, pointing it towards the sun. Tian was watching her silently, and once she finished, she asked him to clasp his hands as she did and make a wish. He refused at first saying that wishes never come true, but Taria held his hands and clasped them together, then she closed his eyes with her hand and asked him to make a wish once more.

After Tian made a wish, Taria took her hand off of his eyes, and the first thing he saw was her standing close to him. Her brown wavy hair was shining under the sunlight, her eyes were sparkling just like the water in the fountain behind her, and her smile was so warm and full of life. Tian felt the time stopped, or that's what he wanted. His heartbeats became faster and he froze for a moment without blinking. No thoughts were running in his mind, and no voice around him was heard, he was just staring at her with his mind blank.

Taria looked at her watch, then she pulled Tian and started running saying "hurry up. We would be late".

They climbed the stairs up the mountain that was close to the fountain, then Taria dragged Tian away from the stairs, and walked with him for almost ten minutes until they reached the place Taria wanted. It was a high cliff overlooking the entire city, the sun was sitting and the red color covered the whole city which gave it a spiritual scene.

"Close your eyes, Tian, and don't open them until I tell you to", Taria said, and Tian obeyed her without hesitation. After some time, Taria asked Tian to open his eyes while she was holding a cupcake with a candle on it, then she said "happy birthday, Tian".

Tian's heartbeats became faster again while seeing the candle light reflected in her eyes, but he smiled this time instead of freezing, then he made a ring with his fingers as Taria does, and pointed it towards her.

"Where did you learn that from?", Taria asked while her eyes got wider

"I saw you doing it many times, but what does it mean?", Tian said

"My mother taught me this. She told me to point the ring towards the light when I feel bad, this way I will only see the light between my fingers and I would forget all the darkness around it", Taria said, then she asked Tian to blow the candle.

Tian closed his eyes, made a wish, then he blew the candle while looking at Taria who was more excited than him. They sat down on the ground and ate the cupcake together, then Taria opened her bag and handed Tian a bracelet made of black threads with a black bead in the middle

"Black reminds me of you since it's the color of your hair and eyes", Taria said with a smile on her face, then she took out two bottles of beer and said "happy birthday, I wish you a happy long life".

Taria and Tian drank the beer together while watching the sunset and the sparkling night sky covering the city that was full of lights, then they went back to Taria's house using the bus.

Taria felt heavy after drinking the beer, and she fell asleep on Tian's shoulder, leaving him to drown in his thoughts. Tian put his hand on his chest and felt his heartbeats. He started thinking why did his heart beat faster when he saw her today, and why doesn't he hate her touch when he hates everyone else's, then he looked at her sleeping face, he smelled her hair that smelled like fresh air, and he smiled, as he knew the answer for his questions.