Bella's Time Part 3

I breathed in deeply and agreed. "Okay", I said as I took a bite, closing my eyes to brace myself for the impact. It was actually really good!

The meat soaked onto my tongue and left it with a tangy taste filled with a mild sour aftertaste. A descending bland pull of the banana kept me wanting for more.

She noticed the change in my expression from fear to relief to even joy. She laughed and clapped with glee. "See! I love that reaction. It's good right?"

I nodded at her and asked, "Yeah, how did you come up with it?"

"One morning when momma wasn't up yet and I was starving, I just grabbed some ingredients and put them together. It was so good I made a bunch and gave them to momma and daddy when they woke up. They were also skeptical and first, then their minds blown just like yours right now." She said proudly before stuffing her face with her own bites of the delicate meal she created.

I sniffed and smelt progress. "Ooh, smells like my cookies are done."

Turning, I found the cookies were plush and ready with their thick look. "Yayyy! Yummy!" I took her parent's peel to remove the hot tray from the fire and put it aside for it to cool down. Then I went back to sewing.

"Good job." She said as she watched me sew some more before jumping up to run to her room. A nightmare must have begun, because she came out with a bunch of fabric and clothing bundled in her arms, most of it covering her face.

I stared, dumbfounded. "Wait, are we going to be sewing all day?" I asked, slightly panicked.

Not that I minded, it was a low exertion activity which meant my legs could get a break, but I was actually looking forward to a more exciting day.

Sewing was not exciting, just interesting if I counted my sister telling me stories while we did it. Maybe Bella can tell me stories. It seemed like a fair exchange, but alas, that might be too optimistic.

"No Silly, this is everything I sewed myself."

I glanced at all the various mix of colors and patterns she had done, and my eyes widened in appreciation. "Really? That's amazing! You did all that?"

"Yup!" she said with pride.

"That's really something," I said.

"Come on, let's play dress up."

Something crackled in my head or was it my ear, because her moving lips seemed to have gone in slow motion up until I blurted out. "What?!"

She laughed. "Come on, it'll be fun."

I glanced at the lovely dressed, but laughed in the heat of embarrassment. "I'm not wearing those."

Bella's eyebrows furrowed at me. Then she looked down and regarded the clothes she had. "Why not?" She looked up at me with those big eyes. "Are they ugly?"

I waved my hand towards her and said, "No, I didn't say that. I just... I don't know…"

"I guess if you really don't want to, that's okay," she said, her head slowly declining as she turned to go back to her room.

I sighed, for I was going to hate myself for this later.

"No, no, it's okay. Why not? Let's do it." I said, grinning. I had to get out of my moist trousers, anyway. "Do you have any short trousers?"

"Yes, so many colors." She ran to her room and brought out a rainbow of colors.

She got dressed, and I followed suit. The trousers were not that much different from the long underpants we sometimes wore, especially during the cold weather. It was actually fine. I put on a pink floral dress.

Her eyes widened at the apparel of me.

"Wow! You actually look really beautiful."

I burst out laughing. We both modelled for each other. Her movements were a lot more graceful than mine. We jumped up and down in her clothes, dancing; I was a little rough moving my legs within the clothes.

The dresses were tight around the waist, so it was stiff when I tried to turn my torso.

Bella moved her hand forward and gestured for him to go easy. "Be careful! I worked really hard on that."

I hesitated and stood upright. "Oh, sorry."

"It's okay! Let's try another one."

She pulled out a baby blue dress and got wooden platform heels to go with it. She handed them to me. I put them on.

I'd never walked in heels before and my feet felt tight. No pain, but it was uncomfortable.

How was I supposed to wear this? I mean, it wasn't that strange for men to wear platforms. Men from the council usually wore them to appear taller in their participation in ceremonies.

I was not a man, and I certainly do not take part in those ceremonies.

I started walking with my legs spread wide, moving really slowly, afraid to topple over.

Bella screamed, laughing.

She fell on the floor laughing. She laughed so hard it was infectious. I couldn't stop myself from also laughing. We laughed hard together, rolling on the floor in stitches, trying to breathe.

We rolled upward and sat upright. Glances were traded between us as the silence sat there. This was fun.

She pointed at me. "I've seen people wear these," she said between breaths, "but I've never seen them wear them like that!"

"How do you even walk in these?" I asked with a shift of my head.

Her head moved back, then suddenly she shrugged.

I pressed more to know what she thought. "So, you've never worn them yourself?"

Bella glanced away and her face seemed to have flushed with color. "Nope." She grinned at me and sweeping flame seemed to spark in the swirling sea of her eyes.

I laughed out loud to break the silence. "So why would you give it to me to put it on?"

She wagged her head at me. "I thought it'd look cool."

I laughed some more, then I gestured with a tint of aloofness. "Guess I failed."

Those lips curved deep under her blazing eyes. "Immensely." Were her eyes always like this, or was it the light that was shining across her face?

We both kept laughing. "Cookies should be cool by now, right?" I asked.

"Let's go check."

I started off on the wooden heels, then realized I still had them on. This was annoying, so I kicked them off so fast, which made Bella laugh even harder.

The cookies were warm to the touch, safe to hold. I was excited to try them. I bit into them and they were so good; I sighed in satisfaction. Bella tried on herself, her eyes closing as she chewed. "Wow, Nils, these are amazing."

I nodded and reached for more cookies that I used to stuff my mouth.

All of a sudden, I felt Bella wrap around my waist from behind as she hugged me tightly, her head in my back.

I rested my hand on her clasped arms. We stood there like that quietly, because I knew what it meant. I reassured her by patting her arms lightly. After some time, I turned around to face her, continuing the hug, my head resting on top of hers.

"Thanks for today," I said.

"Don't. You're going to make me cry."

Even if she said that, I had to say it. It needed to be said. I did not want to forget what my family or friends meant to me.

I stared out ahead, blankly, grief for my own departure trying to sneak its way in.

"Come on," she continued. "I have a secret place to show you." I changed out of her dress, followed her out.