The 2nd Rules

This afternoon, I took Luna to the city park. She was very happy. We both walked through the gate, and Luna immediately ran towards the children's playground.

I smiled as I watched Luna happily playing with kids her age. They played on the swings, slides, and so on. Then I sat on a bench provided there while keeping an eye on Luna as she played.

However, the happiness didn't last long. I saw a familiar woman walking towards me. It was Lisa, my ex-girlfriend. I felt uncomfortable, but I couldn't avoid her. Lisa had already seen me and was heading straight for me.

"Hi, Andra," Lisa greeted with her sweet smile. "Long time no see."

I forced a smile, and we both sat on the available bench. We asked each other about our lives, but I could sense that Lisa still had feelings for me, judging by the way she spoke.

As we chatted, I saw Luna walking towards me. She looked at me with a suspicious gaze, and I could feel that she was uncomfortable with Lisa's presence.

"Luna? Are you done playing?" I asked while stroking her hair.

Luna didn't answer, but she kept staring at me and Lisa with a suspicious look. I could feel that she didn't trust me, and it made me uneasy.

"Oh, by the way, this is Lisa, um... my old school friend," I said hesitantly.

Lisa looked at me, smiled, and nodded.

"Lisa, this is Luna."

"Hi, Luna! I'm Lisa," Lisa said, extending her hand towards Luna.

Luna glanced at Lisa's outstretched hand.

"Luna, nice to meet you," Luna replied flatly, then shook her hand.

"You're so sweet and pretty. Who is she, Andra?" Lisa asked with a bright smile.

"She's... my niece," I answered, though I was a bit worried about Luna's feelings when I admitted she was my niece.

"Your niece?" Luna repeated in a high-pitched tone.

"I think we should get some snacks or cotton candy around here. Maybe someone's selling it, right? I'll be back, Lisa," I excused myself while taking Luna away from Lisa for a moment.

After that, we had an argument that made me feel uneasy.

"Luna, I'm sorry about earlier. I had a reason for that," I said.

Luna looked at me with angry eyes. "I don't want you to think of me as your niece! I want you to think of me as your girlfriend!" Luna protested.

"Luna, you're too young to be my girlfriend. You're only 9 years old, and I can't think of you that way," I explained.

Luna looked at me sadly.

"Why not? I love you so much, and I want you to love me too."

I had to admit to Lisa that Luna was my niece because I didn't want her to think anything strange about my relationship with Luna.

However, now I felt I had to explain to Luna that I couldn't see her as my girlfriend. I see her as my little sister, nothing more.

"Luna, I love you very much, but I can't think of you as my girlfriend," I whispered softly. "You're too young, and I don't want you to get hurt because of your unbalanced feelings," I continued.

Luna looked at me sadly, and I knew she didn't believe me. I didn't know how to make her understand my feelings.

"Because it's safer and better for both of us," I explained again. "I just don't want others to misunderstand our relationship."

Luna's expression didn't change at all after I finished explaining. Instead, she looked even sadder. She stood up from her seat and headed back to the playground.

I followed her slowly from behind, watching her every move. My heart broke seeing her upset. Maybe it was my fault that she couldn't accept my explanation.

"I want to go home," Luna said with a disappointed expression.

"But we haven't bought any snacks here," I replied.

I paused for a moment, thinking about Luna's shattered feelings.

"Let's talk about this later when we get home, okay?"

Luna just stayed silent and lowered her head, not responding to me.

Then we both walked back to Lisa after arguing somewhere. I could feel Lisa watching us with concern.

"Hey, what happened?" Lisa asked curiously.

I tried to come up with a reasonable excuse.

"I couldn't find the cotton candy I was looking for," I said casually, as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, I thought something was wrong. Maybe we can look for the cotton candy together, come on," Lisa suggested.

Suddenly, I heard Luna calling me while pulling my hand, "Come on, honey, let's find the cotton candy!"

I felt surprised and uncomfortable with Luna's term of endearment. I didn't want Lisa to misunderstand our relationship. I tried not to react, but I could feel Lisa looking at me with questioning eyes. Luckily, Lisa didn't take it seriously.

"Honey? Why are you calling your uncle 'honey'?" Lisa asked with a chuckle.

"Because he's my boyfriend now," Luna answered confidently.

"Just kill me," I muttered while rubbing my forehead.

"Oh, that's so sweet. Is that true, Andra?" Lisa teased me about this silly thing.

"How am I supposed to explain this?" I muttered again, sighing deeply. I tried to rearrange my thoughts, looking for a reasonable excuse.

But the more I thought about it, the more complicated everything seemed. It all sounded like a plot from a ridiculous drama. But it was real. And I was afraid Lisa would sense something unusual.

Then Lisa told Luna to walk ahead of us to look for cotton candy. Meanwhile, Lisa started questioning me about my relationship with Luna, speaking as quietly as possible so Luna wouldn't hear our conversation.

"Andra, she's still a child! What exactly are you doing that makes her think you're her boyfriend? This doesn't make sense!"

"I'm confused too, Lisa," I answered, frustrated. "I didn't teach her anything. She just suddenly became like this. Maybe because she's too fond of me. I just don't want her to be sad or disappointed."

Lisa looked at me with a skeptical gaze. "So, you're saying all of this is because Luna is 'too fond' of you to the point she thinks you're her boyfriend? Seriously, Andra? That sounds like a made-up excuse."

I rubbed my temples, feeling my head getting heavier.

"I know it sounds weird, Lisa. But I'm not lying. Luna has her own perspective on this. I'm just trying not to hurt her feelings."

Lisa let out a long sigh, as if trying to hold back her emotions. "I don't understand, Andra. This all sounds like a fictional story. Are you sure you're not hiding anything from me?"

"Lisa, I'm not hiding anything," I answered firmly, though it still sounded weak. "I just don't know how to handle this. Luna is special, but our relationship isn't what you think."

Lisa glanced at me, then looked back at Luna, who was happily jumping on the grass.

"I don't understand, Andra. But if this is really just because Luna is 'too fond' of you, you need to set boundaries. She's still a child, Andra. You can't let her do things like calling you 'honey.' That's already too serious."

I nodded slowly. "I know, Lisa. I just need time to talk to Luna about it."

In the distance, Luna suddenly ran towards us, her face shining like the sun. "Andra! Lisa! Come on! There's cotton candy over there!" she shouted innocently.

Lisa looked at me once more, this time with a softer expression. "I hope you know what you're doing, Andra," she whispered before finally nodding at Luna with a small smile.

I could only sigh again, feeling the weight on my shoulders grow heavier. But for now, I could only try to smile and follow Luna, hoping that one day all of this would become easier. And I still needed to talk to Luna about this.