♛♡♛

you are my most precious treasure

treasure

noun /ˈtreZHər/

a quantity of precious metals, gems, or other valuable objects

Vega seemed to love the idea of us eloping, as she began to ask me questions. Had it not been for my embarrassment of post-confession, I would find her curiosity lovely. I mean, she said, “But, don’t you think I should get to know more about my fiancé first?”

How adorable can she be? Even years after that, I can still remember her every word that day. Lovely. Adorable. Precious. My ‘fiancé’ was so cute back then. Well, still is. Except, she is no longer my fiancé.

Ah, I seem to be distracted again.

It was easy to get distracted over something like that. Anyways, she also said, “I’m going to ask you a whole lot of questions! Be prepared!” How adorable.

Oh, God, thank you for the darling You bestowed to me. I shall cherish her for the rest of my life.

However, her first question was, “Where are you from?” which, frankly, I had no desire to answer.

I mean, how should I answer it? That I am from the mansion of Zelinda, as an unwanted child of the Zelinda, who threw away her own identity to fulfill her sister’s role, only for said sister to betray her trust? It is not worth telling, right? So, I gave an ambiguous answer. “Somewhere. Perhaps, over the rainbow.”

She was either persistent, or oblivious as to not understand my unwillingness. “Be more specific!” she demanded, chuckling as though what I said was some kind of hilarious joke.

She would not give in, I realized.

Anyway, do you know that when you intentionally open up to others, they are more likely to trust you, even when you do not disclose any important information about yourself? It might be too late, but I did it anyway. “I like fresh bread. My favorite animal is a bird—well, I like horses, too. I am not picky about my food and I do not have any allergy. I like flowers that are colorful, but I also like fruit trees as I can pick the fruits any time I want. I think that is all there is about me. Good night.”

Vega was dumbfounded, I think, as she did not immediately react. I expected her to laugh, to demand more explanation. However, she laid down on her mattress, saying, “Good night,” and went to sleep.

In the end, the conversation never came up again. The idea of eloping was but a fleeting childish wish.

At least, for her.

As for me, it was more than that. I was serious in my own way. I looked at her, day after day, learning her behavior and her view and the glow in her face and the tenderness in her touch and the kindness in her action. I looked at her, and found love. I looked at her, and she looked back at me.

Oh, imagine if she were thinking of me the way I was thinking of her.

I saw the way she talked to stray cats and gave them a portion of her food. I saw her making sure her place—especially my mattress—was clean and comfortable enough to sleep on. I saw insecurity as she humbled her head down. I saw how her forehead frowned and her lips pursed every time she was thinking hard. I saw how she was a quick learner and curious little soul.

Thus, I saw how she began trusting me.

She did not press me about my past, yet she shared hers. Could she play the same psychology, I wondered, but it was comforting to find her truly trusting me.

She told me about her past. She told me about the place where she was born. She told me about her family, about how many siblings she had—she had three!—and how their mother left them, and how their father was murdered by some vigilantes who beat him up for simply stealing some items, and how her siblings left her alone. She told me about her two companions that found her as she was on the verge of dying, and they nursed her back to health and took care of her. I held her hand throughout the story, hoping that the weight on her shoulders could be transferred through the link of our fingers.

Even just a little, I would love to have her share her pain with me.

And then, she would brighten up. The stars in her night sky eyes would shine again as she finished the story, and the energy she had would be rejuvenated as though a sun rising in the morning.

She would fall, she would break. Just like Humpty Dumpty that fell from the wall, her shell would be broken. Then, she got up. She mended her wounds, and got back smiling. She picked up pieces of her shell, and pieced them up like a puzzle, carefully fixing her wounds. She was fragile, but she knew how to wrap her wound.

Her strength, her bravery; they were all so dazzling.

Thus, at that moment, I knew I found the one and only.

I swore to protect her with all my life and soul.

and when I saw her, I saw love

eureka.