Gravity Link

Chapter 2

"Behind the Appearance"

It was Friday morning. Two days have passed already since Itsuki asked her out. He asked her to come with him to the hilltop and well, spend some time with her.

She had a strange feeling for Itsuki – affection, love. It was strange, her feeling that way for him after just a few seconds that she laid her eyes on him.

"Maybe love is really strange and unexpected." she thought to herself.

After a short time of thinking, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, Adelicia got up and made her bed. Then after, she went out of her room and hurried downstairs.

Upon going out of her room, she spotted her big sister Daphne, waiting for her at the foot of the stairs. As she reached the foot of the stairs, her sister greeted her a good morning and they went to the dining room at the same time, side by side. And, they sat at the table together.

If you'd look at them, you might say that they're not sisters because of some striking physical differences. Adelicia has blonde hair and green eyes while Daphne has silver white hair and gray eyes. But don't be fooled. They have the same sparkle in their eyes and the same aura. And also, they have almost the same attitude, more or less.

"Good morning again, Adelicia." Daphne greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning as well, big sister." Adelicia returned the greeting with the same cheerfulness.

"So, how was your sleep, Addie?"

"It was fine. Thanks for asking."

"Today's the day, right?" Daphne asked, with a little mischievous smile playing in her face.

Adelicia blushed and she turned away quickly. But she answered, "Yes. It is today."

"My, oh, my. Your face is turning bright red, Addie." Daphne pushed her mischievous act even more.

Hearing this statement, Adelicia kept her face turned away from her sister due to embarrassment. Daphne chuckled with her sister's reaction and unusual behavior, which made Adelicia's face even redder.

"Don't laugh at me!" Adelicia protested.

"Sorry, sorry. I just can't help it." Daphne said and she burst into laughter.

Adelicia made a face at her sister and then started digging into her breakfast. Seeing as her sister is eating already, Daphne stifled a laugh and then made her face straight and serious, though she was still smiling, and she started eating as well.

After eating breakfast, Adelicia took her bath. And after that, she went to her room and dressed up. Seeing as to how Adelicia was rushing about, Daphne went to her sister's room. She knocked and Adelicia let her in.

"Addie, you shouldn't hurry, you know. There's still a lot of time." Daphne advised.

"I just can't help it. I can't stay in one place. I can't relax." Adelicia answered.

"Then try."

"I am. But I just can't seem to."

"I see. Love has taken over your whole being" Daphne said with a gentle smile, without a trace of mischievousness unlike earlier, and Adelicia blushed at this statement that her sister said.

Adelicia was digging in her closet and her sister just watched her, smiling as she did so. She had difficulty in choosing a dress to wear for this special day and seeing as her sister is there, she didn't waste the opportunity of seeking advice.

"What should I wear for today? What do you think?" she asked Daphne.

"In my opinion," Daphne stated, "you should wear the same dress you wore on the day you guys first met."

"The same dress? Seriously?"

"Yes. The same dress."

"Why?"

"For me, it will serve as some kind of commemoration or something like that. And, it will somehow bring back memories the day you first met." Daphne concluded with a smile.

"Ohh... Thanks for the advice, big sis." Adelicia gratefully thanked her sister.

"It's nothing." responded Daphne. "Just be yourself, okay?" she added.

Adelicia smiled and nodded. "Okay. But won't you come?"

Daphne shook her head. "No, I won't. I might ruin your sweet moments together and I wouldn't want that." A mischievous smile once played on Daphne's lips and she chuckled no sooner.

"Sister!" Adelicia protested.

"I know, I know." Daphne said, in a serious yet gentle manner now. "You better get ready now or later because I have a feeling that he will come sooner than the time he said he would come. 2 o'clock in the afternoon was the time he said he would come, right?"

"Yes. That's the time he said he will come."

Daphne just smiled. Adelicia wondered what that smile of hers was about, but she didn't bother to ask.

"Well, I better get going then. I still have some matters to take care of." Daphne started walking towards the door. As she was stepping out, Adelicia called her, which made her turn her attention back to Adelicia.

"Yes?" she asked Adelicia for her sudden calling out to her.

"Thanks for the advice, big sis. I really appreciate it. And also, be careful and be safe." Adelicia said to Daphne.

Daphne walked back to Adelicia's side and hugged her. "You as well, Addie." She smiled for the last time at Adelicia before going out of her room.

And with that, Daphne was gone. Adelicia isn't sure about the "matters to take care of" part in what her sister said but she was thinking of their business firm, the Goetia Group of Companies.

"Maybe she still have some meetings to attend to and maybe some matters to take care of in the office." She thought as she was preparing, in accordance as to what her sister had advised her.

Upon Daphne's leave, Adelicia was alone once more in her room and she was alone in their house (which was not an unusual thing).

As she was preparing her stuff, she said aloud, recalling her sister's teases on her, "And now I'm starting to regret I ever told her about Itsuki!" She grumbled and continued to do so in the midst of her preparation but was soon starting to smile as she was overwhelmed with excitement.

Later, at about 1 o'clock in the afternoon, there was a ring on the doorbell which echoed on the inside of the house. In her rush, Adelicia didn't even bother checking who the person was outside through looking out at the window.

Mid-distance from the door, she slowly approached it since she had this feeling that she can't somehow explain. It was a bit odd at that time for someone to ring the doorbell since she doesn't know about an appointment at 1 PM. Then again, she remembered what her sister said about Itsuki's time of arrival but she discarded that thought. She continued advancing towards the door, still in her "revealing" indoor outfit (she was just wearing a short short and a blue spaghetti strap top). Upon reaching there, she slowly turned the door knob and then, she opened the door (obviously).

By the time she had opened it, she regretted the fact that she didn't wear her other indoor clothes, which wasn't revealing as the one she was wearing at present, because the man standing outside the doorstep and the man standing in front of her is Itsuki himself.

As soon as Itsuki saw Adelicia, he immediately blushed and he quickly turned away. He wasn't expecting Adelicia to dress like that, much less greeting him with a dress like that. And, it wasn't only him whose face was red. Adelicia's was too. And even redder than his.

Adelicia quickly hid behind the door. There was quite a long period of silence between the two.

Adelicia cleared her throat and straightened herself and came out of hiding from behind the door, thus breaking the uncomfortable silence between them both.

"You can turn around and face me now, seeing as you've already seen me like this. So there's no point in me hiding behind the door and you standing there looking like an idiot." She said this in a commanding manner though by means of looking at her face, you can say that there is a bit of embarrassment. And how could we forget the inevitable BLUSHING!

As soon as Adelicia told him to face her, he quickly obeyed, his face as red as a cherry.

"And," Adelicia added, "You can enter anytime now." There was a bit of agitation in her voice but Itsuki didn't really pay attention to it. He was too busy blushing.

"Anyway," Adelicia continued, "what in the world are you thinking coming here so early!" Adelicia exploded as she closed the door. "By the way," turning calm, "you can sit there." She pointed to the couch and like an obedient dog, Itsuki did so as well.

"One more thing", she kept on, "why didn't you even give me a call? You could've at least let me know!"

Itsuki was caught aback with the questions Adelicia has been throwing at him. But after some moments of gathering himself, he responded, "I just didn't want to be late, that's all. And I sort of forgot to call you. And how could I call you? I don't have your number" He said in a low and embarrassed voice.

"Whatever." Adelicia commented, clearly embarrassed with her frustration and agitation slowly being suppressed. "You really are hopeless, you know that?" Adelicia calmed down. "Anyway, wait for me here. I'll just go and get something." And she took her leave from the living room and dashed off to somewhere in the house, probably her room, leaving Itsuki alone in the spacious living room.

While patiently waiting for Adelicia, he looked around the room – staring at every corner, marveling at every design. As he was looking around, he noticed something lying on the table.

"Strange. I didn't notice this lying here before. Maybe I just missed it." He thought as he picked the strange object up. He flipped it open and saw pictures. It was an album. He kept on flipping the pages and in each page, there was always the image of a little blonde-haired girl with green eyes who has a big smile on her face. It was only then after a few minutes did he realize who the little girl was – it was Adelicia.

"So you've seen that, eh?" Adelicia said from behind Itsuki, coming back to the living room. It made Itsuki turn his head around. Adelicia's voice had a hint of sadness in it, and so were her eyes, as Itsuki looked at her.

"Ohh… yes. I didn't mean to touch anything but my curiosity got the best of me by the time I saw this lying on the table."

"It's fine."

"Uhmm… Adelicia… I was wondering, if this is you," he pointed to Adelicia's image in the picture, "then who is this man right here?" he asked pointing a brown-haired man in the picture.

As soon as he asked that, he began to regret doing so. The sadness that Adelicia was trying to hold back was beginning to show, but she still put on a brave face – still putting a smile on her face, though there was clearly sadness in her smile. But even with all this, Itsuki knows that the sadness, the loneliness that she felt and that has always been weighing on her shoulder just crumbled above her. It was just as if her world was starting to break apart. But still, suppressing the sadness, she answered his question.

"Ohh..." she started in a small voice, "that's my father, Oswald Lenn Mathers."

"Where is he now?" he asked without even thinking.

And this was when Adelicia's world fell apart and came crumbling down. Itsuki noticed that this was the question she was hoping he wouldn't ask. Itsuki felt like he was bringing up a sad and tragic and bitter topic. Before he could even say that she doesn't need to answer if she doesn't want to, Adelicia stated her reply.

"Well, he's dead." She said in a heartbroken manner, sadness transparent in her eyes. "He died when I was young. It was from a car accident."

"Ohh…" Itsuki said in a small voice. "I'm – I'm sorry for asking." He added in a comforting manner, full of gentleness in his voice.

"It's – It's alright."

As Itsuki clearly saw in Adelicia's face, she clearly wasn't alright. Her expression was so broken and her face was so fragile and breakable that he wondered if this was the same Adelicia that she met two days ago and the Adelicia who greeted him earlier.

"Well, anyway," Itsuki changed the subject, "shall we go now?"

As if a TV turned to another channel, Adelicia answered enthusiastically, "Sure! I'm quite ready. Well, except for my clothes. But I'm ready. Just wait here for a few more seconds. I'll just go and change."

With that, she dashed off to her room and dressed as fast as she could. Then when she was all dressed up and ready to go, she went out of her room and went back to the living room where Itsuki was waiting.

"Are you quite ready now?" Itsuki asked Adelicia.

"Yes, I am." she answered gleefully.

"Let's go then!" he said, offering his hand. She happily took it and they headed out together.

On the other hand, someone visited Itsuki's house. It was a girl. She kept on ringing the doorbell but no one got out of the house. She soon gave up sensing that no one was at home.

"Where could he be right now?" she wondered and said to no one in particular. "Well, anyway, I should find a place to stay and come back on later days. I still have some things to arrange and take care of."

And with that, the girl strode off, away from Itsuki's residence and off to find a place to stay. A few moments later, she was lost in sight.

Meanwhile…

Itsuki and Adelicia finally reached the hilltop after a few minutes of walking. As they were finally there, Itsuki noticed that happiness was back on Adelicia's face now. He could see it clearly, though there was still a tinge of sadness remaining – the remnants of what had happened earlier, the ones she wasn't able to push back. He was glad that Adelicia was once again in a jolly mood, after such a touchy subject that they discussed earlier back at Adelicia's place.

There were a lot of people. A huge crowd had gathered on the hilltop the time they arrived there. Both of them tried to look for an available spot where they can talk privately so they splitted up to look. After a few minutes of eye-tiring looking, Itsuki found a spot for them both – under a tree that offers a great view of the city and shades them from the sun. He immediately called on Adelicia and they sat together there, talking about some things and stuff and happenings in their life. To put it short, knowing each other more.

As they were discussing each other's life events, Itsuki had an idea on a topic that he should bring up, but he wasn't sure if Adelicia would like it. He wanted to bring up the topic about her father again for the reason that sharing it to him, to another person, would somehow ease her pain in some ways. He still wasn't sure of it, he was still hesitating about bringing it up once more but he still went for it.

"Adelicia," he started, "there's something that I would want to bring up."

"What is it?" Adelicia answered curiously, wondering as to what Itsuki was going to bring about.

"I would like to know more about your father, if it's alright with you. Could you tell me more about him? That is, if it's alright with you."

As soon as Itsuki said this, Adelicia's smiles disappeared. An aura of sadness engulfed her, different from the happy and cheerful that she had moments ago in their discussion.

Seeing as to how her expression and aura changed, Itsuki was now starting to regret bringing up the topic about Adelicia's father once more.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Itsuki quickly added.

"No, no. It's fine." Adelicia responded, with fragileness in her voice and brittleness transparent in her eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm quite sure." Adelicia reassured, but he still wasn't all that convinced. "Tell me, what do you want to know about him?" she smiled at him, trying to wipe of the concern in Itsuki's face.

"Hmm… What was your father like?" he asked.

"Well, to start of, he was a great man. But most of all, he was a great father." In this statement, Adelicia's bereavement of her father surfaced up from the depths of her heart and the great sadness that she's feeling, and Itsuki could see it clearly no matter how much Adelicia tries to hide it.

"Ohh…" Itsuki responded in a small voice. "How about your mother, then?"

"She's no longer around." Adelicia quickly responded and a greater deal of sadness surfaced up.

"What do you mean?" he asked her curiously.

"I mean, she's also gone from this world, like my father. She died when I was born."

Itsuki understood this situation. He was also like Adelicia.

"So, I guess even in this kind of things we're alike, huh?" he said, having sadness wash over him this time around.

"What do you mean exactly? I don't quite get it." Adelicia admitted.

"I mean, like you, both my parents are dead already."

"Ohh… What happened to them? May I know? If it isn't such a bitter topic." She said to him, empathizing with him.

"Pretty much the same case, actually." He quickly responded, trying to push down the sadness that was fighting its way up in him.

"Ohh…" Adelicia said in a small voice. She didn't dare ask the other details anymore for fear that it will bring such hurtful memories.

"I'm sorry for asking." She said to him, seeing and feeling that sadness had replaced Itsuki's cheerful aura. "I brought up such a bitter topic."

"It's alright." He smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. Besides, I also made you remember such tragic and hurtful memories, right? I also brought up a bitter topic to you."

"But still…"

"Shhh…" Itsuki silenced her. Adelicia looked at him in the eyes and got the point so she stopped bringing up the about-to-start argument (or something like that) which would really end up nowhere even if it started somewhere.

"Anyway," Itsuki shifted to another topic, "shall we go and grab something to eat?" he smiled at her gleefully, which lifted Adelicia's feelings up.

"Sure. I'm starting to realize now that I am starving!"

The two of them laughed at the thought and they stood up and started walking back down the way they came up.

They were heading back down to the city to go grab something to eat, while the sun continues to shine above and later, it slowly sinks down as the afternoon winds down.