XVI
"Thank you for coming!" Naire said to an old man. "Be strong my dear" he stuttered. "I will, thank you" she said. "Arigato gozaimas" she said to an old Japanese lady.
The old lady doesn't say anything. She just pats her cheeks and walks out the door. The guests are all gone home now, leaving Oliver and Naire alone in the house.
"Well, that's the last one!" Oliver said to her. "Really?" she asked. "Yes" he answered. "I don't think so.. you're still here" she said. "Oh yeah.. I forgot! I better go now. It's only 5 pm, I can still catch a train, maybe" he said, uncertain of his own words. "You can stay here for the night, if you want to" she offered. "I don't know. is it okay with you?" he asked. "Yes, it's fine with me. that way we can go by train together tomorrow morning" she said. "Besides. I still need your help" she continued. "Sure, just tell me what you need" he said. "I want to grant my father's last wish" she said taking a closed silver cup in her hand.
The cup is filled with her father ashes. She puts it there after the cremation.
"And what was it?" he asked. "He often said to me if he died, he wants his ashes to be thrown to the ocean" she said. "But Naire. there's no ocean near here" he said. "I know, the closest thing to it is a river. And that's where I'm going to do it. The river leads to the ocean, so he'll get there" she said smiling. "So, what do you want me to do?" he asked. "I want you to take me to the riverside" she said. "Okay" he agreed.
They ride to the riverside, which is not very far from her neighbourhood. A stone bridge is over the river.
"Is this the place?" he asked. "Yes" she answered. "This place is beautiful" he said.
The view is wonderful, plus the sun that almost set on the horizon. The sky is orange coloured with some dab of purple.
"I know. this is my favourite place when I was a little girl. My father used to take me here, and watch the sunset together. He gave me one wise word on each time we spent a time here. He's the greatest man ever lived" she said smiling. "And he had the greatest daughter" he said. "I still remember everything that he had said to me. all his wise word. My favourite one is 'a good friend is someone who will stay with you through bitter and sweet aspect of live. If you laugh, they will laugh with you. If you cry, they will cry with you. And if you fall from a high place, they won't fall with you, but they will be down there ready to catch you'" she said. "He's a wise man" he said.
She walks to the edge of the bridge and opens the cup.
"Aishiteru, papa. goodbye" she whispered and throws all the ashes out to the river.
She lets a single tear out. She's determent not to cry, she doesn't want to shed a tear anymore. Oliver touches her shoulder gently and rubs them. She puts her hand on top of his hand, and they watch the sun sets on the horizon. They stay like that for a while till the sun disappeared and the sky is dark. They decided to go back to her house. He walks in to the house hesitantly, thinking about what will the neighbours think about him being in her house at this hours, alone.
"Naire, are you sure you want me to stay for the night?" he asked. "Yes I'm sure, it's fine. You don't have to worry what other people might think, especially the neighbours" she said as if she can read his mine. "Okay then.. I'll sleep in the couch" he said taking a sit on the living room couch. "No way! You sleep in the guest room. It's upstairs, come" she refused his idea and asked him to follow her upstairs. "This is the room.. my room is across it" she said opening a door and switch on the light. "Nice" he said. "Bathroom is right over there.. at the very end of the corridor" she said pointing to the bathroom door. "Okay, thanks" he said. "You welcome! Now, do you want to use the bathroom first? I can use it after you" she asked. "Hey, no.. you use it first. Don't worry about me" he said. "Okay then. you can watch TV or do anything you like. I want to take a shower" she said leaving him.
He walks downstairs and go to the living room. He sits on the couch and grabs the TV remote.
"Hmm. how do you use this thing?" he asked to himself.
Apparently, he doesn't know how to switch on the TV with remote. At his house, they use charms to switch on the TV and change the channels. He pushes the ON button, and the TV is on now.
"Oh, that's how it works!" he smiled.
In no time he knows how to change the channels, and he's ecstatic. He continues changing the channels when he hears Naire going out from the bathroom.
"You can use the bathroom now, Oliver" she said from upstairs. "Okay" he walks up, and enters the bathroom.
He takes a quick shower, and finished after 10 minutes. He goes downstairs and searches for Naire.
"Naire, where are you?" he called her. "I'm in the kitchen" she said. "Ok" he walks to the kitchen and find here there in front of the stove. "Oliver, I've made some dinner, not much though. But if your hungry, fell free to eat" she said. "Have you eaten anything today, Naire?" he asked concerned. "No I haven't. I'm not hungry" she said. "You could get sick! You have to eat" he told her. "I don't feel like eating. I don't have the appetite" she said. "Please Naire.. you have to eat. If you don't want to do it for yourself, at least do it for me" he begged. "Oh, alright! As long as you eat with me" she said. "Want me to feed you?" he smiled. "No, thanks.. I'm not a baby" she laughs. "What's for dinner, honey" he asked playing with her. "I was about to made meatloaf, darling.. but it got burnt in the oven! So you have to deal with soup and bread" she said playing along. "I'll love anything you cooked for me, pumpkin!" he winked making her to laughs uncontrolled.
She brings two bowls of warm chicken cream soup and two pieces of bread to the kitchen table.
"Ah. chicken cream soup, my favourite! I love chicken and cream.. my mother always send me chicken cream pie every Christmas and other holidays" he said. "She must be a great mother" she said bitterly. "Oh no, I'm sorry Naire! I didn't mean to remind you of your mother" he apologies. "That's okay. I know you mean no harm" she smiled.
"So, is it as good as your mother's?" she asked when he sips the first spoon. "Mmmm.. delicious! But I have to tell you. my mother's is still the best. What can I say; I'm a mother's boy! But don't worry, you came in 2nd" he said. "Thank you for your compliment" she laughs.
They finished their food and wash the dishes together.
"You see, we could make a great couple! I wash the dishes, and you take care of the children" he said laughing. "As long as the children are not as obnoxious as you!" she said. "So you're planning to have more than one child? I think I can handle Oliver junior and Naire junior running around the house" he teased her. "Okay, stop it! You're making me sick! There's no way you could be the father of my child!" she laughs and splash him with foam. "Hey! Now you want to bath me?" he splashes her back. "Ah. okay, enough! Let's go watch the TV" she said drying her hands. "Okay!" he said following her to the living room.
He takes a sit next to her in the sofa. She turns on the TV and switching the channels.
"I never use that gadget in my house, you know that?" he said. "What gadget?" she asked, still changing the channels. "The one you're holding. What do you call it?" he said. "This? It's remote control. I can't believe you never use this! What do you use to watch TV?" she asked. "Well, we simple say 'on' or 'off' and the channel we want to watch" he said. "Oh God! That easy? It's fun to live in a magical family" she said. "Aren't you half muggle? You should have use a little magic in the house" he asked. "My mother was a witch, but she doesn't like to use magic in the house. She had this thing about muggle appliances. So we lived just like normal muggle" she explained. "Oh, interesting" he yawned. "Hey, if you're tired, you can sleep. I want to stay here a little bit longer" she told him. "Nah, that's okay! I'll stay here with you. I'm not that tired" he said. "Okay then" she said.
They continue watching the TV in silence. They keep silent for a while when suddenly she asks him.
"Oliver, can you do me a favour?" she asked. "What do you want me to do?" he asked. "I know I might sound like a baby, but.can you tell a story for me?" she asked slowly. "You're serious?" he asked surprised. "I'm serious! Don't laugh at me" she said. "Okay, I won't laugh. What story do you want to hear? I'm telling you, I'm not a good storyteller. My brother never wants to hear any bedtime stories" he said. "I want you to tell me a story about you and your family" she said. "Why?" he asked confused. "Because if you do that, I would feel like I'm hearing a story about my family. Maybe it'll help me to remember every moment I had with my family. Can you do that for me, Oliver?" she begged. "Are you sure, Naire? Wouldn't it makes you feel more sad?" he asked. "No, my sadness is gone. Now all I want to do is remembering all the happy things I had with them. They're not dead, Oliver. They're still alive. in my heart" she said looking deep at him.
He couldn't resist those beautiful green eyes and nodded.
"Okay, where do I start?" he said. "Anywhere. It's up to you" she said leaning closer to him.
She rested her head on his right shoulder and closes her eyes. He took a deep breath and start to talk.
"Well, once upon a time there's a young lady whose name is Helena Burnsbay. She met this young handsome man, Jonathan Wood, when she was 21 and he was 25. They met at London University of Wizardy and Witchcraft. They said that they fell in love at first sight, but I'm not sure. A year later they got married and the next year she gave birth to a very handsome baby, me" "Yeah, right!" she laughs. "Hey, do you want me to keep going or not?" he said pretending to be annoyed. "Okay, go on" she said. "Okay. they was very happy to have their first son, and they named him Oliver Wood. They love him very much and gave him almost everything a son could ask. He was very happy too, until his mother told him a very bad news when he was 9. She told him that he's going to have a baby brother or sister. He was terrified knowing that he'll be sharing the love of his parents. A year later, she gave birth to a very ugly and horrible baby boy, very different to him when he was a baby. They named the newborn baby Steven Wood. Steven was a pain in the ass. All he managed to do was ruining Oliver's life, and still is!" "But you love him don't you?" she asked. "Well, yes. I love him because he's my brother. Although the only thing he could do was to screw up my life, but I love him. He's only 7, and I was like him when I was 7" he said. "I wish I have a sister or brother. Therefore I don't have to be alone now" she said weakly. "You're not alone. You still have your friends.. and you have me" he told her. "I know, thanks. Now, continue!" she said. "Thankfully, the year Steven was born was the year when Oliver had to go to Hogwarts. He went to Hogwarts full of happiness. He couldn't wait to make new friends. But instead of making new friends, he managed to get one new enemy, a girl. She was beautiful, but scary. They made their life miserable by doing bad things to each other. But finally, after 6 years of war, they become friend. He's happy with it, and hoped that she's happy too. She became more beautiful. So beautiful, it will make every guys hold their breath when they see her passing bye. So beautiful, that she broke their heart when she dated a guy. The new guy was very lucky, and everybody envy him. But the new guy." he stopped to look at her.
She was asleep. She breathes slowly and soft, making no sound. He gently picks her up and brings her in his arms. He walks slowly up to the stairs and opens her room. He puts her in her bed and tugs her with blanket. He sits on the side of the bed and watches her silently. She never stops to amazes him with her beauty. Not just outer beauty, but inner beauty also. Even when she closes her eyes, he can still imagine her green eyes. Every parts of her are perfect. She resembled perfection.
"But the new guys isn't lucky enough to watch her face when she's sleeping. He's not lucky enough to have her crying in his shoulders. And surely he's not lucky enough to kiss her tonight" he whispered.
He gently kisses her on the forehead, the tip of her nose, and finally her lips. He stood up and walks to the door.
"Good night, Naire. Sleep tight" he whispered and close the door.
"Thank you for coming!" Naire said to an old man. "Be strong my dear" he stuttered. "I will, thank you" she said. "Arigato gozaimas" she said to an old Japanese lady.
The old lady doesn't say anything. She just pats her cheeks and walks out the door. The guests are all gone home now, leaving Oliver and Naire alone in the house.
"Well, that's the last one!" Oliver said to her. "Really?" she asked. "Yes" he answered. "I don't think so.. you're still here" she said. "Oh yeah.. I forgot! I better go now. It's only 5 pm, I can still catch a train, maybe" he said, uncertain of his own words. "You can stay here for the night, if you want to" she offered. "I don't know. is it okay with you?" he asked. "Yes, it's fine with me. that way we can go by train together tomorrow morning" she said. "Besides. I still need your help" she continued. "Sure, just tell me what you need" he said. "I want to grant my father's last wish" she said taking a closed silver cup in her hand.
The cup is filled with her father ashes. She puts it there after the cremation.
"And what was it?" he asked. "He often said to me if he died, he wants his ashes to be thrown to the ocean" she said. "But Naire. there's no ocean near here" he said. "I know, the closest thing to it is a river. And that's where I'm going to do it. The river leads to the ocean, so he'll get there" she said smiling. "So, what do you want me to do?" he asked. "I want you to take me to the riverside" she said. "Okay" he agreed.
They ride to the riverside, which is not very far from her neighbourhood. A stone bridge is over the river.
"Is this the place?" he asked. "Yes" she answered. "This place is beautiful" he said.
The view is wonderful, plus the sun that almost set on the horizon. The sky is orange coloured with some dab of purple.
"I know. this is my favourite place when I was a little girl. My father used to take me here, and watch the sunset together. He gave me one wise word on each time we spent a time here. He's the greatest man ever lived" she said smiling. "And he had the greatest daughter" he said. "I still remember everything that he had said to me. all his wise word. My favourite one is 'a good friend is someone who will stay with you through bitter and sweet aspect of live. If you laugh, they will laugh with you. If you cry, they will cry with you. And if you fall from a high place, they won't fall with you, but they will be down there ready to catch you'" she said. "He's a wise man" he said.
She walks to the edge of the bridge and opens the cup.
"Aishiteru, papa. goodbye" she whispered and throws all the ashes out to the river.
She lets a single tear out. She's determent not to cry, she doesn't want to shed a tear anymore. Oliver touches her shoulder gently and rubs them. She puts her hand on top of his hand, and they watch the sun sets on the horizon. They stay like that for a while till the sun disappeared and the sky is dark. They decided to go back to her house. He walks in to the house hesitantly, thinking about what will the neighbours think about him being in her house at this hours, alone.
"Naire, are you sure you want me to stay for the night?" he asked. "Yes I'm sure, it's fine. You don't have to worry what other people might think, especially the neighbours" she said as if she can read his mine. "Okay then.. I'll sleep in the couch" he said taking a sit on the living room couch. "No way! You sleep in the guest room. It's upstairs, come" she refused his idea and asked him to follow her upstairs. "This is the room.. my room is across it" she said opening a door and switch on the light. "Nice" he said. "Bathroom is right over there.. at the very end of the corridor" she said pointing to the bathroom door. "Okay, thanks" he said. "You welcome! Now, do you want to use the bathroom first? I can use it after you" she asked. "Hey, no.. you use it first. Don't worry about me" he said. "Okay then. you can watch TV or do anything you like. I want to take a shower" she said leaving him.
He walks downstairs and go to the living room. He sits on the couch and grabs the TV remote.
"Hmm. how do you use this thing?" he asked to himself.
Apparently, he doesn't know how to switch on the TV with remote. At his house, they use charms to switch on the TV and change the channels. He pushes the ON button, and the TV is on now.
"Oh, that's how it works!" he smiled.
In no time he knows how to change the channels, and he's ecstatic. He continues changing the channels when he hears Naire going out from the bathroom.
"You can use the bathroom now, Oliver" she said from upstairs. "Okay" he walks up, and enters the bathroom.
He takes a quick shower, and finished after 10 minutes. He goes downstairs and searches for Naire.
"Naire, where are you?" he called her. "I'm in the kitchen" she said. "Ok" he walks to the kitchen and find here there in front of the stove. "Oliver, I've made some dinner, not much though. But if your hungry, fell free to eat" she said. "Have you eaten anything today, Naire?" he asked concerned. "No I haven't. I'm not hungry" she said. "You could get sick! You have to eat" he told her. "I don't feel like eating. I don't have the appetite" she said. "Please Naire.. you have to eat. If you don't want to do it for yourself, at least do it for me" he begged. "Oh, alright! As long as you eat with me" she said. "Want me to feed you?" he smiled. "No, thanks.. I'm not a baby" she laughs. "What's for dinner, honey" he asked playing with her. "I was about to made meatloaf, darling.. but it got burnt in the oven! So you have to deal with soup and bread" she said playing along. "I'll love anything you cooked for me, pumpkin!" he winked making her to laughs uncontrolled.
She brings two bowls of warm chicken cream soup and two pieces of bread to the kitchen table.
"Ah. chicken cream soup, my favourite! I love chicken and cream.. my mother always send me chicken cream pie every Christmas and other holidays" he said. "She must be a great mother" she said bitterly. "Oh no, I'm sorry Naire! I didn't mean to remind you of your mother" he apologies. "That's okay. I know you mean no harm" she smiled.
"So, is it as good as your mother's?" she asked when he sips the first spoon. "Mmmm.. delicious! But I have to tell you. my mother's is still the best. What can I say; I'm a mother's boy! But don't worry, you came in 2nd" he said. "Thank you for your compliment" she laughs.
They finished their food and wash the dishes together.
"You see, we could make a great couple! I wash the dishes, and you take care of the children" he said laughing. "As long as the children are not as obnoxious as you!" she said. "So you're planning to have more than one child? I think I can handle Oliver junior and Naire junior running around the house" he teased her. "Okay, stop it! You're making me sick! There's no way you could be the father of my child!" she laughs and splash him with foam. "Hey! Now you want to bath me?" he splashes her back. "Ah. okay, enough! Let's go watch the TV" she said drying her hands. "Okay!" he said following her to the living room.
He takes a sit next to her in the sofa. She turns on the TV and switching the channels.
"I never use that gadget in my house, you know that?" he said. "What gadget?" she asked, still changing the channels. "The one you're holding. What do you call it?" he said. "This? It's remote control. I can't believe you never use this! What do you use to watch TV?" she asked. "Well, we simple say 'on' or 'off' and the channel we want to watch" he said. "Oh God! That easy? It's fun to live in a magical family" she said. "Aren't you half muggle? You should have use a little magic in the house" he asked. "My mother was a witch, but she doesn't like to use magic in the house. She had this thing about muggle appliances. So we lived just like normal muggle" she explained. "Oh, interesting" he yawned. "Hey, if you're tired, you can sleep. I want to stay here a little bit longer" she told him. "Nah, that's okay! I'll stay here with you. I'm not that tired" he said. "Okay then" she said.
They continue watching the TV in silence. They keep silent for a while when suddenly she asks him.
"Oliver, can you do me a favour?" she asked. "What do you want me to do?" he asked. "I know I might sound like a baby, but.can you tell a story for me?" she asked slowly. "You're serious?" he asked surprised. "I'm serious! Don't laugh at me" she said. "Okay, I won't laugh. What story do you want to hear? I'm telling you, I'm not a good storyteller. My brother never wants to hear any bedtime stories" he said. "I want you to tell me a story about you and your family" she said. "Why?" he asked confused. "Because if you do that, I would feel like I'm hearing a story about my family. Maybe it'll help me to remember every moment I had with my family. Can you do that for me, Oliver?" she begged. "Are you sure, Naire? Wouldn't it makes you feel more sad?" he asked. "No, my sadness is gone. Now all I want to do is remembering all the happy things I had with them. They're not dead, Oliver. They're still alive. in my heart" she said looking deep at him.
He couldn't resist those beautiful green eyes and nodded.
"Okay, where do I start?" he said. "Anywhere. It's up to you" she said leaning closer to him.
She rested her head on his right shoulder and closes her eyes. He took a deep breath and start to talk.
"Well, once upon a time there's a young lady whose name is Helena Burnsbay. She met this young handsome man, Jonathan Wood, when she was 21 and he was 25. They met at London University of Wizardy and Witchcraft. They said that they fell in love at first sight, but I'm not sure. A year later they got married and the next year she gave birth to a very handsome baby, me" "Yeah, right!" she laughs. "Hey, do you want me to keep going or not?" he said pretending to be annoyed. "Okay, go on" she said. "Okay. they was very happy to have their first son, and they named him Oliver Wood. They love him very much and gave him almost everything a son could ask. He was very happy too, until his mother told him a very bad news when he was 9. She told him that he's going to have a baby brother or sister. He was terrified knowing that he'll be sharing the love of his parents. A year later, she gave birth to a very ugly and horrible baby boy, very different to him when he was a baby. They named the newborn baby Steven Wood. Steven was a pain in the ass. All he managed to do was ruining Oliver's life, and still is!" "But you love him don't you?" she asked. "Well, yes. I love him because he's my brother. Although the only thing he could do was to screw up my life, but I love him. He's only 7, and I was like him when I was 7" he said. "I wish I have a sister or brother. Therefore I don't have to be alone now" she said weakly. "You're not alone. You still have your friends.. and you have me" he told her. "I know, thanks. Now, continue!" she said. "Thankfully, the year Steven was born was the year when Oliver had to go to Hogwarts. He went to Hogwarts full of happiness. He couldn't wait to make new friends. But instead of making new friends, he managed to get one new enemy, a girl. She was beautiful, but scary. They made their life miserable by doing bad things to each other. But finally, after 6 years of war, they become friend. He's happy with it, and hoped that she's happy too. She became more beautiful. So beautiful, it will make every guys hold their breath when they see her passing bye. So beautiful, that she broke their heart when she dated a guy. The new guy was very lucky, and everybody envy him. But the new guy." he stopped to look at her.
She was asleep. She breathes slowly and soft, making no sound. He gently picks her up and brings her in his arms. He walks slowly up to the stairs and opens her room. He puts her in her bed and tugs her with blanket. He sits on the side of the bed and watches her silently. She never stops to amazes him with her beauty. Not just outer beauty, but inner beauty also. Even when she closes her eyes, he can still imagine her green eyes. Every parts of her are perfect. She resembled perfection.
"But the new guys isn't lucky enough to watch her face when she's sleeping. He's not lucky enough to have her crying in his shoulders. And surely he's not lucky enough to kiss her tonight" he whispered.
He gently kisses her on the forehead, the tip of her nose, and finally her lips. He stood up and walks to the door.
"Good night, Naire. Sleep tight" he whispered and close the door.