10
The first time our eyes met
Once she knows about her eyes, the fierce-looking woman is in the same condition as I was when I first found that out. She cries heavily and gratefully. I have to spend quite some time consoling her before she can compose herself somewhat.
We barely got any sleep that night... Don't take that the wrong way. We were just too excited as we exchanged information about Chris's new eyes. Chris told me that since she could see again, there were strange incidents.
"I kept drawing a pair of eyes every day."
And Chris showed me proof of that the next day. The fierce-looking woman takes me to her house and shows me all her sketchbooks. The eyes that Chris drew show different emotions. Some were happy, some were curious, and some were sad.
I can't deny that all of them are my eyes.
"Ifs so amazing, right?" Chris says that as she flips the pages for me to see her sketches. "They are what I remembered from my dream. I saw a woman, and I looked her in the eyes, but I had no idea who she was."
"I've watched documentaries with similar stories. They were about someone who got an organ from a donor, and their behavior changed. For example, they don't like durian but crave durian. I didn't think those stories were true and would happen to someone close to me." I say that smilingly as I look at the person to whom this worn belongs. "Moreover, I'm her lover."
"Yeah. It's so out of this world. At first, I didn't know whose eyes these were until my mother turned on the television and I heard a news broadcast. And you were there on TV. It was a magical time for me..." The fierce-looking woman rolls her eyes as she thinks about that. "My heart pounded so hard at that time. I even walked over to the TV and cried, not knowing why I did that."
"Did you fall in love at first sight?"
"No."
I twist my face. She gave me the wrong answer. I baited her. She should have gone along with it.
Knock Knock.
The knock on the door ends our conversation. Chris's mother invites us down to have dinner. The talk during dinner lets me know that Chris's family knows about our relationship, though they didn't say it flat out. I have to admit that this family is very open-minded if I exclude Puth, who seems to be very possessive of his sister. He's not that friendly with me yet.
"Aren't you afraid of ghosts, staying in your house all alone?" Chris's mother asks as she puts some food on my plate adoringly. I shake my head a bit.
"No. I lived in that house since I can remember."
"Even if you're not afraid of ghosts, you should be afraid of bad people, especially since you're very good-looking." Chris's father adds on. He refills my glass with plain water when he sees that the glass is not full.
"Ifs okay. Chris is with me four days a week."
"You're both women. How can you protect yourselves against thieves?" Puth interrupts and gets to the point. "You should get a boyfriend. Break up with Chris and become my lover."
"Are you mad?" Chris bares her teeth at her brother, but Puth is still having fun teasing her.
"I'm serious. You should be with me. I'm hot."
"The word "hot" is our code work. We both know the meaning behind that work. Chris's ears turn red as soon as she hears that word, like the very shy person she is. As for me, I only smile slightly and reply honestly.
"Not as hot as Chris."
"Karn!" The fierce-looking woman pinches my waist and looks to the floor. Chris's parents look at us all with interest because they have no idea what we're really talking about.
"What's going on?"
"It's nothing. I don't know what these two are talking about." Chris tries to change the topic. Not only are her ears all red, but there are also rashes all over her face. I can't help but pity her, yet I also adore her. Why does she behave so differently when she is in bed as opposed to when she is her normal self?
"Let's get back on track. I'm really concerned about you living in that house alone. And Chris is a woman. It's not safe for the both of you to have Chris come and go like this. I would like to suggest that... Kam move in with us."
"No."
Chris immediately replies to her father in my place. She didn't even pause to think. That makes everyone turn their attention to her with interest.
"Why not? There are many of us here. You won't be lonely."
"But Kam's mother would be lonely." The fierce-looking person knows what I'm thinking and replies for me. Her reason makes everyone stop trying to change our minds. "Karn really loves that house and her mother. I want everything to remain the same. I don't want to change anything between us. We should stay where we normally stay. More importantly..."
"?"
Everyone goes quiet and listens attentively.
"The walls at this place are too thin."
In conclusion, I'm not moving into Chris's place like her family wants. No one dares force us. It was just an invitation because they thought it'd be a good idea. Moreover, once Chris said that the walls were too thin, everyone was shocked and continued to eat their food, knowing the implication behind those words.
"Why are you so quiet, Kam?"
I haven't said anything on our way back from Chris's house because I'm still thinking about what happened today. I glance at the person driving and look the other way, sulkingly. I want Chris to know that I'm not happy with something.
"It's nothing."
Try to make up with me now!
"Nothing that means something. Tell me. Are you sulking because I don't want you to move into my place?" The fierce-looking woman is trying to figure out what she did that could possibly make me sulk. "You can move in. I'm okay with it. It's just that it was very uncomfortable with Puth in the next room. We couldn't make any sound when we did our activities..."
"It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
"When did you fall in love with me?"
"Huh?" Chris shrinks her neck a bit as she looks at the road in front of her. "What's this? What kind of question is it? How is it related to your sulking? I can't catch up with you."
"I asked when you fell in love with me. I asked if it was when you saw me on TV, and you said no."
"You can sulk about something like that?"
"I thought you fell in love with me at first sight. You ruined my perfect fairy tale."
"Ah... you sulk so easily. But that's the truth."
"You liked me after that... Was it when you sent me the letter?"
"No."
"The first day of AppTalk?"
"No."
"When I slapped you?"
"How can someone fall in love with someone who slaps her?"
I twist my face so much that it hurts. I lean my head on the window like a dog that just got vaccinated and is riding home timidly. Come to think of it, I tend to nitpick on small matters and sulk. But I'm only like that with my mother and Chris.
I become naughty when I know that someone loves me.
"Okay, I'll tell you."
I glance at the person who's willing to answer me. I lean back on the car seat and listen to her attentively. I make an effort to suppress my smile and act as if I wasn't that interested in her answer.
"So, when was it?"
"When our eyes first met."
"So it was when you saw me on TV. Geez!" I hit the person driving on the arm annoyingly. "I already guessed that, but you said no."
"It's not that."
"Huh?"
"Our eyes didn't first meet when I saw you on TV."
"At the AppTalk meeting?"
"No."
"When was it, then?"
"In my dream."
"Huh?" I glance at the person who's covering her face with her hand out of embarrassment. "What do you mean?"
"Our eyes first met in my dream. I fell in love with you, not knowing who you were."
Thump Thump...
The arrogant-looking woman stutters as she says that. I'm so stunned that I also go quiet.
"Meaning..."
"Yes."
"…"
"I think I fell in love with you since I saw you in my dreams."