Home For My Soul

116|Festival of Gratitude

Ah, naw. It must be just my imagination. She clearly said she was traumatized by her parents' marriage so was not interested in romance. Aye, right. Nora is unlikely to fall in love with Theo. I invited him out of the kitchen, so he took his eyes off.

She took me to the front room, joined her brother. We watched one of their films. I just smiled to see the two brothers scrambling to watch their favorite movie. I didn't break up, because they needed it.

Neither did Hercules and I stop fighting every day, until Mom and Papa were bloodied. He is not my brother. It was so different to be a sister. I've never argued that often with my two brothers. They give up more often.

Theo was still helping Nora's mother when I got into the room. I don't know when he's coming, but he's not in the room when I wake up. Remember my habit in the morning, I get ready and get out of the room. It turned out that he was in the front room alone.

“Again,” sweep.

“Morning,” I replied slowly. Not waking up the whole house.

He stood up and approached me, ready for the sport together. I smiled as I received his hand. The air outside was extremely cold ahead of the December entry. But with upholstered clothes and a few moments of running, the cold can be overcome.

We met with people who greeted us kindly even though we didn't know each other. We return their greetings without reducing or stopping our run. After thirty minutes, we returned to Nora's house.

The family cleaned the house, we helped. Moreover, Nora's mother rewarded us all with good pies and warm chocolate with lots of marshmallows. They were joking, me and Theo were just listening.

The most awaited is a large dinner with the main menu of roasted turkey. Theo wasn't lying. The meat is delicious and tender. They should have cooked it last night. I have no regrets about accepting Nora's invitation to come visit.

That thanksgiving reminds me to thank my life for surviving the unfortunate event. Even though we both fell into the lake, I managed to survive. I don't know what my second life is, but I promise to live it well. Not only for me, but also for Amaryllis.

I'm also grateful to have met Theo and been back together. He was the best surprise I got when I first set foot in this foreign land. Hopefully we will not be separated again. There is still time to find a way to get the blessing of his parents.

“Ahead of the end of autumn is already this cold, I can not imagine the temperature in winter later.” I put the blanket up to cover my neck.

“Lo will not be able to, but I am ready to hug you anytime.” He laid his body on the floor, dressed in several layers of thick blankets.

“You sure you won't be tempted to cross the line?” my reply.

“Gue is sleepy. Good night,” close it. I'm laughing a little.

Me and Theo decided to go back on Friday morning. We stayed until the weekend was over. After all, Thanksgiving is a family gathering day for native citizens here. We don't want to interrupt their meetings any longer.

“Thank you for being friends with Nora. He likes to talk about you whenever we exchange news or call each other. She rarely opens up to others, so I really appreciate you being her friend,” said Nora's mother as she rubbed my back.

“I'm also happy to be friends with him, Aunt.” I let go of my embrace.

“When you have time, visit. I'll be happy to cook you good food, ” invite. Me and Theo answered yes.

The five-hour thirty-minute trip was just a one-time stop for a meal outside of refueling. How nice I was when we got to the apartment. I lie on the sofa and miss.

Theo simply shook his head as he headed for the room. Huh. He was also happy to be back in this apartment again. Satisfied lying down, I saw the contents in the upper cabinet in the kitchen. My choice fell on a bag of corn chips, then took her to the room.

I don't forget to call Mama and Mommy on the weekend so they don't protest. They talked about Christmas preparations at home. Also true. There's a big day soon. But Theo and I had no plans that day. Moreover, he was busy dating with his thesis.

Not only Theo, I also struggled with preparing for exams in the library and bedroom. We met at sports, breakfast and dinner. The rest of us were busy with our books.

The group discussion ended, I no longer have to deal with the playwright. We all hope it won't be a group with him next semester. I know they're not worried about his attitude, but his magic ability. The only thing that hopefully is a prank.

Winter is like I thought. Thankfully, the college is off, so I don't have to get out of the apartment. Theo gave me all the books he used in semester two so I could study first. The material is getting more complicated day by day.

“Sayang.” I knocked on his room door. He let me in, so I opened it. “Are you still busy?”

“Gue already said, I will do this until the day of awarding the diploma later.” He did not take his eyes off the thick book he was reading.

I sat on the edge of his bed. “I'm bored. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Tempting questions. How about you massage my shoulder?” He patted his shoulder with his fingers. “Later I cook a larger portion of burger for lo.”

“Agree!” I stood up and approached him.

I didn't know how, but I pressed, pinched, and banged his shoulder. He didn't protest, so I assumed I was doing the right thing. I peeked at what he was reading seriously. Just one paragraph, my eyes are already twitching. Oh, dearGod. The more days I hate English, especially the academic language.

Although the results of the semester have not been announced, I can imagine I will not get perfect grades like when I was in college. Reading, listening, and writing in a foreign language are three different things. I don't believe I've written well during the exam.

Poor Theo. It was only fitting that he had locked himself in a room since working on his thesis. It must be hard to understand a problem in a foreign language, then do research, and type the results in a foreign language as well.

“Kat,” call him, disperse my reverie.

“Ya?” my answer.

“Gue request massaged, not hugged.”

I saw what I was doing. It turned out that my hand was already in front of his chest and he was right. I was hugging him from behind. Since we were both in this room, I stayed away. He held my hand in front of his body.

“What's up? You think of home?” tanyakanya. “Do I need to buy a ticket to go home?”

“No.” He misunderstood. “I pity to see you until this busy working on thesis.”

“Do not worry.” He grabbed my hair and rubbed it. “Gue is fine. But I'll lose control if your chest sticks to my head.”

“Theo!” panicked shouting. “You held my hand! I've already let go of my embrace!”

There was a bell, a sign of a guest waiting in the lobby. I prevented him from standing up and volunteered to check who was coming. Thankfully, there was also a reason to run away from her room. He just laughed satisfied. So obnoxious.

I approached the screen on the wall near the door. That came a woman, but I couldn't see her face because she looked down. When he lifted his head, I immediately recognized him. What does this woman want by coming to see Theo?