Something Beautiful

Chapter 3

"How are you, little Lisa?" greet her father is not passionate.

Grandpa Bae stood up and walked to the window, watching with his eyebrows furrowed as the handsome London man helped his daughter board the beautiful horse-drawn carriage. The carriage is pretty, the clothes are pretty, but the nature is not at all pretty, Grandpa Bae thought furiously, remembering how his daughter, Irene, was, blinded by his good looks and persuaded the man since the man came to his cabin one day ago, when the man's carriage broke in the middle of the road. Bae's grandfather offers the man to spend the night at his place, and in the afternoon, contrary to his heart, he complies with his daughter's request and allows her to walk with the man so that Irene can 'showing a beautiful view from the hill above the river."

When it was dark and they had not yet returned, Grandpa Bae rushed to look for them. He could easily see the road because the moon was full. He found them at the foot of the hill, by the river, hugging naked. It only took less than an hour for Taehyung Bruschweiler to convince Irene to forget the principles taught so far and seduce her.

Enraged and without making a sound, Grandpa Bae left the place. When he returned to the cottage two hours later, he had been accompanied by his best friend, a village priest. The pastor brought a book to read the wedding vows.

Bae's grandfather carries a shotgun to make sure his daughter's seducer participates in the marriage. It was the first time in his life that he had a gun.

And what did that son of a bitch give Irene? That question made Grandpa Bae's face turn grim. Taehyung Bruschweiler bought Irene a large rickety house, which had been empty for decades, furnished her with servants, and for nine months after her marriage, with a heavy heart he lives with Irene in the remote hamlet of Irene's birthplace. Shortly after Lisa was born, Taehyung returned to London, and lived there, returning to Morsham only twice a year for two or three weeks.

"She earns her living the way she knows," Irene explained to Bae's grandfather, clearly repeating what her husband said. "He's a gentleman so you can't expect him to make a living like a commoner. In London, with her bloodline and connections, she gets along with the right people, and from them he can at times get input on when and where to invest his money and on which horse should place the bet. That's the only way he knows how to support us. Of course, he wanted us to stay with him in London, but the cost of living in the city was very high, and he did not want to make us forced to stay in the slum and humid inn as he lived. He'll come visit us as often as possible."

Bae's grandfather doesn't believe Taehyung's reason for staying in London, but he believes the man will return to Morsham twice a year. The man must have done so because Grandpa Bae promised to look for him in London with borrowed weapons if he did not return at least twice a year to see his wife and daughter. Nevertheless, there was no point in making Irene grieve over hearing that fact, because the woman seemed so happy. Unlike the other women in the small hamlet, Irene married a 'true man' and that alone fulfilled her ridiculous expectations. The marriage gave her status, and made her admired by the neighbors.

Like Irene, Lisa also adores Taehyung, and during her brief visit the man also enjoys their admiration. Irene will be busy serving him, and Lisa will try hard to be a boy and a girl for him, anxious not to have a beautiful feminine nature, she wears knee-length pants and learns to fencing in order to play with her father if he comes.

Standing in front of the window, Grandpa Bae stared unhappily at the shiny vehicle drawn by four gallant horses. For a man who can only give a little money to his wife and son, Taehyung rides a carriage pulled by a bunch of very expensive horses.

"only a week. I'm going somewhere in the Kent area."

"Why do you have to travel so much?" lisa asked, unable to hide her disappointment even though she knew her father, too, did not like having to part with him and his mother.

"Because I have to" answered her father, and when Lisa was about to protest, the man shook his head and put his hand in the bag and pulled out a small box. "Here, I brought you a little present for your birthday, Lisa."

Lisa looked at her father in awe and delight, even though her birthday was months past, without a letter from her father. His hazel-colored eyes sparkled as he opened the box and took out a tiny, silvery pendant in the shape of a heart. Although the pendant was made of lead and was not at all beautiful, he grasped it tightly, as if the pendant was extremely precious. "I'll wear it every day of my life, Papa," she said softly, then she wrapped her arms around her father's body and held him tightly. "I love you so much."

As they passed the quiet little hamlet and the carriage-pulling horses flew dust into the air, Lisa waved at the people who saw her, they were eager to know that his great and handsome father was back.

He did not have to bother to draw their attention to his father. By nightfall, everyone in the hamlet was not only talking about Taehyung's return, but also the color of his coat, and dozens of other details, because that was what the hamlet of Morsham had been like for hundreds of years, calm down, no distractions, forgotten in its secluded valley. The inhabitants are simple, imaginationless, hardworking people who are very happy to remember every little event that can enliven their monotonous life from day to day. They continued to talk about what happened three months ago, when a train passed through the village carrying a city person wearing a coat, who had not one hood but eight. Now they will talk about Taehyung's extraordinary chariot and his horses for the next six months.

To outsiders, Morsham may seem like a boring place inhabited by gossipy peasants, but to thirteen-year-old Lisa, the hamlet and its inhabitants are so beautiful.

At the age of thirteen he believed all God's creatures had good qualities and he believed everyone had honesty, integrity, and joy. He is soft-hearted, cheerful and very optimistic.

***