bathroom, where she tried to calm herself down. She splashe

the bane of h

s still panting; water dripping from her ch

tay away from that man,” s

e cycle of bad luck he

her face w

ead of her. The old lady was a loyal emp

persuade her grandmoth

herself an encouraging smile bef

their quarters when she

V

a piece of paper. She could just make out a hint of a

plied for the dormitory?

es

“I already told you I’ll take the train e

f out commuting. Besides,

nd all your time out in the inn that the only time I see you come home is late at night. I want to d

right today. Nonetheless, she needed t

nt of money you save eating here. They don’t really make much of a difference. Better

ut

“Ria, what you need to do right now is to focus on your studies so yo

could see the glint reflected by the tears t

younger on

, messing up her hair. “Gotta go, I

Had she done so, she would have noticed the

-----------

h. It’s about a 30-minute walk from his par

meet her at the beachfront where they usually hangout. He had known Vivi since they were kids and

mppost. She was sitting on the sand, her legs cradled against her and he

m under the moonlight. Like a water n

side her, immediately opening one can of

he had an especially tiring day or when she fought with her sister. Since then, he had

?” he asked as he han

id you

psy

elbowing his

n arguing a

’s the one asking for

ind of

he drank deep f

r up for a dorm room. She insisted she w

That’s

to make sure she gets an easy life so she can f

sounds with his tongue. “Kids nowadays.

e have this VIP guest

ene said he’s been makin

appened in the past few days since t

he word and I’ll give him a punch in

always been so captivatingly beautiful that he couldn’t help but admit that he

ing, she leaned

owing what to do. But just when he had the courage to

s a friend. You always

ell back onto the sand. He gave a deep

o chat, watching th

------------

door to deliver breakfast. As per usual, she knock

guest came to open the door

h the best smile she could offe

the door wider

tal breakfast, with toasted bread, sunny-side up eggs, and crispy bacon.

uiet. To

that he was in the living

n his knees, his mobile phone on both hands. There was a guitar case on the coffe

throat. “Breakfa

M

e be anyth

Thank

ng then. Hav

rming on her face as she wondered if there was anything wrong. In the 20 minutes she spent in

ter opening the door for her and didn’t come out un

ual energetic attitude he showed her days

bring a thermometer gun, and a couple of antipyretics an

, but sat quietly in the living room like he did that morning. The guitar

aid the food on the table. She even took care to cho

ook a deep breath, dusted her

g wrong, sir?” sh

o.

f you feel unwell. We have a registered nur

h his hair. “I’m fin

ciously going up to her neckla

to have a tour

cold, but it was the first time he looked at her since t

ying in the inn every day and would like to try our tour

hink ab

vi could see a spark of curiosity