I Am A Paradox

Chapter 9

"So, you're telling me that you've been with him for what? Like 2 hours-"

"One and a half." I corrected.

"Whatever. So you're telling that you've been with him for one and a half hour and the only valuable information you were able to get was that he's an orphan and his powers are the forest?" Uncle Richard asked, bemused.

"Yes, that's what I said. It's not my fault he's not so chatty." I reasoned out.

"Doesn't look like it." Uncle Richard grinned and his eyes were twinkling with amusement.

"What do you mean?" I asked, exasperated.

"Child, I'm flattered that you don't think I'm nosy. But I am. I kept glancing your way and by the looks of it, you two seemed too chummy."

"Sssssh." I slapped him light on the arm. "If Mom will hear you, she'd be freaking out. You know how much she worries for me to have the same fate with her." She'd probably give me the same "If an attracted man will start flirting with you, run!" speech.

"So you two are really chummy then?" Uncle Richard whispered and I laughed.

"You know what? This is nonsense. I think you're just hallucinating. Or if ever we really look chummy, it was just because I'm a good actress. It was all part of my job." I stood up and gathered my plates.

We were eating lunch and my mother is chatting with a friend outside. When I told Lieutenant Cual about Kenneth this morning, he looked exasperated but he didn't reprimand. He just nodded, told me to do better next time and then dismissed me. Since I was dismissed early, I went to Uncle Richard's house and asked him to spar with me. We sparred for an hour on his backyard. Of course, he won. But I ended up burning his tree house.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning my room and washing my clothes. It was only 4:00 pm when I was done and I have nothing left to do. I decided to have a walk so that I could refreshen my mind and formulate a plan for this Kenneth. Shit. I don't even know where to start. Where does he live? Where can I find him? Does he have a job? Where?

I was walking for 30 minutes now and I didn't realize I was on my way to the forest. He said his abilities are somewhat related to the forest. It's like my feet has a mind of its own and it brought me here. He might be here. Good job feet! I'll reward you with new nail polish later!

I entered the forest, the leaves rasping under my feet. "Kenneth?" I half-yelled. "Kenneth?" I kept walking, careful not to trip on the trees' roots. "Kenneth?!" I kept looking for him but I can't see anyone. I felt hopeless now. Maybe he's not here. I'll just try again tomorrow.
As I made my way back I tumbled on a rock and fell on my butt. I kicked the rock multiple times and was pouring out all of my frustrations when I heard a familiar chuckle.

"Kenneth?" I looked for him, suddenly ecstatic. "Where the freak are you?"

"In here, love."

"Where?" I already looked on my left and right but I still haven't seen him.

"I am the sun and I will light up your world, love. Where do you think you can find me?"

I looked above and I saw him sitting on a tree branch. He laughed his carefree laugh and jumped. In a blink of an eye, he's already beside me. God, he's fast.

"Miss me too soon?" He leaned closer to me. He smelled of fresh flowers, forest and soap. Such an addictive combination.

"Don't flatter yourself. I was just bored."

"Come, I want to show you something." Kenneth grabbed my hand and started walking, with me tailing on his back. His hands are warm. I like how his hands fit perfectly with mine.

We stopped in the middle of the forest and I wonder what are we doing here. "Uhh.. What would you want to show me?"

"The trees." He said with a grin. I was about to roll my eyes and punch him for his prank when a ladder suddenly fell. When I looked up, a cute tree house was located on a large tall tree. It was made of wood and is painted green. "Green?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Camouflage. I wouldn't want someone other than me finding a sanctuary there."

"Then why are you letting me go there?" I asked.

"No more questions. Climb now, love." I obliged and started to climb first, him trailing behind.

"Nice view." Kenneth said and my cheeks instantly redden.

"Pervert! Ogle my ass once more and I'll freaking kick you."

"I'm terrified, love." He chuckled and I kicked him. Not under my control though.

"Hey, what was that for?!"

Because everything that I will say will happen and I said I'll kick you if you ogle my butt. I kicked you. Which means you ogled my butt. I wanted to say. But I settled on "For being a pig." instead.

I went inside his tree house and was amazed to see one big comfy cushion and a small dining set.

"So, this is your haven?" I asked.

"Yes. Eat." He handed me fresh grapes and apple. Yum.

"Where do you live Kenneth?"

He eyed me for a long time before answering, "Far from here, love."

"Why do you keep calling me 'love'? My name is Kayna. You can call me Kaye." I said, not even a bit irritated with him calling me "love". I won't let him know that though.

"Because names are boring." He smirked. "You can call me baby if you want."

"I'm not your mom." I answered and we laughed. We talked for hours or rather, we kept bantering for hours and we didn't notice the time. When I checked his wall clock, it was already 8:30 pm.

"My mom's probably worried now. I gotta go." I said and we stood up. We went down and he offered to walk me home but I turned him down. Rule #12: Never let your "target" know your home.

"Careful love, I won't say goodbye because this won't be the last time we'll see of each other." He said and then he was instantly gone. Like a bubble.

Yes, we will see each other again Kenneth.

And I really need to be careful. Because even if he'd feed me with a whole lot of fun and bunch of laughs, I can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something.

Something I ought to find out.

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Who among you here loves Kenneth?! Me! Me! Hehe. Please don't be shy to comment, share and vote. 😉

Angel ;)