NOVPUBChapter 981: 464 Broken promise_1 Chapter 981: 464 Broken promise_1 Peter Aria couldn’t exactly put a label on his feelings; was he moved, or filled with awe?
He didn’t think he could ever do what Aubree did.
Therefore, to him, Aubree was something extraordinarily unique.
He noticed a smudge of ash on her cheek and instinctively blurted out, “Don’t move.”
Aubree halted her actions, lifting her gaze to meet his.
Peter gently brushed the ash away with the tips of his fingers, which were slightly warm against her cool cheek.
The moment their skin touched, it was like a wildfire sweeping across the plains – all-consuming and immediate.
Both of them froze at the same time.
...
Peter was the first to break the awkward silence, “Your face was dirty.”
Aubree instinctively touched her cheek and nonchalantly replied, “Thank you.”
Peter placed his hands behind his back, his fingertips burning.
At the kitchen doorway, Anton Cook stood silently, his hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides.
“Pitter-patter.” The raindrop from the roof eaves was relentless, hitting the green bricks and splashing water everywhere.
Anton turned and left.
Bubbles were poppin’ in the boiling pot, Aubree ladles the hot water into the basin.
Peter squats by the stove where Aubree had just been, adding wood while suggesting, “You should take a hot bath, I’ll continue heating the water.”
Aubree turns her gaze to Peter.
As if understanding the look in Aubree’s eyes, Peter lets out a resigned laugh, “Surely, I’m not so useless in your eyes that I can’t even tend a fire?
I’ve survived wilderness training, you know.”
Drawing water was purely accidental.
“Then, Dr.
Aria, I’m in your debt.”
Aubree leaves with the basin of water.
After a quick wash, Aubree retrieves a washed-out Zi Clothes from the wooden box, shakes off the dust, and puts it on.
She hangs up what she had taken off, to let them dry.
Aubree takes a towel to slowly wipe her wet hair.
“Knock, knock.” Someone gently raps at the door.
“Come in.”
The door creaks open, Kelly Martinez leans against the doorframe, her arms crossed.
“I’m hungry.”
Looking up, she suddenly widens her eyes in surprise.
“Holy smokes, what’s with the ugly clothes you are wearing?”
Kelly strides in and examines Aubree’s attire, her mouth twisted in disgust.
“They’re incredibly unattractive; they’re hiding your beauty.”
The Zi Clothes were likely tea brown originally, but now faded to near white from washing.
The durability of the coarse cloth was excellent, giving it a strong sense of age.
No matter how many times it endured wear, it stubbornly maintained its original character, just like its owner.
The loose-fit clothes, with its simple cut and lack of waistline, further accentuates Aubree’s thin figure.
It also further highlights her skin, as smooth and white as jade.
Under the dim interior lighting, it seemed to give off a gentle and warm radiance, like illuminated jade.
Her semi-long, wet hair draped over her shoulders, each strand seemed to be growing vigorously.
Kelly was momentarily lost for words.
In a white dress, she looked like a fairy who had wandered into the mortal world.
In black, she appeared as a mysterious, icy agent.
In the faded Zi Clothes, she looked like an ascetic who had weathered all the vicissitudes of life.
In Aubree, Kelly saw an uncomplicated purity – a profound seriousness in simplicity.
The worldly pursuits of fame and fortune were nothing but fleeting clouds to Aubree, and she never cared for them.
Suddenly, Kelly grasped Aubree’s hand, asking earnestly, “What could possibly hold you back here?”
Kelly had an intuition that Aubree would one day no longer be part of this world.
Aubree looked up; her eyes were as soft and deep as a boundless, mysterious universe.
Kelly felt a twinge of regret for not knowing what Aubree liked to eat, play, do, or whom she was fond of.
Without any constraints or attachments, Aubree was fated to keep the company of the ancient Buddha ‘deep in the mountains.’
“Kelly, you are the only one who truly understands me.”
With that one utterance, ‘Kelly,’ much was conveyed.
Tears welled up in Kelly’s eyes.
“You’ve finally admitted it.”
She bends down and embraces Aubree, as though she were a treasured artifact regained.
“We promised to go to Terezin Snow Mountain, where there’s perennial snow, and Walden Lake, where Thoreau once lived in seclusion.
To Iceland to see the Aurora…
We still have so many things to do, how could you leave me behind?”
Under the eaves, the rain was coming down in a steady rhythm, hitting the bluestone tiling.
The sound of winds and rains was deafening.
Aubree gazes into the downpour, her expression slowly hardening.
“I didn’t keep our promise.”
“No, it’s not too late; you have a lifetime ahead.” She said stubbornly, like a petulant child.
