Chapter Five – So Close, but Untouchable: Part Two

Theme Song: "To Make You Feel My Love" By Kelly Clarkson

It was in the morning when I saw her watering the plants. Rosaline, or sometimes I called her Rose, she's still like a little girl with two braids hair that I have known since I was a little child, so plain without any taint.

Nothing had changed from her, except for the sorrow that still resides when she recalls the memory of mom and dad and perhaps... I am still too, just like her.


"Good morning, Val!"

She gave me a big hug, and I felt a warm feeling inside. It's weird because I had known her for almost twelve years.

Twelve years and she had not known it yet--  the fact that she's not my sister.

Time had surely flowed so fast. 

"Mom and dad, could you believe I'm going eighteen in a couple of months? I hope our life will be far better than now. I will find a job that will support a living for us. I hope life will not be so volatile like a roller coaster ride, except if it will end for a good course."



"I promise  I will take good care of her just like my own sister."

"The future awaits us with dreams and hopes, but somehow I wish life would stop for a moment in a time like this."

"I've been seeing Annabelle now. She's pretty and a smart girl, but I always wonder why she chose me. She must have known my conditions  and there are plenty of guys who might be waiting in the line for her. I guess I'm lucky."

"However, she never talked about her problems or her family. I don't want to force her, but if she doesn't trust me, how are we going to be able to keep this relationship .. or whatever it is we're having?"

"I'm still enjoying my time catching fish. I could not believe that my fishing skill has improved a lot. You would be so proud of me, Dad. Even so, I know I cannot always count on it to have a living. For now, Rose and I had won scholarship, so you don't have to worry about our education."



When I went home, I saw Rosaline sleeping upstairs. She looked so peaceful that I should not try to disrupt her from resting. I went downstairs to watch a movie.

But not long, she followed me downstairs. The movie was so boring and instead of  watching it, we got carried away by a conversation about our future and dreams.

"Do you want to be a scientist just like dad?"
"I don't know, Rose. I only  know that I want to have lots of money and will renovate our house in Sunset Valley - buy a car so we both can go to work and travel around  with that car."
"You really want to go back to Sunset Valley?"
"Yeah, that's the place where we both grew up, Rose."
 

I looked at her and noticed the grimness on her face. "- It's also the place filled with memories of mom and dad." She said with a flat tone. It kept us in silence for a while.

"However, I want to go back there too, Val. I will plant grapes with varieties that we can only find here. It would be wonderful".  Her face turned brighter. Her eyes was glowing beautiful than before.

"Okay, it's a promise. We'll go back together-- to Sunset Valley."  

"That's a promise." She pointed her little finger. I pointed my little finger too and we made a promise like we used to do when we were a child back then.

And then we continued to watch the movie.
"You haven't told me about your dreams." She said. "There must be something that you want to do in your life, something that you want and love to do. A career perhaps?"
"Ehm, I don't know. I'm still thinking about it, Rose. How 'bout you? Have you found something that you want to do?"
"Yeah... I think I want to be a doctor, Val. I want to help people who's in sick or getting hurt because of an accident."
I got stunned hearing her answer, even though it wasn't a surprise. She must have thought about that often.

We were still talking about our dreams and hopes when suddenly our attentions drawn to a scene in the movie. We both were pretty surprised by it.

"So, that's how." I mumbled. Rose was still glaring at it too.  It seemed that she was a bit shocked by it.

It did not take long for her to regain her awareness and immediately  shut her eyes.


"Turn it off, Val, or fast forward. I don't want to see it."
"Wait, they are only warming up."
"Val..!"
"Okay, okay, you sounded just like mom."
"Am I?"

"Ugh..." She held her chin.
"What is it, Rose?"
"I forgot that I have to meet Pierre this morning. I promised to do homework together with him."
"Should you go there? He can do his homework by himself. "
"Valentin, a promise is a promise."

"Don't let him copy your homework!"
"I won't."

That boy is really something. I bet he just wanted to be alone with her. "Rose. Can I go there too? It's going to get dark soon." I called out to her before she walked out of the door.

"I'll be fine, Val. I'm a big girl."
 

I heaved a sigh, sometimes she could be stubborn. "Okay, but you must come home early before dark. Go straight home when you have finished doing your homework!"

"Okay. Now, you sounded just like dad." She smiled and left.

Wait, just wait, Pierre, if you ever hurt Rosaline, I will kick your butt.

I went over to Annabelle's house. She invited me there. She said that she wanted to talk to me, but when I arrived there, she was having an argument with her father.

"Why? Why does she have to live here anyway, dad?"
 

I didn't know what they were arguing about. The next thing happened, her father told her to go inside the house.

 
"Sorry about that, Valentin."
"It's okay, Sir."

Her father was trying to  be friendly at me. He even shared some information on how to find precious gems and how to differentiate them. Time passed by until it was dark already. I wondered if Rose had come home or not.

Had she arrived home and made us a dinner? I was hungry and wanted to eat frog legs. I could not believe at the fact that I got crazy over that food ever since she cooked it for me. It tasted delicious, indeed.

I called home, but there was no answer. She hadn't called me. Should I pick her up there?

I excused myself to Annabelle. She was upset because she didn't have a chance to talk  to me.

"Come on. Stay at least until dinner. I rarely see you now."
"I'd love to, but Rose hasn't come home. She hasn't even call me. I must pick her up."

"Valentin, you always do that. You always put your sister above me or anything else. If you keep  doing this, I don't want to see you or invite you again into this house!" She yelled.

I could see that she was upset and her yelling almost raised the blood to my head, but... "I'm sorry.  I must check on her. I'll see you again."

I quickly went outside and rushed off to Mr. Pivert's house.

Mr. Pivert let me in, but I could not find Rose inside the living room. Then, I saw Pierre in a bathing suit. He told me that Rosaline was swimming in the pool.

"What? She is a hydrophobic, Pierre. She's afraid to swim."
"She didn't tell me about it."

I ran to the pool and saw her there. I jumped inside and swam across to reach her. 

"Rose?" I checked on her to see if she was still breathing. She was still awake. She coughed as her hands held my shirt tightly. She looked so scared and panicked. Her hands were shaking. "Valentin, help. I'm drowning." Water came out of her mouth.
"No, you're not, Rose. You're not drowning." I held her hands while she was still looking at me.  Her eyes narrowed in fear.

"Come on. Let's go to the side."
"No, I cannot." She pulled herself away from me.

"I cannot do this."
"Yes, you can. It's okay. I will not let you drown. Trust me, you'll be okay."
"But...." She was  scared and her body was still shivering. Slowly, she took my hands.

I held her and swam across with her. We both made it to the side. Pierre helped her get out of the pool and carried her to a bench. Mr. Pivert brought a towel for her. I checked on her -once I pulled myself out of the pool.  

Her body was still shivering.  She was afraid. I tried to calm her by holding her hands as I knelt down in front of her. "It's okay. It's over now, see? You made it. You did not drown. " 

Her eyes stared at me. Her shivering hands slowly reached out for me. She cried.

The next day, Pierre called us saying that he was feeling sorry for the incident. I was angry at him for letting Rose in danger, but he didn't know that she suffered from hydrophobia. I did ask Rosaline why she swam in the pool in the first place. She told me that she wanted to overcome her fear.

She was scared, but she tried to think that it was only in her mind.


So, she accepted Pierre's challenge on a breathing contest.

But the memory of mom and dad's accident returned  and she saw herself drowning in the pool.


She felt that she could not breathe and something below her feet was pulling her into the bottom of the pool.


 

She was scared.
***

In the evening, Rose said that she wanted to talk to me. She was holding something behind her back. Slowly, she pulled it out and showed me what she had been hiding behind her."This is for you, Val "
"A camera?"
"Yes. You  told me once that you wanted a camera, but you never bought it. I want to give you something. I never gave you anything before. Mom's camera had already broken long ago, so I want you to have it... thanks for saving me at the pool."
"Rose, you know, I didn't save you." I hug her close.  "You did it by yourself. You were so brave. I was just there to accompany you and not to let you drown. Promise me, Rose,  promise me that you will not do that so suddenly without telling anyone or at least,  please, let me accompany you." 
 

"I know you can do it, Rose. But, we will try it slowly."


I hugged her tighter and  I didn't want to let her go. I could feel our hearts pounding so fast. She did not try to free herself from me.

"I didn't know what kind of feeling that was. All I knew was I wanted the time to stop ticking. Mom, dad, why did I feel that way?"

"Promise me, that you will always be careful and not letting yourself getting hurt again. I don't want to lose you. Promise me, Rose." 
"I promise. I don't want to lose you either." 
"By the way, how did you get the money to buy the camera?"
"I sold veggies, grapes and fruits and helped a little at the Nectary, besides the camera was a used one. I bought it in a cheap price at a flea market. The camera is still working, though." 
"Oh.." I nodded and we both eventually let ourselves apart. It felt a bit awkward for a moment.
"Hey, let's play catch!" I said, releasing the tension.
"Don't you think it's late?" 
"No. It will be fun."

We played catch that night, but I was still wondering whether she felt the same feeling I felt, but then again, perhaps she didn't. I should not have thought about that, either.
"Ugh…" I groaned as as I almost missed the ball. 
"Come on. You never miss a ball before, Val!" She grinned.

We stopped upon noticing Annabelle that evening.

She said she wanted to talk to me.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" I asked her when we sat on a bench in the backyard.
"It's my dad....he's going to marry her." 
"Who?" 
"Mary Ann." 
"Wouldn't it be wonderful?" I looked at her. Her face seemed so cold and empty.

 

"Mary Ann... is the woman who made mom and dad got a divorce." 
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." 
"It's okay." 
"How is your mom now?" 
"She's married again. She lives in Canada with her new husband" 
Oh,...I had no idea about that.
"I'm so furious, Val. I mean, why? Why did he have to do that? He cheated on my mom and now he's going to marry her. "
I listened to her. I could not find any comforting words to calm her down. I only knew that, she must be feeling very upset. It must have been a painful experience for her.

 

So... we just sat there, looking at the stars above us. 

"I wish I can help you, but I don't know how. Sometimes life takes us into the different course  we don't like at all, but if you look around you... love is still there surrounds you. We may not realize it now, but it is still there." 

"Love?"

"Yeah, love." As I said this, I remembered Rose: her smile, her laughter, helping me overcome mom and dad's death. She meant everything to me, everything. 

I smiled and got up from the bench.

"Come on! I will take you to a place that will help you release everything you felt."

I took her to  a park. We laughed and I hope she would feel a bit contented.

To Be Continued…..


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Some spams from me:

Valentin and I learned that he could find Angelfish, Piranha, Vampire Fish,  and Shark (???) here at Pinochle Pond in Sunset Valley. Wow, they must be mutated ones.

I've chosen his LTW to be Renaissance Sim, but I thought he might maximize his three skills in a short time. So, perhaps I will change it. That's why he was still confused about his future career. 

I lost his wishes to kiss Rosaline when he traveled home to Sunset Valley.

 

Meanwhile, Rosaline wanted to congratulate everyone who got married, and now she wants to congratulate Gobias. 

Gobias, the town Casanova, finally decided to get married. Maybe it's about time you retired, Gobias.
"Hm, Valentin, why are you thinking about those love bubbles?"
"It's because you didn't let me kiss Rose."
"Yes, I could see that. You even tried to tell your... er... feelings for her by singing a love song to her."

"You should let me do it and now don't blame me if I don't have that wish right now." 
"I could not possibly let you do that. In my story, you're still relatives, or at least she still thinks of you as her brother."
"But, in this game we are not!" 
"Okay, okay, why do you become this hot headed? I thought you don't have that trait. Or maybe you got infected by Annabelle. Speaking of Annabelle, I did let her kiss you. She is a great kisser, isn't she? You did not reject her when she kissed you." 
"It was different. You just don't get it, do you? I never asked for it."
This conversation is going nowhere." Well, like it or not, you are in my story or do you want me to call the grim reaper?" I grinned. 
"What? Don't do that!" 
"Ha-ha-ha..." I won. Sorry, Valentin, but we will see how it goes. 
"Did you know that Rosaline also wished to kiss you too?" I tried to tease him.
"Really?" Valentin's face brightened up. 
"Yes, but I lost it like yours." 
"You...." He starred at me.
"We'll see Valentin, Annabelle was being er…"nice" to you. Maybe you will change your mind and Pierre is still there beside her all the time. " 
"That boy, I cannot trust Rosaline in his hands."
"Huh, you're just being jealous." 
"I am not and by the way, can't you see that Rosaline still misses her mother?"
"Yup, I noticed. I still let her have the wish."
"You're so cruel."
"I know, Valentin... I know…"

Okay then, Valentin and I would like to say goodbye for today…See you again at the next post and ..

"HAPPY EASTER "