Purple Romance

''Muse?''

''Huh? Who?'' Maria asked and Calia stood up and walked to the photo. She traced her fingers on Lexis' face as she spoke.

''Miss Lee, who is this woman? Where can I find her? My muse'' Calia asked

''Muse? I don't understand?'' Maria asked rather confused.

''She is my muse. She is the first person I met who almost turned me gay'' Calia said absentmindedly as the memories came to her mind.

.....

It was late spring and Calia was coming out of their school gate. She saw a woman standing by her car looking rather chic and relaxed as she sucked a lollipop. Her face was so clean and poised. She had really long legs and slender figure. The moment Calia saw her, she stopped walking and just starred at her.

At that time, Lexis saw Calia too and blushed after noticing how the girl looked at her. Lexis even spoke to her.

''Hey, high school girl?'' Lexis called out to her and Calia turned behind her. ''I was talking to you'' Lexis said playfully again ''come over here, high school student'' Lexis beckoned at Calia.

''Oh'' Calia bashfully walked closer to her and said ''muse''

''Ah? Muse?'' Lexis asked.

''You must be my muse. I just realised what I want to be after seeing you just now'' Calia said and went closer to Lexis.

''Kid, do you want one?'' Lexis asked and removed a lollipop from her back pocket and gave to Calia and Calia took it.

''Thank you''

''So, what do you want to do after seeing this pretty sister?'' Lexis asked and Calia spoke as she unwrapped the lollipop.

''I want to be a designer. A jewellery designer and make jewelleries that will make women more beautiful''.

''That's not bad. So, you mean, you just made that decision after seeing me?'' Lexis asked.

''Oh, I saw you from inside there and watched you all the way till I came outside. Do you know that, the way you stood in front of the car looked like you were a model?'' Calia said and smiled as she sucked the lollipop.

''That's such a cool compliment but my husband to be will kill me if he finds out I am a model. Not literally, so don't give me a horrified look'' Lexis said and they both laughed.

''What are you doing here?'' Calia asked.

''I'm here to pick up a friend'' Lexis said.

''Oh, you must be friends with one of the teachers, right?''

''Yes''

''So, pretty sister, can I take you as my muse?'' Calia asked.

''Off course, but in return, you must gift me the first jewel that you make''

''Sure, I want to make an anklet, so I will make two of them, one for me and one for you'' Calia said happily.

''Sure. I come here to pick my friend every other day, so next time we meet, I will give you my number, okay?'' Lexis told her and Calia nodded her head.

Calia's driver pulled over at the side and got down from the car and Calia saw him.

''Muse, my driver is here. I will take your number the next time we meet, okay?'' Calia said as she ran to the car.

''Sure''

''Muse, you are so beautiful, I almost turned gay for you'' Calia shouted from the car window and Lexis chuckled and waved at her. Lexis looked at the car as they waved each other continuously till Calia's care got out of sight.

...….

Calia traced Lexis face as tears trimmed from her eyes.

''I didn't even know she was dead. I was still waiting for her. I was waiting, hoping to see her again one day and give the anklet I made to her'' Calia said and Maria sighed regrettably.

''Is amazing how fate can be sometimes. Who would have thought that you knew my best friend already?'' Maria said.

''I thought that maybe, she had relocated or probably busy with life somewhere since she told me she was a biologist'' Calia said and suddenly couldn't contain the tears in her. She started weeping uncontrollably and Maria hugged her.

Rihan stood aside not knowing what to do. She just stared blankly at the photo of Lexis with a complicated gaze. Deep down, she wasn't sure about what she felt. She hadn't met her before and she somewhat felt that, if the woman were still alive, then all her hopes of getting back Kobby would have been lost and gone forever. She was relieved a bit that she wasn't alive after all, because the woman was indeed beautiful.

Maria helped Calia back to the sofa as she still sobbed. Maria got her a glass of water and tried to console her.

''Calia, is okay. Lexis is in a good place. I'm sure she must have felt your sincerely and felt content even without the gift she couldn't give to her'' Maria told Calia.

''Miss Lee, why is fate so cruel? I didn't even meet her again. I was having so many hopes of our first meetings. I was hoping that one day when she saw my shows on TV, she will come and find me but she never came. I didn't even know that something so terrible had happened to her''

''She wouldn't have died if I had stopped and looked at the road well before I crossed it. She died because she was trying to safe me, Calia. I'm sorry that your muse had to die because of me''

Maria told her.

''No, this isn't your fault. This is the fault of that driver. Did you know, it was the same driver who also crashed into Ad-Din's car and made him like that? Because of that man, Ad-Din almost became a cripple and had to live with chronic pains and PTSD for the past 8 years?'' Calia blurted out and it dawned on Maria.

''Ad-Din, he has PTSD and chronic pains? Is that why he doesn't want me to see him?'' Maria asked and Calia nodded her head. At the side, Rihan was still standing in front of the giant photo. She still stared blankly at the photo with unsettled feelings.

''Yes, is because he feels so much pain and it hurts him every time, that's why he doesn't want you to see him in that state. Miss Lee, I'm sorry. I wasn't supposed to let you know about this'' Calia was still sobbing as she spoke.

''No, is okay. thank you for telling me this. I really needed to know'' Maria said.

''Miss Lee, so, that's it means that my muse is Dr. Brian's late wife?'' Calia asked after calming down a bit. She used the tissue Maria gave her to wipe her tears.

''Yes, she died immediately after giving birth'' Maria said. Rihan suddenly came back to her senses and turned to look at them. It was precisely because she had Calia mentioning Kobby's name that got her attention.

''Now, I feel really bad for Dr. Brian. He must have felt so much pain from losing the love of his life'' Calia said and Rihan subconsciously clutched her fist. She remembered Kobby used to tell her back then, 10 years ago that she, Rihan was the love of his life. She felt a little discomfort after hearing such words from Calia.

''He must have gone through a lot, suffered a lot, yet he still manages to put up such a strong fort. I wished I could give him a hug when I see him'' Calia said.

The door opened just at that time and Kobby walked in. his steps paused as he saw the people in the hall. Rihan was still standing up while Maria and Calia were sitting down. Rihan's lips broke into a smile and she opened her mouth to speak but the words didn't come out when Kobby spoke first.

''What is going on here?'' Kobby asked and looked at the used tissues on the floor to Maria, Rihan and finally to Calia who started sobbing again as soon as she saw him.

''Kobby, hi'' Rihan said cheerfully but her mouth almost got twisted when she saw Calia in Kobby's arms.

Calia had gotten up suddenly and walked to Kobby's side and hugged him. She hugged him tightly startling everyone. Kobby who wasn't prepared for such a contact felt his heart fluttering for her once again. He blushed and tried to distant himself but Calia held unto him tightly.

''Dr. Brian, I'm sorry about your wife. I didn't even know she was my muse that I was looking for, for the past 8 years'' Calia said and Kobby turned and looked at Maria with a confused gaze.

Maria pursed her lips and smiled not knowing what to do. Kobby's eyes landed on Rihan and he saw the ugly look on her face but didn't care about that. He was rather focused on the little woman in his arms to care about someone else's feelings, so he suddenly wrapped his arms around Calia. He bent closer to her ears and spoke softly, words only she could hear.

''If you don't move away from me, I might just kiss you in front of them''

Calia's eyes twitched and he let go rather quickly as if she was scalded. She smiled and felt embarrassed as he went back to the sofa. Kobby chuckled at her sudden behaviour.

All their actions didn't escape Rihan as her face turned even uglier. Even that, she maintained a smile as she got a feeling in her that, Kobby was doing that to spite her, to make her jealous. She didn't know she was being delusional.