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Trial 20: Misapprehension
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2020-11-02 20:27:07I stood up and hurried my steps to the door. I opened my bedroom door, revealing Dashiell. I ushered him into my room and offered him a seat on the edge of my bed. There, I asked what brought him into my room. Instead of giving me an answer, he asked me to stretch out my hands to him. I do as he said. He picked something from his pocket which looks like massage oil. He starts massaging my hands and fingers gently which shocks me, "Wait, Dashiell! Why are you doing this?"
"You were crying like a kitten who lost its mother cat last night. I learned that massaging hands like this is good for a pianist."
"But Dashiell, you don't have to do this."
"Hmm... I know, but you might be cursing me secretly because of the training that I put you into. I thought you'd stop doing so if I do this for you, haha."
What he said sort of ticked me off so I forcefully pull my hands away from him.
"Hey! I was just kidding. Don't take it too seriously. Come on, give me your hands."
I refused to do as he said. I look away from him and state, "I admit I cussed at you a lot before, both covertly and overtly, but I certainly am not cursing you because of what happened. Your kind action just surprised me. Besides, I wouldn't want you to feel obligated to do something like this for me. More importantly, there's someone you're in love with, isn't there? I don't want to come in between you two."
"Huh? In love? Where the hell did you get that from?"
"Mr. Thomas and Dr. Al told me about that, so Dashiell, you don't have to deny it. Falling in love is not uncommon after all. That being said, you may go to your special someone and spend some time with her while the night is still young."
Dashiell facepalms and reasons, "Like I said, there's no one special to me as you think. Whatever you heard from Dr. Al and dad must be a misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding? I heard it from them that there's someone you're in love with, and that's the reason why you disappear right after our training and return at dinner time."
Dashiell ponders for a moment. Afterward, he throws a question, "Did dad tell you who that special someone is?"
I shook my head.
Dashiell sighs, "I think I know what pops told you about. You may be confused now, but I can assure you that there's no one I'm in love with. In short, I have no girlfriend! So stop making such assumptions, just because my dad said there's someone I visit regularly. That being said, give me your hands so I can finish the massage."
I am indeed confused, but since Dashiell cleared that he has no girlfriend, I did as he told me. Again, for a reason I don't know, I feel relieved to know that he has no girlfriend. I felt my heart smile at it.
Dashiell resumes massaging my hands. His touch is gentle and relaxing that I closed my eyes. I don't know how much time had passed then because the next thing that happened is I lost my consciousness.
As Dashiell is getting done with the massage, he notices that Alaine's gotten limp.
"Shit! Did she just fall asleep on me again? Geez! You are such a handful," grumbled Dashiell.
Nonetheless, he tucks Alaine in her bed as he smiles faintly while shaking his head. He left the room soon after that.
Meanwhile, Mr. Thomas is waiting for Dashiell's bedroom door. He corners his approaching son, and asks, "I saw you going to Alaine's room, son. Did you two have a nice talk?"
Dashiell looks like he popped a vein in his head when he sarcastically responds, "Actually, we did, dad. It's all thanks to what you and Dr. Al said to her last night."
Mr. Thomas didn't seem to sense the sarcasm in Dashiell's words, "That's good to hear."
And that was it; Dashiell starts ranting, "Why did you have to tell her that I regularly visit Pillow?"
"But that's the truth, son. There's no harm in telling Alaine about how loving and caring you are to Pillow. Besides, wouldn't it be nice for Alaine to get to know you better?"
"But, dad, it had caused a misapprehension. She thought that I have a girlfriend!"
Mr. Thomas bursts into a fit of laughter. When he recovers, he says, "Wasn't that more thrilling, son?"
Dashiell is frustrated that the blush on his face extends towards his ears. He hisses, "Whatever dad! At least be clear about the things you tell her about me next time. It was damn hard to clear up a misapprehension."
Mr. Thomas waves his hand, "Alright, son. I'll try to do that. But, you know, try to talk to her often. It won't hurt to open up at least a bit about yourself."
Dashiell waves the suggestion off, "Maybe, dad, but I prefer not to do that. It's better to remain a stranger to her. That way, things will be easier."
Mr. Thomas sighs, "Alright, son. If that's what you want, I'll support and respect you; however, if she asks me something about you, I won't hesitate to be as honest as I can."
"I guess, I'm okay with that, but... just don't tell her that... You can tell her everything about me except that thing... You definitely cannot ever tell her that no matter what."
"Don't worry son, I won't tell her that."
"Thanks, dad."
"Good night, son. Tomorrow's another busy day, so sleep well."
"I will, dad. You sleep well too. Good night."
The two males get inside their respective bedrooms.
Inside Dashiell's room, he whispered to himself, "She definitely shouldn't know that fact about me. She doesn't need to get to know anything about me. It's for her good. Damn it! Why am I overthinking? I better hit the sack."
And Dashiell strived to doze off.
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The Trial of Eden Trial 28: Cleared
I'm halfway finished with my bottled water when Dashiell spoke, "Cheers to you for clearing this phase."It took me seconds to register what he said. When it did, I squealed in delight. Dashiell chuckles at my reaction and resumes, "I get it, you're happy but don't squeal like that especially when you're sitting next to someone; you'll blast their eardrums.""Sorry.""It's okay. Just don't do it next time.""Got that.""Anyway, you did well in all the tests. Good job!""Yay! I did it! Thank you, Dashiell.""Haha, thank yourself instead, and don't get too elated just yet as this is only the first phase. There are still two more.""I know but still I can't help but be happy knowing that I have the potential to succeed. It's like I feel more motivated now to continue with this. That being said, please continue guiding me."Dashiell titters and ruffles my hair, saying, "Yeah, okay.""Hey, stop that! You're messing my
The Trial of Eden Trial 27: T**t of Strength
Arriving at the training room, I noticed that several gym equipment had been set up. When I asked what those equipment are doing inside, Dashiell said that he will test if I'm fit enough to clear this phase and move onto the next one. With that, I started warming-up by doing some breathing exercises, stretching, and light cardio exercises.When I finished warming-up, Dashiell explained that between each test, there's a five-minute interval in which I could take a little rest. Then, without further ado, he started testing me. Beginning with a speed test, I underwent a flying 30m sprint test, 40m Cycling Sprint Test, and a Plate Tapping Test. My punching speed was also tested.Moving on, my power was put on a test. In that test, my punching power was measured. I did bench presses too as well as basketball throws in a seated position. Following such, I had the vertical jump test, drop jump test, standing broad jump test, and a power clean repet
The Trial of Eden Trial 26: Ask Away
Before I could ask my first question, Dashiell supplied that he was the one who named Pillow. He explained, "When I first brought Pillow home, I observed that she likes sleeping on pillows so one day I thought out loud that I will name her Pillow which she seemed to had liked since she purred right then."After that, Dashiell didn't speak for a minute so I thought I could start with my first question. "So, when and where-"And just like that, Dashiell interrupts me and steals the rest of the words out of my mouth, saying, "When and where did I get Pillow from, huh? I got her two years ago when I was going back to the bunker from my tiring work.""You mean, Pillow was once a stray kitten?""Ah, no. I got her from an animal shelter. She-"This time it's me who interrupts him. "Awesome! You adopted her then?""Geez! Let me finish, will you?" responded a seemingly annoyed Dashiell"Oops, sorry! I got excited, " was my shy reply.Da
The Trial of Eden Trial 25: Sneaky Action
The sound of my phone's alarm woke me up. I jolted out of my bed to wash my face and brush my teeth. Afterwhich, I left my room to proceed to the aisle leading to our common exit. I tried to hide as I await for Dashiell to pass by. I opted to do it that way because I have no way of checking if Dashiell is already on his way to visit his "beloved one" unless I checked him in his room which is something that I'm scared to attempt.A few minutes had elapsed and I'm feeling a bit drowsy. Please Dashiell, just show up already. And just like an answered prayer, Dashiell appeared seconds after. He is carrying a backpack which I assume, contains some food. Less than a minute after he went past the spot where I stand, I followed him from behind. I walked as stealthily as I could; however, Dashiell's senses are so sharp that he noticed that someone's following him. He demanded that I reveal myself. I revealed myself and I felt mortified for being discovered which is why w
The Trial of Eden Trial 24: Sneaky Plan
Right now, I'm lying on my bed thinking about what's happened since my talk with Dashiell. It's been two days since our talk in the living room. The next day after our talk I tried waking up as early as four in the morning, but I didn't manage to get up even after setting up an alarm time. It's not surprising though considering the time I slept, and well, my personality. I've always been like this; a heavy sleeper. Gosh! I missed out on seeing Dashiell before he left. Mr. Thomas said he left for an errand and to visit his beloved one. That "beloved one" thing always gets me. Ever since I heard about it, I can't stop wondering who that "beloved one" is. Even though Dashiell said it's not his girlfriend, I can't help but think it's his girlfriend that he visits a lot, like come on who would wake up earlier than five in the morning then later after training, rush out of this bunker just to meet someone. It's not like I'm trying to stalk Dashiell, I only want to know who he meets with.
The Trial of Eden Trial 23: Long Night
Dashiell opened the light snacks he got for us and offered me to eat them with him. I reluctantly agreed albeit I don't feel like eating at this hour when I am supposed to be sleeping. I thought if I don't accept Dashiell's offer, he would get offended which I don't want to happen.In between Dashiell's munching on our snacks, he begins, "My dad asked help from his friend, uncle Ray, who we discovered as the owner of the inn where our common entrance is located. I don't know if I should call this fate or coincidence, but uncle Ray happened to be an acquaintance of your uncle Bob. He said that your uncle Bob once saved him from a hospital debt. Your uncle Bob paid more than half of his hospital bills. Back to uncle Ray, he registered himself as my legal guardian. As you might expect, we lied that dad had disappeared without my knowledge, leaving me orphaned. Naturally, my registered address was changed into that of uncle Ray's that's why I was able to finish my studies without
