Finding You

THE ADMIRATION

A few days after the Flight QR1211 fiasco, a friend of Nuala invited her to join a local group for an animal rescue mission which she gladly agreed to.

Nuala woke up 3 hours before the call time. She showered and prepared herself for her activity today. She didn't put any makeup on since it's summer and fieldwork.

She took out a brown satchel where she puts her phones, wallet, keys, identification cards, and insect repellent inside. She put on a loose maroon v-neck long sleeves shirt and moss green hiking shorts, paired with brown hiking boots. She just let her wavy red hair flow.

When Nuala's done, she came to her parents' study room and said her goodbyes, "Hey Kawolskis, I'm on an animal rescue mission." then she winked at them.

Lindon, her father waved his hand at her and her mother smiled, "Maroon looks good on you, sweet pie. Take care and have fun." she said.

But before she closed the study room door, Nuala peaked again, "Father.." she said, waiting for her father to look at her. "Hmm?" Lindon asked, then she continued, "..Can I borrow your Jeep?"

Lindon was surprised and stopped doing what he was doing to look at his daughter. Nuala is a free-range spirit and adventurous; she loves to explore, however, borrowing her father's jeep is a different topic.

Looking at her expectant face, Lindon asked again. "What did you say?" he said with a 'try again smile.

Enya on the other side of the room was happily watching the two, bickering. Her chin resting above her interlocked fingers, elbow above the table.

"Please?" Nuala pleaded to her father with her deep blue eyes.

With squinted eyes, Lindon asked again, "Are you sure?" He gave Nuala a scrutinizing look, waiting for her to give up. But giving up is not in her daughter's vocabulary, "Yes. I can drive it for sure." then she smiled proudly.

"I'm so gonna regret this." He said defeatedly. Nuala exclaimed and ran to hug her father, "Thank you, Father!" she said before getting the keys from the table. "I'm going now before he changes his mind." she said to her mother. Enya just shook her head, smiling.

Lindon glanced at Enya's smiling face, "She's so you. I love you both." Enya smiled happily and mouthed four words to her husband, "I love you, more."

Along the way, Nuala stopped by a coffee shop to buy her latte and bagels.

She drove for about 30 minutes and when she arrived, a female waved at her, Robin. "Hey, you came!" she excitedly hugged Nuala. "Thank you for inviting me. So, what should we do?" Nuala asked.

Robin and Nuala attended the same grade school and joined camps together. She considers Robin as her best friend.

Robin patted her shoulders and said, "Not yet. We're still waiting for the vet to arrive. He's from the other side of the city."

"Oh, I see." said Nuala.

"It's your first time here, right?"

"Yeah, and I really want to experience this animal rescue."

"Okay. So, there will be three groups and each group has a vet and a newbie. You will be on my team. The vet will be here in a few."

Nuala nodded her head. She was about to say something but she was stopped. "He's here. Come on." She turned around to meet the eyes of the man she was searching for, or she thought.

Thrilled, Nuala was beyond speechless. She has no idea how to approach the guy but she did anyway. "Hi, I'm so glad to see you!" she said enthusiastically.

Puzzled, he asked, "I'm sorry, your name is?" Thinking that she's probably one of his clients. 'No. If she's my client, I would have recognized her.' he thought.

Nuala was just standing, staring at Flynn. Not saying anything.

Observing her reaction, he realized something. "Oh, you've probably mistaken me for my twin." He scratched his hair in embarrassment. "I thought you're one of my clients. I'm Flynn, Enoch's twin." he said, extending his hand for a handshake.

Perplexed, Nuala was still speechless. "Twin?" she thought, not knowing that she said it aloud. "Enoch Smith has a twin?" she added.

"Yes, we're twins." Flynn said, smiling. Still wondering who this redhead woman in front of him is. "And you are?"

Nuala shook her head to pull herself from her train of thoughts. "I'm sorry. Nuala, Nuala Kawolski." Then she accepted his hand.

As she shook hands with him, he couldn't help but notice how small, soft, and smooth her hand was. Her beauty is incomparable. But her name somehow sounds familiar.

They were interrupted by a voice, "I'm sorry to ruin your moment but yeah, we have to start the mission." Then the people from their team chuckle at what the announcer said.

Robin and Nuala walked together followed by Flynn and 2 more persons of their group.

They came to a halt when they reached a stable. There are about 20 abandoned dogs and 13 rescued stray dogs but all of them need to be checked by a vet.

"Team A - Doc Andrei. Team B - Doc Flynn and Team C - Doc Kurt. Each group will be.." As the program organizer gave each group their duties, Nuala on the other hand kept looking at Flynn from time to time.

Glance after glance, she realized that even Flynn and Enoch are twins, they are nothing alike, the two are far different from each other. But she was pulled back to reality, "Are you checking what are the differences between me and my brother?" Flynn asked, amused when his eyes met Nuala's blue eyes. 'How come she gets prettier the more I see her?' he thought.

Nuala came to her senses when she heard a gentle voice followed by a light chuckle. "No, no. It's nothing like that - wait a minute, you're him!" she pointed at his face, surprised as she remembered the guy she saw at the mall a few days ago, "It wasn't Enoch I saw, it was you." said Nuala as she continued to smile and animatedly pointed her finger to his face.

Flynn didn't say anything, he just stared at her bright smile and beautiful eyes. 'She's a true beauty.' he thought again. "So you were saying that you saw me at the mall? And you mistook me as Enoch?" he confirmed with squinted eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Nuala apologized but still laughed.

Flynn laughed along with her while he scratched his nape in embarrassment but his blushing cheeks gave him away. "Aww, you're blushing. I'm really sorry." Nuala said.

'It's because I'm starting to have a crush on you.' but he didn't dare to say it out loud. Flynn just put his right hands on his lips to cover his flushed cheeks.

They began to do their designated duties and time went by quickly. Flynn was used to this activity as he has been joining the organization since when he was in vet school, but Nuala on the other hand was having a hard time.

He watched her struggle at first but she adjusted well soon after. Seeing her enjoying the company of those clingy giant dogs made him smile. "She's pretty, isn't she?" asked Robin, Flynn nodded. "Yeah, she is."

"Do you like her, Doc?"

Flynn, lost in Nuala's smile, didn't realize that he answered Robin's question without hesitation. "Yeah." he said in awe, still looking at Nuala not far from them. But hearing giggles and laughter behind him, he came back to his senses. "No. I mean no. I don't like her."

"Do you want her number, Doc Flynn?" Ashleigh, one of their teammates asked.

He hurriedly replied, "No, thank you." Then he stood up to go far from his team.

What he didn't know is that the event photographer snapped a photo of him smiling while looking at the laughing Nuala.