The Collector's Item

Eighth

Who could be this person?

A hypnotic rose scent released from someone’s hair. Her footsteps were the only sound people heard as she approached the bulletin board. People automatically paved the way for this mystic woman, except for him.

“Are you Nancy Listvitsky?” he asked.

“Oh, hi Mr. Handsome! You must be Mason, right? Can I take your autograph?”

She started rummaging through her bag for her notebook. He stood there waiting for the excavation to finish.

In the end, he stamped her notebook. The woman hopped like a rabbit afterward. It also asked him if he could have lunch with her best friend, Corrine, to which he accepted.

He found the woman interesting because her way of getting his attention was innovative.

“This ranking won’t be the same next period,” he said to himself.

However, nothing changed. He stayed in his rank until they graduated.

But what’s interesting, they’ve always turned activities into some sort of competition. Whether it was chess, composing his or her speech, dressing, and even babysitting poor Maximillienne.

When he was 21, the Academy conducted their yearly ball. He saw Nancy wearing a dress for the first time. His world froze. His lens captured her images throughout the night. People’s faces were pixelated except her.

He also felt a contracting pain in his chest. As a result, he consulted over three physicians. All of them had the same diagnosis — he was in love.

In love? He only chuckled at the ridiculous, abstract feeling. If this was falling in love, why with the wrong person?

Little did he know that the young lady felt the same. They both restricted themselves. Until one day, on the day of the hunting festival, fate played a trick on them. A snowstorm trapped them inside an old building.

With opposing personalities, quarreling was a given. However, there was a force lurking in abandoned buildings or caves, forcing two people to become vulnerable and open up their feelings to one another.

What comes next after the confession? A passionate kissing scene.

They never met again after the incident. Corrine ended up in the right conclusion when Nancy bid farewell as she moved to a foreign country for her research.

Why didn’t they fight their love for each other? Why did Mason remain silent? Ever since Maxine dreamt of Mason’s past, those questions were like puzzle pieces that didn’t fit together.

Mason was the man who surely would get what he wanted.

A big confusion was on Maxine’s face.

Like what they have planned, they lured and trapped the three in their meeting room. Kent suggested installing a memory stone, which she opposed.

“A closure must happen between the people involved in an entangled relationship.”

“Oh, man! How I wished I could watch it! I want to see Nancy and Teacher Mason’s gentle expressions!”

“Didn’t you hear Lady De Clare? A closure must be private! Let’s give Teacher a peaceful life.”

Yes, Mason taught the two about military tactics and politics.

“So, we would sit here for hours then ask the servants to release our prisoners in love? That’s boring!”

“What would you like to do, Your Grace?”

“Maxine, show me your archery skills! He always bragged about it in our class!”

She looked to her right, hoping Noah would save the day.

“I’m sorry, Lady De Clare. But, if you don’t want to, I’ll shut Kent’s mouth.”

“Even you, Mr. Decker?”

Maxine heaved a heavy sigh.

“Wait for me in our backyard, I’ll change.”

Besides Science and Technology, Archery was Maxine’s other expertise. She competed nationwide and even worldwide, amassing gold, silver, and bronze medals. However, she found it amusing when the body she possessed was also an archery master.

“Do I look okay?” she asked one of her servants.

“You look the best, Miss! Your blonde wavy pony-tailed hair, the white long-sleeved shirt, and black pants highlighted your curves! And we specifically chose these comfy black boots that will complete the look!”

She ran her hands over her bow. Who would have thought she'd touch this thing once again?

When she went outside, the Duke was already holding a cloth banner with her name on it. Servants also placed archery butts made of straws at different distances.

All she had to do was stand on the mark, breathe, aim at her targets, and shoot arrows in the air. Out of 6 targets, 5 of them were bullseye. This didn’t satisfy her thirst for perfection. She attempted to hit the last bullseye, and she succeeded.

The claps from her small audience comprising the servants and her two new friends.

Duke of Revailon ran towards her, started a hi-five, then held her hand.

“You’re so cool! I think I fell in love with your skills!”

She only let out a weird chuckle. Deep inside, she wanted to kick this man out of their estate.

However, peripheral vision senses an arrow that separates them.

“Do not touch my Maximillienne!”

No matter how many times she blinked, the fiery aura surrounding her brother’s body remained.

He stood behind them. To prevent the upcoming calamity, she ran towards her brother, snatched his arrow, and called the servant to hide it.

“Do you think it would be difficult? Even if there were no walls or doors, I would definitely escape.”

“Brother, let me explain.”

“No need,” then shifted his gaze to his students, “I know the answer. Please, do not make friends with a suspicious Duke over there.”

Kent asked his teacher for his statement, but the Duchess came with a wide smile on her face, commenting that their estate became lively. For Maxine, it was chaotic.

“I’m sorry.”

Lunch passed by and the visitors went home. Now, Maxine had the reason to explain everything to her brother.

“I just want you to have closure. Alright, I acknowledge what I did was wrong however, I don’t want the three of you to suffer.”

Her hands were as cold as the glaciers of the South Pole however, she looked straight from her brother’s eye.

“Why didn’t I fight my love for Nancy?”

It was not new to her. During her short period she stayed in this world, Mason may not be sociable but he was a skilled puppeteer. If others used emotions as a thread to manipulate their puppet’s movements, theories weaved his.

“There are two answers. First, I’m already engaged to Corrine. Second, we both know that we’re not for each other.”

“But Brother, wasn’t it hard to let someone go, especially if it was precious to your heart?”

“Did you forget? You were the one who taught me how to let go.”

Maxine pointed at herself.

“Me?”

Mason nodded before narrating the events that happened eight years ago.

“When you were eight, you saw an injured bird in our garden.”

Then a scene flashed before her. It was her picking up a brown tree sparrow.

“You begged mother to keep the bird, and she agreed. Every day, you monitor the bird’s treatment. You provided food, water, shelter, and love to the bird. The bird loved you back.”

Whenever Mason reminisced about those memories, a thing similar to a hologram appears beside her brother, confirming those events were real.

“The bird monopolized your time, but it also taught you how to be responsible and patient. Until one day, the bird’s Mom landed in our garden. It would always let out its weeping chirp.”

“So, I hid the bird and caged her.”

Even though the hologram didn’t show the particular scene she mentioned, a similar thing happened back in her world.

“Then one day, you let her go, even though your tears almost flooded your room. Now, it was my time. Why did you set Mira free?”

She gasped when he mentioned the name of the bird. It was the same name she chose for her bird.

“When I caged her, Mira won’t chirp like before. Her feathers fell one by one. She kicked the food bowls I provided.”

She narrated her own experience, but the video on the hologram showed the same shots.

She snatched her jar of bonbon tamarind. This made her cry, and she wanted to calm herself by stuffing sweet treats in her mouth.

“I can’t afford Mira to die. I prefer if she would have a happy life even without me. The memories we created were enough.”

She blinked her eyes. It was her first time to see his brother smile.

“Those were the same words you told me eight years ago. During that time, I felt proud of my sister. Thank you, Maxine.”

This wasn't everything. She had to unfasten the knots connecting the three targets.