The Black Swan Behind

189 Fragile Building

“Did you drop them off? Did you wait for them to get in the car?” Lilian asked her grandson.

Marcel was silent for a moment. Ah.. he forgot that he had to wait for the four girls until they got into the car. He swore inwardly and shook his head slowly.

“Good grief Marcel. Why could you be so rude? Didn’t I tell you that you should treat women well? At this rate, how could they see you as a suitable man to be their husband?” Lillian grumbled while sighing many times.

“Grandma, stop telling me to find a partner. I’m too young to get married. Also, they’re grown women, not children to be watched over. Waiting for them to get into the car is unnecessary and just makes me look stupid.” Marcel said while releasing his handbrake to start the car.

But Lilian stood her ground. She shook her head steadily, “A man who treats a woman like a princess won’t look stupid. That’s what makes him look like real a gentleman.”

Marcel couldn’t answer anymore. He could only take a deep breath, knowing that he would not win if he argued with his grandmother. It was better if he stay silent.

“Oh, Marcel...” Lilian tilted her head to face her grandson who was driving, ignoring the boy’s annoyed face, “Do you like that lady named Kathy?”

“What? Of course, I’m not,” Marcel answered immediately. His voice was even getting higher.

“Hm..” Lilian smiled faintly and squinted her eyes.

.....

“Don’t think weird stuff, Grandma,” Marcel said when he noticed his grandmother’s gaze that seemed to be teasing him.

“How I didn’t think it was strange if I saw you looking at Kathy differently? In all the time I’ve cared for you since you were a baby, I’ve never seen you stunned when you look at a girl.” Lillian chuckled. “You have good taste, my dear. I like that lady too,”

“What are you talking about, Grandma? I don’t feel a thing and I didn’t stun by anyone,” Marcel denied.

“You didn’t? Ah.. Perhaps it was my eyes that saw wrong,” Lillian nodded slowly. But she didn’t mean what she said. She knew that her grandson was trying to hide his feelings. What a boy!

“But, wasn’t Kathy gorgeous? Her eyes are like a calm lake at the foot of the hill. Even when I was young, mine weren’t as bright as hers,” Lilian continued while recalling the time when she was looking in the mirror when she was still a girl. She often admired the green colour in her own eyes.

“I prefer girls with brown eyes like mom,” Marcel replied.

What Marcel said made Lilian realize that her grandson had anger toward his late father. To be honest, Lilian had always felt sad about it. But she never blamed Marcel and always tried to understand him because what her son did in the past was outrageous and must have left a deep scar on the hearts of his children.

“I know you don’t like your father, Marcel. But you can’t use that as an excuse for you to avoid people who happen to have the same physique as your father.” Lillian said slowly.

Marcel immediately turned to his grandmother. His expression instantly turned regretful, “I never disliked you, Grandma. You know that, right? I just prefer girls with brown eyes. That’s all.”

Lilian smiled and stroked her grandson’s head, “I know, honey.”

***

Four girls stood in front of a four-story building. Although in need of renovation, the shape of the building was stunning with a classic design.

Poppy had already signed Rachel’s building lease. For the next year, she would occupy the building to be her Ballet studio.

Although it was still in the process of being renovated, Kathy and Emma couldn’t wait to see what the building looked like. They said that they would just look around a bit to help them find suitable furniture for it. Emma said that finding furniture took a long time. Therefore, they could at least start looking around from now.

“Even though it looks like this building needs a lot of renovation, it turns out to be just the outer layer. The building contractor said all the frames and walls are still in very good condition. So most likely, the process would be completed quickly.” Poppy said.

“My grandmother said my parents used to give all their attention to this building. That’s why they hired the best builder contractors and architects.” Rachel explained.

Emma nodded, “They must really love you, Rachel.”

Rachel smiled, “Sometimes I think if they were still alive, maybe we’d live here together.”

“Hey.. Why is the atmosphere getting sad like this? Aren’t we going to have fun today?” Kathy snapped. “Gosh.. The view here is so nice,” she muttered, looking down the balcony.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t cry over something that can’t be changed.” Rachel took a deep breath and smiled.

“Looks like it would be great if we put a set of wicker chairs here. It must be great to read a book here,” Poppy said by gazing across the fairly large balcony. Even the tiles with the floral motifs haven’t been damaged at all.

“You’re right, Poppy. It must be wonderful. We could sit here enjoying the sunset.” Emma replied, looking down at the end of the empty street that showed the open sky. The sunset was about to come and the sky was already a bit yellowish.

“Ah.. I can’t wait for the renovation to be finished,” Kathy said as she leaned back against the balcony railing.

But suddenly..

CRACK!!

“Kathy!” They exclaimed.

“Whoa!!!” Kathy’s eyes widened. She didn’t even realize how she was hanging on the third-floor balcony. But her two eyes stared at the face of a girl with brown hair dangled down.

A few seconds ago, when she heard the sound of metal breaking, Emma immediately turned and found Kathy about to fall. Luckily, her body reflexes were very fast so Emma could swiftly grab her best friend’s hand.

“E-Emma,” Kathy muttered under her breath. She looked down and immediately grimaced at how high she was hanging in the air.

“Don’t look down. Hold me tight,” Emma exclaimed with her body on the dirty floor of the balcony. Her face grimaced against Kathy’s weight. “Don’t panic. I’ll pull you up.”

Then Emma tried to pull Kathy but she couldn’t because her current position required her to rely solely on the strength of her one hand. And of course, it was impossible to lift the weight of an adult woman with her only strength.

Seeing Kathy fall, Rachel who stood a few steps away from the two girls, immediately ran to Emma and ??tried to help her pull Kathy up. But Emma only had time to hold Kathy’s hand only and the red-haired girl couldn’t raise one more hand.

“Hold on, guys! I’ll call for help,” Poppy said and immediately ran inside to call the construction workers.

“Hurry up!” Rachel called out to Poppy who had disappeared.

“Emma..” Kathy’s face was panicked.

“We can pull her together, Emma.” Rachel said beside Emma. “I’ll hold you. She won’t be able to hold on for too long,” she continued.

Emma nodded, “Let’s try,”

“Kathy! We’re going to pull you up. Can you raise your other hand? Try one more time.” Rachel exclaimed.

Out of breath, Kathy nodded once and tried to lift another hand which for some reason felt so heavy because she was hanging on one hand that made all of her body weight drop to the other side.

“Come on Kathy. You can do it. We’re ballet dancers!” Emma said. She hoped it had something to do with it.

Unfortunately, Kathy wasn’t strong enough to raise her hand too high until it reached Rachel’s hand. The trouble was that Emma just held her around her wrist and she just kept sliding down.

Rachel thought quickly and said, “Emma will swing you. You should hold my hand when she swings this way,”

“Swinging me? Are you guys crazy?!” Kathy exclaimed, “Call the fire department! Call 911!”

“You know the firefighters in this town are slow as a snail. Your hand would break when they arrive. Just trust us, Kathy.” Emma said quickly. “We don’t have much time,”

Unable to think anymore, Kathy finally complied with a nod, “Please don’t drop me,” She said with teary eyes.

Emma and Rachel shook their heads, “We won’t,” They answered at the same time.

Emma took a deep breath, “I’ll start,” she said, tightening her grip even though it was getting wet from sweat. She used one hand to hold Kathy and the other to support herself by holding on to the edge of the floor so she wouldn’t fall down too. “One.. two..” she counted as she swung her arm. With that, Kathy’s body began to swing left and right.

“THREE!” Emma exclaimed as she tightened her arm swing to the right. At that moment, Kathy immediately straightened her left hand to the side. Thanks to the thrust, she managed to grab Rachel’s hand.

“Got it!” Rachel said with one hand she used to hold Emma’s back and the other grabbed Kathy’s hand.

Emma smiled in relief. Then she looked at Rachel, “Pull up on the count of three.” She said, getting a nod from her.

“One two three!” Emma exclaimed. Then the two girls pulled Kathy up with ease.

“Uhhhh!!” Kathy lay down on the dirty floor after moving away from the edge of the balcony which was no longer blocked by the guardrail.

Emma held her aching arm, “Are you okay?” she asked her friend.

Kathy shook her head, “My arm and wrist are in pain. I think something’s broken,”

Rachel who had risen to her feet smiled faintly, “I don’t think so,” she crouched down beside Kathy and checked her arm which was fine. “It might hurt for a few days. But I’m sure your arm is fine.”

“Is that so?” Kathy replied with a tired face.

Rachel nodded as she helped the girl sit up, “Where’s Poppy by the way? Looks like we should check her out. We shouldn’t be playing in a building that’s still under renovation. It’s dangerous.”

Emma stood also up, “You’re right. We have to find Poppy. I’m afraid something might happen to her.”