Flower of Steel

“Again!” shouted the boy.

I smiled proudly at the boy, who frowned with an unaccepting look on his face.
Then, I asked him, “How is it now? You forgot about it, right?”

In response to my question, he became dazed.
He looked at me in disbelief, then turned to the chessboard and laughed.
Then, I heard a soft voice, “You’re right.
It’s amazing.”

“Right? Chess is so fun.
Let’s play again next time.”

“Next time?” he asked.

“Yeah.
My father hasn’t come yet, so I should go find him.
I have to go back home.”

At that moment, another hand hurriedly grabbed my hand.
This boy is quite strong, unlike his face, which was so pretty.
He asked, “…When will you come again?”

He looked nervous.
After I barely got him to smile, he’s about to cry again.
But I felt good.
He seemed to like me, just like how I came to like him.
So, I planned to come back no matter what.

“In three days,” I replied, thinking about urging my dad.

He then let go of me and added, “You have to come back.
If you don’t…”

Once more, he became sad, so I gave him the king piece from my chess pieces and said, “I’ll come back for the most important piece.”

He became even more tearful and answered, “Yeah!”

Then, I woke up.
Right.
I met my first love when I was ten.
I felt my heart ache a little bit.
Oh, I want to see him again.

***

“Marina.”

I came back to my senses after hearing some whispers calling my name.
Rave was giving me a weird look.
Every eye was on me.
Oh, right.
I was in a morning meeting.

Rave whispered to me again, “What are you doing? It’s your turn to speak.
It’s about the analysis regarding the increased agricultural production compared to last year.”

“Oh, okay.”

I was a bit shocked by Rave but didn’t show that on my face.
Then, I made a speech regarding the analysis that I had prepared.
I made no mistakes and everyone returned to focus on the meeting.
Thank god or something, I was able to finish the meeting without any problems even with my mind drifting to places.

“Marina, you seem weird today,” noted Rave.

“Pardon?” I asked.

“It’s not like you to be drifting away like that.”

Hearing that, I sighed.
Was I that obvious? It’s shameful.
There’s no way I could be an ambassador by acting like that.

“Don’t be too harsh on yourself.
Everyone is like that,” added Rave.

I laughed.
Yeah, I guess I can make mistakes like other people.
But then, I had to frown as I said, “Don’t think about putting your hands on me.”

Rave took his hand back as he tried to place it above my shoulder and smiled awkwardly.
He would have been a fine man if only he didn’t try to pull something like that.

When I returned, Vice Director Raymont waved at me, signaling me to come.
As I walked up to him, he handed me another document and said, “Secretary Harrant, you are to report the results of this morning’s meeting at the Crown Prince’s palace.

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

I almost laughed at the fact that I seemed to have become the Crown Prince’s personal messenger.
The shield- I mean the tray that I used for every visit to him was now laying in a corner, collecting dust.

***

On the way to the Crown Prince’s palace was the gazebo, which was still intact and where I met the boy.
I stood there and looked at it.
Yes, we met three times here.
And that day, we parted ways.
The third time we met, I was playing chess after meeting him here.
I bragged about myself as I taught him some chess skills.