Enemies by Fate, Lovers by Choice

Early in the morning, just after Maria had cleaned the house, the doorbell rang.

 

"Who could it be this early?" she wondered, walking towards the door. She glanced through the peephole and saw a familiar face. "Luna?" a little surprised as she whispered 

 

Maria opened the door and saw that it was indeed Luna.

 

"Good morning, Aunt Maria," Luna greeted.

 

"Good morning. Why didn't you text me that you were coming so early? Come inside," Maria said, with a gentle smile on her lips.

 

"I'm sorry, Aunt. I... got excited when I found out that you live nearby," Luna said slowly, lowering her head. It was true that she had been really excited when she found out that Maria lived only couple of streets away from their house. So, when the weekend came, she woke up early to buy some fruits to bring to Maria.

 

"Oh, you silly girl," Maria chuckled, gently ruffling Luna's hair. "If I knew you only live nearby I would have asked you to come even weekdays, let's have some breakfast first,"

 

" Take this, Aunt. I'm really sorry for coming without a word," Luna apologize as she handed over the fruits.

 

"Well, thank you, dear, there's no trouble at all, don't think too much," Maria said, taking the bag. She went to the kitchen, washing the fruits and arranging them on a plate. "Let's have some fruit together," she offered, pushing the plate towards Luna.

 

"Let's try some," Maria said as she pushed the plate of fruits towards Luna.

 

"Yes, umm.. Aunt, have you had your breakfast?" Luna asked after few seconds of hesitation because she really came early 

 

Maria went back to the kitchen again before she answered Luna," Not yet, I just finished cleaning the house but I prepare some sandwiches I hope you won't mind. By the way, I actually planned to go to the supermarket after this. Do you want to come with me?"

 

"Can I?" Luna asked, then she took a bite of sandwich and it's really good 

 

"Yes, but you can also stay here and wait for me if you want. You can also play in Mira's room," Maria said with a playful smile.

 

"I'll go with you, Aunt. Also.. don't trust me too much. What if I'm a bad person?" Luna said, noticing how Maria trusted her even though they had only met once. She also thought, ' What if Maria really met a bad guy and take advantage of Maria's kindness as Maria lives alone now? '

 

"Oh, Luna," Maria said, shaking her head. "You're a good girl. I'm sure you're not a bad person. Besides, I can handle myself, you know."

Luna's thoughts raced, and she became even more worried about Maria's safety. She imagined a lot of scenarios, her face shifting from sadness to anger as she thought about how to beat those bad people who might try to harm Maria.

 

Maria was amused by how Luna's emotions were so easily seen. 'Like mother, like daughter,' she thought to herself.

 

Maria, seeing Lilith in Luna for a moment, unconsciously and softly pinched Luna's cheek, just like she always did to Lilith. When she realized what she had done, she took back her hand as if nothing had happened.

 

Luna, who had been pinched, finally woke up. She saw Maria laughing softly at her and touched her cheeks with a questioning face.

 

Maria answered without Luna asking, "Don't think too much. I'll just go upstairs to change. Just wait for me here, okay?"

 

Luna nodded. 'Aunt Maria is really pretty, especially when she smiles. Just like Mira, but Mira doesn't like smiling too much. She would only soften her expression but won't smile. Mira is really pretty and look soft when she smile '

 

Luna looked around and didn't see any pictures, but a bookshelf that could be seen beside the television caught her attention. There were a lot of books, and Luna, who also like reading, walked towards it.

 

She looked at the books and saw that most of them were about business, finance, strategies, and many more. She opened one of the books and saw some markings and highlights. There were also some notes. She was familiar with the handwriting and knew it was Mira who had written the notes. She touched it and looked at it carefully as if she wanted to memorize it.

 

Maria came down and saw Luna at the bookshelf.

 

"Are you also interested in those books?"

 

Luna quickly took back the books and walked towards Maria. "Yes."

 

"You can read them later. You can also borrow them."

 

"Aunt, those are Mira's books, right?"

 

"Yeah, don't worry. She won't get mad. She already read those books. I'll just tell her later."

 

"Okay. Let's go now?" Luna asked. She felt so comfortable around Maria for some reason

 

"Hahaha, you're so excited. Alright, let's go."

 

Luna smiled widely and went to the supermarket with Maria. This was her first time going to a supermarket because most of the time, it was their maid who would buy things like these. She watched carefully how Maria looked at the vegetables. She would also listen to Maria's tips on how to know what was fresh meat and what wasn't, the same went for vegetables and fish.

 

Luna followed and listened to Maria, and sometimes she would ask questions. Luna's curiosity and enthusiasm about just buying simple daily necessities and foods made people around them look at her, and sometimes some elderly people would smile at her fondly.

 

Luna got shy when she noticed and stopped talking.

 

"Don't be shy. Nowadays, it's rare for kids to be interested in something like this because youngsters now only want to play around," Maria said.

 

An elder who had heard this and also watched Luna and Maria have a question-and-answer session couldn't help but say something too.

 

"Indeed. If they're not playing around, they would just run off somewhere and won't even help. So child, don't be shy. We just feel good that there are still youngsters like you two sisters." The elder explained kindly.

 

Maria, who was unexpectedly mistaken as Luna's sister, felt embarrassed. Although she had heard her daughter say it before, hearing it in actual made her really shy.

 

Luna finally stopped being shy and didn't shy away. After the elder went away, she looked at Maria. 'Mira's mother is like mom. They don't get older. Something like this happened to me and mom before, but maybe this is the first time Aunt Maria heard this kind of compliment.'

 

"Aunt Maria?"

 

"Ehem... let's go."

 

"Yes."

 

Maria and Luna continued to buy more, and it was already 9 in the morning when they came back. Luna wanted to help Maria in the kitchen, but Maria didn't let her unless she changed clothes.