Chapter 7 Living with Mere Stranger

Cassiopeia didn't know what how she feel about it, she can't imagine that one of her acquaintances was the culprit about the curse in Marice's family, "I hope she was very happy with her mother now" holding her chest with guiltiness. To ease the pain she felt, she walked into the woods pretending to pick some dried branches for their dinner later. Now, she realized whose hum was that and why she missed it so much. She keeps on humming while looking for more dried branches, along the way she was very shocked when she saw a man lying on the ground and bleeding, unconscious.

"What should I do?" she didn't know what she should do. She looked around and she saw the hem of her skirt, "Yes, bandage" she immediately tear it off and put the cloth on the man's wounds then she ran home to call for her father.

"Father! Father!" she shouted with distress while running

Her father threw the axe he holding when he heard his daughter's voice very nervous, "What happen Marice? Are you hurt?" he asked holding her two shoulders

She shook her head, "No, I'm fine father but ..." she answered

"But?" her father asked

"I saw a wounded man in the forest, please help him father" she asked thinking that would be Marcus.

They brought some new bandages, herbal ointment and water for the stranger and ran where he was lying. When they reached the place, Merio , Marice's father gave him a first aid and carry to their home. He lay the man on Marice's bed for a while and Marice looked at him.

"Please, you'll be Marcus" Cassiopeia looking at the stranger and praying that he will be Marcus in the loop she was with now. She was with him and serve him for days, night and day because she assumed that he will be her lover.

After a month, the guy seemed to be fine and his strength came back. To show his gratitude to the family who took care of him, he served them for a month.

It's ten in the morning and all his tasks were done, Merio prepare some refreshments for him and sat down beside him.

"Are you good now?" he asked then he

The man nodded, "Thank you for taking care of me, Sir" he answered then drank the cold water given to him "Maybe its fine if I will leave by tomorrow" he said

Merio closed his eyes and think about he heard, "You can stay here as much as you want, I can feed you but you need to help me to work" he said "as you can see, I am a simple person with no wealth and the only thing I have is my daughter" he added

"Father!" Marice called him with a cheerful voice "Father, what should I cook for lunch?" her voice echoing around until she approached them

Merio looked at Marice catching her breathe, "What do you want for dinner, pumpkin?" he asked with a smile

She think about it, "I want a squash soup with a meat of a deer" she tried to tease her father to have some delicious meat for lunch even she knew that it was impossible to have.

Merio wanted to laugh at her because its impossible to have a deer meat at that hour but he was surprised when Maco, the stranger they took care, "Boy, there's no way that you can find a deer at this moment" he said with a smirk

He stretched a little, "I try to find something before lunch" he said with a smile "please cook the squash soup, and if I returned with no deer meat" he thinks another meat that he could bring in case he didn't have any "Aha!" he thought of something that made them think also "If I didn't have a deer meat, it's fine to have a rabbit meat if that will be fine" he suggests

Marice felt excitement when she heard a rabbit meat because that was a meat that Marcus most favorite, "Marcus, its that you?" she asked on her mind while looking at him

"Okay, I will prepare to hunt" he said then he walked back home and get his tools for hunting and went into the woods.

---Maco----

I don't who I am or what happened before Marice found me in the middle of the woods. I can't remember who I am, all I remembered was someone chasing me and shouting me to comeback. They have knives and I can hear multiple shot of guns, the only thing I felt that moment is fear and the will to live. I felt the pain on my left arm, but I don't know if I was stabbed or I was shot. I ran as I wanted to live until I reached the forest, my eyes became blurry and then I don't know what happen after I collapsed.

-----End-----

Maco continuing to find a deer, he saw one but it ran faster. He wanted to fulfill his promise so he hunt more until he will bring rabbit for the one who saved him from the verge of death. As a promised he came back before lunch time and he brought five rabbits.

Marice saw him from afar, "Maco!" she was very happy when he came back and he was very happy when she saw the five rabbits he was holding, "Wow! it seems that will be until dinner!" she was very happy because they can eat meat often because her father didn't go to the forest for awhile.

He entered in the kitchen and put the rabbits on the table to dressed it for food, "You can cook anything you wanted to cook to it, I know that you are a good cook" he smiled at her and left.

Marice (Cassiopeia) was still thinking if the person she found was Marcus or not but she try her best to know who is he. For now, she wanted to serve the man not as a stranger but she was very hopeful that he was Marcus who lost his memories due to some loops. When everything was cooked, her father prepare the dining table and the food then they started to eat their delicious lunch.

Merio was very happy that he can eat meat of a rabbit now after a month of vegetable dishes, "Thank you for this delicious food Maco" he still enjoying the food

Marice stood up and get something from the kitchen, "I have another dish, please enjoy it" she was very happy to put in the center the fried meat then she sat down again.

They always looked like a happy family and Merio always dreamed to have a son to help him in the farm. Day after day and month after a month, but still Cassiopeia still longing for Marcus then one night;

Maco was outside sitting on the field and looking for the constellation of the stars in the sky, stretching his hand like he wanted to reach his favorite constellation. He wanted to know who was he but he can't remember anything from his past.

Marice went outside to look for him, when she saw him nearby she smiled and went back inside the house to get some blanket. She stopped at his back, "Can I seat beside you?" she asked

When he looked back he saw her sweet smile under the moonlight, "Yes" he looked at her and amazed to her simple beauty under the moon, "Is there any problems?" he asked

She shook her head and lay down on the green grass, "What are you looking?" she asked while looking up in the sky

"I'm just wanted to see my favorite constellation" he said "everytime I looked on it I feel that I am like Hercules who can defeat anything and everything on his way" he added

Marice smiled, "You wanted to know what my favorite constellation is?" she wanted to tease Maco

"It can be Orion or any constellation connected to Greek heroes?" he answered

She smiled, "I don't like any happy ending story, because I know everyone will leave me and make me wait until we cross our paths again" she answered while remembering the things happened to her as the former queen of the Fairy Kingdom

Maco wanted to laugh knowing the sweet girl he knew for weeks was a girl with unhealed wounds gave by destiny, "Are you pertaining to Cassiopeia?" he asked then he noticed a throne like constellation.

"Yeah, the prideful queen who gave the pride of beauty to her daughter and didn't apologize for her disrespectful attitude" she answered "But even I love that constellation, I can't be a prideful like her" she said to her mind then she started to cry

He noticed that she was silently crying, "Are you crying?" he smiled "If you wanted to talk to something, I will listen" he offered

She sat down and wiped her tears, "I missed my bestfriend, his name is Marcus" she said "He was a very special friend to me" she smiling

"Is this Marcus was your man?" he asked

She felt warm to his words thinking that the man she was talking was Marcus and he was playing a trick to her, "Not so, when we are kids he used to be my playmate and he saved me many times" she trying to hide her smile everytime she remembered the days with him

Maco stood up, "It's very cold here, we need to go inside now" he walked first

Marice cannot hold the words she wanted to ask, "Wait, can I asked a serious question to you?" she seemed to be desperate

He stopped and looked back, "What is it?" he asked

With the tears in her eyes, "I want to ask if you are Marcus in this loop?" she was very desperate to know if her hunch was true

He simply smiled, "Marice, maybe you are tired so that you are thinking like that" he answered

Those words made her broken hearted because after all this time she assumed that the wounded man she helped was the Marcus in the present loop where she was. She turned her back, "You can go first, I want to be alone" she said hiding her sadness

He felt her sadness, "Are you okay?" he wanted to comfort her

"Please, I want to be alone" she said

He didn't refuse to her request, "Okay, but please don't stay here for long because you can catch cold" he said then he went inside

When she knew that he went inside, she didn't hold herself up "Marcus, where are you?!" she can't stop her sobbing "You told me to follow me at any loop, it's been a month ago but you still didn't yourself!" she cried so much "Marcus, please" her knees has no strength to stand. "I'm being a good girl but why should I felt this way, the only I have right now is you Marcus, please" she keep on crying and sobbing

Maco was looking at her from inside, he can feel the pain even he didn't understand the words he heard but the only one thing he was sure, Marice was longing for that man. He just wait her to come inside but it's already midnight but Marice still in the outside wailing on something he didn't understand or even he was confused on how she talked.

She was still looking in the sky, her eyes closed. She wanted to feel the cold breeze of the night and hoping that one day she will met her man on the loop in the present. Unconsciously, she fell asleep after she cried a lot. Maco went outside when he noticed that she was lying on the grass and sleeping

"Oh my miss, it was not right to sleep here" he carry her inside and put on her bed

Her father saw it and he was very worried about her, "Is she okay" he asked the man

He just nodded, "Maybe she was fine, she told me a story about her friend and she think that I am her long lost friend" he answered

Even Merio didn't know that Marice has a guy friend all this time because she used to play with the other girls in the town, "What was the name of the man she was looking?" he asked

"Marcus, I don't know exactly but she told me that it was Marcus" he answered

He was very worried about her daughter because when the time she woke up, there were things that seemed to be not normal to her, "Thank you for taking care my daughter, you can rest now" he said

Maco went to his room and rest while Merio was thinking if the girl she used to be her daughter was still her daughter after all.