The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

Emma stared at Levi for a while. Not that she felt that his request was weird. But, she could see a great pressure on Levi’s face. It looked like he was exhausted.

“Sure. Where’s the place?” Emma asked excitedly. She didn’t want to talk about the problem Levi was having right now. From the time they had spent together, she had learned that Levi would be more comfortable pouring out his mind when he was the one to talk about his problems first without having to be asked.

“Have you eaten?” Levi asked as he stood up.

“Breakfast,” Emma answered.

Then Levi glanced at his watch. “How about having lunch before going playing?” he asked, holding out his hand in front of Emma’s face.

“Sure,” Emma replied, putting her hand in his warm grip. Then Levi pulled her up from the swing.

***

Emma didn’t know there was an amusement park with a carnival concept in Handway City.

.....

They got out of the car and Levi bought a ticket to enter the park. The ticket was quite cheap because the amusement park looked like a carnival with lots of booths, stalls, and a few small shops.

Even though she had promised to accompany Levi to ice skating as a thank you, Emma still insisted on treating Levi to a meal. Thus, they ended up in front of a bright yellow and red food truck and ordered a two-pack of burgers and fries.

“The burger here is so delicious,” Emma said as she rubbed her full stomach. They had just finished eating and were still sitting at one of the small tables in front of the food truck.

“The fast food here is really good. Unfortunately, this place is quite dead because the location is not strategic and the games are outdated compared to the famous big amusement park north of Handway.” Levi explained.

“Ah, it’s such a shame,” Emma muttered.

Levi nodded. “Reportedly, this place belongs to a rich man who built it for his son. But when his son grew up, he didn’t take care of this park and just let it run by his employees,”

Emma nodded. “All right... I think we’ve had enough of sitting here. Shall we skate now?”

“Of course. I purposely asked you to eat here because the ice-skating location is in this amusement park.” Levi answered while standing up from his plastic chair, “Let’s go there now,”

It was a medium-sized ice skating location surrounded by a glass wall and decorated with small triangular flags hanging above. There were also many small lights that were not turned on during the day.

When Emma and Levi came, the place was almost empty with only two children and their mother.

The two of them entered and were immediately met by a long counter with a row of skate racks. Levi pointed towards the shoe rental section. “Measure your feet first. I’ll go to the cashier to buy a ticket,”

Emma nodded. Not long after, Levi came with two pairs of shoes for both of them.

“You didn’t measure your feet first?” Emma asked.

Levi chuckled. “I know my skate size by heart. But I know you won’t remember yours.”

Emma snorted. “I do remember. But I’m just not that sure. Measuring feet doesn’t take a lot of time and effort anyway.”

“Yeah... Whatever you want to say,” Levi said as he stopped on a long chair.

Emma sat on the chair and was about to take her shoes from Levi’s hands. But the man did not give it and instead knelt in front of her. Without saying anything, he grabbed one of Emma’s feet and took off the shoes she was wearing.

“Hey… Wh-what are you doing?” Emma asked uncomfortably, about to pull her foot out of the man’s hand.

But Levi still held Emma’s ankle which was the size of his grip. “Don’t be fussy,”

Emma gulped to shake off her nervousness so she could speak casually to Levi. “What’s wrong with you? I can put on my own shoes,”

“Your shoes are dirty because the streets were muddy after the rain this morning. Your hands will get dirty if you put them on yourself.” Levi answered without looking at Emma’s face.

Shit! At this rate, when would Emma forget about Levi? How could she choose between Levi or Calvin?

“It’s done. Try standing up and walking a bit,” Levi said to startle Emma from her reverie.

Levi stood up from his kneeling position while holding Emma’s hands to help her up. Because the shoes in this place were rather old, Levi was afraid that there might be some that were of too bad quality to be dangerous for the wearer.

“Do the shoes feel weird or loose? Do the blades feel wobbly?” Levi asked while holding Emma’s hand.

Emma shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything is good,” She formed an ‘Ok’ symbol with one free hand.

“Then wait here a moment. I’ll put on my shoes and put our stuff in the lockers.” Levi placed Emma’s hand on the wall beside him so she could hold on. He didn’t want her to go back to the chair and walk this way again.

Emma turned her head back to watch Levi who was picking up their shoes and Emma’s bag. The man, who was originally cold and annoying, now had turned into warm and caring.

Initially, Emma thought that a man with Levi’s personality would be very difficult to change. However, now her thinking had been changed by that man. Levi really had changed. Yes, even though he was often annoying, she could feel his sincerity. She could feel Levi’s love for her.

With her hazel eyes following Levi’s steps, Emma sighed in exasperation. Even to this day, she still felt that her feelings were greater for Levi. Not only that. When they hadn’t seen each other for a long time, Emma begin to miss him – The thing she never felt for Calvin.

Emma’s heart was too deep to fall for Levi. However, she must keep in mind the reasons that made her decide not to have a relationship with that man.

Until now, she didn’t even know what things Levi was hiding from her, which for some reason, she believed was much. And she would never forget Levi’s words that he had another love. Until now, or maybe forever, the two of them would keep their real lives a secret.

“I have to act firmly on him,” Emma muttered.