CHAPTER 7 Office
It was almost 8:30 in the evening, and the heavy rain outside was present, like last night. I couldn't do anything because there were no Solidads and no one was ordering me. All the housework had already been done by other housemates. The thought of me staying here for a week because of my injury bothers me.
Now that I had a whole day here at home, I can't do anything else, so I can stay here for a week. I'm used to being alone, but I don't want to see myself out of my mind after a week of being so bored.
It's been a week, and I'm slowly losing sight of what happened in my mind. I have finished the book I am reading. Plants don’t want to listen to me anymore. And I've rounded up the whole house as well.
Basically, I was bored the day before. I walked down the hallway outside the room I came from. The Solidads house has three floors. There are only three rooms on the second floor, the guest room, my room, and Solidad's office, where they always spent their time. I couldn’t help but stare at that door and fall into deep thought.
"You're a Solidad? You don't look like one."
Those words echo in my mind.
There are these kinds of people in this world. Those who have been blessed with everything but lack the sensitivity to not take it all for granted. And those people who are not privileged but rich in happiness, inner peace, and not material goods.
The Solidad have always spent their time on their own, but at least once in a while they manage to meet each other. They are happy, I guess. But where am I? Where am I? I don’t know where my place is. I'm not a Solidad, but I have all of this. I met the gap between me and that door, and I was a bit unsure while holding its knob. Without Solidads, I won't last long.
I still convinced myself. I slowly opened it, and the classic, distinctive atmosphere welcomed me. The majority of the Solidads' home's design and furniture are made of wood, which is obviously always wiped. It has a classic appearance and personality. The Solidad spend their time here solely for the sake of their own survival. I went in completely and just left the door open because I really had no intention of staying long.
The large photo of the Solidad family grabs the attention of the room. The papers and furniture on the wide table were neatly arranged. There are so many books here that you can't see any traces of dirt or dust. This is not the first time I have been able to enter this room because the Solidads once ordered me to when they were here, but that is rare because often only the real housemates in this room can enter apart from them.
They didn't forbid me or tell me, but I also didn't tend to ask questions or insist, so after I looked around the whole room, I turned around to leave. I was stunned when I turned my back on the figure of a familiar man I saw again at the door. I immediately touched my chest because I felt like I was about to collapse into panic and shock.
"W-what are you doing here?" I even asked him. I'm not sure how long it's been since I last saw him. I almost forgot what had happened, including how I would treat his wound or his stares at me. So I was definitely shocked to see him here again! He just raised the papers he was holding and shifted his gaze behind me to where the table in this room was.
My eyes can't focus on him because I'm too scared to look at him. I wanted to ask a lot, but I wasn't in the place to do that, so I just swallowed and slowly walked to the door to hopefully leave.
I just gave him a raw smile, hoping he would feel what I wanted to say because he was blocking the same door jamb. I can't blame him. His frame was too wide to give him some space.
"Are you taking your medications regularly?" He asked.
"Hmm?" I still wonder, "Uhm, yes."
I thought after that he would let me pass, but, "Eat downstairs."
"H-huh? Yes."
I can't look straight because of the small distance between the two of us. Why is he here at this time? Has he been here before, and I just didn’t know because I locked myself in the room? By the looks of him, he doesn't look like he just passed by.
"I'm staying here because of a project, if that's what you want to know."
I just smiled sweetly at him and didn't realize that was what I wanted to ask before. I just nodded and signaled to leave and secretly thanked him because he got it. He just sneezed and stepped aside a little so I could pass. I hurried down the corridor of the second floor to the stairs because the wind was not blowing well there. I calmed myself.
Because he could be a Solidad coworker, or he could have jobs in Samar. But this is probably the first time in a long time that I've had Solidads left here. Solidads are gone, and I'm worried because there's a new person here at home. I don't know him, and we haven't even talked to Solidads. It doesn't matter, and they are not obliged to tell me everything. I must learn to not stick my nose in others' business.
From the time I ate until I did the chores, I was no longer very mentally fit and forced to entertain myself. So I just took my sketchbook that Oli gave me last year for my birthday. He found out that I love to draw, so this is what he gave me.