"Hello, Elena! My name is Taylor. It's a pleasure meeting you." He took her extended and introduced himself, giving it a firm shake.
"Young Miss?" A thin, frail voice of a lady was heard from a distance which made them turn their attention towards the source.
"That's my caretaker." The girl mumbled softly to him before she raised her voice a couple of notches. "Auntie Nim, I am here." She took her hand back from the boy's grip and raised it high in the air. She waved her hand through the air a couple of times as she tried her best to get the attention of the lady who was looking around in a troubled state.
"Goodness gracious!" The lady exclaimed as relief washed over her entire being. With hurried steps, she made her way to the bank of the river where they were sitting. "I told you to stay put, didn't I?" In a slightly raised tone, the lady reprimanded her only to see the child smile in response.
"I am sorry for making you worry, Auntie. But I just wanted to have a look at the fish. You do know how fond I am of them." the girl replied to her in a cheery tone as if she was least bothered by the events which unfolded a little while back.
"How many times have I told you to be careful around strangers and not to be overly friendly with them?" She added as her eyes trailed to the boy who was sitting next to her.
"It's fine. He's a good person. He just saved me from my own stupidity. Or else I would have managed to get drowned in just waist deep water." She giggled lightly while adding the latter part.
"What do you mean by that, Young Miss?" Her words only made the lady confused, but her questioning look was soon replaced by a baffled one when she saw the dripping wet frock which was now clinging to her body. It was a good thing that the fabric of her frock was a bit thick which prevented it from becoming transparent after being soaked. "Oh my God!" She let out a worried gasp.
"Auntie Nim, I am okay. This young man here saved me." Elena shook her head after seeing the troubled expression of her caretaker.
"Thank you, young man. May I know your name if you are okay with that?" The caretaker shifted her attention to the boy who was sitting quietly all this while.
"It's no big deal, ma'am. And my name is" Before he could share his name with the woman, a cheery voice interrupted him.
"His name is Taylor. And he's my new friend."
"At least you finally made a good friend. I don't like your other friends." Auntie Nim shook her head as she clicked her tongue.
"I know they can be too choosy at times, but they are good people, Auntie NIm." Elena spoke up as she couldn't stand her caretaker talking bad about her other friends. She knew that the caretaker only meant good for her, but she loved her friends too much to listen to anything bad about them from anyone, including her family.
"Yeah, yeah!" The caretaker gave her an eye roll before shifting her attention back to the boy. "I am sorry about the rude interruption by her. Let me know if I can do anything to make up for it and the damage done to your clothing and shoes." She added in a polite tone. Even though from his manners only she could tell that he belonged to some noble family, but she still had to put her offer forward.
"He won't take it." Elena interrupted them again and answered for him. "I already asked him that, and he won't budge from his decision." She shrugged her lean shoulders before getting off the ground. "Let's go back home, Auntie Nim. I need to change and freshen up first before I can eat the corn dog you bought for me." She added pointing towards the paper bag in her hand.
The boy who was being interrupted again and again by the little lady, followed suit and got off the ground as well. Extending his right hand towards her, he bid her goodbye. "I hope to see you around, Elena. And you better keep yourself warm after getting home, or else you might end up with the flu." He added when he saw her taking his extended hand.
"Oh! I surely will. You should also hurry home and get changed as soon as possible. Don't forget to have something warm too, a soup or some ginger tea will do you some good." Elena spoke up in her cheery tone as she gave his extended hand a firm shake. "I hope to see you around." Giving him her signature smile one last time, the girl skipped away with her caretaker in tow.
Even after she was no longer in his line of sight, he continued to stand in the same spot, rooted to the ground. A little while later, the corners of his lips turned upwards in a bright smile and he couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud. It was the first time someone had managed to do this to him, and it was also the first time that someone had been this much stupid before him.
The more he recalled about her expressions and her struggle to keep herself afloat in just waist deep water, the harder it was for him to stop himself from laughing.
"Young Master? Are you alright?" A man who was dressed in a white uniform spoke up in a low voice. He had just arrived to inform his Young Master about the call he had received a couple of minutes ago from his father. But the thought escaped his mind as soon as his eyes landed on the boy's laughing figure.
"Oh! Yes, yes. I am completely fine. Let's go back home, Dad must already be worrying about us, as to what is taking us so long. It's almost evening." The boy spoke up in between his breaths as he tried to calm himself down.
*FLASHBACK ENDS*
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