Felix wrapped both his palms around the mug. Eyes fixated onto the shelf filled with storybooks. His fingers danced rhythmically against the dark blue mug. Fresh scent of rose dissipated into the thin air, serving like a scented perfume to the living room. He stared at the slices of apple that began to turn brown, lips pressed tightly as if trying to prevent the monsters from feeding him with those poisonous apples. Felix shifted uncomfortably in his seat, crossed his legs and picked up his phone. Aside from Gale's constant incoming messages regarding the upcoming group assignment, Adriel never texted him ever since he left three hours ago, sending his heart into the abyss again.

Far within the edge of his home, he heard Leticia mumbling about the non-functioning software she had just downloaded. Felix pouted at the thought of Leticia paying the least attention to his break-up with Adriel. He tried explaining to her, but the elder seemed not interested. He felt as if Leticia did not care for his feelings. She had her eyes fixated on her laptop then back to her phone, throughout the time he was explaining his situation. Leticia merely hummed, nodded and ended it with a short remark of asking him to grow out of it. She even mentioned the situation being a part of our life, passing and leaving without them remembering the details.

Setting the mug down gently, Felix stormed into the working table, picked out the scroll and glided out of the space with his purple headphones. Out of nowhere, Caramel jumped up onto his lap, setting himself comfortably without bothering about the broken world he has been leaving in. Paying no attention, Felix ran his fingers in within Caramel's light orange fur, massaging him gently and earned a purr from the chubby feline. Caramel yawned, stretching himself and finally settled silently within his embrace. Felix smiled contentedly. He plugged his earphones into his phone, scrolling through the folder. In front of him, the scroll glowed, rolling itself out again to parade the new cursive writings. He arched forward carefully, not wanting to wake the sleepy feline.

Mumbling onto the words, Felix hummed. He recalled seeing the specific word somewhere, but it had to be in another language, he swore. All he knew was that Leticia had been right. To figure out the clue, he had to look between the lines and read them. Turning his attention back towards his phone, Felix made out the meaning of one of the songs he had in the playlist. He looked at the history, realizing it had been a song he downloaded two years ago. Humming he listened to the soft beats, the language flowed beautifully in his mind. He recalled learning the language from her sister when she started taking up night classes for it. Felix enjoyed a variety of songs from different languages. He might not be someone who mastered all the language in the world, but he wanted to be an open-minded person by exploring the different cultures and languages in the world. He didn't want to grow up to be a judgmental person. With his head leaned onto the headrest, Felix let himself drift back to the argument he had with his sister.

"Fel, don't make a big deal out of it. Relationships come and go. If you keep letting someone damage you, you will not survive here in this world. The world is a nasty and vast place. You don't need a relationship to feel complete in life. Having a lover is a choice, not an obligation," Leticia said, pushing her fringes backwards. "Just because Adriel decided to break things off with you for a while doesn't mean your whole life is going down. You have other things to do, homework, clubs and societies to attend. You have other duties."

"Everyone keeps saying that. Everyone keeps saying that you need to move on. Love is not permanent. There are other things more than be in a relationship with someone and...," Felix paused, sucking in the air to calm himself down as he bit his lips to prevent himself from tearing up. "I need a break! Stop dragging me to do things I do not want to do! I want to be alone."

"You can be alone when your work is done, Felix. You have your assignments to be planned and it's a group assignment. Just because you are in a whole wave of sadness, doesn't mean it is Gale's responsibility to do your work," Leticia advised, tossing the file containing his work towards Felix. "Stop acting like a child. You are an adult, Felix. You have work to do. I am not saying it is easy when you break – up with someone, but your life is more than just falling in love. You have family, work, obligations, a cat whom you haven't feed on your own for days and dishes you did not wash. What is wrong with you these days?"

Felix stayed silent in his seat. His eyes scanned the papers in his file. He picked it up and with rage he tossed it towards Leticia's direction. The elder blocked it with her arms, sending the file to lay permanently under the cabinet containing their family album.

"This is not a way to live your life, Felix. No matter how many bad days you have to go through, you still have to pick yourself up to execute the tasks given to you. Life is never easy, so don't make it harder for yourself. Breaking – up is a part of life. I know it is unfair to see how people gaining unconditional first and true love from their partners, but not everyone gets that luxury, Felix. Life is not just about searching for your other half which is even a ridiculous thing to think about. Life is more beautiful than just your lifelong partner. Be grateful that you still have people who care for you," Leticia said, cracking one of her arm muscles.

"You are just saying that because you cannot find someone who loves you. All the boys you met before were either playboy or disloyal partner. Sometimes I think you deserve it!" Felix hissed, pressing the buttons on her sister's misery just like when he was younger when they fought over a toy.

Felix saw his sister's eyes widened. There was no sadness except for anger. Her fist tightened next to her. Without saying a word, Felix watched her turning around, storming back to the kitchen and clicked angrily at the laptop to finish up her work. Then, he knew. It wasn't just anger, but a major disappointment. Lowering his head, he stood up and picked up the file. Inside, he saw a small letter with his sister's handwriting. Curious, Felix plucked it out, reading the words on it and a strong current threw him off the platform he was so proudly standing on.

His earphones fitted perfectly within his ear, feeding him with melodious rhythms and beats that calmed his raging mind and soul. Felix's fingers tangled in between Caramel's soft fur, patting him gently till he felt the feline jumped off his lap to attend to the large bowl of water near the window. Felix shut his eyes tightly, shaking his head from side to side while his lips morphed into words to sing the song.

"Absolut niemand darf's erfahren, aber dir vertraue ich's an," Felix sang softly.

Before he could continue the next line, he felt a strong arm squeezing his shoulders. Felix immediately took off his earphones, turning to look at the intruder. Upon meeting Leticia's bright features in her favourite blue hoodie and waterfalls braid, he turned away, not wanting to face her at the moment. However, the elder wasn't letting it off easily. She stopped him from moving away, tossing the younger his favourite grey jacket.

"Weil du's sicher aufbewahrst," Leticia continued and smiled. "Hurry up, let's go. We are getting your favourite dim sum. The restaurant will be opened in another hour. You know how crazy people can get there, so let's hurry up before all the delicious food are being bought. We don't have to eat in. Let's go to the park and have our dinner there."

Felix's eyes lit up at her words. He smiled sheepishly, putting on the grey jacket and trotted his way next to Leticia who led him to her silver car. Slipping his phone into the pocket, Felix sat at the passenger's seat only to be amazed when he saw an old Polaroid of Leticia and him during her graduation hanging proudly in a cardholder. He ran his fingers across it, watching his sister smile. With the roaring sound of the engine replacing the silence in his eardrums, Felix leaned his head by the window to marvel at the changing scenery.

Silence became their company. Felix shoved his attention towards Leticia once in a while, watching her steering the car confidently along the busy road. The golden-orange sun began to sink between the mountains, dark clouds disseminate across those blue ones, calming Felix's raging mind down. He sighed, breathing in the scent of carnations in his sister's car. She hummed softly against the music. All these years, Leticia had been the only person who understood him, gave him the silence and advice he needed, including showering him with endless attention when he needed one. He felt guilt overpowering his heavy heart.

Once they reached the restaurant, he heard Leticia sighed in relief at the lack of customers. She told Felix to wait in the car, hurrying towards the inside of the place to get their meals. Felix watched customers rushing into it. He giggled on his own at the sight of an old woman waving her walking stick from side to side to prevent a younger female from cutting the line. He couldn't blame them. This restaurant has always been famous for its dim sum for the past three decades. It has also been a place where he last met his parents together.

"Alright," Leticia announced proudly, hanging their meal at the back seat before climbing into the driver's seat with a wide unending smile on her lips. "To Eco Lake, we go. I bought your favourite meal. It's been a while since we had dim sum, so I thought this would be a perfect time. Don't you think?"

"Yes," Felix answered, smiling. "It's been a long time."

His heart weighs at the thought of no longer having Adriel in his life. Fingers tangled in between the hem of his shirt nervously. Talking with Leticia made his heart at ease because knowing that there is someone who will never give up on him and will always be there for him made him feel so comfortable. He knew that Adriel is only a part of his life. Forcing things between them would result in a fail relationship. He sighed. If Adriel needs time, time is what he will give. 

Glossary:

Absolut niemand darf's erfahren, aber dir vertraue ich's an: Absolutely no one is allowed to know it, but I entrust it to you.

Weil du's sicher aufbewahrst: Because you keep it safe. 

Track 07A: 1,916 

Cumulative Words: 15,332