The Tale Of Alice And Robert

"Hmmm… This month's income is lesser than the previous." A middle-aged lady in a loose shirt and short pants sat on the chair made of rattan. But her figure betrayed her age as her figure was much better than her similar-age peers.

She had been flipping around the book and hitting the calculator many times, but the unsatisfied expression didn't change.

"There is someone daring enough to not pay last month's rent." Putting down everything, the middle-aged lady picked a cup of tea in front of her. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the scent of her brewed tea. "I really cannot entrust the matter of the rent to anyone else."

I, Evelyn Steph, was the owner of many buildings in the Cherrytown. Even though this town is a little rural, many came here since the environment was good and the air still clean. There were not many vehicles on the road.

Not only that, but also because this town was only fifteen minutes on the train or thirty minutes on a car from the nearest city.

Yes, this town was not far from Egrium City.

Because of that, this town's population grew with the increasing number of the tenant. Some would stay for some time, and the other would come to the decision to have permanent residence in this town.

But that was not what I had in my mind. I looked back at the notes on the desk as I put down the emptied cup.

[Star Feverfew's area was a yearly contract, so it should not be them.]

I looked out of the window and found the bright sun outside. "It is not raining anymore, is it?"

Standing up, I went out of the workroom.

Looking at the young woman that was moping the floor, I stopped her work as I asked, "Liz, where is Greg?"

Her body trembled a little as I called her. "I think he is still cleaning your car, madam."

"Tell him to prepare while I am preparing." Not bothering with her answer, I turned around and went upstairs.

Since I had to go out, I had to prepare myself of course. Also, I couldn't possibly go out with the outfit like this.

…

An hour later

"Madam, where is our destination?" An old man with thin body frame sat on the driver's seat. He is my driver c.u.m gardener in my place. Even though he was already old, he insisted to keep this job.

Of course, I was fine with it. Since Georg had been my late husband's personal driver from young, I could trust him.

And with his gardening hobby, I didn't need to hire another gardener.

The death of my husband was still a mystery until now. Even the Police Headquarter from Stranfip City failed to find any trace of the case.

But I was not saddened by the death of my husband. His property was in my hand, I was not inconvenienced in any way. There was a stable source of money each month, so I was not worried about my daily expense.

"Hibiscus Apartment." I answered shortly.

3 p.m., I didn't have time to go to the far one, so I decided to visit the nearest one for today.

Even though the road was not filled with the vehicle, Georg still would need some time to reach the destination. Thus he began the conversation.

"It is the usual, isn't it madam?"

"Yeah. Sometimes there is this kind of people. You have to chase after him to make him pay, or else he won't."

"Madam. Did you hear the rumour?

"Hm?

"The suicide teenage girl. If I am not wrong, some local found a body lying near the bridge."

"Some stupid chick wishing for fame?"

"I don't know about it, Madam. But some said that this girl was being bullied in her school, but the teacher didn't care about it."

"Suicide after a little bullying means this lass is too pampered, not ready for the hard society."

Sigh… This was the reality, the weak would be devoured if you were not strong. If you were weak, you had to be smart.

Let's make this trip a fast one, was what I thought as I saw the destination.

…

Even though it was called the apartment, it was only two storey building. Each room had their own toilet and the room was not very big, suitable for two persons in a room.

The room on the first-floor had two bedrooms while the second-floor one only had one bedroom.

The price was not low, but the place was cleaner than the most rented room with the similar price.

And like the usual urban legend of the Hibiscus Apartment, the sound of continuous knocking meant that the devil came.

If it was the usual veteran tenant, they were not bothering the knocking's sound. And even if their door was knocked, never answer it!

It was the ironclad rule of the Hibiscus Apartment!

"Dok dok dok dok dok, dokdokdokdokdok… " A sound of continuous knocking resounded in the quiet apartment.

…

I moved the pen as I marked another name on the list. It should be the last name in this place.

Even though there were not many were in their room, all I had to do was paste the notice on their door.

It was not a tiring job, but my body couldn't handle the toll for too long. Maybe there was some relationship between my habits of not going outside these days, but I could feel that my body grew weaker.

Every time I walked for some time, I had to stop and rest a little.

Like the present, I was already tired of going up to the second floor.

Well, since my job here was done, there was no need to stay any longer. Going down was much easier than went upstairs, everyone understood this logic.

I closed my notes and put it in my bag as I went to the only stairs in this apartment.

This apartment was in L shape, thus any tenant with the vehicle could park in front of the apartment.

As I almost arrived, a little girl just went up. She looked like expended so much strength because I could see it from her uneven breath.

Of course with her handicapped leg, it would be inconvenient for her to go upstairs or downstairs.

I remembered her as one of the newest tenant here if I was not wrong. No, she was the niece of the tenant. I remembered at that time, that man asked if he was allowed to take care of his niece in his room.

From his story, his niece was an orphan with some disability. It was a combo-w.o.m.bo.

If I was not wrong, he should be relocated to this town as police.

Is it a demotion?

The little girl realized that I walked in her direction, thus she flashed a smile as she greeted me.

"Oh, Landlord? What p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e do I have to meet you here?" The little girl regained her breath after a short time. She wore a knee-length one piece. Even though it was more suitable for summer time, I didn't need to say it loud.

I really envy a little child, they had so much spare stamina to play and jumping around.

"Yes. I have some business in this apartment, so I am looking around the apartment since the time is convenience. Even though there is a cleaner, I have to check it myself from time to times, right?" I replied her with my smile. If it was her uncle, I wouldn't smile at all.

There was a saying, 'A beauty's smile is a sign of the kingdom's downfall'.

Never heard of it? Now you heard it already, not a problem.

The little girl looked at my feet in a flash. She looked at my face and asked, "Ah. If you are not busy, how about a cup of tea in my room?"

Shaking my head, I declined. "There is no need to disturb you. The day is not high anymore as I should return now- "

"Aren't you a little tired? Even I can your legs trembled as you stood, no need to force yourself. Even if my room- I mean my uncle's room is not big, Landlord auntie can rest a while before the sunset." The little girl cut my excuse while she explained her reasoning.

"Ah?" I didn't expect the little girl's reasoning was right on the spot. I was surprised by her detailed observation.

My legs indeed almost gave up after walking around the apartment.

"If you still haven't decided, how about come along. Just think of yourself being tricked." She winked as she pulled me along.

I couldn't bear to refuse this clutch-wearing little girl, thus I let her pull me.

Stopping in front of a door, she released her grip on my hand as she pulled out the key from her pocket.

"Creack…" The door was opened.

She went in and light up the lamp while side-swiped the curtains.

The room was different from my imagination. Even though the living room should be filled with many things like most tenants, this room was only filled with a few things.

The most eye-catching was the almost-filled bookshelf as I saw the room. The title was not suitable for me since it was not a romance novel.

Half of the living room was made into a comfy place, with couch near the bookshelf and TV on the other side.

The room was cleaner than what I expected. Even the sink and kitchen was empty of the dirty dish.

I never realized that middle-aged man was very house-husband.

I knew there was no man in the world that could take care of his daily life. Moreover, to take care of his still small nephew while handling his job, I believed it to be impossible.

As I was looking around the room, the little girl had brought me a cup of tea. I didn't realize when she brewed because I was dazed with the simplicity of the room.

"Please sit down anywhere you feel comfortable. There are no many things, but at least I can serve a cup of tea or two. Oh, if you want a coffee, just say it." The little girl smiled as she turned around.

I sat on the couch and removed the pair of high heels.

"Sigh. Looks like I am not suitable to wear high heels at this age." I had an embarrassing smile as I saw a faint red mark on my soles. Some of the skin was ripped, but thank goodness I was not bleeding.

"Do you need some warm water to clean your legs?"

"Ah, sorry to trouble you. Even though I was only a guest-"

"It's fine, it's fine." She brought me a small pot of hot water as well as a clean towel.

What a thoughtful child. I didn't realize that my lips formed a curve upward.

While I warmed my feet using the hot towel, she turned on the TV and sat on another couch.

There was no conversation between us, making me felt awkward. Even though I was pulled here, but I was intruding on their place.

Clearing my throat, I asked her, "Hey little girl, I think we haven't introduced ourself, right? My name is Evelyn Steph. You can call me big sis Steph rather than Landlord."

She kept her focus on the TV while answered, "Alice. Only Alice."

"Are you not going to school?"

"Robert said he has to take care the guardianship paper before I can apply for one."

"Guardianship?" I was a little surprised by the foreign term.

"Since he is going to take care of me, he will need it. The paper itself is not something weird, only stating that Robert is willing to take care of me, Alice, an underage teenager and a little girl." She explained while swinging her left leg.

"So is that mean your uncle will be your parent's substitute?"

"Similar, but it is not. Moreover, a term of 'parents' cannot be substituted in reality." Alice leaned back her body toward the soft couch as she looked at me. "Guardian means a guardian, similar with a caretaker but with a greater responsibility and lesser reward. Well, there are many kinds of reward, but what I mean is no cash reward."

"… So, your parents entrusted you to your uncle?"

"Nope."

"Eh? Didn't you just say-"

"I said the term of 'parents' is wide. And if we are talking about the main job of parents, their role cannot be substituted no matter what. If there are no parents, how can I be born? How about the s.p.e.r.m? Nine months inside stomach?" Alice cut my reply as she explained. "Parent's role is big, I understand that. But because the role itself is wide, no person is able to become the ideal parent. Don't you agree?"

I lifted the not-hot-anymore towel and soaked it in the hot water. "Yes, a parent's role is various and sometimes too divided. But what do you think to make an ideal parent?"

"Asking a little child will lead to their imagination, not based on their experience. What face will you make if I say something like Superman?"

I choked a little as I didn't expect such answer from Alice.

"How about you, what is an ideal parents?" asked Alice.

"Parents, is it?" I leaned my body toward the soft couch like what Alice did earlier. I followed her since it looked like so comfortable and enviable.

It should be around ten years since the last time we met. Even though we kept contact on video call every week, my little brother nagged me almost every year to visit.

But no matter what, I couldn't possibly leave for an extended time since I had to take care of some lands here.

Thus my answer was, "The person who will push their child forward, no matter what happens to them."

I believed that this answer should be ninety points if not a hundred points.

But Alice only shook her head and answer, "A parents is also a human. They may be a noble person for their child, but that doesn't mean will always sacrifice themselves. They have their own life and their own heart, so sometime they will be selfish. So, is that kind of parents is bad?"

"Of course, it is bad. An egoistic parents is not a good parents after all."

Alice didn't keep her argument, but rather stood up and refill her cup until it was full. She peeked at me and asked, "Do you want another?"

"Ah, please." Answered me as I nodded a little.

"Continuation from earlier. A selfish parent is indeed not a good one. But who knows for whose sake is their selfishness?" Alice went back to the couch as she continued.

"A parents force their child to study. It is their selfishness, right? But for whose sake?"

Alice didn't wait for me to interject. "A parents force their child to finish the green pea and green pepper on the child's plate. Parents that will get mad when their child is wrong and will be happy when their child is doing right. I am not wrong, right?"

Seeing me tongue-tied, Alice didn't push her answer and change the conversation.

"Okay, let me tell you the earlier answer. I didn't have parents if you are talking about the one taking care of me for nine months and supplied his s.p.e.r.m for me." Alice talked in leisure as if she was talking about someone else.

"Ohok ohok…" I was surprised.

What an advanced child! When I was at her age, I didn't even know how a child was born and this little girl understood it very well.

Alice changed the TV channel and she stopped at the news channel.

"A woman's body was found dead at the . . . . Cherrytown. . . . On her body, there was a lot of old wounds similar to bullying. . . . The police investigate the victim's senior high school, but the school refuse any kind of cooperation. . ."

"Ah, this is the story of the rumour, isn't it?" I was surprised to see the news about the rumours from Georg.

"Yes. It is a poor soul." Alice looked at the victim's photo that was shown full of pity and condolence, but I thought that it was unnecessary.

[She was stranger and you were nobody, so why bother?]

Shaking my head I refuted Alice's word. "She is not, her family is. She leaves her family and even leaves a stain on her family. Only a weak-hearted girl, she will not be able to hold on in the society."

"Landlord, do you have a lot of friends when you still young?"

"Of course! No need to call me Landlord, just big sis Steph is good." Puffing my big c.h.e.s.t, I had a smug smile pasted on my face. "I was well-known as my uni's belle. Ah, Belle is the most beautiful and the most sought girl, the best."

"So, Landlord was a celebrity like that?" Alice pointed her finger at the news anchor lady.

"I am similar to that, but that one is not a celebrity. Why don't you call me big sis?" I rolled my eyes.

Was I too old to be called big sis? But I always took care of my skin though.

"Then, Stephlord-"

"I am not someone who went mad after knowing my loved one was dead." I retorted before Alice could finish her sentence.

"Hm? What are you saying?"

Shaking my head, I didn't explain it. "Nothing. Continue what you want to say."

"Then, Steph. What kind of friend you have?"

"A lot, of course. There is my besties group. Even after we split up after finishing uni's life, we still kept contact with each other." I took my smartphone from my bag and opened my gallery picture.

I moved closer toward Alice and showed my friend's face.

"Look, this one is Jess. She is not married until now because she wanted to be independent. She doesn't like to be tied by someone else. Let's call her wild woman.

"This Asian looking girl is Azalia. She is a talk-active girl and she is my first best friend in uni."

"And this chubby girl is… "

I introduced all of my besties as they were my pride. Even our ten years more friendship didn't change as we led our own life.

[They are my pride.]

"Then, how about your ex-boyfriend?" Alice looked at my eyes from the close distance.

I could see that her pair of eyes was a little different. Her right eye was a little greyish on her pupil. I wouldn't realize if I was not at a close distance.

Realizing that I was staring at her eyes for some time, Alice smiled a little and asked, "Interested?"

"Eh?"

I was confused, but Alice continued, "My eyes. Interested in my eyes story?"

Even though I was interested, I don't want to ask the person herself rather than called as a person without any delicacy toward a little girl.

Shaking my head, I continued. "You want to see my exes, right? Most of them are not in my gallery anymore so I will only show some."

How typical of a little child. Even if it was annoying to see the face of my exes, it's not like I saw them directly.

…

"Who is this one?" Alice pointed her small finger toward at some mild-looking man.

"Ah, that is my boyfriend before my husband." I was surprised because I only showed my class photo, and she had to point at that certain person.

"Tell me more about him." Alice blinked her eyes at me, making me unable to refuse her.

"Sigh, it's not like I don't want to tell anything, but rather he is not in this world anymore."

Seeing the look of insistence on Alice's face, I could only explain it to her. "He is my boyfriend before my late husband. We are so close that I feel he is more like a brother to me, thus that was the reason for our break-up."

"After I was close with my late husband, he became a shut-in and no one saw him for more than a few months. Even if uni's schedule was free to choose, but it was not like we are free. Some lesson is mandatory, thus this man failed and had to repeat a year. I graduated while he disappeared like a smoke."

"A year later after I graduate, I was married. Of course with my late husband. We are happy, that is a good day, all my friends, family, all came to congratulate us. This is the happiest time, except with one news." I closed my eyes as I remembered that day.

Shaking my head, I answered. "He passed away. The police said it was exhaustion, because of studying too much. His health is indeed on the low side, but he over-worked himself."

"You lie" Alice said as if it was the matter of fact.

I was surprised by the sudden change of her.

"What makes you think so?"

"When I pointed at this man, the first expression you show is disdain. Maybe not a disdain, but something similar. Disgust, is it?" Alice said with clear eyes in her eyes. It was akin to a glass window, she could see my change of expression even if it only a flash of the moment.

My heart skipped as I listened to her reasoning. "Well, it is normal for someone to not have a good feeling for their ex, right? Where did you see it as wrong?"

"Moreover, I don't have any feelings toward this man anymore. Even though his death surprised me, there is nothing more."

Alice looked at my face with the serious expression, and said, "You really don't want to acknowledge it, is it?"

"Acknowledge what?"

Closing her eyes and finding a comfortable position, Alice said, "There are only both of us here. Without any CCTV or hidden camera. And this is not a prank, I can assure you."

[No! Don't flare your temper!]

[This kid is trying to bait you!]

I tried to assure myself that Alice was pranking her with all of this.

After gritting my teeth for some time, I could control my temper a little. "I think I have intruded you long enough. I cannot let my driver wait for me too long." I tried to stand up and left, but what Alice said surprised her.

"Do you believe that… Your leg's condition is related to your ex's suicide?"

…