Checkmate - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Those eyes.
Those deep melancholic blue eyes are going to haunt her forever.
Hana froze in the middle of the day and before she could even let that intake of air leave her lungs, Althea stopped, just inches away from where she stood petrified. Her cheeks were going to explode when Althea let out a sigh of exasperation, and at the same moment, her strong bone-chilling hand reached up and cupped her jaw, turning her face back to the blonde.
She knew it was just her own denial, and she wished she could, for the life of her, escape from those blue eyes. But she knew she couldn't. Her heart was melting at the sight of those fiery blue eyes. "Let me go! This is harassment!"
"You are one to talk about harassment," Joshua fixed the cufflinks in his sleeve and cleared his throat before reciting. "Section three of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 states that: following a person and publishing any statement or other material—relating or purporting to relate to a person, will henceforth be charged person guilty of an offense. Therefore you are liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 11 months and three weeks."
Hana's face paled at those incomprehensible words but she knew she was in trouble if she won't comply.
"So what will it be?" Joshua placed a speculative hand on his chin, successfully instilling fear. "You listen to Althea's terms or will it be over at the court?"
Hana's heartbeats in tandem, first from an unknown butterfly feeling and now in rapid fear of the terms unknown. Composing herself, she managed to muster up a brave front. "This intimidation isn't good for making new friends!"
Althea smirked and it widened a moment later as she noticed how Hana was shifting uncomfortably. "You should be practicing your advocate, miss stalker."
Hana pointed a finger to the blonde's nose. "I challenge you!"
The blonde was taken aback when the girl pointed to her nose instead of the usual point towards the chest. A triumphant smile replaced her initial surprise. "Challenge me how little lamb?"
When the chess rivals started staring at her, Althea was the only one who bore the kind of stare that sent the girl's heart hammering by instinct while Joshua seemed to be talking with serious expressions on his face. Even when Althea was teasing her, she was also disarmingly sweet when she less expected it.
"I'll take up your offer in playing chess," Hana whispered. She didn't know why she had to whisper. Perhaps because it seemed she was reacting towards dangerous predators in the jungle. "But of course you have to teach me. If I win, you'd let me keep the photos and if I lose, be my guest in deleting them."
Althea crossed her arms and gave Hana some space; she looked at her as if weighing her of why she was doing this, even if she has zero percent chance of winning to a bunch of pros.
The tall girl took a step back, offering for her to take a seat. "Your lesson starts now."
Hana sighed, curiously analyzing the outer appearance of the odd means of making her feel welcome at their table. She never left her sight on the proud elegant girl, although wary that she might do another crossing of personal space.
"I hope you two didn't forget about me." Joshua stepped inside the gazebo and started preparing another tea for three and brought out some snacks for them to nibble on.
Wandering through the forest in the deepest part of the park, Professor Andrea knew she had the time to go through a soul search and to reminisce the past. Figuring that Hana will be preoccupied with her new friends, she has all the time until the afternoon.
She did have another reason why she brought Hana here in the first place. She fished for slightly crumpled paper inside her vest pocket, rereading the message.
Meet me at the place where I promised you – T
The message has its vagueness. Neither a given time nor a date suggested. She received it in her mail with an unknown messenger but Andrea had a hunch, for a simple sentence like that could indicate one person in her life. She knew the place.
With a camera in her hand, she would never be able to live if she could not see such interesting things and pass up this golden opportunity to be in one with nature, as the majestic trees, or the magic of life in the scenery, or the small critters hiding among the greenery, or every little thing that inspires her to be a photographer.
Andrea loved photography so much that having to bereave of it, would seem inconceivable. And then, as the chilly wind of September would banish toddlers inside their houses after playing in the park, Andrea would still stand there, sniffing the air and recalling what it had felt like compared to today. She would remember the beautiful flowers blossoming in the bushes, the odd, yet most interesting small critters, and would recall all those time she had ventured inside the deepest and darkest part of the Forest Park to go looking for something that couldn't possibly be found between the branches of a tree.
At the corner of her eyes, she chanced upon a grove of purple anemones, ones that would always bloom around this season. For some reason, this flower comforted her when it should be the opposite. In her comfort, it made sense that she ostracized herself from the ordinary world and indulged in nostalgic thinking like this. She kept staring at them for a while, trying to spot any bees or butterflies, but there was none.
Sighing for what seems to be an umpteenth time, Andrea adjusted the lenses to get a nice angle of blur and focus. When she deemed it fit for her tastes, she clicked the shutter button. Staring at the product, she had to make sure that the photos were indistinguishable from those of what Andromeda would take. She's maintaining a fake identity after all.
Hana had no clue of course, that she was the famed Andromeda Danton She could not bring herself to tell her just yet. So the poor young girl will go on with her days blind for now but was already standing next to the star that lost her brilliance.
Due to her fame, Andrea attracted the attention of a lot of people who got blinded by the enchantment of her photography. The one that was mesmerized by her the most was her senior at the same fine arts, Tosca Esposito. She was described as a genius who majors in painting.
When they were younger, they would venture out to explore nature to find their next masterpiece. They would always look for adventure as both of them had the same ideology of capturing beauty into a blank canvas. They were their own muses to each other.
It could have gone on forever, as it should be until that one fateful encounter.
On their last vacation together, none of them knew it would be possible. They arrived at the same grove where Andrea was at now. Tosca promised her that she would paint her with a purple flower in her hair, once she would get the chance after their work is done for the next exhibit. Andrea smiled at the hearing of Tosca's words and then held tighter to her hand while leaning her head on Tosca's shoulder.
The promise was never fulfilled.
"There's nothing to be discovered here," she murmured to herself, crumpling the letter in her fist. "Better to come back again tomorrow."
When the memory that engulfed her became too much, she turned left, hoping to leave. The wind ruffled the blades of green grass on the hill, swirling dead leaves around her feet. The trees swayed, making a dry rustling sound. Andrea hugged herself and hunched her shoulders as her hair was swept by the breeze.
The scene her eyes laid upon was portrayed by a woman sitting on a stool in front of a canvas. With her workspace filled with crumpled papers, spilled inks, empty coffee cans and instant ramens, chocolate wrappers, and scattered art materials. She was so busy, never leaving her sight on her work.
Andrea gasped. The woman's features were unmistakably her old companion's. That tall stature, shorter lilac-colored hair, and pale complexion indicate she spent most of her time indoors.
When Andromeda had to hide away from the dazzling limelight and acquire the name Andrea Clair and act as a timid and shy young professor at Neos Athens University, there was no doubt in her mind that one day, she will cross paths with Tosca once again.
That was all it took to keep waiting and nurse her hope. Tosca would come eventually and she did. She sent her a message, although vague, Andrea's hope to see her again never faltered.
"Andromeda?" she gasped with her sultry voice, she donned a new look now with her hair shorter and slicked back.
"Tosca," she breathed. "It's been a while."
Tosca glanced at her from head to toe, uncertain how to interact. "I see you've taken quite a disguise."
"Oh," Andrea held a piece of her hair. "Yes, I did."
Tosca didn't ask why. She probably figured it out on her own. "Even when your red hair's dyed to blue, you're still a flame."
Andrea's cheeks turned crimson red the way her hair used to be.
"Want to trade works?" Tosca asked, slightly feeling obligated for the sake of conversation. "The way we used to do?"
"A-are you sure?" Andrea asked. "I'm not the Andromeda I once was."
Tosca extended her arm towards her. "Let me be the judge of that."
Gulping, Andrea removed the safety band around her neck and lent her camera to her. The moment their fingertips brushed, Andrea felt the sparks tingling. It was unknown if Tosca felt the same thing.
Tosca's forehead creased upon looking at it. "So... indeed, you lost your brilliance. One does wonder if all of the emotions that elicit something magical and thrilling in your previous works are really what the rumors claimed they were."
Andrea's head bowed in shame. "You know that's not true."
"I do." Tosca returned the camera to her. "Your turn Andromeda, look at mine."
Meekly, Andrea crept closer to have a full view of Tosca's new masterpiece. Her eyes widened in genuine shock. The woman in the painting was herself when she was younger. She was wearing a vaporous short dress and glancing pensively at the landscape of the field of purple anemones. She was in deep thought and her wide eyes seemed to be lost somewhere in the distance, tucked behind her ear was the purple flower Tosca promised to paint her 10 years ago.
Tosca allowed her brush to slide on the canvas, creating different effects on the dress. Smiling when Andrea noticed the fallen-from-the-moon face expression she gave Andromeda on the painting that she so often had when glancing out in nature during their old journeys.
"Don't you think it's time to fill our empty hearts once more?"
A smile tugged at Andrea's lips. She turned around almost too excitedly towards Tosca.
For Tosca promised she would and she did.