The Realms of Ethair Read Online Free

would
mean the world to me that you see me as a friend. If it’s alright,
can we start anew without suspicions and first
impressions?”
    “You’re asking much, aren’t you?”
    “I hope you’ll humor me.”
    “Just friends, then?”
    “Yes.”
    Kristina was spared to answer when Fred
returned with a tray of waffles and an order of Frappuccino and
with Mindy right behind him. He was grinning from ear to ear. Mindy
hadn’t wasted time sharing her assumptions with him. “Pete took
off,” he began. “He said sorry and to have fun.”
    “What took you so long?” Kristina asked.
    “ He was flirting with the barista,” Mindy
replied. It was an outright lie and everyone knew it. “Anyway, what
were you two talking about?”
    “ I was saying how beautiful your country
is,” Art replied, flashing a smile towards Mindy.
    Their new friend’s real name was Arthur
Menesarios. He could speak Filipino, Japanese, Spanish, and German
fluently and could understand ten languages. They discovered he had
been to different parts of the world due to the nature of his work.
At 28 years old, he was one of the few in his company who
occasionally got assigned to a special case. His job primarily
involved finding missing individuals which required discretion and
good judgment. The length of time it took to complete a mission
could be weeks, months, and even years. His last assignment had
brought him to the Philippines three years ago. It was only last
month that he completed the assignment. Art decided to stay in the
country after he was granted his first vacation leave. He had a
year ahead of him before his company called him back.
    *****
    Her mobile phone vibrated on her desk. She
had switched it to silent mode for a while now, ever since her ears
became sensitive to sound. The LCD screen displayed Mindy’s name on
it. Kristina groaned inwardly at the barrage of questions her
friend had prepared for her. Reluctantly, she picked up the
phone.
    “What happened?” Mindy asked.
    “Hi, Mindy.”
    “So, what happened?”
    Mindy, the quiet girl in class and loyal
to a fault with her friends, angry over a playboy; worrying over
her best friend’s future heartbreak; and now, asking excitedly
about a guy they barely know after assuming there was something
about him and Kristina.
    “ He wanted to be friends with
me.”
    The line on the other end remained
silent.
    “Hello?”
    “ Tina. I know you’re hiding something from
me. There was this look between you two that I saw back at the
bookstore. I admit you looked pretty surprised, but you know each
other.”
    Kristina didn’t know what to answer to
that.
    “Besides,” Mindy continued with a warning
tone. “I’ll get to the bottom of this sooner or later.”
    “ Like what? Have your uncle make a
background check on him?” she teased.
    “ That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll have to
think about it. Having a detective in the family sure has its
benefits.” Mindy giggled.
    “You’re not going to let it go, are you?”
    “Not a chance.”
    “There’s nothing really interesting to
say.”
    “Try me.”
    Kristina gave her friend a shortened version
of how they met, omitting the mysterious occurrences surrounding
him.
    “You met after leaving your ex in the bus and
he hugged you saying you’re not alone. And then, he left?” Mindy
said slowly.
    “That’s pretty much it.”
    “Are you sure you didn’t dream all this? Or,
are you still keeping things from me, trying to throw me off on
purpose?”
    “Nope.”
    “ Huh. There are two possible reasons. One,
you were so rattled with Peter that when Art saw you, he took pity
on you,” Mindy said lightly.
    “Now you’re joking.”
    “Two, you looked so serious you almost looked
sad and he felt that you needed a hug. He’s a foreigner so that
might explain the behavior – different culture.”
    “I don’t look sad.”
    “I said almost. And he doesn’t look like the
stalker-type, if I’m right that you’re thinking