chapter 25: Special Her

Blaze shifted sides several times, trying to get a comfortable sleeping position, yet he couldn't fall asleep. The night was quiet, just the way he liked it. Even so, there was an uneasiness that tugged at his heart. As if he needed to be somewhere, by someone's side.
Irritated, he sat up and let out a heavy sigh. He pondered for a while before getting down from the bed. He wore his slippers and went out of his room, making his way to the other side of the hall.
He stood in front of a double door and knocked on it, without giving it another thought. He regretted it instantly.
"Bad decision, Blaze," he told himself and turned on his heels to leave the spot immediately but stopped dead in his tracks as the door creaked open and the sound of a sob came out from the gap of the door. "Diva?" he called out in a worried tone.
Diva came out of her room, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Blaze," she cried out and threw her arms around him.
"What happened?" he asked, panicking mildly.
"I lost," she mumbled.
"Lost what?" He thought maybe she lost something very important to her, probably some ancient jewelry or some memento from her parents.
"I lost the match!" she exclaimed, clinging onto him.
"What?" Blaze jerked her off him and glared down at her. "Who cries for such a silly reason?" he rebuked.
"You call it silly? I almost never lose. It was such an important match, I could have gotten such a big reward," she was exaggerating in a loud voice.
"Lower your voice," he warned, placing a hand on her blabbermouth. She raised her eyebrows, questioning why. "Your grandma might hear us," he replied.
Diva took hold of his wrist and pulled him inside her room and closed the doors behind her. "Now, we can talk," she smiled in satisfaction.
Blaze rolled his eyes.
"That reminds me. What brings you here, Blaze?" she asked and plopped down on the couch, where her laptop was rested.
"Uh, I heard your grandma outside my room, so I thought I should warn you to be careful," he lied without any hesitation. He just came here on a whim.
"I see. Okay, thanks for informing." She flashed him a smile.
He hummed and said, "Yeah." His eyes traveled over her room, trying to think of some excuse to stay there longer. "So you said you lost a game. What game?"
Diva burst into tears once again. "Why did you have to remind me?" she mumbled, rubbing the back of her palm over her eyes.
"I didn't mean to. Sorry," he apologized and sat beside her. He took a tissue from the table and passed it to her.
Diva sniffled on the tissue while sobbing.
"Was the game that important?" he inquired, and she nodded. "How did you lose?"
"I don't know. I just��" she paused on her words as a flashback entered her mind. "I just remembered something and lost focus in the middle of the match."
"Remember what?"
"The death news of my parents," she uttered, casting her head down.
"Sorry." Blaze looked away, feeling bad for her. After all, he didn't know what it was like to lose someone.
"Don't be," Diva said and pulled a smile on her lips. "I am just stupid. I shouldn't have thought about such things in the middle of a game."
Since Emerald told Blaze about how Diva's parents died, he has been wondering why Diva didn't hate games, so he finally mustered the courage and asked, "Diva, why do you love games?"
She chuckled. "That's such a silly question. I love it because I love it."
"But still," his voice became quieter, "Why?"
"You can't explain love, can you?" she let out as her expression softened. Her eyes had a different look in them. Her eyes weren't shining like always, rather they had sadness in them. As they say, the saddest people smile the brightest. It was true in her case, at least.
Diva always tried not to think of her parents. She tried to act as if everything was fine. Still, sometimes, occasionally she would stop to think of her parents. She felt like her heart would break apart, the pain just came gushing in during that time. It was one of those times that she needed to talk, but she knew better than to talk to Blaze. She thought he wouldn't care listening to her. He would brush it off. But she was proven wrong when Blaze uttered the next few words.
"If you want to talk, I can listen." Diva felt a sudden hit of emotions as if someone just knocked on the door of her heart. "That's of course because I don't have anything else to do right now," he corrected himself to not make the situation weird.
Diva just stared at him with awe, tears brimming in the corner of her eyes once again.
"So?" he urged, staring back at her innocently.
Diva let out a sigh and tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling. "I, myself, didn't want to love games. I hated them, to be honest." Blaze was surprised at the tone of her voice��it was so deep, so serene, yet so vacant, so empty. "That's why I avoided them and got angry whenever someone mentioned them. Then, one day, I got curious. Why did everyone love it so much? What was so great about games? It was just a silly time pass. It couldn't be that addicting, could it?"
She continued, "So I gave it a try and couldn't get out of it anymore. It was after that I understood. My parents' didn't die in vain. They loved the games. They wanted to create a better game, so I guess it wasn't the game's fault entirely. You know, when I was in middle school, I always dreamed of making a game of my own. But my dream came to an end when Grandma told me I couldn't take computer science as a major, rather it's better to take literature."
More tears spilled out of her eyes as she said, "I convinced my grandma that even if I take CSE as my major, I would do a job she likes. I wouldn't do a job related to IT."
Blaze listened to her quietly.
"I was such a burden on Grandma, so I didn't want to disobey her and make her feel that I was an ungrateful witch. Therefore, I took computer science and engineering as my major, but I studied the literature side by side. I took extra classes for literature. I even sneaked into the lecture halls." Diva let out a small laugh at those fun memories.
"You worked that hard?" Blaze asked in awe.
Diva nodded and continued, "After doing MA in CSE, I took a job that Grandma fancied and started working as an editor in a magazine company. But you know, it's not probably that bad. It's boring, yeah, but I can still play games, though."
"You just gave up on your dream because of your grandma?" he spoke up.
"Oh, no, I'm not trying to make Grandma a villain. She did a lot for me, so I just want to fulfill her wishes. That's it," she protested.
"But I think you should follow your dream," he let out. Diva looked at him in surprise. "You should do a job that you like. What's the point of spending hours into something you don't like?"
Diva's eyes widened in realization. "You think so?"
Blaze wanted Diva to enjoy herself all the time, including her work time. He didn't want her to get bored to death. He didn't know why he felt that he just did.
"Of course. I, myself, am doing something that I love. I love everything related to computers, that's why I developed a better software for it. But I also had a knack for business. Combining them, I started a software company," expressed Blaze, his lips curled into a small smile.
"How did you come to love computers, Blaze?" Diva asked curiously.
His smile dropped. Diva noticed the change in his demeanor. He licked his lips and started, "When I was a teen, my dad and my brother used to have a lot of arguments. Their fights bothered me. It made me upset. At that time, to avoid conflict, I selfishly stayed in my room all the time, playing games, doing all sorts of interesting stuff with the computer there."
Diva imagined a young Blaze working on a computer in the corner of a room. A smile blossomed on her face.
"Then, one day, my computer broke down. I was lost for the day with nothing to do after school. Thus, I tried fixing the computer on my own with the help of advanced books that I borrowed from my neighbor. That's how I got into developing computers with new software."
"You were such a smart kid," Diva complimented.
"That I was." He smiled. "Putting that aside, Diva, I really want you to work on your dreams." He placed his hand on top of hers, kind of startling her.
"But Grandma won't allow it," she exhaled.
Blaze said sternly, "I will." Diva's heart skipped a beat at his determined voice. "I will support you."
Diva would be lying if she said his words didn't touch her heart. She glanced at him, still not believing him entirely.
"I am your legal husband. I have the most authority over you. If I allow it, no one can stop you. Also, even if I don't, who cares? Just do what you want like you always do," he told her.
A smile cracked on her lips��a genuine smile that warmed his heart. Blaze could feel goosebumps, his heart thumping loudly. What was this effect on him?
His gaze shifted to their hands that were placed together. What was this special wave of emotions that were swirling inside him? He didn't know the answer. But one thing he knew for sure that Diva was special.
Diva was special to him.