Strange Interests

Soraya ran hastily towards the forest behind the dormitory. After making sure that no one saw him he entered the forest carrying some of his clothes that were torn and impossible to repair.

The rain has stopped, but remnants of rainwater are still pooling in several spots. The wind blew, carrying the thick scent of rain mixed with the scent of dry leaves. Soraya felt bitten, she still felt cold even though she had changed into dry clothes.

About 10 meters in front of the lake, Soraya laid out her clothes and piled them before dousing them with gasoline. Almost all the clothes he wanted to burn were his favorite clothes. But he knew there was no point in keeping things he couldn't use in a small cupboard.

Soraya started lighting the fire from a match, she still didn't understand why she had to do this? And why did he have to become a victim of the selfishness of a pair of humans?

"What are you doing?"

A man's deep voice came from behind. Soraya was shocked, she almost threw the match into the pile of cloth ready to be burned. Nervously, Soraya turned around, seeing the face of a man who for some reason immediately appeared in her head before she was ready to confirm it.

Robert William Stanley threw a cold glance, this man appeared suddenly like a spirit that made anyone shudder. No matter how charming he was, he was too mysterious to get close to.

"I-I just want to burn my used clothes, sir!" His answer stuttered. Soraya held her breath. The fear he felt was exactly the same as the fear of someone who was caught committing a crime.

Even though Soraya had mustered up all her courage to answer such a cliche question. However, the response this man gave was only silence. He calmly walked to the edge of the lake and placed the canvas he was carrying on the still wet grass.

Soraya didn't know what to do now, it was impossible to continue her action of burning clothes. Seeing Robert's back made Soraya remember the rumors circulating among students about who the handsome 31 year old man really was, Robert William Stanley, the talented painter.

"Sir, th-that's about-"

"I've finished your painting. Do you want to see it?"

"Huh? R-really?"

"You can come to my house if you want to see it. I won't take it because it's my personal collection."

"I-is that so? I-I understand!" Soraya felt increasingly nervous. He could even hear the sound of his heart beating.

He felt very happy because Robert really painted him and apart from that he also invited Soraya to visit his house to see the painting. It seems so hard to believe. However, again the bad rumors seemed to be starting to affect him a little. Soraya felt a little afraid, even though deep inside her heart, she really wanted to see a painting of herself.

"May I ask you something?" Soraya asked. He didn't want to get too caught up in bad prejudices and wanted to confirm the rumors himself.

"Hum?"

"Yes, yesterday I saw you visiting an antique shop in the middle of town and I saw you carrying a very beautiful porcelain doll. I didn't know that you liked things that cute, sir!" He said it with a little extra spice so that his statement didn't seem like he knew it.

Soraya swallowed hard, looking at Robert who seemed to ignore the question about dolls. That made her even more afraid and thought that Robert might be angry at the impudence of her question.

"Are you also interested in porcelain dolls?" Suddenly Robert asked a surprising question.

"Ah, bo-porcelain doll? Yes-yes of course, I really like that doll too. It's very beautiful and elegant, I think anyone would like something so beautiful." Soraya gave a random answer which made him have a panic attack.

"Oh my God, I was so stupid! What did I say?" He thought. He felt very restless.

"Is that so? Maybe you're right, porcelain dolls have their own uniqueness. Especially in their appearance which is exactly the same as a child who is pure and still pure. How amazing isn't it? How many dolls do you have?"

"Huh? W-what?"

"I'm sure you probably have a doll or two too."

"I-I only have two. Yes, two! Hahahaha... I think they're quite expensive so I don't have a choice."

"Oh, stop this! What have I said? Where can I have a doll like that!" he shouted in his heart. Soraya was increasingly panicking and hoped that the conversation about porcelain dolls would end soon.

"If you are interested, you can come to my house to see my collection. It's not much, there are only 204 four dolls."

"Huh? 204 dolls? T-that's a lot!"

Soraya was stunned, she really felt, amazed to hear about the 204 porcelain dolls this man had. Despite her fear, Soraya thought it was quite strange to keep that many dolls in the house. There are probably more of them than there are in doll shops.

Remembering the word 'doll' again brought his thoughts to the conversation between the five students he and Diana heard this morning. Sex dolls, yes, his mind immediately went to the new article published on the site last night.

***