Kiss of A Titan
Chapter 21

The radiance of the boutique caused by the electronic lights that was glittered brightly in every corner in the entire mall, was the first thing that greeted us when we entered the compartment where Chloe had taken us, which was glossy and somewhat crowded with a some customers like us, already to there to purchase what they wanted. As we head inside with Chloe walking in front, I could see two men bargaining at one end of the brightly lighted cubicle, with the sales agent whose purple outfit clearly indicates his purpose there in the boutique as one of the workers in charge of finding out what the customers needed and what they wanted to buy for the day like the rest of his colleagues also putting on the same similar outfit on which the company's logo was clearly printed on the back of the purple T-Shirt.

They were about four of the workers busy attending to the buyers beside us as we walked briskly to meet the fifth who was the only one less busy to listen to our needs and were having a hard time persuading the customers to procure some of the clothes displayed inside as well as the at the entrance of the compartment.

The worker who was a woman almost the same age as aunt but more robust and busty, smiled as Chloe walked up to her while we trailed behind her waiting for the procedures of the purchase to begin and anybody could tell by the red lipstick the worker was putting on that she had a poor skill in making her colorful makeup to fit her chubby face though it still suited her pale whitish skin in some sort of way that I didn't bother looking too much on her visage. She gave us a warm reception as she stood behind the white counter, scribbling some notes with a black pen beside a credit card machine which rested on the counter by her right.

"How can I help you?" she asked as her lips glisten under the bright fluorescent light duly present in the mall which was way pronounced than the sunlight shining outside.

"Hello, ma'am, we came to buy some clothes", "That's great and I bet you are in the right place", "We sure are, by the look of all this stuff", "I guess you are right. Are you sure you can afford it?", "Of course, we can. We came prepared", Chloe replied digging her hand into her handbag and brought out a green credit card which was somewhat similar to mine but of a different color and branded name. I watched from behind as she scoured for it inside her handbag with her fingers till she brought it out and gave it to the attendant who received it without delay while Charlie seemed distracted with the fancy looking items inside the boutique.

"Are you buying for your little sister as well?", "Not really. I can't leave her alone at home so I decided to take her along with me", "That's thoughtful of you", "It was my mom's idea but it turned out to be a good thing", Chloe replied as she watched the attendant bring in a detailed magazine containing photos of the clothes sold in the boutique including the ones that were displayed for the public to see, from the drawers.

"Here, have a look inside and show me the clothing you want to buy", "What's this?" Chloe questioned taking the brochure from the attendant and flipped a page to see what was shown inside. Charlie and I drew closer to see as well but Charlie was a bit short so she couldn't catch a glimpse of pictures because of her height and her elder sister seemed more interested in showing herself and I what type of clothing we want than letting her sister take a look. Then she frowned and looked elsewhere in anger, a bit infuriated with Chloe for not being allowed to see what was printed on the pages.

"This is a collection that contains a few of the clothes you would really like to purchase as well as how much they cost", "They sure look expensive", Chloe answered, flipping through the pages as we both stared at the pictures searching for something of interest.

"Yes, they do but don't be discouraged about the price", "But they cost way too much", I retorted looking at one of the photos.

"Don't worry, there's a discount price for every one of them and I'm sure you would find it easy for you to procure", For five minutes, Chloe scoured the magazine for several options and they seemed a lot expensive to her taste while I was getting a bit impatient with her not being able to find what she wanted. My patience was wearing thin by the time she was halfway done checking the clothes which seemed to have an endless collection of clothes printed on the pages of the magazine. Even the attendant's patient was running out but she seemed calmer to wait for the customer to pick from the clothes listed than I was.

"Chloe, I think you should choose one, already", I whispered into her ears but she kept looking for what she wanted till she found something similar to her taste.

"Take your time, girls. I can wait as long as you are ready to buy but you have to be quick", She warned and Chloe quickly showed her what she had been scouring the magazine for and it turned out to be two clothes ladies often used for outdoor functions.

"This one and this too", she said as she pointed to the photos in the magazine. The attendant took it from her and peered at the clothes she had picked for herself.

"Good choice but this would cost you a lot. Are you sure you have enough cash in your credit card to procure all these?", The attendant asked to make sure there won't be any inconveniences with the whole transaction. At first, I thought things would go wrong as soon as I suddenly felt a kind of pressure on our side in the bargaining process as a result of the attendant's pestering questions which somewhat instill a kind of nervousness I sometimes felt whenever I don't have enough cash with me to buy sometime I want but my fears vanished as soon as I notice that Chloe wasn't bothered by the annoying questions the attendant keep asking.

"Yes, there is", she replied and handed over the magazine to Charlie who took it from her hand.

"Alright", the attendant said and slid the card on the credit card machine after typing the figures on the machine. It beeped and showed a green light the moment she made the purchase using the card.

"Transaction successful, is that all you wanna buy?", "Uh...that's the first... Let me see", She snatched the magazine from Charlie without requesting it and she didn't even show concern if Charlie was not happy with that nor did she care how she felt when she took it forcefully. I was beginning to think that she actually knew what she was doing and I felt relieved that things would go smoother but I was beginning to feel tired waiting for Chloe to finish with her next transaction. Thankfully, there was a steel bench close by reserved for customers to relax themselves while waiting to complete one or two transactions with the workers and there was enough space for three to sit down.

I went over to the bench leaving Chloe to finish her next transactions and sat down near a middle aged man of about forty years, clad in a black suit with his legs crossed as he kept clicking his android phone in deep silence. There I sat down, waiting for Chloe and her sister who seemed less interested in what they were doing at the counter. I had enough clothes already and purchasing another isn't what I had planned to buy from the mall but some more posters as well as anything I could find necessary for myself in the mall though so far, I haven't picked any commodity of interest yet the entire time we were walking around before we came to the boutique and I was still yet to make use of the credit card aunt gave to me before our trip to the mall.

It took all three of us two hours to purchase all what we wanted but between us, the list of things Chloe purchased was plenty. She had bought a lot of jewelries as well as fancy bracelets from where there were being sold since every selling commodity in the mall were being sectionalized to make it easily accessible for buyers like us to easily find what we want without being pushed aside by the stampeding crowd, regardless of the high price tag attached to each these items though she told me that they were meant for her mom.

As for me, I got two posters and an mp3 player that uses cell batteries instead of chargeable ones. After getting the things we wanted, Chloe suggested we go see the central park for a brief tour around the area just for me to have a look around since she deemed it fit that I get acquainted with the places she had lived almost her entire life. I wanted to decline her offer but I didn't want to ruin her happy mood with my aunt's warning to come back early. Therefore, I accepted her decision not to take a taxi back home but to take a stroll at the park just to satisfy my curiosity of the natural reserve in Houston, though according to Chloe, it was one of the places used for tourism for visitors from nearby cities. She kept the things she purchased in five large cellophane bags and had Charlie carry three of it before we left the mall and judging from the scowl on her sister's face as she carried the bags behind us as we strolled in the midst of a small crowd of people sightseeing the park, the bags were heavy and Charlie was not happy carrying them along with us. I was pleased with the surroundings as we walked deeper on a walkway that ran into the park which turned out to be larger than I had thought and as we moved further, the trees nearby somehow obscured a lot of the buildings as well as the nearby shops from us but I could still see cars being driven around the vicinity. The park was cool with a lot of shrill noises of birds chirping from one tree branch to another

"So, how do you see it?" Chloe questioned as we slowly approached a wooden bridge that extended to the other side, seventeen meters above a stagnant lake. Two women, chattering together taking pictures of the vicinity, walked by us back the way we had come and we all had to move aside to allow them pass through before we could continue our discussion.

"Well...you were right. The forest in the park is pretty good looking but not that great like the forest reserve in Georgia", I replied walking beside her in front of Charlie as we were about to cross the bridge.

"Hmm, since you enjoyed it, you can pay visit with your siblings and your mom as well", "I'll tell her about it when we get home", "Speaking of which, there's a path across the bridge that we can take to find a taxi to take us home", "That would be great because I'm so exhausted that my legs hurt", "Just hold on a little while longer. We are about to cross the bridge", Chloe advised as we both moved forward and was halfway on the bridge when Charlie joined us carrying the bags. I turned around and noticed Charlie struggling with the three bags which was impeding her speed from catching up with us.

"These bags sure look heavy on you. Let me help you with one", I said and collected one from Charlie but before I could take a firm hold on it, a stray gray pony suddenly bolted out of nowhere followed by a young girl about Charlie's age, and it came running towards us from the other side of the bridge. Chloe was startled when she first saw the small horse appear from the shrubs out of the blue and she was quick to evade the incoming horse.

"Watch out!" Chloe shrieked as soon as she was in the clear but it was too late. I didn't see the horse coming nor did I react quickly to avoid getting hit by the young stallion. The next minute, I found myself falling down from the bridge into the lake. As for Charlie, she had jumped out of harm's way and out of the bridge. Then she fell on the grass by the side of the walkway with the entire shopping bags pouring down upon her.

I couldn't swim as I felt my whole body sink into the water and I began tussling with the stale water currents for the surface but my hands kept splashing the water frantically in search of land. My head had gone down below the water except for my hands and for several minutes, I kept battling to breath within the unstable water and not drink the water that kept rushing into my lungs through my nostrils though my dwindling consciousness was still active enough for me to see Chloe trying to figure out a way to bring me out of the pool, and from the looks of it, she doesn't know how to swim either and neither do I. I had no idea the lake was deeper than I thought and soon notice the deep depths below my feet and I could barely see the seabed that was obscured by the opaque the blackness of the lake.

"Rosalie! Hold on, I'll go get help!" she said suddenly when she realized there was nothing she could do to help me and went the other way to get help abandoning Charlie who was already standing up to arrange the items that got scattered. The other girl too ran in the opposite direction probably to go get help from someone nearby. Well, so I thought as minutes of my life trickled away slowly till the water eventually swallowed me completely.

My arms were now very weak from tussling with the sluggish water and the energy inside of me is decreasing drastically each passing minute. I kept sinking down while my legs have become weary from fighting too hard with the stagnant water medium that enveloped my entire body. Soon I was about losing consciousness inside the water and everything seemed to have slowed itself around me. I was no longer fighting hard to save myself even when I felt the need to since I was slowly being dragged halfway down the depths of the lake by the gravity of my mass weight and my numb limbs have succumbed to the lifelessness of a dead corpse.

Charlie had gotten up from where she lay but she could no longer see my arms above the water surface and was now crying in fright as she pressed herself against her knees on the bridge. She was scared that she was going to witness the death of someone she barely just knew.

I thought all was lost as I was drowning slowly in the water with the idea that no one was going to save me from the liquid jaws of the surrounding water. As time wore on, the still darkness began taking control of my senses and engulfed me completely till my limbs were unable to move nor could I even say something as tiny bubbles of water kept escaping from my mouth to the surface, taking out the air left to sustain my body.

And then a splash of someone diving into the water came unexpectedly.

Like a fish he swarm below the sea, Instincts of a dolphin he found me, Sinking below, almost touching the sea floor, And I saw him staring no more.

But he swarm to her despite the sea currents, His lustrous face glistened with radiant hope, While his hair fluttered like many ropes, of black mass of seaweeds glued to his head And his straight chin had no beard.

She saw her reflection in his bluish iris, As he paddled himself down for eternal bliss, Overcoming the bottom depths to save her From consuming too much water.

Cloaked with Poseidon's virtue, His firm arms grasp hers so true, To his demand, he pulled her up, Towards the surface where she hiccup.

After pressing down on her chest with his palm right where he had laid her at the bank of the lakeside and there, he gave her a lifesaving kiss twice on the lips to revive me back into the land of living. The next minute I woke up, lying on the grass beside the lake, coughing out water from my lungs which was at the brink of choking me to death and I saw his wet face staring at mine in great care of my well-being.

My feeble limbs were still very much lifeless by the time I was half conscious enough to feel him by my side and my damp hair lay scattered on his manly arms as I lay on my back on the sand beneath him.

My eyelids were barely opened for me to see clearly but I could see his dimmed expression saying something I was too spellbound to hear since my ears were dull and had temporarily deafened after barely recovering from the shady jaws of death. His lips kept moving with his miming words that I couldn't comprehend nor could I hear the sound of his voice coming out from his mouth which exposed his sets of white teeth and I was still lost in his charming Visage. Then he touched my forehead with his two fingers and moved his head down for another kiss. He must have thought I was still half unconscious but breathing and I felt his soft lips, now warmer than the two previous kisses, pressing harder on my lips before he started puffing air into my lungs to restore me back to full consciousness like he had done before. His face was much closer now and I could see him taking a peek at my face with one of his eyes now bigger to check if I was responding to his manly touch. My heart sank within me as he peered deeply into my soul while I remained motionless in his tight embrace. And our resonated bodies worked well as I savored the warmth of his lips which kept my heart throbbing with ecstasy whilst he exhaled enough air deeply into my throat through his mouth.

I giddily savored his breath but he withdrew away from me at the arrival of an older man dressed in a police uniform and I slumped back to unconsciousness with a feeling of his touch leaving me the moment he moved aside for the police to resuscitate a drowning victim.

Few minutes later, I was already sitting on the wet grass with enough consciousness to notice that a small group of bystanders were watching the policeman do his job from afar. The cop's partner joined us followed by a small team of paramedics who came with a stretcher and covered me with a large cloak. Then came another cop, heading towards us through the midst of the crowd but he faced the crowd instead after passing the yellow tape and kept beckoning at the crowd to take a step back away from the sloppy ridge of the lakeside.

Chloe and her little sister stood in the small crowd of onlookers watching the scene unfolding at the bank of the river as she withdrew along with the bystanders. As for the old police officer, he held his rough fingers in front of my face and kept asking me questions but the traumatic experience had sealed my lips. I was completely dumbfounded and unable to answer his questions but he seemed to understand my rudeness and helped get me on my feet which barely kept me standing.

Thanks to him and his partner, a blonde haired female cop, I was able to walk with my trembling feet towards the crowd and they took me straight to the ambulance under the nosy eyes of some bystanders taking photos of me being taken to the ambulance where they left me in the hands of the paramedical team who helped get me into their vehicle. I was taken to the health center for a proper checkup nearby along with Chloe and her little sister who accompanied me there. Then I was told to call aunt who visited the health center with her children. Thankfully, the things we bought at the boutique weren't stolen but aunt wasn't happy at the incident nor were her two kids pleased to hear about my near-death experience and to see me hospitalized with no injuries sustained after the incident.

Later the same day, I was discharged and we all went home including Chloe and her sister. And in the evenings, their parents came to apologize on their behalf. Aunt reluctantly received their apology warmly after hearing the whole truth about the incident and ensured I got a hot bath to wash off every bit of trauma from my whole body.