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Eudora and Evan got a divorce. Who asked for the divorce? Nobody knows as they kept it to themselves and Alexis, all the people know is that Eudora and Evan are no longer together.
After the divorce, Evan and Eudora are no longer the same. The princes wanted to ask Alexis about it but they knew better. so instead of asking, they just offered Alexis solace. Alexis smiled warmly at them, he's glad to have such good friends like them.
Evan on the other hand, had Godfreg. He rambled and rambled to the only man willing enough to listen to his rambles and sad sobs about how they were perfect for each other yet it didn't last long. The rant ended with Evan sleeping peacefully in Godfreg's embrace.
But Eudora? Who does she have?
Without Alexis and Evan, who's there to comfort her?
Who's gonna be there for her?
Eudora cries to herself in her house before she decided to go out and take a stroll to calm her mind down. While walking, She tells herself that she's being overdramatic, telling herself that even when divorced, They still take turns seeing Alexis. She didn't lose her son and that's enough.
That's what she kept telling herself as she tries to calm down. She felt tired walking and sat down on the nearest bench she could find. She looks up to see the starry sky, the night felt so comforting yet so sorrowful.
She sighed and looked down to her feet. They were perfect together, they were the lovers everybody talks about so why? Why did it have to end? She loved him, he loved her and that was all they needed.
Eudora didn't notice the tears flowing down her face, not untill a non familiar figure approaches her and pointed it out. "Are you feeling alright, Miss?" The voice was calm yet was filled with an underlying authoritative tone. Eudora looks up to see a grey haired woman in a fully black attire, standing tall and confident. Eudora felt conscious of her appearance and she wipes off her tears, clearing her throat as she attempts to appear normal.
Hearing the word 'Miss' rolls of the stranger's tongue made her realize that it's truly over. Her happiness with Evan, their beautiful memories together… it's all gone. She didn't want to accept reality but reality itself forced their way into her mind, reminding her that everything is truly over.
She was great for him and he was great for her, they were perfect with a beautiful son. Even when they don't meet face to face often, they were great! So why… she sniffles.
"Y-yes! Thank you- thank you for asking… kind stranger…" she smiled at the woman as she barely keeps herself in check, the woman then asked if she could sit beside her and she nodded, scooching over to make space for the stranger.
As they sat in silence, countless thoughts filled Eudora's mind while she tries to clear her them. The woman noticed her attempts, she's curious yet her face stayed neutral, not wanting to give away her curiosity to the crying woman next to her. She then mustered up the courage and asked Eudora.
"My apologies… if it's not a bother, may I ask why you were crying, Miss?" The stranger asked her, her voice was soft and nurturing. Eudora looks at the woman, she was caught off guard by the woman's beauty. a mole next to her lips and another one near the bridge of her nose and her right eye. Her bright red lipstick left Eudora captivated, unable to move her eyes away from her.
"O-oh… uhm… me- me and my husband…" she trails off, looking away from the woman as she takes a deep breath. "my ex husband, to be exact… we- we got a divorce…" she continues and the woman's expression softens. "I thought– I thought we were good together but then…!" Eudora starts to cry once again
She looks down and covers her eyes with her hands "he said- he said it's for the better…!" She sobbed, her hands are now stained with tears. "He said he didn't want me to be hurt so– so he asked for a divorce!" The woman couldn't help but pity Eudora… who in their right mind would break such a kind woman's heart? The woman thought to herself.
"I don't know what he meant by for the better, we were happy! We really were!" She continued her sobs. The woman then inched closer to her, Eudora felt something or someone closing the gap between them and she looks up to her side to see the woman sitting right beside her.
"May I?" The woman asks, her delicate hand hovered over hers. Eudora nodded, sniffling as The woman grasp on her hand. "I don't know the full story but it seems that you're having a hard time dealing with this divorce, Miss" the woman spoke up.
"Was it out of nowhere, Miss? If so, that is such a cruel thing he did… breaking your heart without giving you a sign or anything" The woman sighed "Y-yeah… it- it was quite sudden… we were just having a great day a few weeks ago before he just suddenly asked for a divorce…" Eudora continues, fidgeting as the woman listens to her intently.
The woman noticed how everytime she refered to Eudora as 'Miss', there was a visible discomfort on her face. She then realized, Eudora might still be grieving over the recent divorce so she decided to drop the honorifics.
"Oh, Dearest… you deserve so much better…" The woman squeezed Eudora's hands, looking at her with such pity with a hint of anger not directed to her. The soft consolation from the woman brought tears to Eudora's eyes, however, The woman's soft hands and the genuine tone of her voice managed to calm her down despite the tears flowing down her eyes.
"I know how hard this might've been for you and… well, I know I am merely a stranger to you but I hope you know that I am and will always be here for you" the woman smiled, leaning in for a hug. Eudora froze in her place, surprised by the sudden gesture of the woman. However, the warmth of the unfamiliar woman made her feel safe, bringing back the warmth she once felt with Evan.
She subconsciously placed a hand on the woman's back, her hands brushing against the soft strands of the woman's luscious grey hair. It was so soft, she could play with it all day long if she had the time. Eudora squints her eyes, melting into the hug, a gesture that was once her thing with Evan but somehow, it's different with Miranda… she felt like her mind was at ease.
However, the warmth she felt with Miranda is different than how it felt with Evan… her embrace felt as if she had touched the gates of heaven. She smiled, closing her eyes fully and enjoying the 'brief' physical contact she's having with the woman. It's as if she had found solace in her embrace
…
What…? Eudora's eyes widened. What was that? Why… why did I think that? She asked herself, shocked by the sudden surge of love. She tries shaking it off as it's very weird to have a crush on a stranger you just met on a random night. Eudora cleared her throat. "I-i'm… I'm glad, Miss…?"
"Miranda… you can call me Miranda, dear" Miranda pulls away, finally introduced herself. "Say, Dearie… mind telling me your name?" Eudora's face flushed as she felt like Miranda's face were to close to her. Too close!! She thought to herself.
"I- I'm Eudora…" she smiles, trying to shake off the familiar feeling of affection lingering in her mind and tugging on her heartstrings. "What a gorgeous name for a gorgeous lady" Miranda smiled, moving away from Eudora to keep a comfortable distance. "I apologize if any of my actions earlier made you uncomfortable, Miss Eudora…" Miranda frowned, looking a bit awkward.
"O-oh! No, not at all… and please– just Eudora, Miss Miranda" Eudora smiled, her sadness from the divorce gradually fades as she continues her conversation with Miranda. "Well then, Eudora… it is a bit awkward if I'm the only one being formal with you, no? Please, do me a favour and drop the 'Miss' , dear" Eudora nodded, seeming a bit eager.
"Oh uh… what gave you the impression that I was uncomfortable Mis— uhm… Miranda…?" Miranda chuckled. "You're so red throughout our conversation and you kept looking away from me…" Eudora's face reddens once again "ah…!"
She yelped, instinctively pulling her hand away from Miranda to cover her face. "I'm so sorry, Miranda… I get a bit shy, most of the time…" she says against her hands. Miranda chuckled at the adorable sight before her.
"It's alright, Eudora… it is only normal for us humans to be shy when meeting new people or just people in general" she continues "ah, on the topic of meeting new people…" she trails off, contemplating before looking straight in Eudora's eyes.
They locked eyes for a moment and during that eye contact, Miranda was surprised Eudora didn't look away or look completely scared of her. Usually people would assume the worst of her like she manipulates people for her own good and even drives people mad with her manipulation.
But Eudora is different. She didn't look away, she didn't assume the worst and she told Miranda about her divorce when Miranda is a complete stranger to her. This revelation made Miranda's heart skip a beat. She's overjoyed, she's happy someone finally sees her for who she is and not what the rumors made her to be but if course, she had to keep her emotions in check. However, the realization still made her blush like a teenager in love.
"Ah, my apologies, Eudora…" she swallowed her spit. "I was gonna give you my number, in case you want us to meet again sometimes? Maybe for some coffee or… well, when the sun is up?" Miranda chuckles. Eudora nodded and gave Miranda her phone, Miranda then took it and typed in her number.
"There, Give me a call" Eudora nodded and did as she was told. Miranda looks at her phone and an unknown number pops up. "It was nice meeting you, Eudora" Miranda days to Eudora as she saves Eudora's number.
"So this… this is where we part ways?" Eudora asks, sounding too disappointed than how she was supposed to sound like when she part ways with a stranger… but is Miranda really a stranger now?
"Unless you want me to stay for a little bit more…?" Miranda asked Eudora with a tinge of hopefulness in the tone of her voice, hoping Eudora would let her stay a little bit longer. Eudora looks at the time on her phone, it's getting late she thought to herself, glancing over to Miranda.
"Just a little bit more, if it's alright…" Eudora smiled at the woman brightly. It was strange… she felt more comfortable with someone she just met than with Evan, perhaps this is what they called love at first sight? Eudora didn't feel uncomfortable and managed to speak a lot during her time with Miranda.
Miranda, usually the person who talks more, stays in silence as she listens to Eudora's words with full concentration and perhaps, love. "So, what do you do?" Miranda attempts to carry their conversation. "I am a naturalist, I study about plants and insects" she smiles.
"Sometimes people are weirded out by insects but I personally find them fascinating hence why I like to study about them" she answered with passion. "What about you, Miss Miranda?" She asks, totally forgetting to drop the honorifics. Miranda chuckles at her silly antics.
"Let's just say I'm a teacher" she answered calmly. "Ah, I see… that's an interesting occupation! Very basic yet very valuable, teachers are needed for us humans to advance as a human" Miranda nodded, agreeing to whatever Eudora spotted.
"But, I was also a nurse for quite a bit" Miranda continues as Eudora looks at her in awe "and I tend to quite a lot of children back in my nurse years" Eudora's eyes went dim for a brief moment, remembering how she often avoided Alexis for such a ridiculous reason.
Miranda noticed how the light in Eudora's eyes dimmed when she told her about her past occupation. Miranda looks down to Eudora's hands and spots her fidgeting before looking back into her eyes, filled with embarrassment and regret.
Miranda leans in and placed her hand on top of Eudora's. "You okay?" Miranda asked her with a gentle and nurturing tone. "…Yeah" Eudora whispered with the same gentle tone. "It's just that… I feel guilty…" she continued. "My son, Alexis… he had to grow up with barely any parental guidance… I avoided him because he was too… cute?"
Miranda could sense the sincerity of Eudora's heartfelt confession, the regret, the embarrassment and the guilt. Eudora starts to sob once again "I- I'm so sorry for crying too much…" she sobbed "it's just– I could've done better! I know my boy grew up to be a great person but…" she trails off.
Miranda knew. Eudora didn't need to continue her sentence because Miranda is already too familiar with the feeling a guilty mother. Miranda looks at Eudora with pity and she placed her hand onto Eudora's back, rubbing it soothingly.
"It's alright,dearie… let it all out" she whispered softly, prompting Eudora to sob her heart out and go on about how guilty she felt. They stayed close to each other while Miranda lets Eudora cry her out out. It's just them two, two women being comfortable with each other in this cold and dark night.
Once she calmed down, Miranda gently holds Eudora's jaw and made Eudora face her. "Are you feeling better?" She smiles. Eudora nods, "yes, thank you… thank you for lending me a shoulder to cry on…" she looks away bashfully.
"Ah, let's change topics… do you teach here?" Eudora wiped her tears and asked Miranda, her tone laced with curiosity. Miranda shook her head softly "No, dearie… I teach at the poposi girls academy" she answered. Eudora's eyes widened, looking very fascinated by the revelation.
"Really…? That's amazing, Miranda!" She smiles brightly, it seems that her worries about the divorce has already fully subsided. "My ex husband is the principal at the momosu boys academy…" she trials off, looking a bit sad.
Miranda raised both her eyebrows as she processed this new information. "Hold it, Eudora…" she says softly, catching Eudora's attention. "Your ex husband is… Evan?" Miranda asks. Eudora froze, not knowing whether Miranda was being nice or she's about to be scolded by Miranda.
"U-uhm… it's– uh–" she stuttered, panicking internally. Miranda noticed and rushed to calm her down, "hey, it's alright… I don't mean anything bad by that! Hey, Eudora… look at me…" Miranda cups Eudora's cheeks and slowly lifted up her face to face her.
"It's nothing bad, I promise…" Miranda cooed. Miranda didn't dare smile as she was afraid people would be even more nervous since she was told that her smile scares a lot of people and that her smile is unsettling but somehow, she couldn't help but try and calm down Eudora with her smile.
It worked. Eudora seems calm.
Well, or so she thought.
Eudora looks red, as red as a tomato and to Miranda, it looks like Eudora was on the verge of fainting so she pieced two and two together and create a comfortable distance between them.
"I apologize once again, Eudora…" she says, a faint blush tainted her cheeks. "It's just that, Evan is a friend of mine… or should I say, a boss" Eudora calmed down and tries listening to Miranda's explanation. "Ah I see…" she mumbles
"Barely a boss… I mostly run poposi all by myself" Miranda laughed softly, a hand hovered over her lips. Eudora however, looked pale. "Y-you had to deal with them all yourself…?!" She exclaimed. Was her ex this lazy? Eudora shook her head.
No, there must be a reason… she sighed. "Well kind of… I still help with managing the students and all that, Evan is still the principal as he approves and orders everything to be done" Miranda chuckles. "He's quite a workaholic…"
Eudora stares at Miranda, completely in awe. "I'm glad he has someone like you to help him" she smiles, Miranda's eyes widened and for the first time in forever, she fell speechless. She swallowed her spit and stares back at Eudora.
Usually, she's the one who makes people uneasy or blushing uncontrollably but why is it different this time? Why is she speechless. "Miranda…? Did I say something wrong…?" Miranda snaps away from her thoughts and reassured Eudora.
"Ah, yes… I'm alright, dearie" Miranda's eyes softens. "You know… it's a bit freezing out here, no? We can meet up again here tomorrow… my ferry is not until 5pm" Miranda smiles at her.
Eudora nodded. "I guess… this is good-bye for now?" She says bashfully, standing up. Miranda chuckled, "until then" she whispers before getting up from the bench.
They waved each other one last time and went their separate ways.