It was like the winds were telling me to stay low, not open my eyes. They had brought me gifts from the higher branches of the tree of reality, the leaves of my past.

The leaves were all I had to look at right now, I was in the maple garden again. I picked up a leaf and it narrated the story of the time Noah began to feel responsible for me. It was the time when we were neighbours. His grandma had just died and I wanted to help him come out of the shock.

It was a hot summer evening and I had managed to sneak into Grandma's old room where we had buried our time capsule. I was so lost in searching for it, I hadn't realized I was caught in the fire. It was so horrifying, I still hear my cries through the walls of my memories. I managed to save the time capsule but due to the intoxicating air, I fainted. Two days later when I woke up in the hospital, I found out our parents were getting separated.

My mother had been yelling at my dad for leaving me alone at night. They had been fighting for years and it seemed they were finally coming to a conclusion. But it wasn't the most of my concern. The more concerning fact was, the guy who had a weird scent similar to that of rain was sleeping beside me. His hands were folded on my bed, his head rested on his hands while he sat on the chair beside my bed.

"I'm sorry Mili, it's my fault. I left the incense burning. I didn't guard it. I'm sorry." He mumbled still sleeping. His body moved in sync as he breathed.

Even today I could hear his words, I could hear the pain, the pity. Yet it's always his voice that stops me from leaving this world.

I slowly opened my eyes to find Noah laying beside me, his head leaning on to his folded hands that rested on the side of my bed. His body moved in sync as he breathed like the time when we were kids. If not for me why would he be bothered to bear the smell of the hospital? If not for me why would he be bothered to get involved with other people and if not for me why would he leave the love of his life and get stuck into an almost political marriage?

But again, in the end, I didn't have feelings for him, nor did I had the generosity to stay after marrying him. I was confused and I left him but now that Criz was back, what was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to help her get Noah back or was I supposed to have him for myself? And above all, I wasn't even sure if I wanted Noah for myself.

His shiny dark hair was inviting my touch to just feel them once. He looked a little troubled, I was even more.

Suddenly I heard footsteps approaching the hospital room, I pulled my hand back that was almost there to touch his hair. A blurred image of a girl with raven hair and an ice-white body formed as his scent of rain got mixed with her scent of cherry blossom.

"Noah!"

Her warm voice filled my ears with a sense of vibration. It was the voice that forced my brain to shut in the first place. It was Criz.

She came closer and ran her soft fingers into Noah's hair as if she owned him. I clutched the bedsheets controlling myself from making a move.

Noah's eyes flickered slowly peeking out. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to look after you." She smiled crouching beside him. Her hot pants ended even before they could start, while her Cardigan touched the floor. I wonder how are her feet not frozen yet.

Noah slowly tossed his head back and fixed his hair getting away from her. "It's not needed. I'm fine."

"Huh?" She frowned, "You have been typing for hours and now you're here looking after her, why is it not needed?"

She clinched to his arm almost hugging him and leaned closer to his chest, she completely belonged there. "Besides, Miael ain't that close to you anyway. Her sister can look after her."

"I don't get it." Noah twitched his arm muscles, giving her space to adjust closer, "Why did she faint all of a sudden?"

"See I told you," Chriz giggled touching his face, "you are not that close with her. You don't even know she has asthma. She can't take the cold."

A sudden glint of stress and sorrow twisked on Noah's face as he slowly pulled his arm out of her grip. "You should go."

"But why? I want to stay." Criz denied.

"People with Asthma who have just gotten an attack can not take so much perfume." Noah reasoned checking my pulse. His cold finger's touch made me want to get up and throw Crizel out of the room, after all, she was really making it hard for me to breathe.

"Alright." She sighed leaving the room.

"Criz," Noah called, "Close the door. I'll heat up the room a little."

Well, his presence in itself was enough to make the room warm but he still turned to face the air conditioner and increased the temperature.

His explicitly dark hair juggled on his shoulders as he turned around, sensing movement.

"You know," I sat up folding my legs, "I don't care if you want her to stay. Don't force yourself."

Noah glared at my face, curling his eyebrows in surprise. "How long have you been up?"

"A while." I smiled folding my hair into a bun, "You were quite busy, so I didn't disturb."

"Thank you." He forced a smile dialling a number, "I'll inform Eleanor."

I nodded pulling the sheets over me, cuddling the thin layers. In all the time that I had spent with Noah, I had never seen him speak or reply to someone so easily. Criz got so close to him and yet he never said a word to her.

I guess love does make exceptions.

"I can't drop you back," he said ending the call, "I have to finish some paperwork Dad assigned me earlier."

I creased out the sides of the bedsheets tapping the space beside me on the bed. "We need to talk."

He slid his cellphone back into his pocket, "do we?"

I nodded faintly, almost holding my breath as he sat beside me.

"You know, the fire..." I began to talk after taking a deep breath, "...you don't have to worry about it. It wasn't your fault. When I went inside the room, I... I mistakenly spilt the oil kept with the incense and I guess it caught fire after that."

Biting my lips, I suppressed my fears. I never discussed that incident with anyone but to make things go right, I had to tell Noah the truth. My eyes were fixed on my folded legs, but through a corner, I could still see Noah sighing.

"Don't bring this up again, okay?" He sighed breathing normally.

I wanted to continue but his warning had me on his first word, don't.

He stood up, pulled on his black jacket and locking the door, left the room. I wasn't sure if I had offended him or if he was behaving this way because he was confused about Criz too, all I knew was, he was Noah Martin and it was impossible for me to understand him, ever.

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