Chapter 12

 

“Herin, move your hand a little lower”

 

Herin does as she’s told.

 

“Nonono, move up a bit now. Ok, perfect” Mark grinned as he instructed Herin to post as if she’s holding the glass top of Musee de Louvre. She’s been moving her hand up and down as he instructed for the past 3 minutes, when in actuality, she’s been in the correct position, he was just messing with her.

 

“See, it’s perfect” Mark showed her the last picture he took of her missing the object.

 

“Hey you said it was perfect, I look like I’m making the triangle float, not holding it!” Herin smacked his arm.

 

“I took a bunch already”

 

Herin scrolls through the gallery and noticed she had been in the correct position since a while ago, she looks up to see a playful grin decorating Mark’s face, who ran for his life before she can end his life.

 

Inside Musee de Louvre

15:00 PM

 

The duo strolls along with the crowd, they stopped momentarily here and there to focus on the artworks which fascinated them, sometimes discussing them for a bit.

 

“Isn’t that sculpture so magnificent? Look at all the details—Mark?” Herin looks around as Mark is no longer by her side.

 

She huffs and shakes her head as she found Mark posing next to the sculpture, imitating its pose.

 

“Wow, I never noticed this sculpture here before,” She decides to play along with him.

 

She grabs the hem of his jacket and moves it around as if she’s examining a real sculpture.

 

“Excuse Madamoiselle, no touching” he said, still insisting to cosplay as an art figure.

 

“He’s also wearing a very 2020 outfit, how bizarre” She comments further, as she continues touching his scarf.

 

“Fancy what you’re seeing?” Mark says, still holding the pose.

 

“No, I actually like that one better.” Herin walks away towards the other sculpture she pointed.

 

Mark breaks away from his sculpture pose and grabs her by the waist from behind and spun her, “but that sculpture doesn’t move like I do”

 

“Hey, you said no touching!” She laughs heartily as he lifted her off her feet and spun her in the air.

 

“Only applies to sculptures, not me” he replies.

 

“You’re impossible!” Herin jogs towards the crowd, joining the queue to see the original Monalisa painting.

 

“Do you think the painting is real?” she whispered to Mark as they’re standing infront of the framed Monalisa painting.

 

“What makes you think it’s fake?” he whispered back, eyes still glued to the painting, trying to take in everything in the 30 seconds they’re given for their turn.

 

“Well, I heard the museum lost the real one. So that one’s fake”

 

“Shh they might hear you” he whispered back, finding the whole whispering thing amusing.

 

“Okay, moving on” the security guard announced.

 

Mark and Herin move away from the painting and laugh without making sound.

 

“Why are we still whispering?”

 

“I don’t know, I find it hilarious” Mark finally said in his normal voice.

 

They finally arrived on the third floor, where a small café is located on its terrace. The pair stops there for a while to get a breath of fresh air after being indoors for the last couple hours.

 

They leaned against the wall with wind blowing to their faces, as they watch tourists flocking around the spot where they took pictures earlier. They stood there for a while in silence, just enjoying the atmosphere and each other’s company.

 

Mark turns to Herin as he sees her reaching out her hand from his peripheral vision. Her small hand lands softly on his head as he felt her fixing his tousled hair, probably from the strong gush of wind earlier.

 

“Oh—”

 

“I got you” she untangles some of his hair, lightly arranging it to place.

“I don’t want people to think that I dragged you out of the bed to see Monalisa” She jokes, flashing a loop-sided smile.

 

“There” she places her hand back to her side.

 

“Thanks”

 

“Ready to go?” Herin asked as she brushed dust off her dress.

 

“Yeah” Mark touches his head, where she touched him earlier, and feeling all fuzzy inside. He then jogs to her side to continue their tour of the museum.

 

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The museum was a bit more crowded during these hours as people try to squeeze in before it closes for the day.

 

The pair is now a part of sea of people, trying to navigate their way in the museum while looking at the paintings. A big group of tourists suddenly cut through the way, they seemed to be in a hurry, probably experiencing an unexpected delay in their tour.

 

Herin got lost in the sea of people as she was shifted around and trying not to push anyone, Mark moves his head to look around for her, even bouncing a bit in place to spot her from a greater height.

 

“Herin” he calls repeatedly as he moves through the sea of people, but no responses.

 

“Herin!” he calls again, louder this time, with a sense of panic in his voice.

 

“Mark!” he could hear her calling him from the sea of people, trying to move out of the way.

 

Mark finally spots her sandwiched in between an old couple, whom she’s trying to protect from the bigger guys who are walking in frenzy. He finally sighs in relief, immediately pushing his way to get to her and the old couple.

 

Herin stood there stunned as she noticed the terror in eyes when their eyes briefly met, and his furrowed eyebrows as he pushes through the crowd towards her.

 

It felt like everything around her was a blur, and time was moving in slow motion. Until she felt his arm around her and the other one around the grandpa, whom she tried to protect.

 

They managed to secure the old couple out of the sea of people and sat them in the nearest bench.

 

Mark slips his bigger hand under her smaller one, interlocking their fingers.

 

Herin looks at him in shock but doesn’t say anything, deep down knowing exactly the reason. But she doesn’t dare to say it out loud, just in case she was being delusional or romanticizing his gestures.

 

Instead, she looks down to their interlocked fingers as they walked through the rest of state-of-the-art museum.

 

Warmth surges through her palm. His grip was strong, secure, and comforting.

 

“It felt like home”

 

“Look up” he voiced, pointing up to the ceiling.

 

The ceiling was indeed breathtaking, the different colors of glass decorated the high ceiling, with paintings decorating them.

 

She could not help but stare at them in awe, not realizing how long she’s staring. He stood by her patiently, admiring the beauty above them.

 

Glad that she seems to have returned to normal, Mark could not remember how long it has been since he could live in the moment, not having to worry about anything else other than the present.

 

The spectacular now, his present is her.

 

The earlier incident makes him realize, that he cannot afford to ever lose her. She’s like the oxygen that goes through his lungs, the person his heart beats for, and the person who has always helped him shape who he is today.

 

Glancing to Herin who’s smiling her heart out next to him, Mark swore to himself that he would protect her happiness, no matter what.

 

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