New Life : A Second Chance

"Rex!" she cried out happily as she gazed at him lovingly, "Did you wait long?"

"Of course not," Kyle assured her, "I just arrived."

"You brought Kitty!!" Sari gushed, seeing the kitten (though she should be called a cat now) popping her head out of the pouch upon hearing Sari's voice.

"Oh my gosh! She's so cute!!" Sari said, taking Kitty out of the pouch.

Kitty was dressed up today. Her usual collar that had Kyle's contact name on the pendant was replaced with a pink collar.

It was something Kyle made himself, using the collar of a pink shirt. He had cut out the collar: the entire top part of the shirt that made up the collar, including the top-most button.

He then took some small pink flower patterns and sewed it in several areas, creating a splash of flowers on it. It just needed to be buttoned on to be worn, and it wasn't tight to be uncomfortable.

"Where did you get this adorable collar for her?" Sari asked, as she held on Kitty, stroking her head and scratching behind the ear.

Kitty purred contentedly, stretching her head into Sari's hands. She may be partial towards Daddy, but Mummy was good, too.

"I made it," Kyle said as he started walking, Sari following beside him.

"Wow, you're so talented and creative," Sari complimented him sincerely, "You can sew, too. Is there anything you can't do?"

"Nope," Kyle answered, grinning widely.

Sari laughed, not taking what he said seriously.

He was, after all, already perfect in her eyes but to find out different and new things about him made her be more in awe. She vowed to step up in learning how to cook more dishes, for she couldn't have him top her in everything now, could she?

As she was busy playing with Kitty, she didn't realise at first that Kyle wasn't walking towards her house. She was just automatically walking beside him, trusting him completely and not looking at her surroundings.

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Her entire world was with her at the moment, so why look anywhere else?

"Wait, where are we going?" Sari asked belatedly, as she suddenly realised that she was not near home.

"It's a surprise," Kyle said mysteriously as he kept on walking, "Don't worry, Uncle Rahim and Auntie Zals already know."

"Oh, okay," Sari replied, her worries gone.

Kyle led her to the park, which was a 15 mins walk from the school. He took Kitty from her, put it in his pouch and held Sari's hand.

At the park bench, he wiped the seat and had her sit down. Taking the backpack from his back, he started setting it up.

Placing a tablecloth on the table, he put placemats, biodegradable plastic plates, cups, and cutlery before taking out a four-tier stainless steel food container that was in a thermal cover to keep the food inside warm.

All the while, Sari watched Kyle do all of this with her eyes wide open in surprise.

Taking the food container out of its covering, he separated each container and laid it out between them. There was rice, one meat dish and one vegetable dish.

The last container had a small round cake with the icing, "Happy Birthday, Sari."

This was the one that he showed Sari last, smiling as he said "Happy Birthday" then kissed her forehead.

Sari blushed beet red then, feeling those soft lips on her forehead.

"How did you know it was my birthday today?" she asked softly, her eyes slightly wet with unshed tears.

She was so touched.

This was the first time, since her parent's death, did she have her birthday celebrated. Her guardians didn't believe in celebrating birthdays, and it would just pass her by without any celebrations - or even a wish.

"Oh, I have my ways," Kyle said, as he took out some citronella candles and started lighting them. They were small, and yellow, about 6" high and he placed them in some glass containers after lighting them.

Though it did look romantic, it also served another purpose: to keep the mosquitoes away. Citronella is naturally occurring oil that repels mosquitoes, and would be effective for about two hours.

As they were outdoors, he had to light several and soon, the nice smell of citrus wafted in the air. This was the scent that Kyle chose from the variety available, as he felt it was not too strong nor too mild.

He also liked citrus smells.

Kyle also took out Kitty's food bowl, placing it on a placemat on the table. He opened up a can of cat food, pouring it into one compartment of the food bowl and some water in the other.

Kitty popped her head out upon smelling the food and immediately meowed, looking up at Kyle from inside the pouch.

"Yes, yes, hold on, Baby. Be patient," Kyle said gently with a smile.

Once everything was set up, he placed Kitty in front of her food and all of them started eating.

Kitty was well behaved, and only ate her food, leaving their food alone.

Sari's heart was so full, she didn't want the night to end. Everything was so wonderful. The food (which Kyle actually cooked, as he felt it was more personal), the ambiance and most of all, the company.

Sari helped Kyle clear up after their dinner, throwing all the disposables into the nearby dustbin and cleaned up Kitty's food bowl. They ate the cake straight from the container, after Kyle sang the 'birthday song' loudly, making her completely glad the park was relatively empty.

Kyle was sitting next to Sari by this time, instead of across the table when they had dinner.

Finally, he took out the present and placed it in her hands, saying again, "Happy Birthday."

"For me?" Sari asked stupidly.

"Of course," Kyle said redundantly.

"Can I open it now?"

"You'd better," he answered with a laugh.

She opened it excitedly and gasped upon seeing the beautiful dress inside.