Chapter 133 Chapter 106 (1)
Altezza opened his eyes, but he quickly covered them with one hand. The dazzling light hurt his eyes. Altezza squinted, trying to adjust his vision and figure out where he was now. As far as he remembered, he had just had an accident, but strangely what he saw now was not the ceiling of a hospital or the view of a treatment room, but large branches and dense foliage.
Altezza sat up. He was quite surprised because he didn't feel the pain he should feel. He looked at his body and felt fine. But why was he there? Why was he in this vast green field? Why was he lying under a shady tree before?
Altezza turned and was quite surprised to see someone he knew sitting next to him and even smiling at him. "Sir?" he asked, surprised.
How long had they not met? If Altezza remembered correctly, the last time he saw that man was about eight years ago. "What are you doing here?" Altezza asked again.
The man stared back at Altezza in surprise. "I should be asking you the same. Why are you here?" The man who always gave advice to Altezza seemed to smile.
"I also don't know why I'm here." Altezza scratched his neck, looking embarrassed.
"You're already old but your behavior is still like a child," the man teased.
"And how about you? How did you end up here?" Altezza asked again.
The middle-aged man smiled again. His eyes scanned around. Observing the lush green field and distant hills.
"A place like this is my daughter's favorite place," the man said. There was immense fondness reflected on his face. He rose from his seat and started walking, Altezza walked alongside him.
"Your daughter?" Altezza nodded.
Altezza remembered the figure of a high school girl with a petite body adorned with colorful braces. The petite girl whom he always teased because her body resembled more like a middle schooler than a high schooler.
"Aline?" The old man nodded again. "How is she now? She must be married by now. Didn't she say she wanted to marry young?" The old man smiled again.
"Yes, she's married. Not long ago. Unfortunately, I wasn't there to witness it. But I'm happy to see who she chose as her husband.
"Her husband is a very good man and loves my daughter very much." Altezza could only nod. Sharing in the joy of the middle-aged man. "And what about you? How about the woman you often admired? Did you win her over?" Altezza scratched his neck again. He was quite surprised because the man knew about it even though as far as Altezza remembered, he had never told the man.
"I thought at first I succeeded. But it turns out I worshiped the wrong person.
"I closed my ears to the warnings of the people around me. Although I realized it before it was too late, there's still a lingering feeling in my heart.
"You're right. Not everything we see is reality. We only see what we want to see. We only hear what we want to hear.
"I've always rejected every piece of advice given to me. I always closed my eyes. I always thought they were too involved in my affairs. When in fact, I was the one who was too foolish."
The man smiled and gently patted Altezza's shoulder.
"There's no need to blame yourself. They love you. They want what's best for you. But we as humans, often we're clouded by ego. We're too confident in ourselves. We're too swayed by the temptations of the devil.
"That's because we're human, not angels. We're not always right. No human is ever always right. We're not angels.
"But we're also not demons who are always wrong. We have feelings. We have desires. And often when we fall in love, we feel that we are the ones who are right.
"We feel that the one we love is the most perfect person. Our hearts are closed because of the overwhelming love.
"But be grateful because now you're aware."
Altezza nodded. "I'm very grateful. Grateful for having a family like mine. Grateful for being matched with a woman who loves me so much. Grateful for finally realizing my feelings of love.
"Although I'm not sure if I can still express these feelings."
Once again, the old man smiled. "It's not too late. God still provides you a path. He still gives you time to fix everything.
"Why don't you listen to those voices? The voices of those who love you? They're calling you to come back." He said, and suddenly Altezza heard echoes in his mind.