Chapter 52: Are They Faking It?
(Arata)
After the disastrous morning, Karsten’s mood didn’t get better; instead, it took a turn for the worse. He went into his brooding mode and refused to come out, creating this icy exterior which I found impossible to break.
The villa was as grand from the inside as it was from the outside. With an antique touch to it mixed with floral patterns and arrangements, it seemed like a perfect haven for the two ladies who resided there.
The place had a homely feeling to it, and instead of being decorated by some interior designer, it seemed that Camilla and Grandma Martina had styled it in their own colours with family photos and crocheted hangings.
His grandma brought out the childhood photo album and began to show me his precious pictures when he was a newborn and a toddler. Even as a baby, he wore a sulk most of the time while staring at the camera with his eyes narrowed.
"He was always a moody child and that didn’t change as he grew," Grandma Martina humorously chuckled as she sat on her rocking chair with a flowering blanket on her legs and the picture album spread in her lap.
I knowingly smiled from her side and pointed to a photo where he held a blue truck in his hand, his chubby cheeks spilling out.
"Can’t agree more, but these surely disappeared."
Grandma Martina nodded with a loving smile that made the sides of her wrinkled eyes crinkle some more.