"ABOUT HER SMILE" in "THE WORDPLAY WARRIOR AND THE EX-GUARDIAN OF THE ISOLATED CASTLE"

“You always smile. How come you manage to look happy most of the time?”

The Ex-Guardian of The Isolated Castle looked up. It was one of the young poets sitting with her in the hall. The boy looked at her with awe.

“What do you mean?” she asked him in confusion.

“You,” the boy repeated, this time more joyfully. “You always look so happy.”

And you’ve just seen me for a day, The Ex-Guardian thought with amusement. This is what she likes when meeting new people, whether it’s the new workplace or community.

Like that Sunday, when she attended a writing class. It was an interesting day, with a story-telling master and scholar from afar sharing her views, knowledge, and experiences. New faces she might call ‘friends’ someday.

Who knows? Anything can happen.

The Ex-Guardian was hiding her badly-chewed up fingernails, something that some people in her life had always worried about.

“Because I choose,” she finally said to the boy, smiling again. “After all, happiness is supposed to be a choice. Don’t you think so too?”

R.