"I had always thought that you were one weird kid, Kafka...But I never thought it would be to the extent that you would even like someone like me." Nina started talking about her thoughts from the side while I rested on the sofa with my eyes shut.
"No...I shouldn't be saying stuff like 'someone like me' or anything demeaning towards myself, should I?...Since, you know, now that I know that I'm not actually as bad as I thought I was and am actually someone who's considered pretty by another." Nina immediately corrected herself when she caught herself speaking like her old self, which she wanted to change for good now that she had realised her true worth through me.
Nina wasn't like my mother or Camila, who always had a bunch of complicated emotions going through their hearts and would always overthink and doubt everything that they heard. She was much more simple in that aspect and took the opinion of someone she trusted or favoured to heart without thinking about it too much, even if she had been hearing the exact opposite opinion from others her whole life.
As long as you truly made her understand a certain view like I did, she would immediately catch onto that and follow it, while wholeheartedly trusting the person who said it.
My mother and Camila, on the other hand, would take a little bit more time to accept an opinion and even a longer time to follow through with it since they always doubted themselves in one way or another and were too humble to act so brazenly like Nina here, who was already calling herself pretty with a bright smile on her face.
"Isn't that right, Kafka? I'm pretty, aren't I, just like you said?" Nina shook my shoulders to try and wake me up from my rest while avidly waiting for my answer since I was the only route of recognition for her.
"Yes, Nina...You're as pretty as a blooming lotus and a million other flowers combined." I said in a monotonous tone since I was still closing my eyes and resting, while Nina's face bloomed like a budding lily when she heard me approve what she said and say even more nice things about her that boosted her confidence.
Nina thought of how I had easily managed to slip through her barriers and made her feel certain emotions that only her husband was supposed to make her feel, and she shivered when she realised how bad it could have been if she hadn't come to a sudden realisation. She then looked at me and said,
"I'll be honest, Kafka, and confess that I'm not the brightest tool in the shed, which my parents and teachers have told me time and time again in my life...So, when I'm in the presence of someone like you, who's basically a wily fox in the disguise of a cute little bunny, I have no option other than to be suspicious of you at all times in case you suddenly decide to swindle me away, which I'm sure you could easily do with how dumb I am."
Nina was obviously underestimating herself and putting herself down, since no actual gullible person would be so aware of their own strengths and weaknesses.
Since even her teachers scolded her for being a bit slow, I'm guessing that she wasn't the best at academics. But that had no connection to how smart and capable she actually was, and I was sure that she had several other aspects in which she excelled.
"So what, Nina?...Do you think a kid like me who hasn't even graduated yet is going to trick you and steal your entire family fortune away?" I asked Nina, which made her ponder for a second about how feasible that would be.
"No, I don't think that you're that heinous of an individual, Kafka." Nina said, showing that even though she was auspicious of me, she still trusted me enough for her not to consider me an absolute threat even after all the things I said and did.
"...But at the same time, I don't exactly know what your intentions with me are...Especially since you told me that you were interested in me, even though I'm so much older than you and am also a married woman...So, I think I'm going to let you continue your little story as to why you hid your true self from me and learn a bit more about your intentions before coming to a decision about what I should do about you."
"Fine..." I accepted her conditions, or else I was sure that she would always be unsettled whenever I was around her, not knowing what I was thinking about. "...But there's really not much to say, as after having one glance at you and confirming that such a wonderful woman actually existed in this world, I was dead set on taking you home with me and putting a ring on your finger."