AN: Here is Theme 20.~ :3 This particular one is going to be a little more depressing, since I'm going to delve into Paninya's mind more about her parents and their deaths.~ If you're not one for angst, rest assured the next series of themes will not be as depressing! xD; I just needed to mix it up a bit, you know?~

Once again, I own nothing.~ xD Enjoy! 3


Theme 20: Mask

Paninya considered herself very well at hiding her emotions from the world, almost as though she were in a masquerade ball, wearing the most eloquent mask around. No one could truly tell if she was in pain or in misery, even now at 23-years-old, but she never really felt that much pain or misery.

In fact, she was normally always happy. It was just when one of those days came; she couldn't help but feel a little more sluggish than usual. Almost…as if she just wanted to crawl into bed and never come out.

It was the 'Day of Redemption'…the day her parents had died, and the day that she lost everything of her past.

She kept her hair down today, not finding the strength to pull it up. She would do this every year; she would dress in that dark blue sundress her mother used to always wear, call up Dominic to thank him for all he's done for her, and assure him she's only going to head out to the cemetery.

And the elderly man always nodded and told her to be safe, to which she agreed, and slowly made her way towards the graveyard passed the entrance to Rush Valley, about a couple miles down. In her arms were lilies and lavender flowers; she knew her mother loved them more than anything. It was possibly one of the few things she remembered about her mother.

Her father was a strong and virtuous man. Although he had little pay when he worked, he still came home with a smile, always willing to carry Paninya on his shoulders and share great laughter with his baby girl.

It was those kind of memories that would often make her eyes gloss over with tears; tears that would quickly be wiped away with her sleeve before she slipped her smile on, assuring that nothing was wrong.

She nodded her head towards the man near the front of the gate, the grave keeper. An elderly man, but he knew her reasons of coming every year with great sympathy, and would always welcome her into the graveyard, always saying to her "They've been expecting you, Ms. Paninya."

Paninya passed the couple rows of tombstones, her dark eyes looking over the names of those deceased, before eventually settling her eyes upon the large tombstone that she was destined to head to. Even in death, they wanted to be side-by-side.

She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath before offering a smile to her parents, placing the lavender flowers upon her mother's side, the lilies on her father's side. "Hi, Mom…Hi, Dad," She began in a soft tone, one she was rarely affiliated with as she bent down in front of their burial place. "It's me…Paninya. I hope I haven't made you wait so long. I wanted to assure Dominic that I would be here…I have so much to tell you."

She gave out a soft laugh, as though she were able to feel their presence assure her that she was perfectly fine arriving now. "But…I have some great news. There's been so much construction finished in the spring that now we have more families able to make themselves right at home in Rush Valley. Some of the children that arrive here are so sweet; I hope they'll be safe here, too. I wouldn't want to see them hurt."

She looked to her hands, watching her bruised fingers fumble with each other, before looking back up to their names. "They make me think of us, you know? Of the times we would spend together…And just how happy we are together. Remember when we would head past Dublith, towards the ocean? I'm sure you do, you both have better memories than I do," She laughed sadly before wiping her eyes, feeling them starting to water," D-dad, you are always so crazy by the beach. You're always trying to scare me by finding any algae you could and placing it in my hair, making me scream and run back to Mom…And Mom, you would always throw it back at Dad, and you two would just get so into splashing each other, that I had to join you…"

A soft wind passed by, causing her hair to gently caress her cheeks as her eyes closed. She could almost feel her father's hand upon her shoulder as her mother would caress her hair.

"…I miss you guys so much," Paninya's voice broke as she stared at their names, looking back and forth from her father's to her mother's," I hope I haven't disappointed you through the years…I-I mean, I know I've made mistakes in the past, so many…but I really do hope that I've been able to receive your forgiveness for the times I haven't even visited you during my time of stealing…"

She raised her two fingertips to her lips, kissing them gently as a single tear ran down her normally smiling cheeks, placing them upon her father's name, tracing out the letters that would spell "Jonathon D. Beauford". "I love you Dad…"

She would then proceed to do the same for her mother's name, which would soon read as "Tia Ann Beauford". "I love you Mom…"

She slowly sat back straight, and let her tears proceed to fall. She's spent the past three hundred sixty-four days being strong and fighting back tears; today was her day to let her walls crumble and bury her face in her hands, letting out all of her pent up emotions free to the world.

What she did not expect, however, was feeling a pair of arms slowly encircle around her shoulders, and a broad torso lean against her back. It caused her to gasp, and when she turned around, she was only brought closer into this person's arms.

This scent…it was so warm and comforting to her, that it made more tears fall down her cheeks. Paninya grew worried, however; she wasn't supposed to break down like this in front of anyone, especially not him.

But, when she would try to lift her arms up and wipe them away, his arms only tightened around her form, preventing her from hiding her emotions from him. Her eyes would widen slightly, before she whispered out faintly," …E-Ed…?"

"Dominic told me where you were," He whispered, sitting down slowly and pulling her into his lap, his one hand moving up to stroke her black locks gently," He told me everything…Paninya, if I knew about this, I would have come with you…there was no reason for you to come here to cry alone. You don't have to hide all of your tears from us. From me."

His words permeated her slender frame, causing her to shake slightly as she curled into his arms. "B-but—"

"—No. You're not going to sidetrack me. Not now…not today," He sounded firm, and gently pulled her head back to look into her eyes. His golden eyes reflected her pain, her suffering, the sorrow she would always try to hide. "I don't want you to hide anymore. Let me help you…"

His hands, rough in texture yet gentle in touch, reached up to tenderly wipe her tears away, holding her closer. "…I'm sorry about your parents. They must have been really amazing people. But you should know…They must be so proud of you. I know Dominic, and all of us are…Don't ever forget that."

That did it, Paninya's face began to break down even more than she had over the past four years, and she quickly pulled him into a tight embrace, sobbing into his shoulder as he would stroke her back, whispering words that would go along the phrases "It's alright" or "Let everything out; it's okay." She knew that today would be different than those before. Now she had no reason to hide, now she knew that she was able to open herself up just a bit more, and perhaps she would be more free from guilt.

To be herself again.

He would make sure that she never needed to suffer alone again. Because, now at the age of 21-years-old, he knew that no one should need to cry alone; to hide behind a mask. Not even himself.