Hello again everyone, and happy very late new year! Thanks for the read, review, follow and favorites, everyone and now I guess I'll start this chapter with yet another flashback :)

Raelyn watched silently as her mother worked on the field. She walked through the growing lines of crops with a watering can in her hand; her mother was left-handed and Nate was the only one who did not inherit that trait. Fieldwork was boring, but somehow her mother did that with a cheerful humming; it was always that way each and every day, although she had been doing this for years.

"How do you do it?" she finally braved herself to ask.

"Do what, dear?" Her mother stopped on her track. "By the way, you might want to stop watering that plot. It'll flood soon enough."

Raelyn clumsily pulled her watering can up while muttering a quick apology; her mother simply waved it off as she walked over to her. "Back to your question."

"You're always happy doing the fieldwork," Raelyn continued. "How do you do that?"

Her mother grinned. "Simple. I decided to be."

"Huh?"

Her mother looked over the field—they were almost done—before sitting down. She tapped the spot next to her and Raelyn joined her on the ground.

"In life, there are things that we can and cannot control. Fieldwork will always be the same—I can't control that—but my attitude? That's different," she explained. "Everyday I wake up deciding several things, among those, I decide that I would be working happily. Thankful that I still have work to do. Thankful that I can still produce something with my hands."

"Okay…"

"And while we are at it, just remember that what you can't control is not a mistake. At least, not your mistake."

Raelyn tilted her head. Her mother smiled and reached out to take a small tress of her hair.

"For example, the color of your hair… you couldn't control it—unless we're talking to Uncle Allen—so it's not a mistake. Your feelings… you can't really control them, can't you? They are not a mistake, but again… what you do about them is something you can control, right?"

Raelyn noticed that just like in her hometown, Oak Tree Town celebrated the Starry Night Festival. When she got into town that day for some shopping, who's going with whom for the evening's event seemed to be the hottest topic around.

The restaurant was getting more business than usual, too. Thankfully, there was a seat on the counter left. Raelyn took it and Raeger served her usual drink—hot chocolate—even before she asked for it; she didn't realize that action made her the center of attention of the other patrons.

"So… who's your date for tonight?" Raeger asked with a friendly smile.

Raelyn took a sip of her drink before sighing long. "Not thinking about it."

Raeger smiled understandingly. "You know what they say about curing a heartbreak…"

"Rub some more salt over it by reminding me?"

Raeger laughed wryly. "I appreciate the pun, but you know what I truly mean."

Raelyn waved him off half-heartedly as Raeger scurried over to the counter. She stared into her drink: a seemingly endless pool of chocolate with steam rising over it. It had nothing that reminded her of Klaus but somehow she was, anyway. Going to the town had been slightly easier after their short—and obviously awkward—conversation, but she would still rather not to see him for the time being. She couldn't get his words out of her head. In fact, every time she was idle, they would just pop out in her head, spoken in his deep, calm voice as if she heard it all over again.

"Is this seat taken?"

She looked up and saw Iris smiling gently at her. "No, it's not," she replied. Iris' smile widened as she took the seat and quickly ordered a cup of tea.

"I haven't been seeing you with Klaus lately," she remarked after Raeger served her order.

"Wouldn't it be more natural to see Mr. Klaus with you instead?"

Iris took a sip of her drink. "Natural? That's quite a peculiar diction you have there."

"What do you mean, Miss Iris?"

"Natural could mean that it is to be expected, but it could also mean relaxed and unaffected… spontaneous. You think it is to be expected that you see him around with me, but I can tell he looks most relaxed when he is with you."

"You are wrong. He…" Raelyn racked her mind for a decent response. "I…"

"He pushed you away, I know," Iris stated simply. "And it hurts, doesn't it?"

Raelyn put down her drink and for the first time spun her chair to face the older woman. "Why do you care so much, Miss Iris?"

Iris returned her intense gaze with a calm one. The slender author smiled wistfully. "If I tell you why, you will not believe me."

Raelyn sighed long. "I tried my best," she said. "I tried to define this feeling I have for him, but… it was a mistake."

"What is a mistake?"

"Everything, I guess." The pinkette spun back to face her drink. "Trying to define it, discussed it with him, even…"

Unbeknownst to Raelyn, Iris smiled. "At least, you're not thinking that having those feelings for him was part of the mistake."

Raelyn shook her head. "My feelings for him is not part of the mistake," she confirmed. "It's what I do about them."

"You could be right," Iris agreed. "Between a bond and a relationship, wouldn't you agree that the bond is more important? Bonds make relationships, although sometimes we'd like to think otherwise. If we rush to define our feelings to define our relationship without the bond… what is there to define but a sham?"

"Bond…" Raelyn muttered. "Do you think… I have it… with him? A bond?"

"Of course you do!"

"Have I not destroyed it with what I have done?"

"Have a little faith."

Raelyn breathed warm air on her drink, although it was barely necessary. "What should I do now?"

"To be honest, I have no idea myself," Iris admitted. "I suppose… as an author and your friend… my best advice would be follow your heart."

Raelyn giggled. "That sounds cliché."

"Classic," Iris smiled, relieved that at least Raelyn seemed happier. "And doesn't that lead to a happy ending most of the time?"

"In stories."

"Aren't our lives like a great storybook in progress?"

The bell chimed again. This time, it was Ibuki. His eyes scanned across the restaurant before finally meeting the pink head. His face brightened up. "There you are!"

Raelyn tilted her head slightly as Ibuki made his way towards her. "I just heard about tonight's festival. I never attended one—I mean, I heard about it when I was a kid here, but of course I didn't attend and there's no such thing back in the city."

"Starry Night?"

"Yes," he said. "Will you go with me?" Raelyn held her breath. "As friends, of course," he quickly added.

Raelyn frowned slightly, weighing her options. Going to the festival with him didn't mean that she would be his girlfriend or anything along those lines, but it would still mean she would be in his company—and perhaps only his company—for the rest of the evening.

It didn't sound wise, but there's nothing else wrong with it.

Follow your heart

Iris watched Raelyn went out with Ibuki in silence. "Seems like your advice backfired," Raeger commented as he leaned over the counter. "She doesn't seem like it, but she could be quite impulsive sometimes."

The slender woman shook her head. "This is just like how I thought it would be."

"Ibuki and Raelyn? I thought you ship Klaus with Raelyn."

"You cannot compare without something to be compared against," Iris pointed out. "And… what's a story without its conflict?"

"Ever the author, Miss Iris Delacroix."

Iris chuckled wryly. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"No. It's quite the contrary, even. Lessons are better not served on a silver platter."

Anyone with Iris and Raeger on this?

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

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