6: Can't Cry Now
Series*
Shiine·etc*
General*
AftertheWedding*
My last day...
I sat down on the soft carpet of grass that covered a small hill, a short walk away from the Royal Castle. Birds sang in perfect harmony as a gentle breeze whistled along with them. Butterflies hovered over budding wild flowers, stopping gracefully from time to time, as if to take a look at the good and bad qualities each plant had before getting its pollen and spreading it to other places. Fluffy white clouds rolled across a clear blue dome overhead me.
The worst day for the perfect place...
I leaned back, my hands supporting my body, and then stretched my short legs in front of me. Taking a quick breath of air -- a homely scent I had always enjoyed for the past twelve years of my life -- I prevented tears from gushing out.
Memories drowned all my other thoughts out. There was too much of that, but somehow I knew I wouldn't forget a single moment that made me happy.
Well, I'll even include those bad ones. They're good things to learn from, too.
I heaved a sigh. Look on the bright side. It'll be fun having mother and father around...not to mention a baby brother or sister on the way...Besides, it will only take a year.
It's just that I'll miss everyone here. I've been with them for such a long time...and yet it seemed like it had just passed by a while ago...And now, here I am, only to leave...
"I might as well have one last meeting with them," I said out loud, and hopping on the broom I made to appear before me, I went back to the castle.
Teacher Dorothy had a surprised look on her face when she saw me. "There you are! I thought you weren't coming."
"I wanted to enjoy the outdoors of Mochi-Mochi Mountain before we were to leave."
"Of course, Shiine-dear. By the way, your mother and father have been waiting for you," she informed me as we continued towards the waiting area of the castle.
"Yes, teacher."
My parents stood up at the same time when they saw me, but I went to them very slowly. All of my friends were around, including the King, Queen, and Teacher Seravi. Not one of them looked happy.
Any minute now, one or all of them would burst into tears, but they shouldn't cry...
"Are you ready, mother, father?" I asked brightly, anticipating gasps of surprise from all of them. "Spending time alone made me realize that I don't want to make a fuss about leaving any longer. I shouldn't part with them with tears in my eyes and sadness in my heart, but all the hopes and joys that we would soon meet, even if it seemed like a very long while. After all, what's one year, anyway?"
Nobody could say a word. I knew that they disagreed with me silently.
"He's right," my father said at last. Then he went to me and ruffled my hair slightly. "You are one brave boy, Shiine. I'm proud of you, son."
A servant suddenly came into the room. "Your majesty, the Silver Knight's and his family's horses are ready. The luggage has been fixed too."
"Very well," said the King.
"Shiine..."
Cha-cha trailed off, coming closer towards me. Her eyes filled with tears. Suzu followed her. In no time, they were both crying. Riiya was getting a bit misty-eyed, too, while Marin's and Yakko's lips were quivering as the two of them tried to hold back the tears. Miss Dorothy face was buried in her satin handkerchief and Teacher Seravi's hand was around her shoulder to reassure her.
"Promise me you guys won't cry after this," I scolded them after a sniff. "It's best to look forward to the day I'll come back, because something...someone...even more exciting will be with me."
"Pray it'll be a boy, Riiya, because by and by you'll feel awkward being surrounded by girls. I don't think you want to play dolls with them," I joked him.
All of them laughed heartily for a minute, but their melancholy faces returned.
"Your father and I will be waiting for you at the courtyard," my mother told me as they headed towards the door.
"We might as well get going," I finished, uncertain of how to end all the good-byes.
Going after them, I stopped to say the last good-bye to my Teacher Dorothy, who might have still cried up to this time if I didn't approach her. She immediately dropped to her knees at once to hug me for the last time. Breaking the promise I made to myself, I cried with her without saying any word, for we understood what we had in mind through the tears that fell down our cheeks.
I'll miss you, Teacher...
It was late in the afternoon when I woke up. Though it was too early for me to take a nap, I was probably much too bored and depressed to see the scenery that surrounded us on the way.
The first thing that I sensed was a very soft sensation, as if I were on a bed of feathers and roses, and all the soft things in the world. Automatically, I opened my eyes and sat up straight to look around, and saw a neat shelf of books, with a study desk at its side. A continuous pattern of wallpaper that fitted my taste just right covered the walls. Moving my eyes further to the left, a large closet caught my sight. I walked with bare feet towards it, and I saw that inside was a rack full of garments just right for me.
So, this really is my room...but where's mother and father?
A door creaked slowly and opened. Frightened, I turned towards its direction to see who it was.
"Good afternoon, Shiine," my mother greeted me. "I see you have already acquainted yourself with your room."
"Not really..."
"That's alright. If you don't like the design of the wallpaper, or if you wish to add anything else, you are free to do so."
"Maybe I could do that after my chores," I answered.
"Hey, not so fast!" my father said excitedly as his head popped beside mother's. "We're going out to the seashore later."
"Seashore?"
Both of them exchanged winks.
The trip to the seashore wasn't a very long one. In fact, our house, as I discovered, was just a short walk away from the edge of the land.
I stood on a large boulder where I could look down at the sunset, something we weren't able to enjoy at Mochi-Mochi Mountain. We arrived just in time to see the large yellow-orange sphere hide behind the straight horizon that drew the line between the skies and the earth. Surrounding it were dimming hues from yellow to lavender and dark silhouettes of seagulls trying to catch the sun's last rays, while the dark-blue waters shimmered below.
"You can't take me away from here! This place is awesome!" I exclaimed eagerly.
They followed me up to the rock a few moments after. "These are one of the reasons why we have wanted you to come home to us, Shiine," my mother explained. "Ever since your father and I got married, we did our best never to leave our home here, something not even the King and Queen do not know of, because this place has brought both of us wonderful memories, and we have always wished to share this with you."
My father patted my shoulder. "We also visit the seashore everytime to calm ourselves whenever we experience a crisis. Not that we're teaching you to be dependent on this place to solve all your problems, nor that the best solution to a problem is by pushing it away..."
"...And though we know that the memories you have cherished were spent in Mochi-Mochi Mountain, we wish you experience some of those memories here too, for all the things we weren't able to give you."
Cha-cha...Riiya...Suzu...Marin...Yakko...Teacher Seravi...Teacher Dorothy...
"I know it's hard to set aside something you've always had all your life, but we have also wanted so badly to be fully part of you. And we want to do it starting right now," my mother went on.
"Welcome to the family, Shiine!" my father said, extending both of his arms towards me. I gave him a big hug, and my mother joined the two of us.
Family...
APotBiB © iced*