8: Slowly Getting Over
Series*
Shiine·etc*
General*
AftertheWedding*
"...We'll all go to Mochi-Mochi Mountain, stay there with you for about a month, and let you decide if you wish to live with us or with your Teacher Dorothy," my father told me one morning at breakfast.
My one-year stay with my parents and Iris almost went by without my knowing it. They even had to remind me that I would soon have to return to Mochi-Mochi Mountain. This put me in a dilemma even bigger than the one I had before, because this time it was my real home I didn't want to leave, and somehow I felt like a traitor. Not wanting to see Cha-cha, Miss Dorothy and the others implied that I wanted to forget them completely...but I didn't want to! Who wouldn't want to see the girl of your dreams...and the person you first called mother...not to mention all my childhood friends and teachers I had grown up with?
It was mainly because of Iris. She has already brought me a great deal of happiness ever since she was born. I want to see her grow up...every second of her life. I will teach her the greatest skills in magic I know, and some day, she might even replace Teacher Seravi as the World's Greatest Magician!
That was too hard on Teacher Seravi, though. "But I want to stay with Iris!" I said, almost whining.
"You'll have four weeks to think about it. Who knows, you might change your mind? Look at what happened before. It was Dorothy you didn't want to leave, right? There will be a lot of time to think about that when you arrive there, but the more important thing is for you to have a good time, and to feel better when you see you friends once again."
I nodded obediently, and suddenly caught a glimpse of Teacher Dorothy when she cried silently during my speech. Her gray-violet eyes shined with great pride and at the same time sadness as she watched me on the stage.
We've shared a special bond...like mothers and sons... her words repeated inside his head.
Teacher...I'm coming...
I could hear muffled voices from inside the castle, and my heart started beating faster as I waited with my parents for them to open the gates of the castle.
"Shiine!" Cha-cha cried out with joy as she broke my thoughts, almost screaming, and ran towards me excitedly. It wasn't fair though, as I thought about it, because never in my life did she hug me...not even once...because all her affection was focused on Riiya.
Still, I would settle for her enthusiasm and eagerness to see me rather than nothing at all. "Hi, Cha-cha!" I greeted her.
Cha-cha's parents, Lord Genus, Teacher Seravi, and Teacher Dorothy followed, and like all, if not most adults, they walked much slower than my friends, and approached the reunited group after a while.
My teacher, who was happier than anyone else to see me, including Cha-cha, bent over and extended her arms to give me her motherly embrace. "If only I could carry you the way I would do to you before, I would have done it without any hesitation."
I laughed, but ended it abruptly because I noticed that something wasn't right about her. Because I had let my emotions temporarily take over me before my sensibility, I reacted very lately and noticed that her hair was now golden, like the way it was when she was still young. "You finally gave in to Teacher Seravi's wish?" I asked her.
"No, they finally agreed on something aside from admitting that they once refused to let their true feelings show, and covered it up by fighting with each other," the King answered before Seravi or Dorothy could respond. "Not to mention saying they love one another."
I frowned. If I leave in a month, who knows what other major event will take place? They might even forget to tell me about it if I would be away! "They said that when I was away? It's unfair!"
The Queen smiled at me. "Shiine, we all know that they would soon say those things once they get married."
"But I wanted to be with them when they say it! I want to hear the words from their mouths!" I teased.
"I love you Dorothy," Teacher Seravi told Teacher Dorothy as soon as I asked for it, and then kissed her on the cheek. Teacher Dorothy's face became as white as a sheet and then turned pink.
Riiya hooted loudly, also enjoying what was going on.
"Kiss him too!" Cha-cha said.
I joined her. "Kiss him too!"
Soon, everyone chanted the three words, and I had completely forgotten that I planned to stay there for only a month.
I'm back, and that's all that matters...
"Shiine," Teacher Dorothy said softly, eyeing up and down silently. She took time out to talk to me without any interruptions. I knew she meant it to be very serious and at the same time sentimental. "Look at you! You've grown up so fast..."
I blushed slightly at the compliment. "Not really..."
"Don't deny it, dear. I can see it from how you have reacted, smiled, and talked these past few weeks. You seem to have learned a lot from your parents throughout that one year with them."
She turned around, and I knew she was about to cry.
I reached for her hand and grasped it tightly. "Teacher...please don't get jealous of my parents. What they have done was nothing close to the warmth you've shown to me throughout these years. They were just trying to make up for their absence in my life. I came back here to show how much I missed you!"
"Oh...Shiine..."
I told her the whole story about Iris' birth, the conversation leading from one story to another, and soon we were reminiscing the many past memories the two of us shared while we laughed our heads off and with it. Neither of us knew whether they were tears of joy or sadness, for both of us were feeling the two at the same time. But in truth, we were just trying to hide one through the other.
"Do you remember what I told you in the opening remarks for your 'farewell party'?" Suzu asked me under the shade of a tree one afternoon, with both of us leaning against its trunk as we felt the cool summer breeze that flew past our faces, a soothing feeling we both enjoyed. It was the day before I had to go back with my parents.
"Hmmm..." I said, trying to recall what her words were. Of course! "I know! You said that all of you will always be there for me and that you'll never forget me. Gee, I've never heard you talk like that before, Suzu."
She turned pink for a moment. "I wanted you to feel better, thinking that you would be leaving us for quite a while."
"And if Cha-cha, Riiya, Marin or Yakko cannot promise you that, can you consider mine?"
I tried to humor her. "Prove it!"
"I'll follow you back to your home and help you with whatever you find difficulty in," she replied. Her face stared intently at mine, and her eyes never blinked.
She's really serious about this. "How about your grandfather?"
"He would understand. He always tells me that doing something for a friend is the most noble thing to do."
"Well, the first one to visit me will become my best friend because that person misses me the most," I challenged her.
"What if your Teacher Dorothy doesn't come to visit? Does that mean she doesn't miss you?"
"I'll have to make her an exception because I know you can't keep her away from Teacher Seravi that easily!"
We laughed for a while, and then it became unbelievably quiet.
"You know," I said. "I won't need to find out whom I'll have for a best friend..."
"...Because I know you'll be that person."
Her voice became a little shaky, and I knew she was close to tears. "I'll miss you, Shiine..."
"I'll miss you too..." I replied, putting my arm around her, and rested my head on her shoulder. "...best friend."
Cha-cha...
I shut my eyes, and tried to forget my return to Mochi-Mochi Mountain. I was missing every moment of it, but I knew my one-month stay with them would not be enough to convince me to stay with them forever. Somehow, I felt that Iris was more important than Cha-cha right now. As the days passed, I pushed my thoughts and fantasies about her farther and farther away, as I slowly opened my eyes to the truth that only a small amount of her love was for me, and everything else was for Riiya. She might have treated me as one of her best friends, but I loved her more than that. Cha-cha didn't care that much, and it broke my heart realizing it.
Teacher Dorothy...
I came back only, if not mainly, because of Teacher Dorothy, for I had missed her as my mother and my closest friend, and she might have been missing me too. But now that she and Teacher Seravi have reconciled fully with each other, I knew that she didn't need me by her side anymore. Teacher Seravi would be there for her, and everyone there would see to it that he would take care of her.
Suzu...
My time there wasn't wasted that much, though. Suzu and I became best friends at the last minute, and at that time I really felt what it was like to have someone by your side...not literally...but emotionally. She was the most sincere friend I have ever met, and I knew that she meant every single word she told me. It was unfair to leave her at the moment when we had just gotten closer to each other, but those kind of situations are exactly what we needed to keep the bond even stronger.
APotBiB © iced*