The baby was born on a dreary rainy day.
Victor was right in front of Victoria's bedroom as soon as she started labor, and he couldn't turn away despite how much her screams pained him. He was scared for both the mother's and child's life as many fathers were.
Victor prayed that the weather will be sunny at least, knowing that Victoria was weak with the cold. But his prayers weren't answered.So he wished that his most important ones will be answered instead.
It all ended with a healthy cry of a child. Victor immediately let himself in even though he always knocked if it weren't for the circumstances. Victor couldn't help but admire Victoria's strength and beauty as he stepped toward her. It was nine hours later since her water broke and yet she was still conscious. She was gently wiping the newborn with a soft cloth, a smile gracing her pink lips.
"Her name is Emily," she said. Her voice was sure yet light, her large eyes filled with love, casting them over to Victor as she said so.
Victor loved these moments when they shared the same thought, Victoria and him. It felt so intimate, something so precious that can only be shared between them. It always reminded him of the first time he talked to Victoria and the piano duet he shared with Emily all those years ago. And over these years he shared many new memories with Victoria, connecting them like unbreakable spider webs.
Victor smiled as he wrapped his long awkward arms around his newborn child and wife, squeezing them like he never hugged anything more precious than his life.
He no longer cared for the dreary rain because his prayers were answered at last.
XXX
Victoria sat mesmerized as she watched her daughter dance under the sunlight, her naked feet making small circles in the soft grass, miraculously avoiding the small blue flowers in bloom. Victoria was always curious as to how her daughter moved so gracefully when she was so stiff and upright like a doll whenever she danced, only knowing how to be swept off her feet by a man.
Emily had her dark brown hair down, her wavy curls let so loosely, shining slightly gold in the sunlight. Victoria's mother always criticized Emily's hair that it was too messy even for a child but Victoria loved it as it was. She too sometimes abandoned her bun to her mother's horror, letting Emily comb it as much as she liked.
She tied blue ribbons in Emily's hair which matched her eyes and let Emily choose her favorite white satin dress which flowed with her movements like melted gold. Victoria thought it looked like a wedding dress, reminding her that her daughter will leave her one day. So she was determined to spend every precious moment with her, making sure that her daughter's dance will be forever engraved in her memory like the last moments of a certain bride.
"Papa!"
She watched as Emily ran into Victor, his no longer awkward arms hugging her tightly.
"You dance so beautifully, my love."
Victoria loved the ring of Victor's voice whenever he said, "my love." She felt it sounded different when he directed the words at her and Emily. Towards Emily, it sounded like church bells echoing in the bright clear morning skies. Towards Victoria, it sounded more like the gentle patter of the summer rain.
"I'm glad you've come, Papa! It's such a beautiful day and Mama just asked me to dance, look!"
Emily continued her dance like an angel gracing mortals with its immortal beauty.
Victoria felt Victor sit next to her, yet Victoria couldn't take her eyes off of their beautiful daughter as if afraid she will disappear.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Victoria whispered, shading them with her white lace umbrella, letting them share a common space just to admire their daughter.
"Yes, she truly is…"
Victoria allowed herself to glance at Victor and found those glazed eyes searching for a memory that he could only share with her with words. But Victoria knew that She must have danced so much like their Emily and that thought comforted her, understanding they were able to share another memory together.
They watched Emily dance until she grew bored and wished to make flower crowns instead. Victor helped her make crowns for each of them before returning to have tea, both taking Emily's hand as she skipped back home.
XXX
Emily loved many things.
She loved stealing glances at her mother as she worked on house finances. She would lower her Latin grammar book and watch as her mother scribbled calculations on a piece of paper before recording them in a large book. She loved the intelligent tilt of her head, her large eyes made larger by her eyeglasses, and her graceful fingers flittering with her quill.
Often her mother would catch her staring so that Emily had no choice but to ask her a question. Her mother was the one who was passionate about her education so Emily was always determined to make her proud. But she was just happy to spend some time with her mother in comfortable silence.
She loved tracing her fingers on her father's drawings of creatures and plants that made him famous. She especially loved her father's drawing of a blue butterfly which he kept hanging in his study. Her father allowed Emily into his study any time she wanted to, letting her examine various plants and insects he brought in to study and draw.
She loved looking over her father's shoulders to see his new drawings, admiring the detail and care he put into them. And when she got bored, she interrupted her father to have him tell stories he loved during his childhood. She especially loved the story about the corpse bride who prioritized the happiness of the one she loved over her own.
But what she loved most was the small piano recitals she held with her father with her mother as the only audience. Her father created the most beautiful and melancholic songs which they played as a duet on one piano. They played off each other so well. Their fingers bounced off the keyboards, their arms crossing each other's playfully which caused a few giggles to erupt between them.
Emily loved so many things as much as she was loved so much.
XXX
Their prayers were answered when the sky was clear on Emily's wedding day.
Victoria believed it wasn't a coincidence when Emily picked up a wedding dress she recognized from a certain bride. She wiped her tears when she helped dress her and insisted she keeps her hair down even though she knew it would infuriate her mother. Emily was surprised but was happy to oblige and asked Victoria to weave blue flowers into her beautiful brown hair.
Victor was the one who made her a bouquet of blue roses. He presented it to her right in front of the door of the church where he will give her hand to the groom.
"Oh, it's beautiful Papa! Thank you!"
Emily looped her arms with her father's, unable to hold her excitement and nervousness.
"After the wedding, there is a story I want to tell you."
"A story? You can tell me now, can you not?"
"No no. Later, my love. Later." He patted Emily's hand before the blast of the organ began.
Victor straightened his back nervously as the doors opened to reveal the virgin road.
He glanced at Emily to find her mesmerized at the sight of the groom in front of them. The groom was giving her a delighted yet awkward smile as if he couldn't believe that all of this wasn't a dream.
Victor found the walk to the altar too long yet too short. He gave away Emily's hand to the groom who held it as if he was scooping a flower petal out of clear water. Victor stepped back and stood next to Victoria who gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
The groom fumbled over his vows, patting his pocket constantly to make sure the ring was still there. Victoria smiled, remembering Victor being a nervous mess when they rehearsed their vows. And she heard Victor give a small chuckle next to her, indicating that they must have reminded themselves of the same memory.
After Emily spoke her vows, so confident and happy, is when both Victoria and Victor started crying. Tears flowed so freely that their visions blurred. They both watched as a blue butterfly fluttered after Emily, walking her new path with her new husband.
