Revamped!

[So, your girl was in a bad mood because fake people suck, but coming here and updating or writing always makes me feel better.] [2020: I had a moment where I wondered what was happening to me during this chapter and now I remember.]

Kai-nd of a Legacy: Part Four

She wears a lace white dress that covers her whole body except her neck. Her thin, dark hair falls out of its tight bun. And now, it's flying around her. She turns to look at him, and it's almost like her gaze stopped time.

It's his mother. She's alive and she's well. Her smile is light, warm, maternal. She stretches her hand out for him to take, her fingers slightly curving for his to fit into.

"Sweet dreams, Kai…" Her voice almost sings. "And don't be surprised if I make a cameo in it…"

Kai suddenly wakes up and slowly rises, resting on his elbow but remaining on his side. He used to have more dreams about his mother when he was younger and his grief and memories were still fresh. Though the details of the dreams varied, the surprise and fruitfulness of them were always the same. He didn't expect to see her at all. This time, he's more shocked than ever that his mother made her cameo.

Kai feels his pillow and it's damp from the tears that fell mid-dream. His fatigue is gone and he can't bring it to himself to go back to sleep. So, he gets up from bed and heads over to his desk. He turns on the lamp before taking a seat and pulls out his mother's journal. He opens it and turns to an entry he hasn't read yet.

"My baby boy lies in my lap and sleeps most of the way as I catch up on my sewing. Kai's fussing messed up my stitching but I bore it all with love."

"He's remarkably independent, and it's scary what a strong character he has. It's very hard to get him to change his mind but that's what makes him not only a good mayor but an even better husband and father."

"Last night, I wasn't asleep. I had been moments ago but woke up and just lay dozing as my lungs feel like they're burning."

"This cough is so prolonged – and I'm so afraid and worried. I'm alone with this illness and can't even see my little boy or else he will get infected…"

"I had an enlightening dream a few nights ago; it was so vivid, so very real I can't get it out of my mind - Kai was a grown man and resembled his father. He was holding her hand as she wore all white. She looked just like her mother. Both had matching rings and walked on crushed rose petals. Chan and I would've been happy. Our babies were getting married … if only we could've both been there to witness it in real life…"

Kai closes the journal and rests his head on the cover, wiping his eyes from what he just read. A part of him was happy his tears didn't land on his mother's words. He closes his eyes and dozes off. The more details Kai read about his mother, the weaker he feels himself becoming to all this new information. Not only did he learn about his parents when they first had him, but he heard his mother's dreams and hopes for him - mostly seeming to revolve around her dreams about him and this mystery girl.

Was the girl in his dream his mother or his future bride?

-o-

Kai wakes up when he feels someone poking him. He feels the outline of his mother's journal on his face due to sleeping right on it. He turns around in his chair and sees Wolf and Thorne there, staring at him with expressions that were a mix of confusion and concern.

"Dude, you have a bed," Wolf says, pointing right at it. He looks on his desk and sees the leather notebook with a ribbon on it. "Is that your mom's journal?"

Kai nods.

"Oh…" Thorne mutters excitedly as he sits on the edge of Kai's bed. "Any news on the mystery girl?"

"Her mother's name is Chan?" Kai says, uncertain if that's a real name or not.

"What if this betrothed girl isn't even from Commonwealth?" Thorne questions.

"Great," Kai says, slapping his hands on his desk. "That narrows our search to the entire planet!"

Kai groans as he slides down his chair in frustration. Wolf runs his hand up and down the back of his neck as Thorne tries to think of a remedy to all this. Their already-impossible search just became more complicated.

"Let's think…" Thorne says, now standing again. "If you're the son of a mayor, then maybe you got set up with a daughter from a family of equal status."

"Elite's daughter?" Wolf guesses. "CEO's daughter? Billionaire's daughter? Another politician's daughter?"

"I don't know," Kai mutters. "I don't know anything. I just want my mom."

To the surprise of both Wolf and Thorne, Kai starts sobbing. They could only assume that this was the first time that he has let himself go after hearing that his dad was sick. Wolf and Thorne look at each other, wondering what would be an appropriate response to this unexpected event.

Wolf claps a hand on Kai's shoulder and pats it. Thorne does the same to Kai's other shoulder.

"There, there…" They both say in sync.

-o-

Later in the day, Kai showered and changed his clothes. His dad told him what was happening later so he had to groom himself to look pleasing to at least presentable. Although with previously knowing the majority of the people who will be in attendance, he didn't feel the need to pull out his best suit. Besides, it would be his dad, Torin, and Levana; all of whom have seen him in jeans. However, this fourth person hasn't. He doesn't remember the last time he saw this man.

Kai enters his dad's house office where he sees his dad standing at the window with Torin. They both look at Kai as he walks in. Kai watches as his father coughs into a handkerchief that resulted in having spots of blood on it. As his dad crumples it into disappearance in his fist, Kai pretends he never saw that just to make himself feel better.

"Kai…" Rikan starts. Kai looks up at him. "You don't have to be here but I'm glad you are."

Kai nods. "Anything for a good reading."

Rikan laughs a little which enlightens Kai. "I'm not that old or wise so this will isn't a memoir, Kai."

Before Kai could respond, his father's lawyer walks in with Levana trailing in shortly after. As the lawyer puts his briefcase down and starts pulling out paperwork, Kai can't help but stare at how much there is just for a final will and testament. He couldn't process how he's seeing it in print.

"Dad…" Kai asks, just to distract himself. "What's Levana doing here?"

Kai didn't necessarily intend to come off as rude if he did. He was only curious. Kai knew that he was here since his dad wanted him to read the will; Torin as a witness since he's a close family friend and will be Kai's guardian in an unspeakable ending; and his lawyer because he wrote it and a figure of the law had to be present. Levana, however, he didn't know the reason for. Their families weren't even close and he only knew Levana to be a workmate of his father.

Levana steps forwards towards Kai and her intimidation makes him regret asking. This woman is frightening but he could assume that is exactly how she survived in the world raising her niece and stepdaughter on her own.

"The reason I'm here in Commonwealth is because your father called me here and asked me to work for him," Levana answers. "At first, I declined the job because of my girls and I didn't want them to leave all that they had in Luna when they were still building their lives. Then, he told me that he was sick and needed an extra assistant for work, all while my girls needed that change. The reason I'm here today is to be a second witness to the will."

Speechless, Kai nods and mutters an almost inaudible thanks. Levana smirks at him as she turns to the lawyer who started discussing the will with Rikan and Torin. Then, Kai notices the will being passed to him. He nervously takes it. He looks at all the other adults who watch him but his eyes only land on his father, whom he cares about compared to everyone else present at the moment.

"Dad," Kai says, "this is your final will and testament with all those codicils and amendments. There's no coming back from this."

"That's the point," Rikan replies softly yet confidently.

Kai didn't say anything but he hated that answer and the way it was said. Yes, he understood that people die but he didn't like how it felt as if his dad was dying soon. It sounded so certain. He didn't want to see a near future with that in it. He forces himself to look at the written words on the will and, like with his mother's journal, he tries not to cry in it; even if all the subtitles like codicil, custody, and distribution of wealth all triggered him. There was no way he would cry in front of these adults, especially his dad.

-o-

That evening, hours after the final will signing, Kai returns to his dad's house office to see his dad sitting at his desk. His dad acknowledges his presence and appreciates it, offering him a seat. Kai slowly walks in, sits down, and places his mother's journal on his desk. Rikan looks at the journal for a moment before meeting Kai's eyes.

"Mom had some entries in there about some girl she wanted me to marry," Kai tells him. "Any clue as to who she is?"

Rikan leans back in his chair and thinks. To help, Kai opens his mother's journal and points out the entries in question. Rikan puts on his glasses and starts reading through it. As he waits, Kai looks at all the medications sitting in a basket on the corner of his dad's desk. He never knew there were so many and that didn't even include the newly prescribed ones.

Kai gets distracted by his dad chuckling at his mother's words. He holds the journal on his chest as he sits up again to face Kai.

"This girl's name currently escapes my mind but I do know who she is," Rikan says. Kai smiles brightly for the first time in a while which greatly enlightens Rikan. "Or at least, I know about her. I never met her or her mother. Mariko studied abroad, some time was in Luna, The European Federation - she's been everywhere. After all that, she met me and we settled here in Commonwealth. Then, we got married and had you."

Excited, Kai asks, "Can you tell me more?"

"Of course."

It wasn't for learning the mystery girl's identity. She was at the back of Kai's mind at the moment. He just wanted to learn more about his mother's life and bond more with his dad.

[I didn't mean for an Oedipus Complex at the end of the first part. I wasn't aiming or intending for one.]