Revamped!

[The fact that I wrote this on Mother's Day weekend is touching.

I was supposed to update this yesterday but I forgot.]

Kai-nd of a Legacy: Part Nine

"Today isn't been a good day for Commonwealth…"

In the kitchen, Winter stands by Levana's side as they both listen to the disheartening urgent newscast about the sudden passing of Mayor Rikan. They both hear the reporter's words and remain silent. Winter became so mesmerized by the ongoing words that she jumps a little at the moment Levana places a hand on her shoulder. Winter looks at Levana's hand and at her face, knowing that even if she was paying attention, it would've still taken her by surprise.

It takes Winter a second to put a hand on top of Levana's and just leave it there. Their relationship has always been separate and yet together. They didn't click together like typical mothers and daughters, but at the end of the day, they acknowledged that they had each other and they liked their relationship the unorthodox way it was.

Levana may be harsher and more bitter, but that was the way she was brought up and understands love to be. Cinder and Winter know and tolerate it. They theorized that this version of Levana would be better than one that demonstrated maternal love.

Blood means you're related. Loyalty means you're family. Although Levana doesn't show it, Winter can't be more grateful for her and Cinder not being abandoning by Levana.

Winter glances back at Jacin who leans against the doorframe of the kitchen. She wipes her eyes and nose with her sleeve as he puts his hands in his pockets. He lightly smiles at her before stepping out to call his parents and tell them that he loves them so much.

-o-

"I'm saddened to announce that our beloved mayor, Mayor Rikan, has passed away earlier this morning…"

Wolf stands outside in the evening, leaning against a building with a lit cigarette being held by his pointer and middle finger. He hears the news of Mayor Rikan from many people who walk right past him. In disbelief, Wolf pulls out his phone and it's the trending topic that fills up his feed. His stomach drops and he can't begin to imagine what Kai must be going through now.

Wolf looks up and sees the businesses around him closing down for the night although there were still hours until their closing time. He notices all the cars heading to their home and here he was, still standing there in shock at the death of the city's mayor and his friend's father. This was a loss for everyone, Wolf realizes, and now everyone's mourning.

Wolf throws his cigarette on the ground and squishes it with the bottom of his shoe, grinding it into the pavement until it was another smudge on the sidewalk. Once done, he starts running home to hug his mother.

-o-

"We owe it to Mayor Rikan for his years of service and dedication to our city of Commonwealth…"

Cress sits next to her dad on the couch and leans on him. Sage wraps his arm around her shoulders and they both just sit there silently as they listen to the news report on the now-late Mayor Rikan. Her face doesn't remain dry as they talk about his life not only with Commonwealth but with Mariko and Kai while showing a whole album's worth of family photos throughout the years. She can't even begin to imagine what Kai must be going through since she hasn't been through that loss herself.

Cress can't bear to picture a world without her dad, especially since her mom isn't around. Her story is different than Kai's though. Unlike him, her mom left and didn't die. Now that it's only her and her father, she wants to stay that way.

-o-

"With him, we have witnessed and experienced a new light to the city that no previous mayor has brought."

Scarlet turns off the television. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and scrolls through the notifications which are all the same as what the news was broadcasting with irritating hashtags of seemingly empty condolences. At least they sound genuine. Scarlet sighs as each article meshes into one giant spiel about Mayor Rikan's death and legacy in Commonwealth, and she puts her phone down. She needs pure silence from all this.

Scarlet feels overwhelmed and suffocated by all this that she takes off her red sweatshirt just to be able to breathe. Why was she crying? She didn't lose someone. She still has her parents although they haven't been by her side in years. Nobody died for her and yet here she was unable to breathe because of all this. How could she begin to explain herself when so many emotions engulf her at once?

-o-

"Mayor Rikan is survived by his son, Kai…"

At that moment, Thorne looks up from where he was sitting in the living room and sees his parents standing behind them. He isn't sure if they were there the whole time or if they just got there. He knows that they're sad because Mayor Rikan was not only a close friend but they were his supporters.

Or maybe they're sad because a boy his age no longer has his parents.

Even his dog is resting his head on his lap as if he can read the room.

Thorne looks back at the television but doesn't listen to the report. He thinks about how he still has both of his parents even if he sometimes wished that he didn't. Thorne realizes that he can choose his friends and the good people you decide to surround yourself with, but he can't choose his family. Thorne still has two parents and that he took that for granted since he doesn't love them as much as he should. If people were to ask, he would say that his parents were fine people. He had no reason to complain. They bought him a car and let him do whatever he wants. They weren't total jerks or anything, they're fundamentally decent people.

-o-

Cinder walks down the silent hospital hallway. She couldn't find it in her to leave because Kai needed her because he couldn't be alone now, especially since Torin was handling all the legal paperwork. As she heads back to find him, she thinks about how lucky she is not to have witnessed or have been old enough to experience her mother's death. She's glad it happened when she was a baby.

Then there was the death of Winter's father that happened when she and Winter were only thirteen-years old. Cinder didn't cry although Evret was the closest person she had to a father. Was she cold-hearted because tears still aren't running down her face? Because Cinder once thought Levana was heartless up until Evret's funeral where she saw her with a wet face and red eyes. It's sad how it takes the loss of a precious human life for people to realize where they went wrong in life; how someone so valuable has to be taken before they take time to reflect.

Cinder has been through this too many times to know that she sees the world in a different light after experiencing the same trauma multiple times, and gain more of an understanding of what was going on. What she did learn from Evret's funeral was that even if she didn't cry, if she does find it in her heart to love and has to sit through this again, the she has to make that person their everything. It's in her best interest to get better at this and not the signature Blackburn bitterness.

She finds Kai sitting in the hospital lounge and heads over. She takes a seat next to him and waits for him to start the talking to see if he's in the mood or if he would rather sit silently.

Cinder notes how Kai looks at the moment: his hair is dishevelled, his eyes are rimmed red, and his face is pale with streaks of fallen tears on it. After experiencing the death of Winter's father and seeing Winter like this, Cinder knows that she isn't sure how to handle these types of situations. She isn't sure when he woke up and got told the news, but she knows he heard before Commonwealth.

Kai keeps his gaze to the floor. "I can't believe you're still here. I thought you would've left. Where did you stay overnight?"

Cinder shrugs. "I was kind of wandering around, calling Levana. I'm having a hard enough time leaving you behind or alone now."

"Then don't." Kai takes a breath as he pleads. "I know that you can survive without your parents. I see all of you live with your wonderful non-white-picket-fence families all the time."

"Kai," Cinder starts, "nobody your age should have to go through pain like this."

"What about you?"

"I don't count. You have substantial emotions for them, Kai, and I barely have names and stories. I don't know who my father is and the only stories I have about my mother are either too horrendous to hear or too fabricated by the press. I never knew or lived a life with my parents. You have all those memories and experiences." She takes a breath. "I think our moms made that maternal fantasy as a way for us to find and look after each other."

Kai bites down on his bottom lip as he takes Cinder's hand into his and lies down on her lap. Cinder runs her free hand through his hair as she looks up at the ceiling, feeling the exact same as she did with Winter back when Evret died.

[The next chapter will be up tomorrow granted that I remember.] [2020: Now, I'm not kidding, I have reminders on my phone. I'm usually good at remembering, though.]