Rivia: Ajayib, Town of Central Rivia, Town Clinic.

• Arell •

"Arell, is that you?"

As he stepped into the town clinic, he realised that Mother had already packed her things neatly back into her medicine bag and was sitting by the entrance, waiting for him. He asked nervously, "Mother, Arell's late?" 

"No, you aren't late, mea lux," she chuckled and reached towards him. He caught her hand immediately and wrapped his fingers in firmly. Her brows raised in slight surprise as she mentioned, "I smell lilacs." 

"Yes, Arell bought Mother flowers," he replied excitedly, handing her the bouquet together with the scent pouches. "Hashim said to bring these too." 

Curious, he watched as Mother brought one of them close to her nose and her expression dulled. He became concerned and quickly asked, "Do you not like it, Mother?" 

"Arell, it's not that," she smiled lovingly towards him, her hand smoothed gently over a side of his face. "Have you tried smelling it?" 

"Yes," he answered accordingly before popping up with another question, "Can Arell ask what it is?" 

"Of course, mea lux," she replied with a tinge of sadness etched in her voice. "This is the scent that your father wears." 

"Will Mother tell me about Father?" he murmured and noticed how Mother's shoulder slumped slightly in dejection. Unease floated into him and he tugged gently on the sleeves of her kaftan, evading the topic hastily, "Shall we go? The town is filled with many flowers!" 

Mother pulled back a little, putting her hand on top of his and pleaded in a soft voice, "Wait, mea lux. Please wait." 

He stopped on his feet and stood in front of his mother, waiting patiently for her to say something. Then, he saw her eyes fluttered open and was slightly taken aback by it. 

Mother hardly ever open her eyes, she'd always mentioned that it wouldn't matter since she couldn't see and the colour of her eyes would grab unnecessary attention to them. Yet, she didn't know how much he loved them and the way they sparkled so much more stunningly than all the glass, jewels and crystals he had ever been shown with. 

Mother looked in a general direction that she assumed he was in, and he gazed into her unfocused eyes. A sad expression pulled from the corner from his lips as he wondered what could've taken all the light away from such a pretty pair of eyes. He didn't dare to ask, knowing that this had to be a difficult topic for her to tell.

Arell had never resented her for anything. Mother had given in her best to raise him single-handedly all these years and she had gave him all the love she could ever give. There's really nothing that he could ask for more. He's only five, but he knew. He knew that Mother had her reasons. 

He had only wished for was for her to make peace with her sadness from all the nights he knew that she would cry by herself. Of course, she had never noticed that whenever she's out standing by the balcony, Thunder and he would be waiting right behind just to make sure that when she's awake late at night, she wouldn't trip herself when she moved around the house. 

"Your father is a really good person. He is kind, dependable, warm and loving. But something happened that pulled us away from him. Please understand that he definitely didn't abandon you, mea lux. If he knew about you, I'm sure he would be so eager to see you," Mother sniffled, seemingly trying to swallow all the choked up tears in her throat when her tone altered. "I promise you that he would love you as much as I do, Arell." 

"Mother." He removed his hands from hers and shot forward to hug her tight. "Arell understands." 

"I'm so sorry, mea lux. Mother is so sorry," she sobbed, planting a soft kiss into his hair as she combed the short dark strands of his hair with her fingers. "I believe that one day, the three of us would be back together. Please have patience, my child." 

"Fata viam invenient, Mother," he assured her.
(Translate: Fates will find a way.)

At his mention, she let out a breathless laugh in a tone of disbelief, "Are you even five?"

He giggled proudly, "Arell is five, but Arell's a big boy now."

"You said you'll bring me to town," she laughed, her eyes suddenly brightened with happiness. She handed him an opened palm and asked, "Bring your mother on a date, will you?" 

"Yes!" Arell took her hand unhesitatingly and rushed her towards the exit of the town clinic. 

※

They went towards the town, stopping by several shops to get the remaining things from the list that he didn't get the chance to buy from before.

"Elianna!"

At the sound of her name, Mother turned around and Arell followed to see that it was the lady from the bakery.

"Sadiya?" Mother beamed. "I heard that you've been away for a while! How have you been?"

"I have been great!" Sadiya replied before turning towards Arell and she bent down to face him. "Are you little Arell? You've definitely grown to become a handsome young lad!"

"Thank you," he nodded with flushed cheeks and that made Sadiya burst out laughing.

"Everyone said that you've been such a joy, even my daughter, Maya said so," she teased. "I can surely see why now." 

Sadiya straightened herself as she stood and led them into the family store as she asked, "Elianna, what can I get you?" 

"I'll let my son decide. Go ahead and choose what you like, mea lux," Mother patted the top of his head and a wave of excitement washed over him. He had always frequent this bakery with Thunder but was never given a chance to choose whatever he wanted because Thunder's very picky with food and often disagreed to his choices. 

Cheerily, he hopped along the aisle and started telling Sadiya what he would like while his mother waited patiently for him near the entrance. Once he was done, he went back to Mother and asked for some coins. But Sadiya halted her from reaching for the pouch and took her hand in hers. "It's on us, Elianna. Please accept our goodwill." 

"Sadiya, this wouldn't do!" Mother gasped. 

"Please accept it, Elianna," Sadiya insisted. "You had refused my payment for the treatment in the clinic the other time. This is just a small return of gratitude." 

Arell stood by his mother's side and from the corner of his eyes, he saw someone moved past them in great speed. Before he could move his mother aside, the man ran in between her and Sadiya, snatching the coin pouch that was tied to her waist tie. Mother stumbled but regained her balance immediately. She straightened her arm to help Sadiya up while Arell had his eyes locked at the thief who had sprinted past them. 

He shot forward, running in the direction where the thief had escaped. "Arell!" Mother shouted from behind in shock but he was determined and had his attention fixed on the escapee. 

"Thief!" Arell called out, nimbly weaving through the crowd of people in the streets, never allowing the thief out of this sight. Panicking, the thief turned his head around and noticed he was being chased. Arell saw him grumbling angrily under his breath and hadn't looked ahead. Eventually, the thief ran into a fairly built and tall man and Arell exclaimed, "Stop him!" 

The man stared at him but snapped into attention immediately. He shot his arm out and forced the thief down to the ground as he grabbed the coin pouch from his hand. Behind Arell, a sudden mist of darkness appeared and a pair of hands folded around his small body. Turning around, he realised that it was Mother.

"Arell," Mother called him and he noticed the amount of panic in her voice. Remorse filled him when he knew that his rash actions had caused her to worry. 

"This should be yours." The man who stopped the thief walked towards them and threw the coin pouc which Arell stretched his hand out and caught it mid-air. 

At the sound of the man's voice, he felt Mother stiffened. Surprised, he lifted his gaze to look at the man's face. He stared into his brilliant blue eyes that seemed to contain the entire ocean and cerulean sea within them. Arell had also noticed that his hair was cropped neatly to the sides in a fashion that didn't resemble the townspeople. Fascinatingly, his hair was just as dark as his, in a shade that almost resembled the night sky. 

A sudden gush of wind that breezed through them also brought about a faint scent of mint and sandalwood in the air. He simply stared at the man who stood in front of them as he recalled something that Mother had said while they were back in the town clinic: 

This is the scent that your father wears. 

※

my heart is pounding so fast.
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