I was sitting on my bed, wearing a dark purple nightdress, with the sweater in my hand, though under the cover. I waited for him patiently. It doesn't take that much time to pack up the food. Perhaps he had a hunch that I was going to take a bath and that's why he didn't come in yet?

The warm bath had made my eyelids heavier than they already were, and I was trying my very best to not fall asleep before giving Black his sweater.

Just then I heard a soft knock of his knuckles on the door. Ever since the day I came out of the bathroom in only a towel, he took more care of not invading my privacy and he started doing these small things like knocking on the door. He was learning manners.

"Come in," I replied.

He entered quietly. That sad expression was still on his face but heavily disguised. He quickly took off his coat and hanged it. Then he proceeded towards the bed. I took a deep breath, calmed my heart and showed him the sweater. He was surprised.

"What is it?" The lights were still on, but what did he think I got him? A white ball?

"I brought it for you." I threw it in his direction. Black caught the sweater and opened the foldings. He looked at it as if it was an object from outer space.

His lips formed a crescent moon shaped smile and tears started dropping out of his eyes. I should have named him Crybaby instead of Ablackwing that day. I had no idea why he was crying this time. It was so... annoying. He just keeps crying, crying and crying...

"You don't like it?"

"I absolutely love it." After saying that, he started wearing that sweater.

"Then why are you crying?"

"Because I'm so happy right now. I can't help it." There was a pure expression on his face. Nothing else but happy tears. I once saw a video of a little girl who cried of happiness because she got a new kitty. Black reminded me of that girl. And just thinking about that made my annoyance dissipate into nothingness. It was not annoying. It was so freaking cute!

Black looked so good in that sweater. The sweater was a perfect fit for my Black, but those sleeves were a little long. I was proud of my choice. He wouldn't have looked that good in the same sweater of black colour.

"How is it?"

"It's so good... It's soft... So warm... And just awesome... It's just..." He walked towards me I don't know what to say right now. "I'm just too happy to be true."

"I'm glad you like it."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Black continuously said.

"Don't you know the rule?"

"What rule?"

"In friendship, you don't say thank you."

"But if I appreciate what my friend did for me, what do I say?" He questioned.

"You take them for granted," I replied.

He chuckled in a low voice and then walked towards me. When he sat on the bed, I realized his laugh was more adorable than his smile. He slowly crawled towards me. What was he doing? He leaned towards me. My heart started beating so hard. Some unknown force made me lean towards him too.

What was I doing!?

"I can hug my best friend in return. Can't I?"

"It's up to you." I couldn't follow his actions with my eyes. I saw him spread his arms wide afar. The next thing I felt was something crashing on me. I let myself be taken by that force. I fell back on the bed and he fell over me. He started rubbing his nose near the back of my ears. It tickled as I felt his breath on my skin. Both of his hands were holding mine.

Instead of hugging, he started to cuddle with me, and there was no escape.

"Are you taking advantage of me?"

"I guess I am."

"Why can't I get angry at you? Why are you so sweet?"

"It's your fault."

"How? Explain yourself!" I demanded.

"You're so sweet that you make me want to be sweet like you." I had no response to that. I was far from being sweet. From 1 to 10 in sweetness, I'll give myself a total of 5 points at max. And there was this guy who was giving me all ten.

After a while, Black got back to his side of the bed. I guess he was concerned that I wasn't comfortable. I was instead feeling too good, but I couldn't shamelessly ask him to stay there, could I? Maybe some other day.

"For taking my advantage, you have to tell me why you look so gloomy before? It was very unusual." It might not be the best time to ask, but I still asked.

"You will not let it slide, will you?"

"Nope, nope, noppedy nope," I replied and chuckled again on my weird statement. But soon his expressions had changed to that of calmness.

"You know, I was born in the wilds..." he began his story. "Raised in the wilds is a better term. You know, the first memory I have is that I was sitting inside a hollow trunk of a tree at night. I remember the sounds of all those beasts. They roared, they howled, the sound of insects chirping, birds flying in hunt for prey. It was so... frightening. And it felt so lonely in there."

"What about your parents?"

"I have no idea. Wilds are all that remember... I didn't go out of that tree. I couldn't. I starved, but I didn't die. I remember that some days later, I started hearing some other strange sounds. This new sound was comforting and soft. I don't know how but that voice reached out to me and it felt that that voice will make all those frightful noises disappear. As days passed, that warm sound started getting louder and I could hear it more clearly. It was the lifestream... It was mother."

Tears started to fall out of my eyes when I heard about his past. Even his childhood days were so sad. Who leaves kids in the forest alone? And then later some bad demon cut off his wing. His life was one big tragedy. And yet he smiled so beautifully when he looks at me. I couldn't help but cry when I thought about that.

I instinctively held his hand in a bid to comfort him. But he brought his hand up near my face. He wiped away my tears just like I once wiped his while saying that it's nothing to cry about. After a while, I did stop crying. I did not want him to worry for no reason.

"What is this lifestream you keep talking about?" I asked and tried to change the topic. I was curious about this lifestream. I remember he said things about lifestream before too.

"Ah, I never explained it to you... It's difficult to describe the lifestream. Lifestream is like... The life energy of a world."

"I still can't understand it."

"It's hard to explain... I don't know... Lifestream is like an endless river. When a person dies, his lifeforce merges with this ethereal river. And when someone is born, that person unconsciously takes the help of the lifestream to form his lifeforce. Over time, the lifestream gains sentience. Lifestream is all life and all lives are lifestream." Black tried hard to explain, but it was too much for me to take on such a new concept.

"Hmm..."

"We call lifestream of our world as Eden. Mother is the oldest of all lifestreams. The lifestream of Earth is Gaia, the youngest of all."

"Wow!" I was not surprised by knowing lifestream. I was surprised because I recalled that Black could talk to the lifestream. Was that not like talking to that spiritual entity of the whole planet that is connected to everything? It was just too amazing. A part of me wondered what kind of talks he used to have with them.

"You know, you're the first person I got in touch with aside of mother. You're the first friend I made in my life." I felt awe in my heart. I had unknowingly stolen so many of his firsts.

"Mother doesn't talk with me anymore. I know she's angry at me, but I had no other choice back then. It has been better but sometimes, when you're not around, I still that little boy in myself, sitting inside a tree. Without mother's soothing voice, it feels something is missing in me. It feels so weird. I don't know... It feels... sad."

"I get it."

"So what do you think is wrong with me?"

"I'll tell if you agree on one condition."

"I agree," he said without hesitation. An idiot, I could have asked him anything.

"I didn't even tell you what it is."

"I don't care. I agree." Black stubbornly replied.

"Go dance around like a monkey." I joked and looked at him. To my surprise, Black was getting ready to get out of bed. He was such an innocent person.

I held his hand, stopping him from going anywhere, and told him. "I was just kidding."

He smiled wryly, embarrassed by what he was about to do. Some other day I would want to see how he would look while dancing like a monkey.

"Well, my condition is that starting today, you won't hide anything from me. No matter what it is." I didn't want him to hide if he ever feels sad or bad. If I knew that he was feeling sad alone, I would have surely tried to come back home sooner.

"I won't."

"Pinky promise?" And I held out my hand in front of me while showing my pinky finger. It was so childish of me.

"Oh, I've heard of that!" Black held his hand out too and our little finger got entwined together.

"Pinky promise. I won't hide anything from you..." He said and pushed his thumb against my thumb. "And seal with a kiss." Our thumbs touched together and my face got all red as I remembered how I kissed him on his lips when he was down. He made our thumbs touch in such an innocent manner. Sometimes I feel that I'm too rotten for him.

"So tell me now. What am I missing?"

"You're just lonely without your mother... And from today onwards, I'll never let you feel alone."