She wakes up early in the morning, and stretches as she yawns. With a tug on the bottom of the curtain, she reveals the window and rolls up the curtain to sit at the top of the window. Kyma runs her fingers through her hair, occasionally getting caught in the knots. She frowns slightly when the knots don't just slip out of each other due to the saltwater, and makes a promise to herself that she will go to the falls and rinse off later. She slips off of the bed and pads over to the washroom to comb her hair out. It takes much less time than it had the day before, and Kyma pops into the living room and then the kitchen, only to discover that she is the first one to wake. With a small sigh, she returns to the room and grabs the book of letters, resolved to reading them until her mother wakes. The book opens with a barely audible crackle of pages, and Kyma glances briefly at the first letter before flipping to the next one.

Kyma stops for a moment, remembering that day. Although it had occurred a decade ago, she could remember how beautiful that day was. The sunset was phenomenal, and so were the stars as she watched them later. She shakes her head to pull herself out of her thoughts and returns to the letter.

After a moment, Kyma leans back against the stone wall and tightly clutches the book to her chest, silently weeping. There is the faintest sound of footsteps from outside her room and Kyma looks up through her blurry vision to see her mother standing in the doorway. Lahira rushes over the instant she sees Kyma's tear-blotched face.

"Kyma! What's wrong, Seachild?"

The sound of the endearment sends a new wave of tears pouring down Kyma's face, causing Lahira to sit on the edge of the bed in alarm. Kyma scoots over to her mother, dragging the blankets with her, and leans against Lahira's side. With a soft sigh, Lahira folds her arm over Kyma, tucking her into her side even further.

"What happened, Kyma? What's making you cry?"

Kyma lets out a teary gulp and pulls her arm away from her chest, revealing the book. "I read some of the letters."

Lahira nods and frowns down at Kyma. "Why did the letters make you cry?"

A few more tears slip down Kyma's cheeks before she wipes them away. "You sound so sad in the letters. So full of anguish. I can feel how heartbroken you are as you write them. And the tear stains don't help either."

A single tear slips down Lahira's cheek as she speaks softly, gently. "Oh, Kyma. The letters weren't meant to make you sad."

"I know, but you're so sad when you're writing them."

Lahira pulls Kyma in tighter as they sit on the bed together. "I'm better now, all right? Let's wipe away your tears, and go eat some breakfast, okay Seachild?" That doesn't bring a smile to Kyma's face, so her mother adds something. "I have some starfruit." Finally, Kyma's lips pull up into a tiny smile. "There we go. Come on."

Kyma follows her mother into the kitchen, occasionally wiping away a stray tear. Fondly a few moments pass by before they are seated beside each other on the bench, each with a plate of food.
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Like before, let me know if the letter doesn't load, all right? I can always pop in and fix it. Now, how sad did reading the letter make you feel? Was it as bad as it was for Kyma? I know it definitely made me sad. What do you think Lahira has saved for Kyma? Let me know what you think!

Happy reading, and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out.