9. go on

☆ ゜・ 。。・ ゜゜・ 。。・ ゜★

1820 '𝙨
𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙

"Celeste!" Charlotte calls out from the kitchen and I ran to give James his lunch for school. "I cannot find my shoes!"

"Try under the coats!" I helped James with his blazer and I saw Charlotte hopping into her flats. "Lets go!" We were late to go to school. The three of us ran through the streets to make it in time. "Bye! Have a wonderful day!"

"Bye Celeste!" The kids waved as the bell rang just in time. I watched them before I left. A bunch of mothers had giving me dirty looks. These weren't my children and Lydia was their mother, but I did most of work and they believe that im a possible mistress, which made no sense, but they like to start something. I flicked my wrist to let one of the moms fall into a water fountain and I laughed as I went back home.

I got the house ready, cleaning and organizing, meaning using my magic. I sat down on the couch as I read some books that Lydias late husband had.

"Celeste!" Lydia comes, in awe when she saw pots and pans floating around the kitchen and a mop mopping the floor.

"Oh hello Lydia." I waved. Lydia and I had been friends since she helped me. She started to notice about me not aging, and when I told her, surprisingly, she wasn't freaked out and made a whole plan about how im one of her late husband's sisters and is staying with them. She promised to keep my secret until she was on her deathbed.

"What did we say about your magic? People will notice!" She shuts the blinds.

"They wont, im very careful." She hums, knowing that its a lie. Her brother Jonathan is coming into town to see the kids and to run the family business. I never met him, only heard of him and heard the letters he wrote to his older sister Lydia.

"When Jonathan comes, we can't do any of this, I know its going to be hard. Just-"

"Be normal." Lydia places her hands on my arms and shyly smiles. "I can do that." I snapped my fingers and everything stopped. Lydia and I cleaned the house, the kids came back and helped. By around 5, the bell rang.

"Oh heavens! He's here!"

"I'll finish dinner." I shooed her and start putting everything at the table. I heard the laughs and talking from the front room. Sometimes I do wonder, how was my life before? Did I have a brother? Brothers? Sisters? A family? It would be nice if I did, maybe their waiting for me back home. I snapped put of my thoughts and head to introduce myself.

"Jonathan, this is Celeste, she's been living here with us." Lydia said. I wiped my hands on the apron and he took my hand, kissing it.

"Celeste, what a pleasure." He smirks. "What is a beautiful woman like you doing here? Alone?" My blood boiled as he called me beautiful. It sounds wrong but only he can call me that. Only him.

"Dinners ready." The kids raced to the dining room and Jonathan followed him, chasing after them. Lydia placed her hand on my arm, making sure if I was okay. "I'm okay." We head in, sitting down. The kids played with their food, tossing the vegetables to the floor for their dog to eat.

"Celeste, where are you from?" I gulped at the question. Well, technically Olympia. But I knew not to say that, Lydia and I said that im Celeste Von, sister of Henry Von, born in France and lived in the Amazon. That was my story.

"The Amazon." I coughed. He frowns and chuckles.

"The Amazon? Wow, thats pretty far. What brings you here?"

"To explore."

"Really? I think a woman should stay home while the men should do all the exploring." I didn't like him. He was full of himself, reminds me a lot like Ikaris. The thought of that made me bend the fork in my hand. "You have a husband?"

"Jonathan, lets not." Lydia interrupts. She noticed I was uncomfortable. "Celeste, you can go if you will like." I just nod and picked up my things and head to my room.

"Was it something i said?" I heard him say. I rolled my eyes and sat on my bed, reading. I didn't come out of my room at all. The door opens as a light knock went after. Lydia stood there in her night gown.

"Penny for a thought?" I grabbed my robe and we head out to the backyard and drank some liquor from the bottle. "Sorry about my brother. He's very conservative." I laughed, of course he is. "He's leaving tonight, i didn't like the way he undressed you with his eyes."

"That doesn't bother me, im used to it." After being here for many years, many men try to seduce me and me being me, never let a man get to me. Not in that way. Ever. She noticed that I stared ahead at the garden.

"Its about him isn't?"

"Druig." I never told her about him. Only that i left him and the fight. She turns to me and listens. "We've been together for 7000, maybe even more. He was just a annoying man who had nothing but a soft spot for me and only me. Thats what I loved about him. He was so kind, gentle, good looking." I chuckled and blushed as I remembered Druig. "When Jonathan said that I was beautiful, it brought me back the memories of me and him." I let a tear fall down my cheek. "I do feel bad for leaving, but he used his powers on me, he promised."

"Im so sorry." I pulled out a small picture from my robe and hand it to her. It was me and Druig. One of the villagers took a photo of us and I kept it all these years. It was actually first thing I packed when I left. It was Druig with his arms wrapped around me, my head on his chest in front of our house.

"I dont think im ever going to let him go. He was my everything, and we just..." i shrugged. "Some part of me wants to go back but im just scared to see him. What if he hates me?"

"If he ever loved you, he wouldn't hate you." She held my hands. "You wanted to go on, live."

"I just wished that he was here with me, like how it always been."

★

1900'𝙨
𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣

I raced upstairs to take care of Lydia. The woman was now 82, when we first met, she was 23. I never left her side, even though she told me any times to go on and live and see the rest of the world but I rather stay here, with her.

"Im here Lyd, its okay." I helped her sit up to drink some tea. She was on her last days, doctor said. She can barely walk, move. It just pains me how she is suffering and I cant do anything to help. Can Ajak help? Would she be able to?

"Cel-" i placed her cup down and shushed her.

"Rest, James and Charlotte are on their way." James and Charlotte are now older, now have jobs and living in Italy. Its been a while since they came and visited. I spent my day going up and down the stairs, checking on Lydia and cooking. The doctor came, we started whispering about her.

"How is she?"

"Not too well. She's gotten worse since the last time you came." I showed him upstairs and Lydia coughs. "Lyd, dr. Hans is here." He started doing a check up and sighed. He pulls me outside.

"You said that Charlotte and James are on their way?" I nodded. "I think she's waiting for them to come." The bell rang, it was them. I rushed down and opened the door to see the kids.

"Celeste!" Charlotte runs to my arms and hugs me. "Where is she?" James comes in behind and hugs me as well.

"She's not good, isnt she?" James looks up.

"No..." I softly said. I placed my hands on their cheeks. Oh how they grown. They're about the same age when Lydia met me. How the years have gone by. Charlotte was a nurse in Italy and James was a investor as well in Italy. They wanted to do some good. "You need to see your mother." The siblings looked at each other and slowly walked up the stairs they used to run up and down. Once they reached to Lydias room, Charlotte and James ran to their moms side, holding her hands. James brushed her hair back and Charlotte sobs.

"We should've stayed." James cries. Lydia smiles as she gets to see her children one last time.

"Mama, we're sorry."

"No need to be sorry. Life's to short to have so much grief. Im glad you two went and explored." Lydia looks at me. "Cherish everything and everyone, no matter how long its been." She smiles and looks at the children again. "You take care of each other, okay?"

"Yes mama."

"And you." I moved up closer to the bed and held her hand. "Thank you for staying." Lydias eyes started to close, still had that same smile.

"Mama?" The kids shook her but didn't wake up. I turned around and try to hold myself together. My best friend was gone. Dr. Hans needed the room so we head downstairs and sat in the kitchen all quiet, tea in our hands, blank stares.

"Thank you for staying with her all these years." James said to me. "Celeste, you are a angel from above."

"You helped mom with so much." I grabbed their hands and shed a tear.

"You all are the best things that happened to me. Without you, I don't know what would happen." I kissed their heads.

"Whats going to happen now?" Charlotte stares at her cup. "Moms gone, we're old, where are you going?"

"You don't worry about me, yeah? I'll be okay. I'll visit when I can, or when you can. I promised your mother that I'll never stop taking care of you both, ever."

"Thank you Celeste."

"Of course." These are my children, well they're as good as if. They didn't need me, it was time to go to the next. But the Von's, they showed me so many things and im grateful to meet them. I will never them.