“Are you sure he will be alright?”
Mili’s voice woke the sleeping Ash, whose consciousness had begun drifting away.
He responded with a tired voice, which was unlike the one he had put up in front of his son, strong and confident.
To his wife, it felt like the shattered cord of a guitar, shatteringly pitiful.
“Give him some time, I’m sure he’ll get better.”
His face was facing the roof of the house, the man’s thoughts a mystery, even to his wife.
Mili, sitting close to the bed by the side of Ash, had a hollowed smile on her face; she was, to say the least, incredibly tired, probably with a few days of sleepless night.
Her excitement had brought her up and carried her through the whole day with hours of work, but at the end, she could only do as much when her body was already failing her.
Arriving back at her home, she felt like throwing up multiple time.
But she only chuckled.
Hearing it, her husband's eyes focused a bit.
“You. should take a break. You. deserve as much. Let the recovery of our son. be. our only focus.” Ash muttered in the best tone he could muster.
All he could give was a monotonous one.
She looked at the charming man on the bed and at his body covered by his white sheets.
Only a few years had passed since her husband had become a ray, and fewer years since he had rose up to become a commander.
But ever since then, his own body began failing him, every moment of the day feeling like worms sliding through his veins, with more and more joining in each day, making his whole life a living hell.
Though today, she had felt that as much as his joy was apparent, that discomfort was as dominant.
Inhaling, she clenched her hand.
“I hope you can get better too, love.” She said sweetly, her heart pumping more and more with hope.
Ash, whose gaze slowly left the ceiling, gripped his sheet with his hand, harder and harder.
Finally, his black eyes landed on his wife’s glinting ones.
His face was emotionless, his eyes weren’t telling anything and his thoughts were a mystery.
Mili looked at them for a moment, her lips frowning bit by bit.
But even through such an expression, even through those hardships and breaking events, she kept her smile, never letting it shatter.
Even though they were definitely trembling.
Like a disease, it spread to the weakened body on the bed.
Mili, having comforted her husband, got up..
She had her long black hair freed, a contrast to her restrained beauty.
“I’m going to wear my night gown, and, before bed, visit Ciel in his chamber.” She prepared to leave the room. “Do you need anything?” She asked looking at the man, who had returned to gaze at the brown ceiling.
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Unfortunately, it seemed like her husband had spaced out.
A sad frown cropped on her face.
She couldn’t understand why Ash hadn’t gone better, when in retrospect, he should’ve begun recovering since his biggest worry was gone, like the doctors had said.
Unsure, she exhaled and began leaning towards the face of her laid husband.
As her frown disappeared, Mili kissed him, a light kiss on his lips that showed her love.
She looked at the black eyes that was staring at the void, it wasn’t frightening, more like pitiful.
Her hand on his forehead, she pushed them down to close his eyes, and like a corpse waiting to decay he was left there in the darkness of the night.
At the corridor, exiting the far left room, Mili stared through the dark, lighted only by dim candles on the walls near each of the doors.
Her thoughts were in shambles.
In a way, she was in a better spot than she was a year or even a day ago, but she felt like she was only in the eye of the hurricane, waiting for its brunt to take her and her family.
She felt helpless even though she didn’t know why.
Looking at the opened door of her son’s bedroom, she stayed there unmoving, her eyes more and more tired as she yawned.
The woman hesitated between going to see the young boy or change to her night gown first.
The moon is brighter than usual tonight. She thought, a white dim light coming out of the opened bedroom.
With no windows in the corridor, the white light stood out, like the spotlight of a play.
However, she was a bit too late to realize its unusual brightness.
She was curious and, in the pretext of observing the moon, she made her way to the opened door.
As she neared, she wondered if her son was still sleeping. She thought about his expression and discomfort the morning and of how he directly went asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
She had stayed there to look at him sleep for about an hour before preparing herself for work.
It was like all her tiredness had melted away when she saw him in peace, rolled in his sheets.
It felt like the young boy hadn’t slept in a long time, even though it had been four years since she had last seen his brown eyes.
She couldn’t deny that she was scared, scared that her son wouldn’t wake up again.
But at the end, if he could wake up once, he could definitely do it twice. Then they would repeat it again, more hopeful than the uncertainty of a life-long slumber.
She exhaled, the smile on her face only disappearing when she was out of her husband’s room, and reappearing as soon as she became curious. After all, what could someone do at the face of despair than wear up the only thing they had? And for Mili, it was undoubtedly her smile.
Arriving at the opened door of the bedroom, the first shape she saw was one of a young boy, sitting on his bed, his head layed on the railing of the window.
A great feeling of relief flooded her heart, her worries proven unfounded.
Finally, the end of their struggles and reward for their efforts laid before her eyes.
She approached him slowly, wanting to see his expression that was hidden to her by his short curled hair.
As Mili, a smile on her face, reached the middle of the room, she could hear her son, unexpectedly, murmur a word multiple times, with no pauses between them.
She paused while narrowing her eyes.
A feeling of dread slowly cropped up in her heart.
Unlike her husband, she was no ray, but she knew: unnatural behaviours equalled caution, especially if one had contact with the other world.
She breathed, anticipation of the worst overwhelming her mind.
Mili approached the young boy, a dreadful melody accompanying every step.
She climbed the bed, her heart pounding.
As soon as her hand touched the young boy’s shoulder, she heard what he repeated constantly, she also could see his face.
His eyes were looking ahead, not moving an inch, as if a monster would jump on his face the moment they left.
Lines? Mili repeated in her mind what the kid chanted.
Now, she was more confused than dreary.
Then she followed the gaze of her son, and finally realized what he was talking about.
She couldn’t help but let out a suppressed laugh.
Finally, after a whole day of quietness, Carter finally asked a simple question, his voice shaky, his eyes slowly making their way to his laughing mother and his hand pointing shakily to something in the distance.
“W-What is that?”
Right, even within his five years of consciousness, this is the first time he saw it.
She lowered her head for a bit, breathing shakily after restraining herself.
Raising her head, she saw the dumbfounded look on her son’s face.
She put one hand on her belly and, finally, whole heartedly laughed, a laugh she never thought she would express again since the slumber of her son.
She breathed to slow her choking neck.
Then, Mili’s right hand reached the right shoulder of her son, laying her whole arm on his back.
She was sitting, and looking out the window with a funny smile, her son, still looking at her, dumbfounded.
She finally answered, her voice warm and soft.
“I present to you…” She pointed with her left hand. “… The fleeting moon.”