8 . The truth of the day (1)
After Rihanna shared the load I was carrying, she followed me without saying a word.
Midway up the mountain, the petals fluttering brightly were announcing that spring had already arrived in full swing.
It is a small town with no specialties, no outstanding warriors, and nothing to boast about, but it was able to boast that it was second to none in other regions.
A cherry tree that is over a thousand years old, although its grandeur is nothing compared to the World Tree at the center of the Great Forest, it was an old tree that made it possible for ordinary people like me who have never been near the Great Forest to feel the overwhelming majesty of nature.
I put a mat under it and brought out the lunch boxes I prepared in front of the children one by one. Everyone looked happy and kissed my cheek or rubbed their faces against my chest.
Just as dogs and other animals show affection to their owners.
I caressed each child’s soft hair, then moved her gaze to Rihanna.
Sitting farther away from us, Rihanna also looked stunned as she took a potato out of her bosom.
She let out a deep sigh, then spoke briefly to Rihanna.
“I have yours too.”
Rihanna didn’t say anything, she just stared at me with green eyes.
“Really? But obviously I don’t have any food to eat….”
It was frustrating to see Rihanna blurring the end of her words. I wasn’t like this before, so where did you become like this?
Plus the fact that Rihanna didn’t cook her breakfast in the morning must have been mixed in with the fact that Rihanna didn’t like it, but that wasn’t the underlying reason.
“Because I didn’t have time to prepare even your portion in the morning.”
Rihanna grabbed the end of the lunchbox I held out with a look of emotion on her face, and she pulled it toward her.
The expression of looking at the lunch box with shining eyes, that expression was similar to when traveling together the other day, or when looking at the reward obtained from defeating a dungeon.
Rihanna trembled while examining her lunchbox, and she picked up each food with chopsticks.
Rihanna’s eyes reddened again when she saw her lunchbox filled with only the foods she said she loved as they were on her road trip together.
It was not acceptable for crying to be mixed with the long-awaited flower viewing.
I spoke in a tone like teasing her, just like back then.
“If you’re going to cry again, take it away.”
“Ah… don’t cry… !”
Tears were already welling up in her eyes, considering she said she never cried.
Unlike usual, the children who ate quickly left by themselves, and Rihanna, who naturally moved to the seat next to me, spoke indirectly.
“Still, it’s been a while since the two of us are talking like this.”
“Sure.”
In terms of time, is it four years?
I looked at the place where the children were while answering in a dry voice.
Even Elia, who only read her books, was somehow playing with her sisters, catching butterflies and observing flowers.
After all, the body has grown, but the mind is still a child? Stella, who made eye contact with me and smiled happily at the pure play, ran over and sat on my lap.
Stella rubbed her luscious butt on her thighs, then turned to me with a fresh smile.
“Dad, can we play in the valley?”
The valley wasn’t too far from here, and it wasn’t particularly deep. A normal parent with a 4-year-old would never allow their kids to go to the valley by themselves, but isn’t my situation a little different? In the first place, all of them had better physical abilities than me, putting the word 4 years old to shame.
I couldn’t even imagine that there would be a life-threatening accident. I nodded, and Stella ran back to where the sisters were, and soon the four of them disappeared deep into the forest.
Rihanna, who was sweeping her chest for some reason, added her words again.
Unlike before, when she was crying, her eyes showed a firm determination that couldn’t be described in words.
●
‘Now is the chance.’
With no one around except for Ain and herself, now was the right time as she thought. In the meantime, the elves were always by Ain’s side, so he carefully told the story that he hadn’t been able to say because he was afraid.
“Hey Ain….”
“Huh?”
Read at nob lemtl.com
Fortunately, the eyes of Ain, who just sent her elf, were slightly bent like half moons, and he was smiling pleasantly.
Rihanna moved her hips slightly, and she moved a little closer to him.
“When we were traveling, sometimes on days when we couldn’t sleep, the two of us talked. I remember? The day Cassandra and Maria cried while holding onto her legs one by one because Leon was nearly eaten by the Mimic, or the day Helga beat all the dwarves and won the tavern contest were just like now….”
Rihanna herself seemed to want to reminisce about her memories with her boyfriend, but she didn’t think that would necessarily work well.
To Ain, those four disgusting names were names he never wanted to hear again.
“I’m sorry Rihanna, but can we stop talking about that?”
Rihanna immediately shut her mouth in surprise as the cold voice addressed her, quite different from when she addressed her elves.
“Sorry… I don’t even think about how you feel, I’m excited by myself….”
Recently, she has been in the mood to apologize often. Maybe I’m more apologetic now than I was in the four years at the warrior’s party? To the extent that I think so.
Ain stretched out her legs, looked up at the sky, and let out a long sigh.
His sad profile, his lips quivering as if he had something to say.
“Yes, obviously we talked as often as we do now. So I don’t understand any more. Why did you abandon me that day? Rihanna, coming now, I thought you were closest at the party.”
Before Rihanna could say anything, she showed no signs of letting go of her past once it erupted. Ain didn’t curse or shout as he had a blood clot around his neck. He just silently recited cruel facts one by one. She is guilty of her sins which she has committed upon herself.
Unfathomable, quiet anger directed at Rihanna.
“I didn’t even want to show an effort to stop Leon that day, or even think of leaving with me. Just… If only you had shown me a little sad face instead of a smiling face, then it wouldn’t have been so painful.”
A self-deprecating smile appeared on Ain’s lips.
If he hadn’t met his current children on the day of heavy rain, Ain would have fallen into a swamp of depression and drank alcohol that he couldn’t even drink well, and would have made an extreme choice.
After her long words, Ain looked straight at Rihanna with a blunt expression unlike before and asked.
“Is there anything else you want to say?
Rihanna overheard everything he said, she only said she was sorry like a broken doll.
“Sorry… Sorry….
“What were you thinking? Even the day before you were kicked out, you laughed and played with me, right? If Leon had the slightest hint of abandoning me, wouldn’t she have been able to give her a word first? Did I do anything wrong to you in that moment? Huh? If there’s anything that would make you feel bad enough to throw me away at Leon’s words, tell me right now. I will listen to you.”
Ain glared at Rihanna with her ferocious gaze, finished her words, and caught her breath.
However, Rihanna did not show the reaction that Ain had hoped for. She knew that either she would be self-deprecating, or she would say sorry as usual, or she would shed a quiet tear.
Without showing any such behavior, Rihanna sat still and tilted her head.
“Uh… Come to think of it….”
She looks at Rihanna, who puts on a dumbfounded expression and slurps her tongue, with her gaze of astonishment.
Her child’s expression was even mixed with a rare feeling of disgust.
“Did you forget it?”
Ain ran her hand over her face, letting out her mad laugh.
‘I’m an idiot for expecting even a moment.’
Rihanna waved her hand at her son, who leaned against a tree and gazed up at the sky, making a hasty excuse.
“Oh no! Ain! I really can’t remember what happened at the time… !”
“Ah, yes. To you, abandoning me was such a trivial thing that you can’t even remember it, right?”
With that said, Ain left her Rihanna under her tree and moved on to the valley where her children were.
Left alone, Rihanna threw herself on the floor and let out a sobbing sound, blaming herself for not even properly apologizing for her.
Her occasional old people on her stroll looked at her strangely, but her weeping did not stop for a while.
●
The four elves, half-immersed in the sparkling transparent valley, gathered together before they knew it, put their heads together, and started talking.
It was a completely different expression from when I was catching butterflies or observing flowers in front of Ain earlier.
Stella, who was looking in the direction where Rihanna’s cries were heard, stopped her first.
“Isn’t that strange?”
“Yeah, that’s weird.”
“How are you, Elia?”
Elia, who had her eyes closed, frowned and answered her sisters’ questions.
“Something is definitely blocking the human head. Um, and you’re pretty good at it?”
Olivia asked as if urging.
“Are you good at it? Are you having a hard time too?”
At Olivia’s concern, Elia smiled lightly.
“No way. Do you think short-lived magic will work on me?”
Read at nob lemtl.com
Following that, Noah opened his mouth briefly.
“When?”
Ellia fell into a moment of trouble. The quicker you deal with these annoying things, the better.
“Today, when Dad is sleeping, let’s call him secretly.”
Just when they were making a suspicious plan, someone called the children.
“Guys.”
Seeing Ain appearing through the trees, the four children erased the solemn expression they were making just like throwing a mask and ran to Ain with innocent smiles like children of their age.
●
Rihanna, who returned to Ain’s house after finishing the flower viewing with only scars, was unable to follow her into the house. She was just twirling in place like a puppy needing to pee in her backyard.
She hurt Ain with her thoughtless remark. Putting her own life at risk, she grew increasingly saddened by the thought that she would never be able to speak to Ain again.
However, her memories of that time, her memories of kicking her child out of the party, were hazy, as if shrouded in her fog. She couldn’t remember what she was saying, let alone what she was feeling at the time.
Not to brag about her, but Rihanna prides herself on her pretty good memory. There was no way she could ever forget such an important event.
But it was too late for her to regret it.
She couldn’t contain the spilled water, and Rihanna’s words became daggers and she pierced Ain’s heart. Couldn’t she be able to approach the subject that hurt her as usual?
Something from Rihanna fell on top of regretful Rihanna’s head.
At first she thought it was just bad luck, but it was a small piece of white paper that fell to the floor.
Rihanna took her note and unfolded it casually.
In it, a brief content was written as follows.
‘After midnight, under the cherry tree.’
Her heart beats fast.
I remember this letter clearly.
It’s Ain’s handwriting, with a bad handwriting that looks like a child’s handwriting.
Rihanna cradled her note in her arms as if handling her precious treasure, and lost herself in her glimmer of hope.
It’s a hope that never come true…..
It’s really his handwriting ????