84 . Maria (7)
It feels like a dream.
Maria offered her meal first, and she couldn’t believe this moment as she sat facing her.
Was it because she thought she would never see her smile again? My gaze was fixed on Maria, and I had the will to include as much as possible.
It was fun just looking at her, and I felt like I had my ears pricked up so as not to miss a single word of her voice.
But I couldn’t fully enjoy this pleasure.
Olivia, who sat next to me, pointed her fork at the food I was eating and opened her mouth.
She liked Maria and she couldn’t neglect her children.
Even if it’s someone I liked in the past, the most important thing to me right now is these four children.
“Dad, I want to eat that too.”
“Really? Would you like some?”
“Yes!”
I pushed the bowl slightly aside, but Olivia immediately shook her head.
Instead of using her own cutlery to serve or eat her food, Olivia opened her mouth slightly to appeal to what I would like her to do.
Looking like a baby bird waiting for food from its mother bird, I naturally smiled and fed food into Olivia’s mouth.
The behavior that started with Olivia quickly spread to other children. Elia had a similar reaction to Olivia, and although she didn’t say anything directly to Noah, she appealed in her own way, like sitting next to me and staring at the food. Just as she was about to take care of her children one by one, Stella, who was sitting across from her, set her tableware down with a clatter and wiped her mouth.
“Stop it, Dad is running out of food.”
Elia puffed up her cheeks at Stella’s words and let out her displeasure.
“But… Do you want Dad to feed me too?”
“Is there a better way? Until when are you going to just take it from Dad?”
After she finished speaking, Stella took her steak from her own bowl and brought it to her mouth, pushing it forcefully.
“Come on, Dad. Ah, do it.”
Stella waited for me in a natural pose like a lover. She’s ashamed that other people are watching, but she can’t help but feel ashamed of her outstretched hand.
Elia, as if she had found something good, she took her bowl from her seat and acted the same as Stelle, she said.
“Dad! I’ll feed you too!”
I hadn’t emptied all my food yet, but I felt like my stomach would explode if I ate everything the children gave me one by one.
Maria looked at me and said with a hearty smile.
“I heard that elves are hostile unless they are of the same race, but you seem to be on good terms with the children.”
I replied, quickly swallowing the food Ellie and Stella had crammed into her, wiping her mouth.
“Yes, because they are the most precious children to me.”
“I’m glad I met a good relationship. Oh, how have you been?”
“Well, nothing special. I just went back to my hometown and stayed with my kids. Farming, traveling, and studying. It was a pretty good time.”
Maria looked at me intently and opened her mouth with a faint smile on her lips.
“Ain, you look much better now.”
“Really? I’m glad you look good.”
Well, the work itself hasn’t changed. It’s just that the target has changed from supporting the party to supporting the children. If it’s different from then, it’s just that the feelings I feel have changed a little, but taking care of others was quite suitable for me.
“I’d like to ask you one more question if you won’t excuse me. Have you met any of your old colleagues since that day?”
Maria only opened her mouth to that point and glanced at me.
She doesn’t have to hide it.
I stopped talking in a calm tone.
“I met you all. Rihanna is still living in the same town… I met Helga, Cassandra, and even Leon. You are the last.”
Is it my misunderstanding? Nobody else knows, but when Leon’s name came up, Maria’s body seemed to tremble slightly.
“Why?”
To my question, Maria answered with an exaggerated gesture as if it was nothing, even waving her hand.
“Oh, nothing!”
She didn’t believe it when she said she was nothing, but she decided not to pry. If it was someone else, Maria couldn’t have fooled me. Even among her doctrines, there was a saying that she should not tell lies to others, and there was no way that Maria, who was born as a saint, would break that word.
She picked up a glass of water and barely managed to soothe her stomach. She said in a calmer voice than before.
“You’re hanging out with Rihanna? That is surprising.”
“At least I was close with Rihanna.”
“Well, I followed you very well. Just like the kids next to you.”
Maria sliced her steak and put it in her mouth, savoring her taste and giving her a slight nod.
“Still, meeting Leon is surprising… It’s strange that you met Leon, who abandoned you like that. Have you forgiven everything now?”
Read at nob lemtl.com
Forgive me. Common man 1, forgiveness was too far away for me who was that much.
I wanted revenge if possible. But is there anything as meaningless as revenge? At least he didn’t want to openly show those feelings in front of Maria.
Instead of getting angry, I relaxed my shoulders and replied with a dejected smile.
“I didn’t meet because I wanted to. I just came here on my own.”
Even now, thinking about Leon’s attitude, which came and disappeared as he pleased, made me squeamish and dumbfounded. If he appeared in front of me again, he would spit out a swear word.
In the changed mood, Maria sighed deeply as she fingered her glass.
“Leon is too good. The victim didn’t even think about the pain he felt, and he went looking for him on his own… Well, that guy has always been like that.”
“Yes, he did. He has always been self-centered and only does what he thinks is right. But you know what attracts people to that? You and I were one of them.”
When Maria heard me, she looked at me with interest.
“Oh, do you remember everything that happened in the past?”
“Can I forget?”
Is it because of a little alcohol? Maria recalled her past with her flushed face.
“Ain, then do you remember that too? When we live together in our nursery….”
Did my expression harden unknowingly when the childcare center was mentioned? Maria looked at my expression and immediately changed the topic by saying she was sorry.
“I’m sorry. Shall we talk about this later?”
“No, it’s okay.”
Isn’t it common to share old stories and memories with friends you haven’t seen in a while? Even in this situation, I couldn’t ruin the place just because of my mood.
When I said I was okay, Maria gathered up the courage to ask a question again.
“Then maybe the people you used to hang out with… Do you remember everything?”
“Who did you hang out with?”
It’s an unexpected question, but since it’s Maria’s question, I decided to answer with the utmost care.
I didn’t really want to recall the old days, but just the fact that Maria was in front of me started to remind me of those days little by little.
It’s embarrassing to say this with my own mouth, but in the past I was quite sociable, so I was a kid who got along well with everyone. Still, the ones I could say were closest to me back then were Leon and Maria.
The three of us were always together wherever we went, we laughed together and we cried together. Afterwards, after Leon was chosen as a hero and Maria was chosen as a saint, they became awkward with each other because they had no chance to meet each other, but now it didn’t matter much because they were only talking about what happened in their nursery school days.
I said while chewing on the food in front of me.
“I can’t remember anyone besides you.”
Hearing my answer from her, Maria wiped her chest with a relieved expression for some reason.
“Isn’t it?”
“But why are you asking this?”
“Is it because I just met an old friend? Memories come naturally, and that’s what.”
When she finished her words, Maria laughed awkwardly and ran her fingers through her hair.
Maria finished her mouth with her drink that was placed in front of her for the last time, then she looked at her watch and took her coat.
“Will it wake up soon?”
“Yes. It’s a little late.”
I wanted to be with you more, but I wasn’t in the mood right now.
Leaving her shop, I said goodbye to Maria, waved her hand, and stared blankly at her back.
As I continued to look at the street where Maria had disappeared, I could not easily answer the question that lingered in her head.
‘Why?’
It was a good time that could not be compared with anything else, but the short conversation we had at the end made the end of this happy time uncomfortable.
Although Maria herself is not aware of it, she likes her all the time, and I remember her trivial habits and habits while watching her.
That’s why I couldn’t understand it any more.
Her habit of twisting her hair with her fingers was her habit when she lied.