Eclisse • MICHAENG •

Chapter 21

A clasp of the door was heard. The noise of silence travelled in Mina's ears as she waddled towards the unlocked door. She knocked a few times and waited for it to open, but to no avail, it stayed closed.

"Hey, its auntie Mina sweetie. May I come in?" Mina whispered assuming that her tiny voice will pass through the thick pined door. Fortunately, Shae was leaning against the door, still in a state of uncertainty whether she'll open it and face her Mom's fires or stay inside with coldness of being alone. When she heard a familiar voice she immediately open it but didn't move a muscle after the door revealed a Lady she's beginning to get fond of.

"Hey sweetie." Mina said while holding her as gently as she could as if she's the most fragile thing that in one soft touch she'll break.

Shae hasten to mina like fast cars when the lights turns green. Mina didn't think twice but to embrace the little girl in her arms, providing a home, for a homeless child for a while. Her feet walks on her own leading the both of them under the whole universe shining through them.

"Here sweetie, look at the sky." Shae lift her head in an instant. "I don't know what happened back there, but if it really hurts you a lot, just think that there's a lot of stars who have to be stuck in the dark every night. Think about how much pain they've been dealing because nobody wants to be in the dark." Mina made a smart comparison to the pain that the little girl is feeling.

"But they got the moon up there to be with them always Auntie Mina." Shae said, a very smart retort that made the other girl out of words for a bit.

"Sweetie, I could be that moon, so you wouldn't be lonely" Mina let go of the words as if she have been into these comforting thing while in fact, comforting, making someone feel better and Mina are like water and oil, cannot be together or wouldn't have a chance to mix well.

"But you know what sweetie, you got the sun as well. You may not be around it when it shines and she will not be around when you shine but a lot know that you both are just there waiting for each other to shine." Mina added to her personification to the stars and the sun.

"And who would that be Auntie Mina?" Shae seriously asked drawn to the moon and the sun stories by Mina.

"That would be your Mama, sweetie. She might be shining around you, but didn't you know that the sun dies every night just to let the moon and the stars breath and have their light." Mina said looking up in the sky like she is seeing how painful it is for the sun. "Like your Mama sweetie, you haven't seen her cry nor be sad around you, but there are times that she's also breaking down and hurting so much just to protect and let you shine." Mina said putting Shae down as tears on the little girl's cheeks began to have a stream of falls. Her emotions shows as if she understood and lived the pain and joy that the sun, moon and the stars have.

Mina kneeled down hugging the star sending her silent messages that its okay to be in darkness, its okay to be always in darkness, but don't ever forget that she is the light in the dark, so don't keep you sparkle, let it out.

She let the little one sat on her lap as they quietly gaze the stars. For half an hour of endless silence and blank stares at the sky the little one finally spoke up.

"Auntie Mina?" Shae looked at her eyes patiently waiting for her response.

"Yes sweetie? Are you feeling better?" She asked holding their stares as invisible sweet strings hold it together.

"Yeah" scooting much closer to Mina, accepting the comfort that the older one is giving. "Can we go see Mama, I miss her so much"

" Sure sweetie" Mina rose up and held her hand as they made their way to Chaeyoung with comfortable silence broke their eardrum.
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Chaeyoung who have taken a short rest in Mina's undeniably comfortable bed heard the creaked of the door signing that somebody went inside. She got a glimpse of two identical faces but the other one is a young version. She blinked her eyes quickly to clearly see. But before she could a small figure collide into hers.

Clock ticks for a minute and Chaeyoung felt her shirt is damp. She lift up her daughter waiting for her to say something.

"Mama, I'm sorry if I was bad earlier" Shae silently said like a whisper to her soul.

"Its all fine now honey. Mama's sorry for shouting at you too" Chaeyoung said, putting her hair that covering her face, behind her ears. Chaeyoung settles her palm in her daughter's face as she began to notice a figure watching them lovingly.

"Thanks again Mina. Its a big help. How can I repay such kindness?" Chaeyoung said, letting Shae rest on the bed since she was already groggy because of tiredness plus the wake of an early morning hours.

She stood up and went close to Mina, a bright flash of smile crept into the girl's face. Like an arrow hit her that she was unable to move, bewitched of the spell that the smile chanted.

"You're welcome. Let it out Chaeng, die every night, so you could produce a genuine brightness every morning. Until you don't have to die but to let others breath their beauty out as you just take a rest" Chaeyoung doesn't exactly get that since she isn't poetic and figurative in such ways.

"I don't know how to react on that" Chaeyoung giggled feeling dumb.

"Me neither, just came out from me. Im not that peotic though." Mina said making her way to open her large crystal doors that leads to a veranda where you can see the green trees and colorful flowerbed that planted on the backyard as well as hear the water pool sounds as it was blown off by the wind.

Chaeyoung followed her behind thinking that this stoic Lady could express an emotion too and it makes her even more beautiful.

"Your daughter is a strong girl" Mina complimented as words rolls down her tongue.

"Yeah she is, didn't know where she got that from" Chaeyoung said making small conversation going. She leaned her figure to the railing as her eyes meet again with the moon.

" I really love the moon. Just a fun fact about me" Chaeyoung said sensing that Mina will be all quiet again but didn't want her to be. There's no response, she checked if Mina was still there and she saw her looking at the moon, fascination visible in her face, like a kid who have received the biggest wish she ever asked.

"Why? Because it shows its exquisiteness when its dark. She shines when pitch black is only painted as the view. Its like somebody I just met, shows her beauty only at dark times." Chaeyoung explained with the last words being whispered. She looked again at Mina for a sign that they look at it with the same eyes. And she was met by a curious stare.

Intense stare were shared that they could melt each other. It was broken when a little voice was heard. "Mama?"

Chaeyoung immediately went to her daughter seeing her talking in her sleep to escape on the eerie outside. Mina followed behind waiting for the next thing to happen. As they are satisfied that the bomb is paused, Chaeyoung stood up and prepared herself to leave but hands of her daughter keep her from walking away, "stay Mama" Shae said still eyes closed.

"Its okay, we can share the bed. Its huge enough to fit more than three people." Mina interrupted Chaeyoung's incoming thoughts on how to get her daughter to not cling into her.

A hint of shyness went into her body like a new Chaeyoung was out, full quiet as she settles herself beside Shae whispering an 'Alright' to Mina. The bed on the other side sunk as another body lied on top of it. So Shae is technically squeezed between the two older girls. They all feel the comfort they didn't know they're longing for. Like a ball of blackhole in space, they were pull by a force of a slowly building home of love.

As Mina was halfway to her beauty rest, she heard a sob coming from a vulnerable figure on the other end of the bed. Mina thought to sympathize with her but decided against it, since she respect her personal time to conquer her pain at the moment, alone. The sobs are like painful music that spits hurting lyrics that runs on her ears, until it died down for about an hour. She lifts her body to check Chaeyoung, she noticed the dark circles along her eyes. The mole on the bottom left of her chin. She unconsciously traced the dried tears on the cub's cheeks, admiring the tired face of an innocent, undeserving of the pain that was crashed on her.

She decided to lie back and placed her arm around shae spooning her because the little one is facing her mother. Unbeknownst to Mina, Chaeyoung was awake and just let her take care of her for a little while, since she needed that comfort desperately in this time of her life. Until both of them were brought to their dreamland.