When Shadows Rise | I

Ch. 27 | Mother

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Talia equally loved both day and night. She could never decide if she liked basking under the sun or gazing at the moon. In her opinion, night or day, there was no difference between daytime and nighttime activities; both were meant to bring joy and pleasure to people's hearts.

Like now, for instance, what she found extremely pleasurable was her nightly skincare routine. There was nothing more refreshing than taking a warm shower, slipping into some pajamas, and pampering your face with all kinds of serums and lotions. Once that hassle was through, she moved onto her next favorite part: her hair. When it came to her curls, she treated them with such delicacy and care that if she were to do one step out of turn, it would almost be the end of the world. She squirted a generous amount of curling gel into her palm and then proceeded to scrunch up sections of her hair one at a time. Once satisfied, she would diffuse her hair and then leave her curls to air dry before repeating the process.

To pass the time, Talia went to her room and bent down to grab something from under her bed. Once grabbing the item in particular, she sat on the mattress, staring down at a notebook she was using to write down details of what she knew so far. She studied the page, the drawn arrows and scribbled words floating off the page like clouds and parading down the lines. Thinking too much about it was like murder to her brain, but she could not help but feel something that she believed was incompleteness. Not only were several pieces of the puzzle missing, but she had no idea where to look for them. And even with the clues her mother had dropped for her, they were a mystery altogether.

Maybe if I ask Donnie about the ketamine, then I can get closer to a breakthrough. . .

She had to try. Whether there were results or not, she had to know. Anything to uncover her mother's moonlighting.

There was a sharp knock at Talia's door. Upon hearing it, Talia shoved her notebook under her pillow. She suddenly had an interest in plugging in one of the nightlights that Leo gave her into the electrical socket.

"Dewdrop?" Her father opened the door. He was dressed like he was about to kill his pillow any second now.

"Yes?" Talia took her necklace off and set it on the nightstand.

"I wanted to see how you're doing before I go to sleep. Work today was hard."

Talia noticed how the edges of her father's eyes were at a down angle, which made him look a little sad. Considering that he was now the only parent she had, plus the things he had to do to provide for themselves, it was understandable. Even if she was not a child, things were still not easy. She had started to consider of getting a job to help provide income, but she knew what her father would say something like, "Let me worry about the money. You keep studying. That is your job."

"I was just about to go to sleep," Talia said. "These days, I've been having trouble trying to make peace with it."

Seth took note of the nightlight that dimmed bright blue and the glow-in-the-dark stars plastered on the ceiling. He slightly cocked his head to the side. "Since when did you own things that help little kids sleep at night?" he asked. 

"They were given to me. He thought I needed them."

"He, you say?"

"Oh, uh, yes. Mr. Hamato's son, Leonardo."

"Leonardo? Named after Leonardo Da Vinci?"