𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙨 • 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙮𝙥𝙚𝙣 + 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣

𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻

𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞'𝙢 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙞'𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣.

𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 - 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲

Clara seemed to be surprised when the little one only hugged her legs as if he was afraid that she was angry at him. She scooped him in her arms and gestured to her husband to follow her to the sofa, drawing circles at the child's back. There was tension visible in the air; no one wanted to speak before the other for fear that it would only break their hearts more. Joshua was about to hug her from the side, but retracted suddenly as if she was a porcelain doll.

"Baby," she coaxed out to the silent Ni-ki in her arms, rocking him along with the soft lullaby she could hear her husband hum. Sadness took over her face when she saw her child - her baby lived safely - silently weeping. "Listen to me. It's not your fault, it's nobody's fault that I died. Because, look at you. You're alive right now, breathing, and being the child I've given birth to, filled with love of your mother and father."

"But everyone kept telling me that I'm the reason you died. That I was the reason why my brothers have no mother, father not having a wife, and that - I should have not been born." Clara could feel the fury and anger circulating in her body, raging as she kept hearing her baby degrade himself. How dare they! She gave up everything so that her youngest child would be loved even if she was gone.

She willingly gave birth to her angel even if she knew that she may not make it. Her love towards her children is greater than her will to live. Besides, Ni-ki was just a child. He deserves to be loved, grow up, and be the great version of himself. But, no. They took out their anger towards a young child that hasn't done anything to them.

"Stop." Clara blurted out, teary-eyed, and noticed that her child was muttering to himself about how many faults he should carry out. "Stop. Please, stop. I want you to stop telling yourself that everything's your fault. No one predicted that I would no longer be by your side, not even me. I want you to know that I am very proud of you."

Clara leaned towards her husband, eyes closed and breathed out. She could feel her husband sneaking his hands towards her, linking it together. It was a small act of love, but she is content beside him. "I'm fine," she mouthed to Joshua when his hazel brown eyes met her filled with concern.

"Let me have our son," he offered with his arms wide, waiting with the same smile she could stare forever. Clara gave in even though she still wanted to savor the warm feeling of her sleeping child from all the tears he had shed - she didn't even get to hold him when he was a baby - in her arms. "We both know how it ends, darling."

"I know." Clara smiled bitterly as she focused her gaze to the flickering lights of magic in her child's hands. "Darling, look. That's my core." She pointed to the white little light that rotated in itself and orbited by other small lights. It was mesmerizing to look at, warm when inspected closer, but it shared a characteristic with her. Their life force was flickering, little by little, she could feel those lights disappearing in a small manner. She realized it now, she doesn't want to die.

She still wants to be with them even if it was possible that a dead person couldn't stay alive anymore, her dead heart still wants to beat more, feel the way her family loved her, and most importantly, fix herself that got used to this temporary happiness. Even now, Clara wants to bathe in their warm feelings towards her. Feeling their love towards her that it fuels the magic that resides in her youngest child's body.