Cut From A Tattered Cloth

Chapter 9

Something about that laugh startled both Donny and Eijiro. For a moment Eijiro forgot how thirsty he was. Donny's eyes went wide, as though he couldn't believe what he'd heard. The two men looked to the piano, which had started playing again. It wasn't until that moment Eijiro realized it had stopped.

The middle-aged man wasn't behind the piano anymore. Instead it was Melia, sitting next to a boy with tawny skin and curly red hair. It must've been the boy that had laughed because he did it again. Giggling as Melia told him a joke and made silly faces. It was also the boy who played the piano. His fingers danced across the keys. The funeral dirge he had been playing melted into something more upbeat and cheerful.

Eijiro heard Donny let out a small gasp.

"I don't believe it," he murmured.

His hand came out of his pocket as he pushed back his chair, making his way towards the piano. Eijiro followed, coils at the ready. He'd never seen this boy before, nor did he understand why Donny was so surprised by him. All he knew was that he didn't like the idea of Donny Vitale getting close to his apprentice.

A crowd of employees started to gather around the piano. Apparently it wasn't common for the kid to be out in public because they were just as surprised as Donny.

"Caspita," whispered a waitress. "It's Alfred!"

"He never comes out," agreed the busboy next to her.

"And he's smiling!"

Eijiro stood with Donny at the edge of the circle, watching the two kids interact. Melia was taller than Alfred, although he looked like he could be close to her age. Eijiro noted the way that Alfred's long sleeves hung loose and his collar, while pinned up at the top, had more room around his neck than it should've. Combined with his hollow cheeks and sunken eyes, Eijiro had the feeling that Alfred Vitale was a sickly child.

"That your kid?" Donny asked, looking at Melia. "The one you've been training?"

Eijiro nodded. "The other one yours?"

Donny shrugged. "Yes and no. No, in that he ain't my offspring. But he is my nephew. That's Beigey's boy."

"Oh."

Biagio Vitale—more commonly known as Beige—was Donny's older brother, and the patriarch of the family. Hearing that, Eijiro wanted to grab Melia and run, but he knew that was the wrong move. Beige and Donny might be criminal dons, but Alfred was just a boy. One who apparently didn't get out a lot. In a way, he wasn't that different from Melia, who never got to be around other kids. The Junior Mages she trained with were disgusted by her magic, and kept their distance.

And Melia, who was training to be a career soldier, never got to be around other kids. The ones she trained with in the Junior Mages were disgusted by her magic, and kept their distance.

The music started to change again, shifting from the upbeat melody to something folksy.

Melia sat up straighter, gesturing in excitement. "I know this song!"

Then, to Eijiro's surprise, she started singing. Eijiro had never heard her sing before, but he wished he had. Her voice was clean and rich, and seemed to capture everything Eijiro loved about having her in his life. Even more surprising, Melia sang in Zaramian:

As day turns to night
And the shadows grow long,
Torikage comes, he comes
Bringing his song
He sleeps with one eye
Always open to see
Torikage will bring you
Safe home back to me

It was a simple tune, with lyrics that didn't make a lot of sense. Eijiro wondered why Melia said "torikage" instead of whatever the original words were. Something about the song was sad, too. Or at least, the way Melia sang it made it sad. She wasn't crying, but Eijiro could feel it. It was as though she were pouring her emotions into the song the same way she did with the plants she grew.