HUMAN - The Son

Chapter 15

Amaury

Two letters had arrived for him. Smiling, Amaury sat outside on a bench in the soft light of the afternoon sun, reading first Adaliz's letter and then his parents' letter. Adaliz wrote a lot about her school friends. His parents, on the other hand, talked about the bakery and other everyday things. They were fine. His siblings too. Only Ethan still refused to go to school. He found it boring there and he didn't like the other kids.

"Amaury! Here you are!"

"Huh?" Surprised, he looked up. In front of him stood Shay. The elf smiled.

"I've already been looking for you!", he said. "Did you get letters?"

"Yes." He waved the letters. "Obviously, I got mail. Why did you look for me? Do you have any mail for me? That wouldn't have been necessary!"

"Lea asks if you'd like to keep her company in her office."

"Is she still working? She lets you play Messenger again?"

Shay shrugged. "As her secretary, best friend, and eternally platonic partner, the answer is, YES!"

Amaury smiled. "You two are married!" He got up and followed his uncle.

"Oh! We are. Which makes me her faithful messenger all the more!" Shay winked at him, amused. "We got married so we could adopt Chloe and Benjamin together... Not because we're in love with each other."

"But you love Aunt Lea", Amaury immediately objected. "Everyone can see that!" He got up and followed his uncle along one of the narrower paths that led between the buildings of the academy. There was also a wider path. But this was mainly used by the high-spirited students and was therefore too crowded and turbulent for his uncle. He didn't like large gatherings of people.

"Of course I love Lea!" His uncle nodded. "Platonic, my boy. Platonic and eternal! While we're on the subject of adoptions, what do you think of another cousin?"

Platonic? Ha! He didn't believe his uncle's words. "You want to adopt again?" Amaury raised his eyebrows.

Shay nodded eagerly. "Yes. A little girl. Human. The daughter of a noble family. A mortal child. Her parents were both mortal. They died. A terrible accident! The little one saw it! And the rest of the relatives don't want to take the child in."

"Why is that?"

"Because she's definitely not going to be a witch. They are very old-fashioned. Unfortunately, it is not a criminal offense to live according to outdated values! We get to know the little one on the weekend. And if she likes us, she's ours." The elf smiled contentedly and hugged Amaury. "Poor worm. Her family doesn't deserve her. She's only five. Old enough to understand that her family doesn't want her. She currently lives with her grandmother. But she wants to get rid of the child as quickly as possible."

"Get rid of?" Amaury grimaced. "That's terrible!"

Shay sighed. "Lea heard about it from a friend. And she knows that I want another child. Of course, I love our grown-ups! Heaven! Benjamin has already made me a grandfather! This makes you feel old!"

"You're old!" Amaury teased him.

"Brat!" Shay stuck his tongue out laughing. "But a little daughter? This will be a completely new experience for us. Chloe and Benjamin were fourteen when we brought them in."

"I would be very happy to have another cousin. And so does Ethan. He has a hard time making friends his age. He doesn't get along with the other children in his class. Mom is worried." He wished very much that his little brother would quickly make good friends. But there was something else that worried him. "What about Aunt Lea? Does she want another child? I always thought that wasn't really one of her interests?"