In Another Life

Memory Lane

It was official for the Li girls. They were moving into the castle. Although Mingyue didn't know how to feel about it, she couldn't tell if she was happy or sad... she felt numb almost.

"Mingyue, be on your best behavior. You are going to be in front of the royal family so act like a proper lady."

"Yes mom, I promise I will."

King Yoobin had sent a carriage to fetch them, they had already taken all of their things, all that was left of the house was the small furniture that fit perfectly for the space.

Mingyue looked back at her childhood home, memories filled the void of bare house. Jingjing, although she would never admit it has a similar feeling. The mother knew that she shouldn't feel a heaviness in her heart, after all, she loved Yoobin.

"Goodnight, my lovey dovey," Jingjing kissed little Mingyue on her forehead. Mingsheng followed, bidding his daughter a goodnight after his wife.

"Daddy? Could you read me a story?"

"I don't think Momma would like that, how about tomorrow? We will read a book first thing when you wake up."

"Please Daddy? I really want to hear a princess story? Just one~"

Mingsheng could never say no to his little princess. He smiled at Mingyue before reciting a story until his daughter had fully fallen asleep.

Before he left the room, he tucked her in, kissing her forehead once more.

His wife was already in bed when he got to their bedroom, "You couldn't say no, could you?" Jingjing teased. She knew that Mingsheng was a huge pushover when it came to their daughter.

"She gave me those big eyes– I don't even think that you would be able to say no," He defended, getting into bed and facing her. Both of them turned to each other, love was in their eyes, still visible even under the faint moonlight. "I love you, Jingjing, never forget that."

"I love you more, Mingsheng, you as well shall never forget that. You are stuck with me for the rest of you're life," Jingjing joked.

"Oh boy, what have I done~" A yawn escaped from his mouth, it was only then when Jingjing noticed his fatigue in his eyes.

"Go to sleep my love."

He kissed her forehead, before falling asleep, holding her through the night.

"Dad! Look!"

Five year old Mingyue had drawn a little family portrait. It was her first successful drawing yet. Her little figure was running around the cozy home, showing it off to both of her parents.

"That's amazing Hon, I can't wait to see what you can do in the future~"

"I'll become a famous artisan. Just wait–"

"Mingsheng! Don't rile her up before bedtime!" Jingjing came into the living room to see what ruckus she assumed her husband made.

"Mom look, I drew this for us to hang up!" Little Mingyue handed her mom the piece of parchment with a sketch of the three of them.

It was quite beautiful, especially for a five year old. The lines of ink decorated the space, and the intricate details amazed Jingjing and Mingsheng. Their daughter defiantly had a talent for these kinds of things.

"It looks wonderful, Hon, everyone's going to love it~" Mingsheng spoke fondly to his daughter. Jingjing trusted Mingyue with decorating her first cake. It was holiday themed, but Mingyue couldn't help but feel that it looked ugly.

"No ones gonna like it Dad!" Mingyue pouted, "Something's off about it, help me?"

Her father chuckled, "I think it's perfect–"

"Please Dad~"

He sighed, giving into his daughters request. He didn't do much, he only fixed up some of the lines of frosting so it looked a bit neater and he also added more sprinkles, but Mingyue really did do a great job for being only six years old.

A tear escaped Mingyue's eyes as she finished her last portrait. It was the best work she's ever done before, she wished that her dad could see it, Mingyue still held out hope that he was watching from the Heavens above.

"Daddy... if you can hear me, I wanted to say that I love you so much. I miss you, this is for you. I'm sorry that I can't become an artisan. Because you're not here to witness it, no one else will get to either.

The last picture Mingyue drew was of her and her dad. It was how she imagined him telling her bedtime stories when she was younger. The tear stained the parchment paper and the ink bled through.

Although she had a heavy heart, Mingyue continued to decorate cakes to help Jingjing. She couldn't possibly imagine how her mother was feeling. Without the third person at the bakery, everything was chaotic for the girls. Jingjing went in three hours earlier than Mingyue every morning to get ahead of the work before rushes of people came in.

"I'm going to miss it here," Mingyue said, her eyes were glossed over from the memories that she almost forgot. It had been ten years since her father passed, but his death still stung like it was only yesterday that they found him without a pulse.

"It's time we move on though, just think about how happy you could be in the castle, hm?"

The sound of hooves on the dirt roads relinquished them from their memories. With heavy hearts, they left their cozy little home.

For Jingjing, it felt like a breath of fresh air. She no longer felt suffocated by the pain of remembering every detail whenever she looked at something. But it was the opposite for Mingyue. She wanted to remember, she didn't wanted him to be forgotten like every other person that had passed before him.

Jingjing's beauty was ethereal, she smiled once she saw the castle. This was her chance to start anew with another man that could love her. She loved Yoobin, truely, and he loved her.

"Best behavior, also could you smile a bit more– and recorrect your posture."