How To Disappear - KiVi [Engl.]

Epilogue

Chiara appreciates silence. Ever since she was a child, everything's been so loud. Her parents were always arguing, her sister was always screaming about something Chiara had no interest in, and when she fell asleep, her dreams would make her head ache from how painfully they pierced through her ears.

All of the noise in her past makes Chiara appreciate days like today – days where she can sit on her back porch with a good book and a cup of tea and watch her wife and son play together on their lawn. Manu had woken the pair of them up by pulling his small body atop their bed and making a simple request: water gun fight. While Chiara had groaned and rolled over atop the king-sized mattress, Violeta had agreed near instantly.

Before Manu was born, Chiara had thought she would be the one to spoil the boy senseless, but it turned out to be Violeta. Whenever he looked up at her with green eyes peering through thick, brown curls, Violeta couldn't say no.

And so now Chiara's watching Violeta pretend to fall to the ground in pain as Manu sprays her down with his super soaker.

"Any last words?" Manu asks as he climbs over Violeta's body and points his water gun at her chest.

Violeta takes in a shaky breath and shuts her eyes before choking out a simple, "Eat... your... vegetables."

Manu's face falls for a second before he scrunches his eyebrows together and screams out a loud "NEVER!" – holding his finger down on the trigger of his super soaker and thoroughly drenching Violeta.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Chiara laughs, putting her book down and slowly heading towards her family, "Are you ready for lunch yet?"

"Mom can't," Manu giggles and stares down at Violeta as she lays limp on the ground.

"Huh, what a shame. Then we got more vegetable left for us? Perfect!"

"What? No! I don't like this."

Violeta grins, proud of her trick to get her son to eat more healthy food. She suddenly exclaims, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him to the ground next to her. Her fingers tickle relentlessly at Manu's sides as he shrieks with joy.

Chiara rolls her eyes but can't help but snicker at the pair, "You guys are too much. I'm gonna go make lunch."

"Can I help?" Manu manages to say as Violeta eases her grip on the boy.

"Change your clothes first," Chiara laughs, eyeing the way that Manu's shirt hangs loosely off his body with the weight of water. "Same goes for you, Vivi."

"Fine, fine," Violeta complies, reaching out and letting Manu take her hand, "Let's get changed, little one."

"I'm not little, I'm five," Manu frowns but still holds tightly onto Violeta's fingers. This was a frequent fight that the two of them shared – Violeta telling Manu he was small, and Manu trying to argue against it.