Please, Elsa

Chapter 12: Honesty

Hey guys, sorry for not updating in so long. A lot of things have been happening, they're not good things if you're wondering. Moving on is a difficult task, and I'm currently on it. Anyway, here's a difficult chapter, I was thinking of where the story should go, and I now know where it should head, but this was hard to write. Anyway, hope you enjoy this one, and we'll be ending things in a few more chapters, hopefully. 

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I did not know what to do. I wanted to hug him.

"So, are you ready to listen to poor little Carl's story?" Carl asked.

"No, actually, you don't have to tell me if you don't wanna." I replied.

"I don't do backstory much, this is an exception, I've always felt like telling it to someone, and I'm glad you appeared, because now I can!" he said. He sounded like a little child who just found a best friend.

"Okay then, I'm all ears." I said, and placed my elbow on the table, supporting my chin.

Carl took a deep breath and sighed. "All right, here we go.

"Once upon a time, there was a little kid named Carlton. He had a great family and also some great friends, you know, he was basically one of the luckiest kids in the whole world, and he knew it himself, but he just never really acknowledged it.

"Then, one day, his mother came home and cried-" he paused all of a sudden and took a deep breath again, then suddenly covering his face.

I asked, "Oh goodness, Carl, you okay?"

He looked at me and replied, "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay.

"So," he let out a big breath, "the little boy went up to ask his mother what happened. He was just a little kid, and, and, he didn't know what it meant to lose someone, you know, he was, just a child.

"Okay, so, his mother told him that his father has gone away to somewhere far far away, and he's never coming back. The little kid asked her, 'Where is that place? I'm going to find papa.' And then she hugged her son real tight." he stopped.

I looked at him and asked, "What happens next?"

"She left." he said dryly.

"What?" I asked.

"She hugged him and then she just ran away." he emphasized.

"Did she ever come back?" I asked.

"No." he said it in such a way that anyone could feel his helplessness.

"What happened to little Carlton then?" I begged for more.

He smiled and said, "Well, little Carlton's alright now, he might not be as good as his father was at music, but he's doing well, and he still hopes and prays that someday his father might return from that far far away land."

"So, Carlton's father's a great musician?" I asked, just to confirm.

"Phenomenal. He played violin every night with Carlton, just to make sure that his son inherits his legacy." he said with a pair of bright eyes.

"Well, do you think that Carlton's father's gonna return someday?" I wanted to make sure he was okay.

"Do I?" he echoed, "Well, I guess I don't anymore, but Carlton still does. Every single day, there's this little flame of hope burning inside Carlton's tiny heart, telling Carlton that his father will return to fix everything that he broke."

"You don't?" I asked.

"I highly doubt so, but I can't say that I don't." Carl replied.

We shared a few seconds of silence.