The Witch's Toy ✔

27: uriel, patron of the arts

Honestly, this wasn't how I imagined my life would be like once my last year in high school rolled around. I imagined it to be a slow, filled with sleepless nights of studying and some few afternoons spent in the infirmary lying numb with fatigue.

I didn't know that fate would let Raphael waltz into my life as unexpectedly as it had once taken away everything that was ever dear to me. I didn't know my mother would come back, as broken as she was when I last saw her. And I also didn't know that I would be left sitting in this car for hours, watching as the gray sky above turned dark with time.

I was supposed to be at home preparing for my final exams, making sure that I'd be able to get into the top university so that it'd be easier for me to enter the workforce with an impressive alma mater. I'd be able to support myself, as alone and individualistic as I thought I'd be until the day I drew my last breath.

Now, it didn't seem that that plan I'd drawn out for myself would come to pass.

My mother pulled up onto a dirt driveway, parking before she turned off the engine of the car. She swiveled around, pushing her long hair away from her face and behind her ear. When she looked at me, there was a bit of light that pinpointed her irises, making them shine. Whoever this person was who I was meeting — they meant a lot to my mother.

"We're here."

I slid out of the car, sneakers hitting the ground with a soft thud. For a moment, I stopped, asking myself if I was ready — if I wanted to face Madame Blanc and possibly other rivals head-on. I was never able to defend myself from Mina's attacks, always bearing it and letting her do whatever she wanted with me. How was I supposed to surpass the Madame Blanc?

You can't.

My feet stepped back on instinct, my body tensing with hesitation.

"Yu Rui, aren't you coming?" My mother was already at the front door, her fist raised to knock on the wood. But before she could, it opened before her, an older woman stepping out with a silk scarf wrapped around her shoulders.

My heart leapt as the beat of my heart started to thrum at my temple. I felt my breath catch at my throat as my fingers started to shake, that dizziness that I always experienced during my panic attacks coming at me in full force. I knew her. She'd definitely aged, but she looked just as young as she did back then for her age. Her hair was still that same silky black, now cut close to her chin, and her face still so similar to mine. I knew her.

She was someone who I'd hoped I would never have to see again.

"Qi Tong?"

"Yes, it's me," my mother responded with a soft smile on her face. "Uriel, I have a request."

"If you're not in a rush, could you ask me in the morning?" Uriel asked, stepping away from the opening to beckon my mother inside. "There are other things I've been wanting to discuss with you since you left a few weeks ago."

"It's about Yu Rui. She came with me today."

The moment my name left my mother's lips, something in Uriel froze. I saw her eyes scanning the area around my mother until her gaze met mine. I held it unwaveringly, and she was the first to look away, swallowing as she faced my mother again. "Does she remember?" Her voice was hushed, but I could still hear her clearly.