King of the Woods

Part 39

(Author's Note: There's been a long time skip between the time they did that and now.) 

Over the course of the next couple of months, I continued working in the bakery shop with Liz, my manager, helping me. We ended up selling 5 donuts, a cake, and lots of muffins! Yum! I am so hungry. If Aakil wasn't with me right now, I think I would have fallen in love with food! I quickly take a cookie from one of the display stands and stuff in my mouth before putting a dollar in the cash register. It's absolutely delicious! I want another one, but we have to save some for the customers as well. 

 While I was working in the shop, Aakil went to take care of some business with his subjects and such. Ever since we had the conversation about my life as a human, Aakil seemed to oblige with my every wish including continuing to work in the bakery. He told me that he could provide everything for me, but if I wanted to work, I could. 

As the end of the day approaches, I decide that I should head back to my hotel room. Aakil and I decided to continue to stay in the hotel room because according to Aakil, it was "nice and cozy *wink *wink*." As I am walking, my phone rings. It's my mom calling me. I pick up. 

"Hello. Is this Kaaya?" Its not my mom who answers. 

"Yes, who is this?" I ask tensely. Ever since our last phone call, I realized that my parents may not care for me as much as I thought they would. After I decided to live on my own in comfort of the woods, more like Aakil's protests, they have just been on many vacations. I suppose I shouldn't be too bothered since they were like this since I was young. Instead of having overprotective parents, I became the "overprotective daughter" as my mother described me in our last call. Was I bad daughter to make them ignore me like this? Or did something bad really happen? They may not love me as much I love them, but they are still my parents. All these thoughts run around my head as I wait for the voice to say something back. 

"Are you aware that your family went on a cruise a few weeks ago?" He asks emotionlessly. Where was this going? They can't be...

"Yes, did something happen!?" I ask, in full panic mode right now. 

"The cruise sank with 2,000 passengers aboard including your parents and sister." When he told me that sentence, I felt my heart stop. They died. He said something else on the phone, but I couldn't hear as I dropped my phone on the ground. Memories of parents, both good and bad, went through my head. In most of them, I had to take care of them, but there were times where they actually expressed their love for me. I was now the only member left in my family. 

I fell down onto the grass unable to move. I hotel where Aakil and I stayed at was right from me, but I couldn't make myself go in. Suddenly, guilt filled me. It was all my fault. Did I not take care of them well? I could have stopped them from going onto the cruise..it's all my fault. 

I sit down on the grass until I feel hands wrap around my shoulders. Assuming it to be Aakil, I let my tears stain his arm while he whispers sweet nothings to me.  

"Baby, what happened?" Aakil asks softly as if to not scare me away. 

"M-my family passed away on a c-cruise. It was all my fault!" I burst into tears once again as I think of the fun times that I had with my sister. I feel Aakil wrap his arms around me as I am curled up in a tiny ball. He doesn't say anything else, but just stays there. I get pulled onto his lap as he continues to rock me comfortably. Slowly, my eyes stop watering as I run out of tears. We just stay there under the - now - night sky, me sniffling and him holding me tight. 

My eyes start to close as I dream of myself introducing Aakil to my parents. They smile and hold their hands looking at each other. My sister laughs with Aakil and makes jokes with him.