Mirage - Shall We Date Wizardess Heart' Fic

Chapter 60: Home Sweet Home

After a fifteen-minute walk, her house finally came into view; a small residence made all of stone and thatched roof, in the middle of a small valley. The structure still seemed firm and steady. The porch was as she remembered, her old vintage rocking chair remained intact as well as the round table she once helped her father make, she couldn't say the same about the parasol. The grass around the house grew significantly, and it was greener and brighter than ever. The small pond, bordered by rocks of all sides, stood on the left side of the property next to the grand old oak. The water was turbid from being stagnant still, it was possible to see the gold and red fishes swimming inside. And, in the backyard, a vast clearing laced with flowers spread as far as the eye could see. The blue, centered-white flowers should be blossoming in this time of the year, carpeting the land with every color imaginable. She smiled, remembering about the rainbow-colored-winged butterflies and black-vested bees floating through the air, going from flower to flower, and other few small insects, like ladybugs and caterpillars, crawling up the trees and strolling on the land.

So many good memories which were brought to her.

"Miss Coeur, do you need any help bringing these up?" A seemingly young male villager holding two suitcases in his hands and another two beneath his armpits, asked, breaking her away from her thoughts.

Aurora blinked out of her stupor. "No, it's fine, Samuel. It was already so nice of you to fetch me from the train station and help me this far."

He waved off her recognition with the due respect, "It was no trouble at all. On the contrary, it was a pleasure to help you. Besides, I didn't have a better thing to do."

"What would your father think about that, I wonder." She stated and, tried to suppress a giggle.

For a minute, the dark-skinned boy was too flustered to speak. He scratched the back of his neck and averted his sky-blue eyes to anywhere but the girl, while he cracked up a forced laugh. "I knew you'd say that..."

She only smiled faintly and sighed, as if to say that this was no more than she had expected."I'll take it from here," She reassured him, picking her luggage, "Will I see you later?"

"Yes! Of course!" His response was rather forthcoming. "Uh, Miss Couer?"

"Yes?"

His thick body was at her back, and he shifted close enough to remain in contact while his large hands settled on her shoulder. "Everyone in the village misses you. Why don't you come to the annual festival tomorrow night? I'm sure the kids from the orphanage would be thrilled to see you."

When she fell silent, he appeared disgruntled rather than surprised by her reaction. For some reason, Randolph's words came into mind that moment and she felt her chest tightened. He told her specifically to stay inside the house and not interact with people, strangers, or not. But, these were her people. She knew them since she was a five-year-old kid. They took care of her and they were her family, they wouldn't ever hurt her in any way and she felt safe around them. So, what would harm could a small party do? What should she do? She then breathed a silent sigh. "I'll consider it."

With a broad and friendly smile, the boy nearly jumped up out of his skin, ecstatic."Good!" He was about to go down the hill when he seemed to have remembered something and so, he turned around and addressed her again. "And, Miss Coeur?"

"Yes?"

"It was nice seeing you." He said.

She smiled, "You too, Samuel." Only when she turned around and did break eye contact, that she felt him go away, even if he did stay for a bit to watch her leave. Her feet unconsciously took her up the hill, only stopping by the door of her humble abode, as if they didn't forget the way to reach there. She knew that only a few months had passed since the day she left her home and the village who saw her grow but, it felt like a year apart. A lot has happened; she made good friends and lived incredible adventures. She didn't hold a grudge against anyone or regret any decision, if she were to do it all over again, she wouldn't change a thing.