Hiraeth

Chapter 6- What Would You Do?

The woman stands in front of the mirror as she smooths down her puff-sleeved dress, the fabric reaching all the way down to her knees. She then combs her short hair, making sure that the undercut is well hidden.

After all, she is not exactly in the mood to be talked about again as a disgusting sinner who attends church.

Dawn grabs the pair of sandals from her bag, making sure not to forget anything. Once sure that she is ready, Dawn walks over to her parents' room, knocking on the open door that reveals her mother, eyes focused on the mirror as her right hand that holds a pencil magically gives her eyebrows.

The daughter laughs, "So you still can't leave the house without your eyebrows, huh Ma?" and with this, her step father laughs along while the other woman in the room glares at her two loved ones.

"Of course, what do you expect?" she says as she scoffs, later replacing her frown with a soft smile. "You ready, Dawn?" the only man in the room asks, and Dawn nods. "Not as much of a slow-poke than when I was younger anymore, huh?"

He laughs in return as he nods. "You're right, but your mother here hasn't improved. Oh right, can you call your brother? He's not picking up my calls and he hasn't come home yet"

Dawn simply nods as an answer as she opens her phone and dials the contact saved as 'Boke' in it.

Finally, a voice of a teenage guy is heard from the other line, the voice from someone who obviously woke up from the call.

They really are siblings.

"What do you want, Ate?" the boy asks, voice husky. Ate, meaning older sister. A term that her brother has been calling her since the day Dawn started hating him.

Yes, the day he started to talk.

"Wow Yuri, what a good way to greet your older sister. Anyway we're going to your campus to attend church, how about sitting with us? Ma and Pa miss you, you know. They told me yesterday that you rarely visit home" the woman tells her brother, who on the other line is currently lying on his bed.

The boy gasps, "Oh, you visited home? That's kind of a surprise, you rarely do. And come on Ate, I told you not to call me Yuri! Theo, my name is Theo" he says, annoyance evident in his voice, which his sister only finds hilarious, and she laughs. After all, one of the woman's specialties is laughing at her adorable brother.

Or treating him like the baby he is.

"Whatever. Get ready, we'll be over in... well, I don't know, depends on the traffic. Just be ready, okay?" she tells the boy on the other line, his response a simple hum.

"Let's go, Dawn?" a voice tells her and she faces her mother, a smile on her face. It is a happy day, after all.

Dawn observes the situation right outside the car, eyes on the moving trees and the various emotions shown on different people. Some smile, some frown. It is just as how life is, at times you feel happy and at times you simply are not in the mood.

There is nothing wrong with having an emotion other than joy though. Always keep in mind that your emotions and feelings are valid.

It's been a long time since she last was able to observe the sceneries when travelling. As someone who is always the driver, her eyes are glued to the road. It feels nice, to just sit down and look at the other side of the car window, her motion sickness no longer present.

After what seemed like less than an hour of travel, Dawn recognizes the area they arrived in. The very long gate of her old campus present. The houses, stores, not even the busy streets seemed to change.