"My mom was here."
"She was here? " Ethan said. He was shocked to see Aria crying but then what she said afterwards confused him even more. Her mother was here. But why would you cry if your mother came earlier in a place you also went? Also, she is trembling. Her whole body is trembling. Why? Why is she crying? He looked at her right hand touching the wall of the hollow and saw that it is the one trembling the most. Then he noticed something on the wall near her hand. He only needed a second to have a better look of what seemed like a crude writing.
The wall was carved. It does not look like a recent carving though. This one has been here for years already. The writing says 'This is Merlea's personal place'.
'Wow, that was some domineering statement to leave behind. Looks like a work of a gutsy teenager. I'm guessing that's her mother? No wonder this girl is a ball of energy.' He thought to himself. Then he heard her speak.
"Thank you." Aria whispered. Had it not been for his strong hearing he would have missed that.
"What for?" He asked.
"For bringing me here. I felt that resonance the moment I saw this place. It's like this place is calling to me, waiting for me. You might not know this but I was actually about to give up earlier with my search. I was already thinking of settling on one of the three areas I saw earlier. But those places are nothing compared to this one." She said smiling, but the tears in her eyes kept on falling. The smile on her lips did not reach her eyes. But then, the smile doesn't feel forced at all. It was like sadness and happiness combined together to form what she is feeling right now. It makes him feel weird inside. This girl, she is different from others.
"And..." She continued as she choke on her tears. "My mother...I'm so happy right now. This was her place. She came here before me. She was sheltered by this same place when she went through her own awakening. And..and I'm going to share the same place with my mother. I bet my father didn't even know of this place." She smiled. "That's so like her. And now I'm here, this can be our little secret. Only that, she...she will never know I already know this secret of hers. But I bet she won't mind. She was always like that. I just can't believe that after all these years, she is still watching over me. She never left me completely, she has always been with me, protecting me. Even though she's no longer here, she...she..."
Almost instinctively, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to an embrace. It pains him seeing her cry like that.
"It's okay. Everything is fine." He whispered.
She cried even more.
"Is it raining?" She asked after a few minutes, her head hidden in his embrace.
He looked up at the clear sky painted with hues of red, orange and blue. Soon the sun will set.
"Yes, it is raining hard."
***
"S-sorry for wetting your clothes." Aria said. She just finished with the process of leaving her mark in the area claiming the place as hers for the coming blue moon. She is now taking care of the materials she used earlier and placing them in her bag.
She finally calmed down after almost half an hour of crying. Everytime she remembers how she acted earlier blood rushes up to her face How can she face Ethan now? She can no longer look at Ethan without feeling embarassed.
'Why did she ever cry like that in front of a total stranger?' She thought.
"Well it's not your fault that it rained hard earlier, right?" He smiled. During the whole duration of her performing the ritual of marking he went out just a step from the boundary she created. He just stood there and watched as she do her thing. Honestly speaking, it made her a bit conscious throughout the process. She thought he would leave when she started with the ritual but he stayed until now.
"Ha-ha, yeah you're right. It rained hard that's why your clothes got wet. It was not my fault. Ha-ha-ha" Good, if he's going to give me a way out of this embarassment, even if its shameless I'll definitely grab it.
"So, you're awakening is on Monday?" He shifted the conversation. He took a stick used in the ritual earlier and helped her place the stick in her bag.
"Yes, it is." She said looking at him continue on stuffing her materials inside the bag
"Can I come then?" He stopped and looked at her.
"Huh? Come where? Here?" That can't be. Awakening is a personal experience of a Lycan. I can't share that with him. Surely he knows that, right?
"No, not here, at your pack's welcoming party. There will be one right?" He asked.
'Crap. That's what he's talking about? What was I thinking?' She thought.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, we do that. It will be at our village's central gathering area." A welcoming party is held everytime someone from the pack comes back from awakening. It is to formally welcome and introduce the awakened Lycans as official members of the pack. It would be equivalent to a debutant party where a person is formally welcomed and introduced to the world of adults.
"So can I come?" He asked again.
"Why?" She asked. But when he looked at her, she wished she didn't ask. His stare was so intense and deep that she almost felt like she is being sucked by those eyes. His stare was so full of different emotions but she couldn't point out any of the emotions that is there for she can't understand what she's feeling right now herself. And then all of a sudden he smiled, and the emotions she saw in his eyes was covered and that unnerving feeling she felt earlier was instantly gone like it never happened.
"I want to congratulate you personally, of course. Besides, I helped you find this wonderful place right?" He was grinning like a little boy who wants to get his way with everyone by showing off how cute he is.
'Come to think of it, he is indeed really cute like a playful young boy, especially with those grayish brown eyes that seems to sparkle whenever he grins. I bet he always get what he wants doing that grin. On the other hand, when he is all serious he looks so dependable and manly like when he hugged me earlier.' She thought. Just as the thought of him hugging her earlier entered her mind, she instantly felt all her blood rush up again to her face.
"Are you alright? You look all red." He asked.
"Ah d-don't mind this. It's p-probably exhaustion from the ritual I did earlier. Yeah, that's it. Ha-ha." She immediately explained. No way she would tell him the real reason.
"So?" He said.
"So..what?" She asked. A bit disoriented from all the thinking she did about him.
He chuckled. "You're answer to my question?"
She looked down. Does she want him to come?
She did not answer right away. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke.
"Am I being persistent? Sorry, forget about what I asked you. We should..."
"You can." She cut his words short. "I'll wait for you there."
She don't know why, but the first time she saw him she knew right away that he is not a bad person. Her usual wariness of strangers disappeared. And she instantly gave him her trust when she agreed to come with him to this place. Then she cried on his shoulder like she have known him for a long time when her heart felt heavy upon knowing the connection of this place to her mother. And now, she feel very relaxed sharing this casual talk with him.
It would not be bad letting him come to the party. Maybe, just maybe, she'll know the answer after her awakening. Maybe this chance encounter that they had is actually a fated one.
He grinned triumphantly. "I'll definitely come."