Recently, Ryosei's insomnia had worsened; as such, he was twice as irritable than normal.
That was what Eika had observed in his reactions and his attention span. Naturally, this confused her, since she was certain that she'd been insuring good dreams for him.
In fact, ever since he was Turned, she'd controlled the dreamscape of his mind very carefully, making it so he could rest blissfully whenever he fell asleep.
However, ever since he finished the Turning, he'd constantly woken up to be somewhat of a little sh!t, his exhaustion gnawing at him and making him even more snappy than usual. She could easily resolve this of it by finding and eliminating the issue...
But there was a problem; while she wanted to go into his mindscape to figure out as to why he was having such dreams, doing so was an invasion of his mental privacy.
Now, perhaps it was odd for Eika, the woman who had invaded his entire life and seemed inconsiderate towards his privacy and personal space, to consider it now when she went into his dreams every night to insure their quality, but that wasn't the case at all.
When he wanted to be alone, she allowed him to be, only monitoring him from afar in case of an altercation he was unable to finish; he could go everywhere in the house without her permission, save only a few rooms; he could leave to college and the outside world freely, so long as he told her as she didn't want him to die.
Considering the contract that had been established, she was an extremely responsible and hands-off master, only invading his privacy for security reasons and for when he needed encouragement; the fact that she even allowed for his sister to stay with him already spoke of her lenience.
Besides, while she monitored and finely controlled his dreams, she knew neither the subject nor content of the dreams, and she did not pry into his thoughts or attempt to gain control of them, though such a feat would be simple if she used her authority as his Master and Turner.
If she were to ever do such a thing, it would be to save his life, or for training against mental attacks.
In fact, despite her general lack of morality, there were a few truths and ideals influenced by her past that she upheld steadfastly, and disliked breaking them in any capacity.
"Hmm... how can I help him..."
Currently, she was doing all of her profound pondering on a playgrounds swing set, her slim legs lengthening and contracting as they brushed against the grass of Central Park.
Trees cast dappled shadows upon her, and a gentle warmth was retained in the air despite the autumnal chill. While she could easily see and hear the city that surrounded this place, she understood its appeal; between the song of the birds and the laughter of adorable children, she found a sense of peace that firmly remained, unlike the Room of Solace.
The Room of Solace was peaceful, but there was no one else there in the illusion she'd conjured; here, there was peace in the reality of people and their lives. While all of them could likely die from a snap of her fingers or an accidental sneeze, she felt neither a desire nor want to do so.
She didn't want this peace found only in the presence of others to fade away; besides, she'd always liked children—their company was as honest as it was mischievous.
"Wow! Hey, Young Grandma Lady, you're really pretty!"
'But sometimes they're annoying,' she recalled with a twitch to her eye at the term "grandma" being used to describe her beautiful and entrancing self. Not even Ryosei used it on her!
...She had a sudden premonition that she shouldn't allow for this kid and Ryosei to meet—between his sorta-vendetta against her and this child's spontaneity, she didn't think she'd be able to survive against the insults.
"Oh? Grandma?" she replied with grinding teeth, her smile scary and unnaturally stiff, "Now whatever do you mean darling?"
"Well, you have white hair, and the only people I've seen with that color are my grandparents, so that's why."
"So, you've never seen a person with dyed white hair?"
"What does 'dye' mean?" he asked, wide, curious jade eyes imploring for an answer with the tilt of his head.
"It means you use chemicals to temporarily or permanently change the color of your hair."
"Oh." He looked down for a pause before looking up again, his eyes sparkling again. "Did you do that 'dye' thing to make your hair white?"
'They're also really curious...' she smiled at the thought, finding a child's innocent yet inquisitive nation to be refreshing; she liked it when people asked questions—whether or not she knew the answer allowed for a different experience every time, and made her monochromatic and monotonous life drag a little less.
"No, I was born this way. You see, they're some people who have little color to their skin and hair, and I'm one of them. They're called albino's."
"Oh, is that why your eye is red?"
Eika chuckled—it seems that she interested this kid a lot.
"Kinda, but not all albinos' have red eyes. They could have pale blue, or pinkish eyes; the colors they're eyes come in aren't necessarily limited to a red. For example, I have a friend who has inherited albino coloration, and he has pale blue eyes."
"That's cool!"
"I know right?"
"I bet he's really cool too!"
A gentle smile swept across her face, and an affectionate head-pat was granted to the child.
"Yeah, he is pretty cool. A little awkward, and a bit rough around the edges, but good. Right now, he's going through a rough time, and is wondering about his future... because of that, he has a lot of anxiety over what he'll become and who he'll be..."
A beat of silence lasted between them, and the beautiful woman looked sad, her red eye low and sad, as if she considered the mysterious man's burden her own. The kid didn't understand why she was so sad when just a minute ago she was smiling, but be felt compelled to break this silence, before it became sadder.
"Will he... be okay?"
A spark of light glittered in her eye before she turned to the kid. That empathetic expression... was he feeling worried because she was worried? Eika felt her heart melt a little bit more—he reminded her of her little brother...
"Mhm. I have full confidence that he'll end up a great and wonderful person."
So, she couldn't help it; she smiled. The smile she offered to the child, was as bright and warm as the dying sunlight that peeked over the building, and he felt his cheeks warm up as he wondered over how someone could look so otherworldly; what a nice lady... and pretty too...
Suddenly shy, the kid looked down, and mumbled, "My parents are always saying that growing up is hard... they always tell me to have fun now, or else I won't have any fun in the future..."
Eika quietly got off the swing and knelt down beside the kid as he continued, tears gathering in his eyes.
"I'm scared. I want to grow up—I really do, I just... I'm scared. Will I argue like my parents do, and yell and smell weird when I get home like Dad does? Will I get a lot of money, enough to have a proper house and not a small apartment? Will I find someone like Mom, or will I always be alone?
"If I end up arguing and yelling, stinky and alone, I don't want to grow up! I don't want to go to school! I wish, I wish I could stop everything now, and not grow another inch! I wish... I wish..."
"That you can be happy?"
The boy turned to Eika, his bright jade gaze slightly misty and red from crying, and gently, kindly, she wiped away his tears, a smile on her lovely face. She reminded him of autumn—a little cold, a little odd, but still warm and bright.
"Well, do you want to be happy?"
Anxiously, he nodded—he really wanted to be happy.
"Then, surround yourself with the happy, healthy things of life: good friends, good food, good laughs, good rest and good dreams. Whenever you stumble and fall—and you will, because most everyone does at some point—then get right back up again. It's okay to fail sometimes, just like how it's okay to take a breather and relax some other times.
"You don't need to worry about every little thing! Take things step by step, and if you take one step forward then three steps back, that's okay too! The amount of distance you travel hardly matters in comparison to the desire that you carry—if you will keep moving forward with as many stops and halts that you need along the way, you'll be able to live a good life, with few regrets and as much happiness as you can get!"
Softly, Eika tussled his hair again, and as his face scrunched and she stood to go, she uttered her final parting statement.
"Don't forget to stop and smell the flowers as you go on your way—and it's okay to walk with someone as you go along the way! Live your life—live it I tell you, and don't just walk around like some zombie, okay?"
With that, she smiled and left, her bright white hair looking almost golden as the falling sun hit it, and her pale skin full of a warm glow; at her parting, the child wondered over whether or not he'd just met an angel, the thought of her being a demon not once crossing his mind, even when he finally went back to his home.
Eika hummed; it was a good day, she decided.
However, it wasn't an excellent day, since Ryosei had been eavesdropping on her conversation with the kid and had heard her speech on living and stuff before leaving.
A vague anxiety overcame her at the thought of the speech being preachy and cringey, and a nervous, self-conscious laugh bubbled up from her as she leisurely walked back home, admiring how the warm beams of the sun reflected off of the glittering towers of steel and glass.
"Surely, it wasn't that bad... was it?"
Well, whether or not it was bad didn't really matter; the point had been made, and it was up to Ryosei and the kid to get it across. It was out of her hands, but she was okay with that.
So, yeah; it was a good day.
Sometimes, that's all that she needed—a nice, good day.
If only there'd been more good days lying ahead for Ryosei and her...