"I don't remember its name, but it is white slightly yellowish, solid and salty? I don't know for sure. But the taste is good." Hiraeth explained while imagining the taste of the cheese in his past life, even though he was not really sure, one thing he knew, the taste of the cheese was salty.
"You ate it?" Irish asked when she saw the expression of her son that depicting he recalled something had happened. Nothing was wrong, it was just the taste Hiraeth recalled when he was still Evescent.
"Yes, they gave me a little bite." Hiraeth lied.
"A bite?"
"Yes, just a bit." Hiraeth showed his little finger to measure the little bite that he meant. Even if it was just a lie.
He was a strict person, when he was lying, then he would do that intelligently and thoroughly. Just like this time.
"Is it cheese?" Irish guessed a solid and salty food. The only answer in her head was cheese.
"Yes. They call it cheese."
Irish smiled at her son, then said. "You know, that is fermented milk. In other words, it is made of stale milk with a certain technique."
Naturally, Hiraeth raised his glass then looked at the milk in the glass, as if he just knew it. He pretended to be amazed when looked at the milk.
"How come? It's not the same!" Hiraeth looked at irish with a hopeful look as if he really wanted to eat cheese. The fact was in his past life he was very tired of cheese. 'Just a little more push'- "Can you make it?" 'done'-,
"I'm not sure, I think I can make it if we have the necessary ingredients."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"You're the best, Mom."
Irish was embarrassed when Hiraeth praised her. While Hiraeth, he was amazed of Irish who knew how to make cheese. Hiraeth was amazed of Irish who knew how to make cheese, although she was a King's daughter previously. Whether she learned it from the palace, or after got married, the point was Irish was an extraordinary woman.
"That's enough. Let's eat. I also have to leave so I can go home early.
They still carried on the conversation but it was not about cheese anymore, but Irish avoided talking about fish as much as possible. Because to be frank, she still couldn't make any decision. While Hiraeth, who was aware of it, didn't bring it up. Maybe his mother needed some time to think. Because not all matters could be solved right away. Sometimes it took space to make a decision.
***
Irish was at work. She took a basin that is usually used for washing. The shape was curved like a bowl, but it was larger.
Irish couldn't avoid the reality that she thought about her son, especially when her son wanted to keep fish in their house. To be honest she thought about that all night, until she couldn't remember whether she really fell asleep or not last night.
Irish didn't know what she felt. Every parent is proud of their child who can be an independent human and can do something that should be done by adults. But Irish was not. It was not because she was not grateful, not. It was because her son was too special. Yeah, That was Irish thought about her son.
Since birth, he had heart problems. When he was five years old, his physical condition was slightly impaired, but he was fine even though he couldn't play like other children his age. But when he was fifteen years old, Hiraeth's condition began to deteriorate. Especially after his father died, or her husband.
They got more distressed in the economy and Hiraeth's condition was getting worse every day. Then she made Hiraeth slept for two years.
In the whole life of Hiraeth there was only pain. He couldn't play like children his age and he couldn't do any heavy activities as it could harm his life. Now, after fifteen years of struggling in pain, Irish wanted to see her son to enjoy his life.
Now, her child was able to run, jump and had other fun things without worrying about anything. This was the first time in Hiraeth's life, she wanted her son to enjoy his childhood and adolescence that he had passed due to illness.
Apparently, her wishes were different from what her son wanted.
"Irish? What's wrong with you? You look gloomy. Is Hiraeth okay?" Someone awakened her from dreaming. She was her partner who had the same task as her, that was washing. Even though they had other tasks, their mandatory task was to wash.
"No. Hiraeth is okay. Even though he is very healthy." Irish replied, refocusing herself on the clothes being washed.
"Then?"
Irish didn't reply at once. She was silent for a moment while washing. She was not sure about her concern. "What's going on?" her partner asked again.
"Hiraeth... he is healthy, very healthy. He's supposed to do everything he never did in the past. But... he chooses to help me."
"It's a good thing, isn't it?"
"Yes, if it's for children in normal condition. But he isn't..."
"Don't regard your son in a bad way. Just because he was often sick in the past, it doesn't mean he's not a normal boy."
"But..."
"Did he do it out of compulsion? Can't you see what he feels on his face when he helps you? Is he upset, or happy?"
Irish remained silent. Yes, her partner was true. In fact, she could see clearly that her son really enjoyed all the things he did in the last few days. It was the same when he told her that he found a solution to keep fish for a long period of time. The face of her son looked like a beam and glad.
Irish cursed herself for not being able to understand her own son, whereas it was obvious that her son was happy with what he was doing. As a mother, she was supposed to support her son.
"Thank you for your advice."
Irish carried on washing. She did it quickly and nimbly this time. She made sure that all the clothes were clean and there were no stains for a shred, or she could get an extra job because of her carelessness.
Irish realized that she was the only one who could support Hiraeth, as long as it was the thing he wanted to do, then there was no harm in trying.