Kai was half-way through his breakfast, bit by sweet, fresh bread and honey, when Mira's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Kai," she said, her tone gentle yet serious. "Would you like to go to Havenbrook tomorrow?"
It took a moment for the words to sink in. Kai blinked, his spoon frozen in mid-air, as he worked to process her question. Mira had always been strict about where he could go, boundaries set so firmly he'd never even dared to ask about leaving Elaris recently. Havenbrook was only a name to him; a distant world he had never seen.
"Wait… Really?" he stuttered, his big eyes looking at Mira in wide-eyed disbelief as his heart races.
Mira nodded at him with a soft, warm smile that gripped him hard. "Yes, Kai. You are no longer so small after all. It's about time you saw more of the world than Elaris alone. Besides, you would do well—you know, after you begin growing, at least. The world is far bigger than you believe it to be, Kai. There's just too much to discover."
A smile spread across Kai's face as her words sank in. After years of yearning, countless pleas, and hidden disappointment, he was finally being given the chance to explore the world beyond the familiar trees and hills of his village. He didn't even think as he jumped up from his seat, rushing to Mira's side and hugging her tightly.
"Thanks, Mom!" he exclaimed, his voice full of excitement and appreciation. "I don't believe it!"
Mira smiled softly, hugging him back, her hands lightly patting his back. "Okay, okay," she said with a small, helpless smile. "You're going with Aurelia and Eldrin tomorrow morning, so go prepare for today. Go, or you'll be late for school."
"Okay!" Kai responded with a beaming smile, packing his bag and almost sprinting out of the house, so full of enthusiasm that even his veins could feel electric.
As Mira watched him disappear down the path, her smile slowly faded. She stood there silently, her thoughts hazy with worry and a wistful ache in her heart.
'I knew this day would come,' she thought, her chest tightening. 'I can't hide him forever. But I wish there was another way.'
---
Kai couldn't help the smile that broke across his face as he walked down to the village square. He was to meet Lia there before going off to school. He was boiling inside with news he felt like spilling all over the place just thinking of her reaction. He increased his pace as he mentally envisioned Havenbrook: busy streets, market stalls selling their wares, towering stone buildings, which existed only in tales he used to hear as a kid.
He turned to the square to find Lia waiting for him, tapping her foot. She looked up and spotted him and waved, running down at her usual bouncy bounce. Her dark hair was loose behind her with every bounce of each stride.
–
"I knew you'd come today," Lia exclaimed, smiling bright before he even opens his mouth. "Kai! Guess what?.
"What?" he asked, slightly taken aback by her excitement. He wondered if she could have possibly guessed his news.
Lia leaned forward, almost bubbling with enthusiasm. "Mom invited me to go to Havenbrook with her tomorrow! She needs extra help for the sale of herbs in the market." She clasped her hands together and lit up her eyes. "Don't you just believe this? I've never gone because she said it wasn't good experience, I need to see more of the world." Isn't this wonderful?
Kai blinked, surprise's first jolt beginning to melt into amusement. "Wait… you are going to Havenbrook too?" He tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help it from spreading anymore.
'So this was what Mother meant,' thought Kai, understanding suddenly, as the adults had sent them both to Havenbrook.
"Yeah! That's kinda weird, right?" Lia kept asking with a frown just so slightly.
"I had asked Mom a thousand times to take me to Havenbrook. And every time I'd ask, she always said no. Then yesterday, I walk into this room and BAM! They want to see Havenbrook, yeah. Now my mind just runs with one thing. How come, suddenly they turn out all sweet?"
Kai shrugged, a small spark of suspicion lodging at the back of his mind. "I don't know. My mom said the same thing: that I should see the bigger world. I guess they think we're old enough now."
" Hmm." Lia's eyes narrowed, as if she didn't entirely buy it. "Maybe. But it just feels like… like they're planning something.
Kai laughed and teased her arm. "Whatever the reason is, we get to go. Havenbrook, Lia. Tomorrow!"
Her face lit up again as she nodded enthusiastically. "You're right! Havenbrook! I just can't wait to see everything. The stalls, the crowds… maybe we'll even catch some Nobles! She clasped her hands together dreamily, her mind already running wild with thoughts of adventure.
They walked side by side toward school, their conversation filled with plans, ideas, and a thousand what-ifs about the trip. But as Kai listened, excitement humming through him, his mind kept drifting back to Mira's expression that morning, to the quiet sadness that had flickered in her eyes as she'd watched him leave. 'Why now?' he wondered, though he pushed the thought aside, eager to savor the moment.
---
But it was a quiet sanctuary there, for in Aurelia's cottage, the she sat with Eldrin and Garrick, watching morning light creep through windows, bathing the room and bringing to the wise woman calm hands that sorted with deliberate motion a pile of herbs newly gathered.
"About time Mira agreed to let him out," Eldrin muttered, arms crossing as he leaned against the wall. "I thought we'd be gray and old before she let him set foot outside Elaris."
Aurelia laughed softly, shooting a glance toward the blacksmith. Her eyes narrowed on him in a look he knew was laced with knowledge. "Patience, Eldrin. You know as well as I do that Mira's reasons go deeper than simply being overly protective. She is doing what any mother would do—protect him the best she can."
What Garrick had listened silently to, he nodded at solemnly. "Well, yes. She knows it's coming for him. He is destined for bigger things than any of us may like. Holding him here merely holds him back."
Aurelia set aside the herbs on her table as she contemplated between the two men with a thoughtful face. "It's hard letting go of someone, more so if that person is as precious as Kai is. She knows, we all know, that there's something he has to fulfill, and he's worthy to see the world. the truths that've been kept from him all along."
Eldrin grunted, a little gruffness tempered from his tone as he pondered her words. "Well, I've waited for this day as much as any of you. He's got spirit-that much I know-and keeping him cooped up here won't let him become the man he's meant to be."
Aurelia's eyes softened as she looked out the window, thinking of Kai's mother.
'Mira has been through so much,' she thought, her heart aching for her old friend. 'And yet, she's strong enough to let him go.'
The three sat silently, lost in their thoughts. Years of this moment had been spent watching Kai grow from a curious child into that of a young man with enormous, untapped potential inside him. A long and difficult road lay before him, but they had believed he had the strength of character to face it through.
---
As Kai walked to his class with Lia, the world beyond Elaris stretched out before him, much like a dream: buzzing streets, tall buildings, unknown faces he would soon find himself meeting. And then there was Lia, to walk through this journey into everything he had hoped it would be and more.
Tomorrow, he thought, adventure coursing through his veins. Tomorrow, his world was going to get a lot bigger.