Chapter 122
Chapter 122
Aurora
Partially paralyzed by shock, my eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as I stared at the strange lady as if she had developed two heads.
Were my ears deceiving me?
If she was Ivy, it meant she was dead.
Ivy was long dead as a result of drowning into the river during the war.
“You are…” I tried to say, but my shaky voice failed me, making me gasp for breath.
For the next few minutes, the wind grew violent, causing goosebumps to blanket my body, and fear filled my heart.
I had been talking to a ghost all these while.
“And your son?” I asked in a whisper. My voice was so low, I thought she wouldn’t be able to hear me.
She shot me a pitiful look before her eyes trail to her son. Her eyes conveyed a plethora of emotions–sadness, anger, pain…
I recognized that look.
It let out a burst of fresh memories in my head.
I would never forget the day Damon threw me out of the castle despite being innocent.
Courtesy, Rosa.
She swallowed the bile in her throat before nodding slowly. “Yes. Dead.”
“You are not real then,” I argued, darting my fingers between the both of them.
“No, but calm…”
“You are just in my head, messing with it. Get out of my head!” I screamed, crawling backwards from them.
I could feel myself going deeper into the river the more I inched further.
Panic started to set in, and my hands flew to my chest as I started gasping for breath.
“Don’t be afraid, Aurora. We won’t hurt you,” she said in a soothing voice that resembled the smooth running of many waters.
A part of me believed her, but another part was scared to death.
“Trust me, Aurora. I won’t hurt you,” she affirmed before a soft smile broke on her face.
“It’s okay, Aurora, take my hand,” the boy said, stretching his tiny fingers towards me.
I was hesitant at first, but when I caught sight of his charming smile, I let go of my hands and clung it to his.
“You are so cute.” I found myself saying before cupping his chubby cheeks.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.
“Can I call you Awowa?” he asked, his eyes filled with innocence.
A pearl of laughter almost erupted from my mouth as I watched his struggle to pronounce my name.
“You are free to call me whatever you want to,” I told him.
His fingers found their way to my hair, pushing it behind my ear before caressing my cheeks.
“You are so pretty, Aurora. My fathers are lucky to have you in their lives,” he confessed sweetly.
My heart did a quick flip at his sweet words. It felt as if my heart was melting.
“Thank you, dear,” I said, pulling him into a short, warm embrace.
“Can I play, Mama?” he asked when we disengaged from the hug. A part of me missed his petite frame, raspberries scent, and his soft hair.
“Sure, Adrian, be careful,” she warned before blowing him a kiss, which he reciprocated.
Silence ensued as I watched Adrian sprint to the bank of the river, getting busy with seashells.
“Mom, look, I caught a fingerling,” he announced, raising the small fish in the air as a proud smile appeared on his face.
“Good boy, now, throw it back into the water. That’s where it belongs,” she instructed, watching him as he carefully placed the fish into the water.
Satisfied, she heaved a sigh of relief before her eyes darted towards mine.
“Kids…take your eyes off them for a second, and they will do the unimaginable things.” She let out a brief laughter before peeking at Adrian.
“That was the name his fathers decided to call him,” she paused for a second as if reflecting. Pain shone in her eyes. “He is strong, daring, playful, calculative, and soft. Just like us. He took all our traits,” she paused, staring into space as if someone was there.
“When I thought I was about to live my dream life, it was snatched from me by the person I wouldn’t hesitate to lay down my life for. My best friend, she lured me to the river to end my life.”
My heart picked a swift race as it began to beat loudly.
I knew it.
“I’m sorry about that..”
I started to talk, but she interrupted me before pinning me with a serious glare.
“Rosa must not get my position. She wants it so badly that she can eliminate anyone she perceives as a hindrance. Do everything within your power to stop her. That position belongs to you.”
I was too stunned to speak.
“You are their second-chance mate. Before I died, I pleaded with the Moon goddess to give them a second mate. And I’m sorry about the way Damon treated you and about the loss of your sons.” A bitter expression swept across her face as her eyes were glued to my flat stomach.
“Sons?!” I asked in shock as my hand unconsciously dropped on my stomach.
“Yes. Sons. The other two boys’ heartbeats were faint,” she said. “Pardon Damon. He takes rash decisions, and he hates being betrayed. When it comes to love, he is the softest. Just give him time, and he’ll come around.”
She suddenly stopped talking as her eyes studied the sky for a few seconds.
The Crescent moon was swallowed by the grey clouds.
“Adrian?” she called, turning her attention to her son who had a plethora of seashells before him.
“Mama?” he answered. A shell dropped from his hand as he turned to look at his mother.
“It’s time. We have to go,” she announced before turning to look at me. “It was nice having you around Aurora.”
“Bye, Auwowa,” Adrian said before cleaning his dirty hands on his shirt. He hugged me shortly before rushing to meet his mother.
On a second thought, he handed me a flat rock, wrapping my hand around it. “You can do it, Auwowa. Just relax and throw it.”
“Thanks, Champ!” I beamed in excitement, caressing the rough edges of the rock against my palm.
“Thank you for accepting them as your mates. You have no idea of what you did. Your presence healed their broken heart and cured Damon’s madness. You even united them.”
“It’s nothing,” I said, brushing her words aside as I watched her carry her son.
“You did the impossible. You opened their hearts to love again. Thank you very much, Aurora.” She waved at me with a satisfactory smile on her face.
“Will I see you again?” I asked eagerly, waving back but before I could even blink, their images vanished into thin air.
Once again, I was alone. But I wasn’t afraid, neither was I sad.
Though I missed their presence, I had to remind myself that they didn’t belong here.
Driven by determination as Adrian’s words echoed in my ear, I threw the rock to the otherside, and to my expectations, it bounced across the river before landing on the other side of the river.
My happiness knew no bounds as I jumped in the air.
“Thank you,” I mouthed as if they could hear me.
Before I could pick another rock, my eyes flung open.
It was all a dream.