428 Storytime with Mother
Ayia became a little flustered when she heard Kaori's question, but thankfully Shizuka came to the rescue.
"Yeah, we will take tomorrow's morning flight to the Heart Islands." Shizuka replied with a calm voice as she sipped her tea.
"Who's going with you guys?" Kaori asked again.
"Theo and his little sister Aurora, also our friends that work with us at the restaurant. With me and Ayia, there will be 13 people going on this trip." Shizuka calmly replied without getting affected by Kaori's hard questioning.
"Oh, there are a lot of people." Ezume commented.
Ayia regained her calmness as she replied, "Yeah, four of them you guys already know. It's Kumiko and the other three. I recommended them to Theo when he was searching for cooks to work in the restaurant. The others we met through Theo. But it feels like we know each other for years as we get along so well."
"I can see that as you two are even going on a trip with them while leaving your big sister behind." Kaori said with a fake sad voice.
Ayia smiled as she replied, "I'd invite you, but I knew you get super busy at the beginning of the year."
"But you're welcomed to come with us if you are free, nee-chan. We will leave tomorrow and we will come back on January 10th." Shizuka added calmly.
"Really? Can I go? I have the next couple of days free in any way I want. I was planning to just sleep through it, but I can spend this couple of days with you guys." Kaori said with a slightly excited voice.
"Of course, you can come, nee-chan! It will be so much fun if you come as well." Ayia exclaimed in excitement.
There has been some time since the three of them traveled together, so Ayia was super excited for her big sister to come with them.
Since Kaori finished her college degree a few years ago, she started working hard to learn everything possible so that she could assume the mantle of Family Head when her father retired.
Kaori worked 24/7 to be able to honor that this position required, after all, the Yamada Family history and tradition could be traced from before the country's unification until the development of the new country. This family molded this country, and it was only with the wise minds of their past family head that they were able to so prosper throughout the ages.
Kaori wanted to increase the legacy of the family even more. That's why she didn't even complain about the countless sleepless nights working in the family company. She did not want to disappoint the trust that the family placed in her.
That was because there was a family election to decide each family head.
Coincidently, her father won among his siblings and Kaori won among all of her cousins (Ayia and Shizuka did not apply to run for the position as they didn't have any desire to become Family Head).
Kaori yearned to honor the trust that her family placed in her. But for that, she had to sacrifice some things like the time she spent with her sisters.
Because of her work, she barely saw her sisters during the year as the two of them had their own lives as well.
So, when she saw the opportunity to enjoy a short vacation with them, she immediately became excited about it.
"It's decided then. I'll leave with you two tomorrow." Kaori smiled happily.
"Awesome! It'll be so much fun!" Ayia exclaimed with shining eyes.
Ezume and Hazel looked at each smiled when they saw their little girls making plans. Even though the two of them didn't like to admit it, seeing the three of them like that made them look so mature. They felt like their babies behaved so cutely when they were mature.
They wouldn't interfere with their plans as the three of them were already adults who could make their own decision.
"Nee-chan, you have to book a ticket to come with us as we won't be taking our private plane." Shizuka commented.
"Oh, why?" Kaori asked curiously.
She was already so used to using her private plane that she found it weird that the two of them would not use it as well.
Ayia smiled helplessly as she replied, "Even though Theo and the others know that we are rich, still we don't want to rub our wealth on their faces. Plus, I bet Theo would not accept going on our plane as he doesn't like to be given expensive things, plus this trip is very important for him and Aurora. In the end, we will travel in first class with all of them."
Ezume nodded as he could see the young Theo refusing this luxurious treatment.
"Hmm, this Theo is an interesting person. Then I guess I'll have to buy a first-class ticket as well." Kaori commented as she pulled up her phone and texted her assistant to buy the tickets for her.
"It seems my little babies will go on an adventure together." Hazel said with a teasing smile.
"Mom, we are not babies anymore!" Ayia said annoyed.
"For me you are." Hazel laughed.
She couldn't help but imagine seeing three cute babies exploring an island together.
That was how she saw the three of them.
"I've already been to the Heart Islands, do you wanna know the best spots?" Hazel asked with sparkling eyes.
As someone who traveled the world, Hazel was the best person to question when they wanted to know the best places to visit.
"Of course!"
"Tell us!"
They said with excitement.
The three of them loved when their mother talked about her adventures.
Some of their best childhood memories were from when their mom arrived from one adventure and spent the whole night telling the tales of her adventures. They discussed her adventure for the entire night until they fell asleep on their mom's lap. They dreamed of their mom's fantastic adventures with their childish amazing imagination.
At that moment, Hazel felt like they were back when she was seeing their cute childish faces shining with excitement to hear about her adventures.
The three pairs of eyes looked at her in excitement and worship as they idolized their mother.
Her eyes shone as she spoke in a tone of voice she used when telling stories, "Very well... The Heart Islands or Kokoro Islands is an archipelago located in the Mohana Continent. I was attracted there by its unique geography just like everyone else's. But as I dug deeper into the place, I found something extremely odd, I found there is a particular myth among the locals speaking how the islands came to be. As I investigated I found..." Hazel told the story with a magnetic voice that took hold of everyone's attention.
Just like that, the family of five spent their afternoon together in the East Garden.
They missed each other.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel