Chapter 657: Back Home
Sera helped me to dig a proper grave for Mrs. White.
Honestly, she did all of the dirty work on this one... I just hung back and pointed the finger.
It took me a while to find the perfect spot... I looked around, contemplated a bit... but ultimately I found no better place to bury her than the place I first laid her to rest.
Something indescribably mangled and bony slithered out from a slit in Sera’s cloak, tossing out clumps of dirt at a time with ease, and once it had done digging up a deep enough hole, it was now my turn to do my bit.
I got down to my knees, and laid White down inside the grave as carefully as I could. I wanted it right, I didn’t want her to look dead... so I just kept readjusting and realigning her until I myself was convinced that maybe if I poke her ever so slightly, her eyes might just flutter open again... even when I knew that it wouldn’t.
Never thought I’d have to redo this all over again. There should be no such thing as a second funeral, and yet here I was anyway... reliving every emotion I felt back then within seconds.
But for some reason, this time around, I didn’t feel as bad. I thought it’d be worse but it wasn’t and I don’t know why.
.....
Still, it felt nice.
I got up, slowly shuffling back, and just silently watched as Sera began refilling the hole until there was nothing left to see but even ground.
“Thank you,” I said to Sera as she turned around to face me. “Thank you for doing that.”
She didn’t say much, of course. Wasn’t the type for eulogies, naturally... but I like to think that the golden glow in her gaze was softer than they usually were.
As I stood there feeling at peace, feeling as if all was right again, I couldn’t help but think of Ash again... I couldn’t help but compare.
She didn’t get the privilege of knowing this peace... never got to see Lenora finally be put to rest. No, nothing can ever be easy for her, can’t it?
Not even grieving...
And yet even now, somehow she could still smile. How does she do it? How does she live with it? Of course, I could wonder and think about it all my life if I wanted to, but I think I’d rather find out how she truly feels myself. It’s about time, really.
For one last time, I stared at the small inconspicuous patch of brown dirt, before finally turning around and walking away.
“Let’s go home now,” I proclaimed, glancing at Sera. “Don’t forget your ornaments.”
It was a bit of an awkward ride back. I had to go even slower than usual thanks to an unreasonable passenger living in fear that the slightest bump on the road would somehow send all her precious treasures flying straight into orbit.
After today, I think I’m officially establishing a no-Sera policy on any sort of vehicle and I don’t care if that makes me a bigot. She can sue me.
Eventually, after a million years or so, I could breathe a sigh of relief finally being able to pull up to the driveway of home sweet home after being horned and glared at by some rather irate drivers wishing a painful fate upon me in their minds.
I’m gonna wind up being blacklisted from driving on the road if I’m not careful at this rate.
Of course, Sera couldn’t care less about proper road etiquette. No sense of guilt for the torture she inflicted on me. The moment I took off her helmet for her, there she went clambering onto the porch and into the house without a care in the world.
It couldn’t have been more than three hours tops, and within that time frame, somehow she managed to siphon a significant portion of my finances, turn me into the enemy of drivers everywhere-twice, and sapped me of all energy that I could have used for the rest of the day.
No one warned me looking after a Necromancer would be so high-maintenance... but I suppose I can’t deny that it does have its silver linings sometimes.
Shortly after Sera had gone, I followed after her, closer and closer to the comfort of home-eager for so many things, like a warm bath, warm clothes, a warm chair... maybe even a warm drink if I’m feeling so daring. And if Ash was awake and up for it, perhaps I can give that warm soup another whirl after that disaster last time.
I swung open the door, stepping inside and letting the warmth of the thermostat strip away the blistering cold from my body. I took off my shoes, removed my jacket, and as I crossed into the living room, I haphazardly flung it towards the nearest couch in sight... noticing only too late that it actually got caught on something along the way.
On someone.
“Yikes, my bad,” I skidded to a stop, and swung around to hurriedly un-splatter the helpless victim of my carelessness. “I didn’t realize you were there, whoever you... oh.”
I swiped back my jacket, and behind it, gray misty eyes were staring back at me, silently, vacantly... unexpectedly. Regardless, it was a welcomed surprise.
“Hey, you’re back,” I said in cheer and delight, knowing I wouldn’t have to worry about the wrath of protective little vampire sister. “You got me worried there for a sec. Could have mentioned something if you were gonna go up and disappear for a bit, y’know?”
“You were... sleeping...” She said to her defense, and really it was quite the solid defense. I got nothing on that. However, it does raise some curious inquiries.
“Gone that long?” I furrowed my brows at her. “Where did you even go?”
“Outside...” She quietly replied.
“Yeah, I get outside,” I said at once. “Outside doing what though?”
“Things...”
“What things?”
She blinked, her swirling cloudy gaze peering back at mine for a moment, before relinquishing her answer, “Outside... things...”
Okay, I can take a hint. Someone’s got secrets, someone wants to keep those secrets secret, so be it then. I ain’t no Nosy-Nigel.
“Alright, cool,” I nodded at her, letting it go. “In any case, welcome home. You must be hungry, you hungry?”
Sluggishly, arousingly, her head slowly tilted to the side. “Pan...cakes...?”
“Read my mind,” I said, waltzing away with a parting smile. “Let me just take a refresher first. Give me five minutes, be back before you know it.”
“Wait...” Suddenly, I felt a sensation coiling around my wrist, tugging, halting me at once. Her hand was cold around my skin, a little forceful, as she pulled again, dragging me closer and closer. “Can... you... look at me...?”
“Adalia, wha-?” Confusion had me already complying with her strange request. My bewildered gaze staring deep into her blank stare for an answer. But in some ways, Adalia was just even more of an enigma than Sera was, and so I stayed mystified.
I wasn’t sure what she was looking for, if she was even looking for anything in the first place. But after a while, I felt her loosen her grip, and she finally blinked, so I guess she must have found it... whatever the hell it was.
“She was... right...” She then muttered softly, withdrawing her arm back to her side. “You do have... very mean... eyes...”
“Um, thanks?” I said.
I did not know who ‘she’ was, nor did I know where the hell this was all coming from. But I just decided to chalk it up to Adalia being Adalia, and simply take it all at face value.
“But they’re... very nice eyes...” Adalia continued, tilting her head the other way, still staring at them. “I like... your eyes...”
“Thanks...” I slowly said, blinking dumbfounded. I wasn’t even gonna ask, I might just get another smart answer if I do. “Well, if that’s everything, I’m just gonna go now, alright?”
“One more...” She said, straightening upright. “One more... thing...”
Oh boy, I wonder what this possibly could be now. Does she want to take my measurements next? Shoe size? Weight? At this point, I’m already expecting her to bring out an entire tailor set.
“I’m all ears,” I said.
Adalia’s glance shifted downwards, and slowly she raised a finger forward.
“Can I... keep that jacket...?”
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr𝒆e(w)𝒆bnovel