Chapter 169: She was in such full spirit
Noah went into deep thought.
He more or less understood what Michael was saying. And those kinds of people would judge once they see a single parent, they would definitely judge if both parents, males, attended the meeting.
In other words, it was a problem not even his presence could’ve solved.
But he wished he had been there, at least. He would make sure to ruin them appropriately.
"Anyway, let’s forget that," Michael said, stretching his arms back. "How about we play a game?" He suggested.
"A game?" Olivia asked, her eyebrow tilted up.
"Yeah, how about a board game?" He asked but Noah shook his head.
"Michael, before that, I have something I wanted to ask you." He said, his tone sounding a bit too serious, but Michael wondered what it could be, even though he would be asked in a few seconds.
He looked at Olivia, who seemed to know what it was, and then at Noah.
"Well, if it’s an answer I can give in front of Olivia go ahead." He said, which made Noah think a little.
What if he couldn’t answer in front of Olivia?
He would leave the little one curious.
But he didn’t think that would be it. If it turned out that way, he hoped Michael would maneuver it somehow.
"Michael, what is your dream?" He asked and Michael paused.
"What?"
"Olivia and I were talking and she said you told her she would support whatever dream she had. But it looked like you never had your dream come true, is what she said." He explained and Michael looked down at her.
Ah, they were talking about that conversation.
"So, she says she wants to help your dream come true as well. So, if you still have a dream that’s been floating around in the air, tell us what it is and we’ll help you so it comes true."
Olivia nodded vigorously and Michael stared at the two.
They looked so serious talking about something like this.
"If it’s my dream you want to hear, know that it’s already come true." He said. "It came true five years ago, you see." He smiled, but it looked like he was hiding something behind that smile.
"But... But it looked like your dream hadn’t come true." Olivia said, pressing deeply into the matter and looking worriedly at her papa. "I saw how sad you looked."
"Well, no one said you could have just one dream, did they?" He asked, patting her head as he smiled. "The dream I had for a long time came true five years ago, and that birthed yet another dream which has also come true now." He smiled at Noah. "So, right now, I don’t have any dreams, Olivia."
"Then, Papa, can you tell me what your dreams were?" She asked, her lips pouting stubbornly, and Michael sighed.
She was such a stubborn little one.
"My dream, long before you were born, was to no longer be unlucky and be happy," he said, folding his legs. "And the one who made that dream come true was none other than your Daddy," he smiled. "Does that answer your question?"
"So, daddy chased away your bad luck?" She innocently asked.
"Well, you could say that." He said. "And you could also say he was too much for the bad luck so they ran."
"Wow, that’s great, Daddy." Olivia cheered but Noah knew it wasn’t that easy.
Still, he would entertain it.
"Then, what was your second dream, Papa?" She asked, pressing her little hands on his thigh.
"It was for my family to finally be complete and the main object of my happiness to come back to me." If he said it like this, she would understand, right?
She looked at her Daddy and then nodded.
"In other words, your second dream was for Daddy to come back, right?" She asked and he nodded.
"That’s right."
As if she had heard a fairy tale, Olivia looked excited with sparkling eyes.
"So, what about you, Daddy. What was your dream? And has it come true or not? If it hasn’t come true then let’s work hard and make it come true."
She was in such a full spirit, causing them to laugh.
"Well, to be honest, I had no dreams until I met your Papa." He said, lying on the rugged floor. "But I ended up having one when I came to understand what serenity meant."
"Serenity? You mean silence?" She asked, her finger cutely pressed to her lips as she inquired and he nodded.
"There was nothing I craved for more than that serenity. It was peaceful and..." He looked at Michael. "Your Papa gave me that peace. So, I had a dream for the first time."
"Ooh, was the dream to stay with Papa forever?" She asked, hitting the nail on the head and he laughed.
"Yes, very much so." He grazed her cheek, smiling softly. "I wanted to be with your Papa forever. I wanted him to give me that happiness for the rest of my life but it didn’t come true right away. Even now, I’m trying to make it come true."
"Why? Is it because you’re scared something will take you from Papa again?"
Noah looked at her with a little regret in his eyes.
How was she hitting the nail so well?
Even if most of the problems had been settled, he still had a little fear in his heart. And that was that a situation would suddenly arise from God knows where and destroy the little happiness they were building together once again.
He didn’t want it.
He didn’t want to think about it but the knowledge that threats came with his position made him feel uneasy.
He didn’t want to put his family in any form of danger but as much as he wanted that, he didn’t want to stay away from them.
He was thinking about this when Olivia suddenly started jumping on his back.
She had the weight of a feather, according to him, so he didn’t feel much from her bounce but it broke him out of his thoughts, as if that was what she had planned.
"You know, Daddy, no one can tell what direction the world is going into." She said and then stopped bouncing, sitting on his back.
"What are you trying to say?" Noah asked but she twisted her lips and then smiled.
"Daddy, I want to ride a horse." She suddenly said, going off topic. "Can you be the horse this time?"
Michael stared at Olivia, realizing what she was trying to do, and then sighed.
Seriously, she was just too mature for her own age.
"Sure." Noah said and lifted his body so he could be on all fours. He crawled around a bit, and she giggled in excitement, but then Noah stopped.
He looked at Michael and said,
"Can you hold her for a while, I want to give her a surprise." He said and Michael, suspicious of what this surprise was, carried Olivia.
"Huh? Is the horse ride over?" She asked but Michael shook his head.
"No, but I think your Daddy wants to give you something better than a horse ride in human form." He said and then covered her eyes. "Just keep your eyes closed for a while."
It would come a time when he would tell his daughter what she really was and what she was capable of doing, but he always found that time hard, so he wished that Noah could be the one to tell her.
So, until then, he prayed hard that Olivia would not suddenly enter the polymorph process and be in pain when it was just him.
Thankfully, Noah was here and it looked like he was going to bring it up now.
He was going to show Olivia who she was and who her Daddy was.
Michael watched Noah shifting and for a moment, he wanted to close his eyes but he watched the entire process.
It had been a while.
He wouldn’t be able to look away if it were his daughter shifting, so he needed to get used to it, but no matter what, he just couldn’t get used to the sight.
"Is the surprise here yet, Papa?" Olivia asked.
"Not yet, honey. Just a bit longer." Michael said and then Noah finally finished his shifting. At the same time, Olivia’s nose twisted and then, she said, to their surprise,
"Papa, I smell a wolf." She said and they paused. "Did Daddy go get a wolf?"
"O-Olivia, have you met a wolf before?" Michael asked, shocked.
"Hm, not that I can recall."
"Then how do you know what a wolf smells like?" He asked and she thought, also finding it strange.
"Ah, I don’t know, Papa. I just know." She said and she was certainly not lying.
Olivia didn’t lie. At least, not so blatantly.
"Then, Olivia, I’m going to open your eyes. I think, your Daddy will be able to explain that once he turns back to his human form." Michael said and then removed his hand from her eyes.
She immediately spotted the wolf in front of her, and while it looked like she was surprised and excited, she suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream.
"Papa! There’s a big bad wolf in the living room!" She yelled.
