ログインLalaMorning sunlight spills through the tall windows of the Moonshard house, stretching across the wooden floor and warming the quiet living room. I sit cross-legged on the rug while Rosella kneels in front of me, her small hands resting on her knees as she watches me with wide, curious eyes.I still cannot believe this is real.Even now, hours after holding her for the first time in as my child after so long… part of me keeps expecting someone to wake me up and tell me it was all a dream. My chest tightens every time I look at her face, because there are pieces of her father in her, in the shape of her eyes, in the small way she tilts her head when she is thinking about something.It was a lot to take in yesterday, when Mabel told her I was her real mother. The explanation both Kael and I couldn't give, thank the goddess for Mabel’s help.I finally settled realizing she never lacked love, I told Kael I wanted to see the old man my husband had given Rosella to that day, I should than
KaelThe drive to Moonshard feels longer than it ever has before.I sit behind the wheel, my hands steady on the steering wheel even though my mind is anything but steady. The road stretches ahead of us in that familiar winding path through the woods, sunlight filtering through the tall trees, the tires humming softly against the pavement.Beside me, Lala sits quietly.I glance at her from the corner of my eye for what must be the tenth time in the last five minutes. She has her fingers laced together in her lap, twisting them every now and then without realizing it. Her gaze stays fixed on the road ahead, but I can see the tension in her shoulders.She is nervous.Honestly, I cannot blame her.After everything she has been through, after believing her daughter was gone and then finding out the child had been right here all along, breathing the same air, walking the same ground, that kind of truth is enough to shake anyone.“You okay?” I ask gently.She exhales slowly, like she has be
KaelI wrap my arms around her before my mind can even catch up with what my eyes are seeing.For a second I just stand there, holding her so tightly I am afraid I might hurt her, but I cannot loosen my grip. My hands move over her back, her shoulders, her hair, as if I need to check again and again that she is solid, that she is warm, that she is not going to disappear the moment I blink.“Kael,” she breathes softly against my chest.The sound of my name coming from her lips almost breaks something inside me.“You are here,” I whisper, my voice rough. “You are actually here.”She tilts her head up to look at me, her eyes shining, and there is a faint smile on her lips that looks both happy and tired at the same time.“I told you I was real.”I shake my head slowly, still staring at her face like a man who has not seen water in years. “I buried you,” I murmur. “I watched them lower the coffin.”Her expression tightens, and her hand comes up to touch my cheek.“I know.”The air between
LalaHe is staring at me like I might disappear again, like if he even blinks too hard I will dissolve into thin air, and for a second I almost laugh because this is the same stubborn man who used to argue with me over the smallest things, yet right now he looks completely undone, soaked from head to toe, hair dripping onto his shoulders, eyes wide and uncertain.“Say something,” he whispers, his voice rough, like it hurts him to speak.“I already did,” I reply, trying to steady my breathing because my own heart is racing just as fast as his. “I told you to stop acting like a fool.”He swallows, still staring at my hand wrapped around his wrist. I can feel the tension in him, the disbelief fighting with the part of him that knows me too well to deny what he is seeing.“I watched you die,” he says quietly, and there is no anger in his tone, only confusion and something dangerously close to breaking.I do not answer with words.Instead, I step closer, close enough to feel the warmth of
KaelI turn and see a silhouette standing just beyond the garden fence.At first I thought it was one of the neighbors passing by, someone who lost their way and wandered too close, but the shape does not move, it just stands there, framed by the bright morning light, and something about the posture makes my breath stall halfway in my chest. The sun is behind her, so I cannot see her face clearly, only the outline, the curve of shoulders I know too well, the way one hand hangs loosely at her side.My fingers loosen around the small shovel I am holding, and it slips from my grip into the soil.I blink once, as if my eyes are the problem.She steps slightly to the side, out of the harsh glare, and the blue of her dress becomes visible. That shade. I know that shade. I remember the way it moved when she walked, the way it caught against her thighs when the wind picked up.My heart does something strange, like it forgot how to beat for a second and then rushes to catch up.“No,” I murmur
KaelI jolt awake with my heart hammering so hard it feels like it punches straight through my ribs. My hand shoots out instinctively, searching the other side of the bed before my mind catches up with my body. The sheets are cold. Empty. Of course they are.Sunlight is already forcing its way through the curtains, too bright, too honest for the kind of night I just had. I drag a hand down my face and sit up slowly, my head heavy, my eyes burning like I barely slept at all. Because I didn’t. Not really.The dream lingers, not clear enough to hold onto, but sharp enough to hurt. I remember her voice. I remember turning toward it. I remember reaching. And then nothing.I swing my legs off the bed and sit there for a moment, elbows on my knees, staring at the wooden floor. The house is quiet except for the low hum of the refrigerator downstairs and a bird tapping somewhere outside. Morning has already begun whether I’m ready for it or not.“Get up,” I mutter to myself, pushing to my feet







