Loving Pride

A Certain Charm

Lydia had discovered a storage room at the end of the hallway that had a couple of sacks. She threw all the Reds' things in the sacks and dragged them down the stairs until she disposed of everything in the fire that was being burned by ragpickers outside.

Within the first few hours of her time, she had already carried the sacks four times outside. It was heavy and her whole body was aching. Thomas kept insisting that he would help, but she didn't want to risk him being seen by any of the soldiers. Hence, he stayed in the rooms.

Lydia was glad that he had followed her though, because there were places that were out of her reach in the room and she'd lift Thomas so that he could easily strip the walls. The little boy made her job a lot easier.

With only a few more hours remaining until the Colonel's return, Lydia was halfway done with dusting and wiping the walls clean. Even Thomas did everything he could. He was enjoying himself as he got to be near his mother more than usual today.

At 7 pm, Lydia was done with her chores and she felt thoroughly relieved. Thomas was left in the master bedroom, which now belonged to his father. "We'll leave after I put these rags back in the storeroom," Lydia told him and, Thomas nodded while staying beside the table.

A few moments later, he heard footsteps, but they were not his mother's.

In a sudden hurry, he hid behind the table. The heavy boots were approaching him and his heart raced. The little boy was having too many flashbacks from when he had witnessed the war last night. Out of self-defense, he pulled the shaving knife out of his shorts. Since he was very fond of it, Lydia was forced to let him keep it whenever she was near him.

The door opened and a man in a uniform appeared. He had seen the man before but he couldn't remember where. With hands in his pockets, the Colonel stood in the center of the room. He analyzed the walls, the furniture, and his bed—everything was tidy and better than he expected it to be.

In Thomas's eyes, the man was just another soldier. And every soldier was heartless enough to make his mother cry.

The little boy revealed himself from behind the table with the shaving knife in hand but he tripped on his shoelace. The shaving knife caused a cut in his palm. He wailed in pain.

Colonel Marquez Agaria had turned the instant he heard someone fall behind him. His hand rested on the holster but he was confused at the spectacle before him.

There was a little boy on his knees with a bleeding palm. His eyes were brimming with tears and he noticed the familiar shaving knife on the floor.

The Colonel didn't help the boy, instead, he dragged the metal object under his boot so that he could confirm what he saw.

What was a young child doing in his bedroom?

Why did he have the shaving knife that he had given Lydia Thorne?

"You're her son?" The Colonel questioned but Thomas was too confused and scared to answer anything now that he didn't have his weapon. And he was in pain. He winced while staring down at his palm.

Lydia Thorne appeared at the door at the same time. "Thomas-!" She noticed his bleeding palm and immediately picked him up in her arms. She snatched the handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it on his wound. She didn't know what to tell the Colonel or how to look at his face. She stood there embarrassed while squeezing the handkerchief.

"Leave the boy outside," the Colonel commanded. Lydia didn't dare disobey him and placed Thomas in the hallway. The boy protested but Lydia was just as serious when she asked Thomas to quietly wait outside the room.