Shadows And Regrets

Chapter 17: Not Blinded, Just Lost

The sound of silver keys jingling in the air, swayed along the side of a worn out blue jeans. A pair of lazy black flip flops trampled along the manor's floors. After navigating through a couple of hallways and making some turns, Jack stopped at the double doors that led to his father's studies.

"Well, here goes..." He reached for his key chain, unhooking it from the belt slot of his pant.

He inserted the key into the key slot and a gently turn the instrument until the sound of a click was heard. Jack turned the doorknob and slowly walked inside.

Inside was terrifyingly dark. But, there were three tall streak of light running vertically on a raven black wall. Despite looking for the light switch, Jack walked up to the line of lights. His hands felt the texture of thick fabric, suited for grand curtains.

He dug for a rope to help him draw back the curtains in order to illuminate the room. After a couple strong tugs from the room, the summer sun wildly sneaked through the high scale windows and brought life inside.

The rays of light projected strong beams, where little dust particles gently danced in the air. It smelled the same way Jack used to remember: the mixture of old furniture and the salty air that came from the fjord whenever his father opened the windows.

Jack noticed he stood behind his father's desk. It was definitely crafted to fit a man with great honorable power who ran an empire. He cast a small smile when a joyful memory slipped out of his mind.

The young man spotted an image of his younger self running around in the room with a wooden stick and no shoes on. Behind the large leather chair was Jack's father, focusing on reading some packets and studying spreadsheets of his company's monthly overview.

"Freeze Dream pirates! You're no match with the power of ice and snow. Whoosh!" Little Jack extended his hand and pretended to shoot out an ice blast through his fingers.

"Jackson," Mr. Frost called out his name without removing his eyes from the piles of papers.

Without watching where he was going, Jack accidentally knocked a vase off a small table. Mr. Frost lifted his head and stared straight at his clumsy son. Jack stood there, with big blue puppy eyes. He placed his toy stick behind his back and tried his best to control his emotions, bowing down his head in front of his father, hiding away and sense of nervousness.

The little boy didn't have to act courageous in front of him. He was a kind-hearted man with a ruling iron fist. Despite how Aleron was a person with many sides, Mr. Frost was the type who was raised by great men and women to the point he was polished to become a loving king of an empire. If you count the Frost family to run an enterprise to reflect like a kingdom.

"So is that your fifth one this month?" Mr. Frost showcased a friendly smile. Why would he waste his energy over a damaged object? A vase was easy to fix up. But, hurting the heart of a loved one has been never that easy to repair. Regardless of the amount of damages.

"I-I think so," Jack stuttered helplessly. He stared down at his feet and the broken pieces.

Mr. Frost got up from his chair, ignored the broken vase, and happily scooped up his son into his arms. The father embraced his child with unconditional love. He lifted his son's hoodie, halfway, until his little pale stomach was shown. The man leaned forward and playfully blew on Jack's tummy, causing the energetic lad to laugh and giggle away.

"Papa! Quit it!" Jack continued to laugh until his father stopped.

Mr. Frost let out a satisfied sigh. "Well, at least you finally stopped breaking furnitures in my office." He smiled at his son.