The Sun Rays

TSR XXVI: Held

Luan was enjoying the moment he is having with her mom and his uncle Joshua. They seem to indeed look like a family who's bonding on the beach. Vane was tall but she's petite so when waves crash into her body, she somewhat loses her balance a little.

"Careful," funny how she was the guts to remind Joshua who was holding her son to be careful.

"Hold on to me, Elora," Joshua scolded her. She did it and held it into the man's arms to hold her balance.

Vane was just so used to Joshua calling her Elora now. She didn't even know why she felt so comforted by the way the man calls her that way. "Aren't you tired?" Vane asked Joshua. "Come here baby," Vane spread her arms to ask for Luan to come to her but Joshua scowled at her.

"I'm alright," he answered and selfishly took Luan to the deeper parts to avoid Vane.

"Silly! Fine. I won't take my son then but I'm thirsty so I'll just order coconut juice," she said walking away from them.

"Bye mom," Luan waved to his mommy and Joshua smiled from that. As the lady turned her back to them, Joshua's eyes were caught by Vane's back. She's in her bikini and her hair was tied up when she went to the water exposing everything she has under that white-buttoned-up shirt a while ago.

He couldn't take his eyes away from it. A familiar sun tattoo.

No. That's impossible, he thought.

He immediately shrugged the idea of it. He just reminded himself that the tattoo he remembers was a sun without a moon. Vane's tattoo is clearly with a moon. It made his heart leap instantly but it faded when he thought she's not her.

"Are you really friends with my mommy, uncle?" Luan curiously asked Joshua after he thought the kid to swim again. Joshua smiled and nodded to him.

"How long have you been friends?" the kid asked again.

"Not so long yet but enough to know that she's a good person," Joshua honestly told the kid while smiling.

There was a smile that crept to his lips upon hearing the answer of his uncle Joshua. "Tell me I am boasting because she's my mom but yes sir – my mom is a good person. She loves me so much and she cares for me so much too," Luan boasted to his uncle while holding on to the floaters and paddling his feet. Joshua was assisting him and protecting him to not go to the deep areas.

"I know kid," Joshua nodded and smiled. "How old are you Jericho – I mean Luan?" Joshua didn't really know how to call the kid now because the kid introduced himself as Jericho but Vane calls her son Luan.

"I didn't lie about my name a while ago uncle. Sorry to confuse you uncle," Luan said. "It's just I'm more known to be Luan but not Jericho. Tho I love my second name too," the kid intellectually replied to Joshua and he was amazed how he answers him. He is pretty mature for his age.

"Your second name is actually good too. Do you know that it is a city in the bible?" Joshua smiling at the kid.

He was more amazed when the kid nodded. "Yes. Originally mom would explain to me that in Greek it means the City of Moon but when it is based on the bible, it is a city in the bible that was conquered by Joshua," he was confident about the answer. "I love it because it's biblical," the kid said capturing Joshua's heart even more. But he felt like Jericho was the one who conquered Joshua this time.

Joshua was smiling but later on, he saw Vane on the shore waving her hands signaling them that the coconut juices were already there. "Your mom is waving at us. I guess we needed to go," Joshua told the Luan as the kid nodded in agreement.

Walking together hand in hand until they reach the lady who was sitting in the lounge chairs on the shore under a big umbrella. "Come here baby," Vane called her son and Luan immediately went to her. "Drink a lot so you won't get dehydrated," Vane told Luan. Vane gestured to Joshua the fresh coconut she ordered for him too and smiled.

As the mother and son were communicating, Joshua was just staring at them adorably. He got fascinated by how loving Vane is to her son. He saw how she cared for the little kid and it showed how Vane loves Luan so much.

Luan began playing on building a sandcastle while Vane and Joshua were just staring at him playing alone. They were drinking their own coconut juices while sitting on the lounge chairs watching Luan. "You raised him alone?" Joshua curiously asked Vane.

Hearing that from Joshua, Vane looked at him who was actually staring at her and responded with a nod. "You are a strong woman, Elora. You are amazing," Vane felt dryness on her throat when she heard the flowery words from Joshua. She didn't know her breathing was hitched by that compliment.

She gulped, even more, when Joshua leaned forward and held her face with his right hand gently caressing it. "You are wonderful," he told her. Their eyes were locked with each other. Faces were too closed that Vane didn't know he was no longer breathing.

"Luan!!!!" they separated when someone screamed.

"Auntie April!" the kid called back and run towards the lady.

"Are you enjoying it?" April kneeled in front of the kid and gave him a tight hug.

"I love it here auntie. I met a nice guy for mommy," Vane's eyes widened when she heard that coming from her son.

"Where's he?" April asked even when she already knew whom he's referring to.

"It's uncle Joshua. He's there," Luan pointing in their direction.

"I see," April smiling at the kid.

"But who is he, auntie?" Luan asked April about the guy beside her.

"Oh," April looked at the guy beside him and scowled at him. gesturing to get into his knees too to level Luan. "This is uncle Cheol. He is nice too," Vane and Joshua laughed at the forced compliment from April because they know exactly what's going on between the two.

"Hi, uncle Cheol," Luan waved his hand and smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you," the kid handing his hand was the cutest thing for everyone in there.

"Come on, auntie April. I will let you meet my new uncle," Luan dragged both April and Cheol towards his mom and uncle Joshua's direction. Vane became shy when April and Cheol went to them. She was shy because she knew that there was a possibility that they saw Joshua holding her face a while ago.

It proved her gut feeling when Cheol was giving this smug face to Joshua. Like he was mocking or teasing him for something. Her face turned tomato instantly upon remembering what happened.

Why does he even need to hold my face to compliment me!? argh! She can't let her feelings out and it annoyed her even more. She's frustrated.

It sounds so childish, she thought.