Seventy-Four Asiel

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Dandelions would also be a beautiful song for this chapter 💜❤️💜🤍!!!

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Dandelions would also be a beautiful song for this chapter 💜❤️💜🤍!!!

Clouds.

Since my papa's death, there's been a dark cloud looming over me, following me like a shadow. It's full of rain, waiting for the right moment to rain on my parade. Here and there, there are a few sprinkles of water when the going gets tough. Like when I have to help Mama calm down and sleep because she spends hours sobbing over my papa. It penetrates my heart, splitting it into multiple fragments to watch my mama deteriorate into dust.

"Pechule, I don't feel like I'll survive much longer," Mama cries, snotty tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Mama," I chastise, dragging her into my arms, and I rub her messy gray hair. "Don't say that. I still need you. You can't leave me with no familia. Just hold on for a bit longer, please."

My pleas left a sour taste in my mouth. Is it my place to ask my mama to keep fighting? For me? Doesn't it make me selfish to want her to keep suffering so I can have her by my side? But I need her. She's the only familia I have left. My mama has been by my side since I was born— always supporting me even when I went against my papa's wishes. I always knew my mama loved my papa so much, but he didn't deserve it.

He didn't deserve someone as precious as Mama.

Sometimes I wonder how mama met papa-- like what made them fall in love? What made them want to get married? What twisted fate led mama to mix into the crowd with papa? It hardly matters. No love story can erase all the despair papa brought upon mama during the fifty years of their marriage.

"I'm not leaving you alone, Pechule," mama says, positioning herself comfortably into my arms. "You have Mika. She's your familia. Don't lose her, okay?"

I chuckle lightly. "Since when have you been on the Mika train? You are always so rude to her. Is this your excuse to feel less guilty for leaving your only son with no familia?"

Mama sighs, sporting a ghost of a smile. "You could say that. But I see the way you guys are with each other. It's real-- genuine. It's all I could ever want for you and your brother. Rest in peace, his soul. All I wanted was the best for you both."

Mama isn't a liar. She always speaks her mind, even if she shouldn't. It's one of her only jarring qualities. It's one of the qualities that got her into repeated quarrels with papa. Mama always fought for our beliefs, our happiness, and our wants. Ultimately, with Ander, Papa won, but Mama worked extra hard to keep me following in their footsteps.

But the world always has a way of fucking things over.

It makes me wonder-- does mama know?

"Mama?" I clear my throat, rubbing my hand up and down her shoulder. "D-Did you know Ander was into guys?"

Mama's eyes widen in shock as she picks up her head and stares into my eyes. "H-How did you know? H-he didn't tell anyone."

"Luka told me," I admit, chewing on the inside of my cheek while feeding her a lie.

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