Mi Vie | C. Madrigal |

「Tunnel Secret」

The moment Ria saw her house she bolted to the door and slammed it open. She stepped into the house and saw her mother staring at her with an eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips. Ria had to lean over to support herself with her hands on her knees while panting heavily.

"Mon amour, what are in such a rush for?"

"I just- wanted- to tell-" she took one last deep breath, "Mateo something funny I saw when I was out in town."

"You went out to the town?!" she suddenly raised her voice.

Ria flinched at the harsh, loud volume.

"Oui, Maman."

Their attention was caught by the sound of someone walking into the house. Ria turned around and noticed her papa looking disappointedly and stern in her direction.

"She was right in front of the La Casa Madrigal when I found her."

"RIA!"

"Maman, I know, but I was fine. Honestly. Carlos was with me the whole time. Besides, you said I should support-"

"You know that's not what I meant."

Ria felt a hand comfort her shoulder and followed the arm attached to it until her eyes met the soft gaze of her papa.

"Amor," he started, "we are just looking out for you."

Her mom nodded as to agree with him. She stepped forward and put her arms around her daughter in a tender hug.

"We just don't want to see you go through all that pain again."

Ria gave both of them a genuine smile and thanked them for their concern. Her only friend was Carlos, and she got along with Luisa, so there were very few people she was close with. There were very few people who worried about her and it always warmed her heart when someone clearly showed their love through that worry.

The smile on her mom's face faded into a smirk and a sparkle flashed in her eyes.

"Now come on," she grabbed Ria's hand, "We have an outfit to pick out."

Ria let out a groan and her mother giggled in reply as she dragged her daughter up the stairs.

"Élise!" Osvaldo shouted up to his wife, "I think Mirabel liked our Not Special Special!"

"That's great, Amour," she replied absentmindedly.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ

After almost an hour of trying on different dresses, they both finally agreed on the current dress Ria wore. Her mother seemed satisfied with the choice and proud of herself for producing such a beautiful young woman.

The ending ruffles of the dress reached down to Ria's ankles and tickled them in lovingly. The sleeves reached all the way to her wrists and were loose enough as to not restrain her movements. The top of it hugged the curve of her torso more than she thought comfortable, but that was expected when wearing a dress.

It was definitely a change from her normal shirt and long skirt. If Ria wasn't as self conscious as she was, even she would admit she looked nice.

"Alright, I have to go choose your brother's outfit next. Don't mess up my hard work."

She walked out the door and out of sight before she suddenly peaked her head through the doorway.

"And make sure to find an accessory to tie the outfit to together."

This time she walked away for good and knocked on one of her son's doors to choose their outfit.

Ria dug through the draw of her dresser that held the jewelry she owned. All the jewelry she owned was either hand-me-downs from her mother or Ria had crafted them herself. She was proud of her hard work, but the collection made her mourn the busier life she could've had if it weren't for the incident. She would've never had so much free time if it wasn't for 10 years ago.