Surely someday

Chapter 0

"Mama mama!" Darron comes running at me at high speed. In his hand an old picture, on his face his brightening smile. He tucks at the end of my blue dress, avoiding the lacy part I hold so precious.
As I ruffle his hair, the picture comes clear in sight. He notices and gives it to me while I kneel down next to him. The sun reflects in the picture making it hard to see but I already recognized it, that person.
"Who is that?" A simple question. No hidden meanings. The innocence of a child.
"Come here." I pat on my legs, ordering him to sit down. "This is the story of a very special person..."

The scraping of wood against the floor wakes me up. A silent voice, as if trying to even let the birds have their rest, speaks a few words. Then once again silence.
Oddly enough it is this silence that makes me want to wake up. The dim light seen through the bamboo doors shows the morning, but the silence the night. I put on my clothes, which I remember putting at the side of the bed yesterday evening. The green fabric scrapes against my skin as I put on the yukata.
I comb my black hair perfectly straight and proceed to braid it like Miss Arin told me to do.
A last glance in the mirror and the light flows in. The first few rays of sunlight on your face feels heavenly.

"Clack clack clack" The sound of wood on wood again. I walk to the room. She's sitting there.
Her porcelain skin is drowning in the red velvet that surrounds her. Her hands are as swaying in the wind holding the teapot. Her eyes fixated on the cups before her. Her gracefulness unearthly.
I silently walk towards the cushion opposite of her. A slight furrow of her brows point me on my walking. My steps must have disturbed her. We sit there in complete silence drinking the tea.
No unnecessary talking or movements.
Only until the first few birds start to awake she looks at me. "The moon and sun in a rhapsody awakes the day. Good morning Leyra" "Good morning mother." I answer appropriately.
She nods as if she's finished saying the words for today. She cleans up the cups as the others start to wake up. They each greet us as they walk by and we politely bow back.
A few minutes later I hear an familiar sound. It's coming this way and my mother seems to have noticed as well. She softly pushes me forward and smiles. "Do your best."

Miss Arin walks past me and for a second I feel some sort of relieve. As if she noticed Miss Arin twirls around and looks me straight in my eyes. Her black eyes swallow me whole as they look right into the depths of my soul. "Your obi is not strapped properly." She sighs. "Leyrabelle, a proper lady has to look flawless from head to toe, including obi." I turn around so she can put on my obi the right way.
"Sorry Miss Arin. I will prevent from doing this again." I bow and apologize. "You have to make your mother proud and be a good girl, make sure to net let her down." The shame loads my shoulders as I forcefully look downwards. Miss Arin must have felt that her scolding was too much and makes me look at her. "A woman should not let her emotions show on the outside as for no one should be able to sway her unless it is her husband." She smiles at me. "Your mother is the same way. Waiting, patiently until the day your father returns to her side..."

 The mail came early that day. I found her staring at the garden. Unrecognizable she sat there. Her usual proud face looking at the water. Light reflected in her eyes as the tears fell down slowly, one by one. "Drip drip" I'd never seen my own mother, my strong never wavering mother, like this before.
I wanted to jump in her arms right there and then. Forget about all the etiquette I'd learned.
Just her and me. But. Something stopped me. I'm still not sure if it was her painful look or her silent screams. Or perhaps it was me. The part of me that knew that I wouldn't be able to heal her. 

I guess every strong women needs a man by her side because she died not long after.
"Due the sorrow of losing the man who was able to sway her." They said.