A Pirate's Tale | ATEEZ Fan Fiction

Chapter 14: Care

'Illa...Can I ask you something?'

'Of course, what is it?'

'Why did you tell me?'

'Tell you what?'

'About your scars...'

The truth is, I don't know why.

I don't know why I told him then, and I still don't know why I did now.

I watched my feet as they moved along the uneven pathway, one step after another, each one further enclosing me amidst unknown strangers.

The street was loud, and for once I let myself drown in the sounds. The beating of footsteps and chorus of voices formed a sort of obscure symphony in my head, urging me to listen to all of them. I sighed to myself, bringing my hands to cover my ears.

It was too loud. Everything.

*"婆婆! 婆婆你去哪儿?"
(Granny! Granny where are you?)*

I opened my eyes at that voice. It was a child's voice, a little boy.

I looked around for him, and saw him wandering near a fruit cart. He looked completely panicked and scared. As I approached him I could feel his heart beat pulsing incredibly fast.

I knelt down when I got to him and gave him a warm smile.

"小朋友，你为什么自己站在这里?(Hi little boy, why are you here alone?)"

"我不知道婆婆去在哪儿。 (I don't know where my grandma is.)"

"你的名字是什么? (What's your name?)"

"我叫阿原, (I'm A-Yuan)"

"阿原，你放心吧。我会跟你一起等你婆婆回来。 (A-Yuan, don't worry. I'll wait with you until your grandma comes back.)"

"谢谢姐姐! (Thank you Jie Jie!)"

A-Yuan surprised me with a hug and I returned it, patting his little back and stroking his hair. I picked him up and sat him down on the empty fruit cart, sitting myself down next to him.

"阿原，你婆婆长得怎么样?
(A-Yuan, what does your grandma look like?)"

He described her as a woman with grey hair wearing a long dark red dress with long sleeves. He said she was wearing a necklace with a butterfly on it and was carrying a small bag of chocolates. I smiled at his last description.

I closed my eyes and began scanning the area for this woman. It wasn't easy to sift through hundreds of people who were on the streets, in houses or in shops. But when the scent of chocolate passed by my little breeze I knew instantly it was her. Still visualising where she stood, I lifted her butterfly pendant, pointing it to the direction we were in. She gasped at the magic and stared at the butterfly without moving a muscle. I gave her a little pull to get her walking and after staring at it once more, she began following it.

I opened my eyes and looked back to A-Yuan who was swinging his legs and looking around at the people who were passing us by.

"姐姐，你会为我唱歌吗?
(Jie Jie, can you sing a song for me?)"

I looked down at him and widened my eyes at his request.

"唱歌? (Sing a song?)"

He nodded and moved over to sit himself in my lap. I laughed at his action and thought to myself for a moment before smiling at him. I didn't know many songs but there was one that I knew to be a lullaby of sorts. I wrapped my arms around his small body and rocked him as I sang: