Aiden folded the paper star and put it in the glass bottle. He folded a lot of words in his fingertips, and he wanted to get it all together and give it to his mom. Ever since he shot her with the dart from the God of Love, whenever she's looking in the mirror, she doesn't look sad anymore, and she smiles more often too. Even if it was filled with darkness, he still wanted to shine on his mom. Even though it's still a paper star, one day when the world is at its brightest, he wants to shine on his mom.
And his mom already folded his heart. So, why not do the same thing for her?
"Ace-cakes?" his mother called from downstairs.
"Yes mom?" Aiden answered.
"What are you doing up there?"
"I'm editing photos!"
"Can you come downstairs for a minute?"
"Sure."
He set down the glass bottle and headed downstairs. When he made it downstairs, he saw that she was wearing a white belted shirt with light blue pants. She turned around and faced him. "I saw this at the front door and the person who delivered it goes by the name 'Nikita'. So you know them?"
"Yes I know her. She's one of the reincarnations of the Pandava brothers. And she loves fashion." Aiden replied.
"Oh, sorry for misgendering her. And this is really nice."
"It's fine and it is."
She smiled and headed towards the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Aiden headed up to his room and continued to put the paper stars in the jar. It wasn't cloudy today so the Sun's light illuminated through his room. During the daytime, it can't be seen well, even if a faint star is near his heart. Even though his mom doesn't know it, he's always shining on his mom.
Luckily, Mother's Day was tomorrow, so he started to put all the stars into one big one. He opened up all of them, laid them out and put a hole big enough for a lantern. Even if it's filled with darkness, at least this can shine on you mom, Aiden thought as he started to fold the papers. And, it's still a paper star, but tomorrow when the world is brightest, I want this to shine by your side. So, he continued to fold the star. He worked on it for a few hours before stopping to take a break. His mom was cooking food, and she thought that Aiden was being the artist he was, was editing photos. When he came downstairs, he smelled the savory smell of Marinara sauce being cooked. If Bee was here, she would've been on a cooking rampage, Aiden thought.
"Mom,"
"Yes, Aiden?"
"Why don't I cook and you can rest?"
"Aiden, you don't need to,"
"You deserve some rest mom, okay?"
"Alright Aiden. You do remember how to make it right?"
"Yep, Bee taught me how to."
"Alright," she yawned. "I'm going to go take a nap, later Ace-Cakes."
"Later mom."
She went upstairs to go take her nap, while Aiden took care of the Marinara.
When he was done, he put the stove on low and tip-toed up to his room, trying not to wake his mom. He silently closed the door behind him and continued to work on the star. The stars were enough to overflow the glass bottle, but if he put more of his heart into it, would she know? Would it be even bigger? His phone vibrated and he picked it up.
Bee: Ammamma should I do something for mother's day?
He replied back: If you want to of course. Maybe prepare a meal for her?
Bee: Maybe I should ask Gunky and Funky to invite her tomorrow! Thanks for the idea ammamma!
He replied: No problem Brynne
He set down his phone and continued to work on the star. He continued to work on it, taking a break once in a while and checking on his mom. He did the same pattern for each side of the star. Glue, put, tape. Glue, put, tape. He did the same thing for most of them, and for the edges, he used a different technique. Even if some of the pieces fell down sometimes, or some wouldn't stick on perfectly, he knew that this would happen, so he used clear tape to put on the pieces gently, so it could at least last a bit longer.
When Aiden left to check in on his mom, he noticed that she was out of bed. Then he remembered that the marinara was left on low. What if it burned? He fled down the stairs to find his mom, eating the Marinara.
"Mom?"
She sipped a noodle. "Yes Ace-Cakes?"
"Did the Marinara burn? I'm so sorry about that, I can make it up to you if you—"
He was cut off by a hug from his mom. "It was perfect. And you don't need to apologize. Okay?"
He let go of the hug. "Okay mom."
"Also, what were you doing upstairs?"
"I was editing photos."
"Can I see the ones you've edited?"
"S-sure."
He went upstairs and got his camera. He scrolled quickly through the ones he edited and found the one he liked the most. It was a picture of his mother, with a smile on her face, and the wind made it perfect for a picture. He went back downstairs and showed the picture to his mom. She smiled and hugged Aiden again, setting the camera down on the table.
"Thank you Aiden." she whispered in his ear.
"You're welcome, mom." Aiden answered back.
She let go of the hug and scolded through more photos. When she was done, she handed him back his camera and whispered, "I know about the girl."
Aiden flushed and his mom resumed eating, a small smile on her face. He also ate with his mom, and when he was done, he started back upstairs but his mom stopped him.
"Why don't you take a break from editing all those photos? Why not go on a walk?"
"Well..."
"Go visit your friends, socialize, or hang out with your mom! It is the day before Mother's Day after all."
"Alright, fine. I'll hang out with you." Aiden said, a small smile tugged across his face.
His mom smiled and he smiled too. She always had that effect, when she smiled, he wanted to smile back at her. He washed the dishes, even though his mom insisted on doing so. He didn't want to overwork her, especially a day before Mother's Day. She sat down on the couch and Aiden sat next to her, and he turned on his mom's favorite show, Ramayan. After a few episodes, Aiden excused himself to go back to editing his photos. His mom looked a bit sad, but let him go anyway.
He went up to his room and shut the door, pulling the sleeves of his shirt up and worked on the lantern star. He started working on the star around 11:00 (A.M), and it was now 7:43(P.M). He changed into his pajamas, and opened the blinds a little so he could see a bit better without the light. It was a Waning Gibbous, so he had plenty of light. After forty minutes of painting and looking up designs of the lantern, his phone vibrated. He sighed annoyingly and looked at the notification.
Shah ♥: Look out window
He sighed and lifted up the blinds fully to see Aru waving her hands like a maniac, and pointing to the Moon. Aiden mouthed, What? At Aru. She pointed to the Moon again and did a gesture that was more likely meant to be a snake, but turned out to be a move form IZ*ONE's 'Secret Story of the Swan'. He did an air question mark and Aru did the same move again, but this time it turned out to be a Snake. She then did a move that was meant to be a Rakkosh, but it looked like a zombie with it lifting up its gums. He rolled his eyes, trying not to smile and did a question mark gesture. She glared at him for a moment before doing the same move again, but using her fingers as horns. He slowly caught on to what Aru was referencing and he smiled. He had a heart, and a better and more clear Snake and Rakkhosh gesture.
Aru nodded and shot him a grin, causing Aiden's heart to beat faster. She turned around and headed towards her home, the museum, but before she went inside, she looked up at Aiden and stuck out her tongue. As if saying My gestures were better than yours, Wifey! She headed in and closed the door, leaving Aiden dumbfounded and happy at the same time. He lowered his blinds and opened them for the moonlight to come in.
He resumed working on the finishing touches for the lantern. It looked perfect. He painted the lantern his mom's favorite color, cambridge blue, and put flowers and a little gravel the Lawyers used in court. He hoped it wouldn't make his mom feel sad. When he officially finished painting, he set it out to dry and closed the blinds. He stretched a bit and headed downstairs to check on his mom. She was on the couch, lying down and lightly snoring, and the TV was still on. Aiden tip-toed over and turned it off, then put a blanket over his mom. He kissed her forehead and whispered goodnight, and went back upstairs to brush. It was 9:08 (P.M) by the time Aiden finished the lantern/star. He laid down on his bed and immediately drifted off to sleep.
✵
When morning came, Aiden shot out of bed and checked on the star. It was still in the same place as last night, and the pain dried. He exhaled and picked it up, careful not to drop it. He opened the door and left his room, using his free hand. When he reached his mom's room, he opened the door quietly to see her reading a book. He closed the door quietly and knocked lightly on the door. His mom perked up and her gaze fell on the lantern/star Aiden had.
"Good morning mom, and happy Mother's Day." Aiden said, going towards his mom.
"Thank you Ace-Cakes! And what's the star for?" she asked.
"You're welcome, and you'll see."
He plugged in the lantern/star, turned off the lights and closed the blinds. His mom set her book down as Aiden set the lantern/star in her lap. The star lit up and compliments flourished around the bedroom. You're an amazing mom, You will always be a beautiful mom, Smile more, I'll always love you ,and many more. Tears welled up in his mom's eyes, and she pulled him in for a hug. He let go of the hug and said, "Do you see it now mom?"
She looked a bit confused. "My heart is stained with light."
Her expression softened. "Even with the common paper star, you're the most dazzling to me Aiden."
"I want to be in your eyes." Aiden said.
"I want to tell you how I feel." his mom said.
"I want to shine in you forever." Aiden said, his eyes glossy.
"Thank you, for folding your heart for me Aiden."
"You're welcome Mom." Aiden cried.
They hugged one more as Aiden cried into his mom's chest. Silent tears fell down his mom's cheeks and she kissed the top of his head.
"Love you, Ace-cakes."
Fold my Heart Today (오늘도 내 맘을 접어)
~EL FIN~
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First one-shot! So, what did y'all think? Let me know in the comments! (Word count, including this, 1,959)