Chapter 87 – 7 Years Later. (One)

“Yes…”
The spring wind, which had returned seven times over the course of the season, flowed in with a drowsy voice. Drenched in a pleasant dream, I deliberately closed my eyes tightly, not wanting to wake up. However, no matter how much I closed my eyes and held on, I couldn’t even stop the scent that brushed my nose.

The smell of a cozy blanket hanging on the window. The faint smell of milk. And at this time of year, the smell of sprouts sprouting. All of them were urging me to open my eyes. It was like the temptation of a fresh country girl, so I had no choice but to be fooled even though I knew it was a lie. How could such an innocent girl fool me? I always believed that way and opened my eyes.

And that trust has never been betrayed.

“Whoa…”

When I opened my eyes, the same scenery warmly embraced my vision. Outside the window was absolutely blue, and on the ceiling were tiny specks of dust dancing. And the index finger, as always, was very wet.

“Ah…”

When I turned her head, Ellie was talking in her sleep, biting her index finger. You might think it’s cute, but once I bit it so hard that I almost cut off my finger. Of course, she never received an apology for that. I sighed thinly and brushed back a little of her hair that covered her face.

“Eww…”

Then, seven years later, the girl’s face, which still retains the freshness of that day, was revealed. Even though she is called mother more often than her name, Ellie was still shining brightly like a dandelion. There are times when I feel that her appearance is slowly changing. There were times when I thought it was petty.

“Uhhhhh…”

Carefully removing her fingers, Ellie frowned at her and buried her face in her bed. It seems like it happened at first glance, but this was also part of the sleeping habit. It seemed difficult to pass safely this morning as well. Thinking so, I looked up at my stomach this time to pull out the index finger on the other side.

“Ugh…”

“Ha…”

She’s my daughter who doesn’t get sick no matter how much I put her in her eyes, but when I see her lying on my stomach and biting her fingers, there are times when I want to roll her up in a blanket and throw it out the window. Unfortunately, the child born in anticipation and tension resembles me, not Ellie, and her personality resembles Ellie, not me. Thanks to that, the child grew up to be a nasty troublemaker, just as it was her natural destiny. It was clear to her that she probably wouldn’t have such an easy life when she grew up.

“Big…”

As I removed her fingers, I turned her body around a little, and her tiny body slumped on the bed, and I cocked her face into her bed like my mother. Seeing the two of them buried in the same blanket made me laugh out loud. Just looking at this, it’s so cute and pretty.

It would be fun to watch as it is, but I had to wake them up somehow to avoid starving to death. I approached the two people who were close to each other before I knew it and said cautiously.

“Ladies, you need to get up.”

“…”

“…”

Seeing that he didn’t even talk in his sleep and kept his mouth shut, it was clear that he woke up as soon as he heard my voice. I waited a bit, then gently rocked the bed and opened my mouth again.

“Today is the day I go to the hospital. I have to wake up quickly.”

“…Hug me and I’ll wake up.”

“Me too.”

Two sleepy voices rang at the same time. The pronunciation was clear and stubborn on a subject that was buried under the blanket and difficult to hear. Sometimes I wondered if I was raising two daughters. I shook my head and walked towards her eldest daughter first.

“Okay, okay. Get up.”

“Ugh…”

Her warm arms were wrapped around her shoulders, and the same smell passed her nose as always. I pretended to hug her, but playfully tickled her side, and Ellie struggled to endure it until eventually she giggled and slipped out of my arms.

“Puhhhhh…”

“Since you hugged me, should I get up now?”

“Well.”

Ellie, who was still giggling while holding onto her side, suddenly hardened her expression and said firmly.

“I won’t wake up because I didn’t kiss you.”

“Do whatever you want. Then we’ll have breakfast just the two of us, right?”

I deliberately spoke firmly and approached the real daughter-in-law this time. But the little devil rolled over and landed in the corner of the bed, then buried his face in the covers again.

“Since my mother hugged me first, I don’t want to wake up either.”

“No, that’s a different story.”

“I don’t like it. It won’t wake up. You should have hugged me first. I won’t wake up. I hate it.”

“Haha…”

I scratched my chin as if in trouble and slowly stood up. The two of them held onto the blanket tightly as if they were in harmony in an instant, and didn’t even think about getting up. After thinking for a while, I went over to the wall and opened the window.

“Ugh…”

“Aww…”

A cold wind blew through the wide open windows, and a faint moaning sound could be heard. No matter how much you cover your body with a blanket, it will not be easy to block the flower spring wind that blows around this time of year. I waited until the two of them were dry on the blanket and went back to bed. Then, taking a deep breath, I heard them both at once.

“Aww…!”

“Uh…Ehehe.”

A startled moan and a childlike laugh were heard at the same time. For the first time, I looked lovingly at the two, who reacted differently.

And without hesitation, he threw it out the window.

“Uggyaaaaagh!”

“Kyahahahahaha!”

“After…”

Surprised screams, hysterical laughter. And the sound of the space shrinking and the smell of crushed grass mingled and echoed in the air. I rubbed my still sleepy eyes and walked slowly to the kitchen.

What to do this morning Once there was milk, it seemed good to do anything with it. No, should I save it and make it into cheese? No It might be better to make something while it’s fresh. It was a happy thought, so I purposely pondered for a long time. The savory taste of milk and the greasiness of cheese were competing in my head.

“Hmm…”

I’d love to ask for your opinion. While I was thinking about it, another interesting thought occurred to me. When Ellie fell she did take over her body herself. Or did he put the safety of his sick daughter first even if he put it in her eyes? Instinct and maternal love. It seemed like it would be an interesting debate.

Well, that’s it, and you have to do what you have to do. In winter, there was nothing to do except go out to have a snowball fight sometimes, but when spring came, things to do were piled up like a mountain. I had to tidy up the house, make plans for the year, go to the village… I made my own plan while organizing the things I had to do in my head. The first thing you need to do is…

“Hey! Luca!!!”

“Ahaha! Mom, let’s do it again, let’s do it again!”

It must be placating an angry country girl. With that thought in mind, I turned to face Ellie, who was charging like a bull. It seemed like today would be a rather noisy day.

“I’ll be back!”

“I’ll be back, Luca.”

A lively voice without countermeasures and a calm voice echoed at the same time. I answered without turning my head while washing the dishes.

“Yes. Pull out your teeth well.”

“I’ll go and get my dad’s too!”

“Huh? What?”

I looked back in surprise, but the man who made that absurd declaration was already running out the door. Ellie looked at the little back and said with a smile.

“I hope you don’t go and cry.”

“I see. I asked to take it out of the house in case that’s the case.”

“Still, I wanted to have my first tooth pulled out in a safe place. And more than anything, I thought you’d have a hard time controlling your strength.”

“Well… That’s not true either.”

As I added bitterly, a warm hug rushed from behind. At the same time, the scent of peppermint flowers permeated and a low voice was heard.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t worry.”

“Someone said he was worried. It’s nice to be home alone after a long time.”

“Why don’t you have such a knack for lying? How would you live in this harsh world without me?”

“I see. How did you really live?”

I didn’t look back because I wanted to hide my expression. Ellie then kissed her on the ear and gave me a last hug.

“I’m taking a good look at the house. I’ll be right back.”

“Huh.”

“And there may be good news, so you can look forward to it.”

“I don’t know what it is, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

“I love you Luca.”

“Yes. I love you too.”

I pretended to be calm until the end and touched the already washed dishes several times. Ellie looked at the scene and immediately closed the door and left. Just a little bit, I waited for the noise to die down, and finally I stopped washing the dishes as a stillness filled the whole house.

As I dipped my hand in the cold water, pure white soap bubbles swept away in an instant. I felt the tingling sensation and slowly raised my hand. Bubbles of water dripped onto the floor, making a pleasant noise. But that’s for a while. As soon as I roughly wiped my hands on my clothes and sat down on a chair at the table, the noise disappeared again.

I deliberately waited without saying anything. Like a monk in training. So that the silence completely envelops me.

I wasn’t expecting any special feelings to come. It was just a meaningless habit from one day. I don’t even know what to expect.

…

Come to think of it, it has already been 7 years since that day.

The thought that came to me at the end of a long thought was not so much as I thought. 7 years. It was just a number. However, that one unique number entangled my heart.

7 years…

…

I didn’t tell Ellie, but today is the day.

The very day I stood in front of you

The day when everything would have ended in tragedy if we hadn’t turned back time.

In fact, it was a day that I had secretly counted in my heart for a while. My own anniversary that no one will notice and no one will care anymore. Perhaps the term anniversary is correct. It’s such a day with nothing to celebrate.

I don’t even know why I’ve been waiting for this day in the first place. In this world, it’s just another day like always. There’s nothing going on now, and there’s no reason for that.

Okay. Clearly so.

I repeated those words to myself, and again in my head, I lined up the things I had to do today. I’ll have to make lunch in advance. You may need to prepare something special. Anyway, I’m taking out my first tooth. What was in the house Maybe I should go to the forest for a while.

I laughed a little thinking about that. All of a sudden, the thought of an anniversary that didn’t even exist quickly disappeared, and everyday worries that weren’t really a big deal filled up. Just thinking about it is such a headache, to the point where I think it would be better to wander aimlessly through the past.

It was when I got up from my seat with that thought in mind.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A knock was heard at the door.

The unexpected visit gave me a slight shudder. Who is it. There is no one to come The postman had been there just yesterday, and there were no scheduled appointments. Besides, there was no one who would come so urgently.

The anxiety that had been buried in my heart for a long time slowly rose. But I quickly suppressed that feeling and went towards the door. It will be nothing. Maybe Ellie is playing a joke. There’s no reason to think anything strange.

However, the anxiety continued until the moment I grabbed the doorknob, followed by a thumping heartbeat. 7 years. That same day 7 years ago. It seemed that the emotions of that time were revived, albeit weakly.

“It will be nothing.”

I had to let that one out of my mouth to calm myself down. I took another deep breath and opened the door.

Then, I met eyes with a familiar girl standing in front of the door.

“…”

The door opened, and when I met her eyes, the girl stared at me. And she spat out her words very slowly and hesitantly.

“Luka.”

It was a familiar voice. I was silent for a while, not knowing what to do. However, that did not mean that he could not even control the emotions that came to him. Something violent was already thumping in his chest. I know that shouldn’t be the case. I called out his name, showing that emotion on my face.

“Kate…?”