Love for a Mother - Part 3

Our entire dinner, I sat in emotional turmoil. Asha sat there shoving food into her face without much room for air. We had cautioned her to slow down multiple times, and I was worried this would end with all of the food coming back up. Her cheeks resembled a squirrel's as she chewed, and every once in a while, when we would meet eyes, her cheeks would redden in embarrassment. How anyone could harm such a cute child was beyond me, and for the first time since using my powers on others, I hesitated to use them. If I broke Evara’s curse, would she go back to hitting her child? Has she learned her lesson? Was there anyone to entrust Asha to if not? Would Evara give Asha up? I didn’t have any real answer to any of these questions, and it bothered me. Uncharacteristically. It's not that I didn’t enjoy helping others. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t take the time to relieve people of their curses, but I wasn’t going to go out of my way to help others if it was beyond my power. For instance, when breaking Ira’s curse, I wasn’t going to sort things out for her at her job or get her a new one. That was up to her to figure out.

“Miss Nia, are you really going to save my mom?” Asha finally took a break from eating and looked up at me with big doe eyes that seemed to match her hair in color.

“As Cursebreaker, I must relieve everyone of their curses,” I responded almost on impulse. The words I’ve constantly repeated with pride now feel so dry. So empty. I didn’t believe them in this instance. But I’d have to learn to live with it. After all, the words, while hollow, were true. It was my duty. I had to, whether I wanted to or not.

“Nia broke my curse for me, and now I’m all better”, Ira told her, “She was even kind enough to bring me along on her journey.” Asha’s eyes lit up, and she looked at me with newfound adoration.

“You’re on a journey? So you do this all the time?” Asha smiled, “I’ve never left the village. Does all of the world look like Dunwold?”

“Most of the world is forested like Dunwold, but there are lakes, rivers, mountains, deserts, and even an ocean not far from here. When you get older, you’ll be able to go see them.” I explain.

“What if I don’t grow up someday?”

“You will one day. I promise you that” I tell her. My heart nearly dropped to my stomach. No child should have to worry about not making it to adulthood. Just what kind of life has she lived? I chastised myself for even thinking this way again. It wasn’t in my realm of expertise. I could only lift the curse. After all, this child was going to die if I didn’t help her mother. She had no other means of survival.

“How about we go play outside when we’re done?” Ira propositioned. Asha’s eyes lit back up at this and quickly nodded.

“You guys can go out first to get started. I’ll pay for the bill in the meantime.” I offer.

“Okay, we’ll just be outside.” Ira smiles. Together, the two of them get up and exit the restaurant. I let my smile drop and put my head in my hands. I shouldn’t let myself get any more attached to Asha than I have already. I let my guard drop since she was a child in need, but that’s all the more reason for me to stay distant. I wasn’t her family after all.

I took my time paying the bill and sat for a little longer before I collected myself, inevitably exiting the building. Outside, Asha was chasing Ira through the streets, laughing and screaming while she ran. Ira was smiling and laughing as well, occasionally turning back to make sure Asha was still chasing her. After a little while, Ira slowed down and let Asha catch her, resulting in the cat-and-mouse role switching. I leaned against the building wall and just watched them play. Passersbys still gave the occasional dirty look in Asha’s way, but she couldn’t have cared less.

Eventually, the sky began to darken, and the various games the two played throughout the day came to an end. Asha had run up to me a few times and invited me to join them, but I had refused her every time.

“It’s time!” I called out to the two of them, motioning for them to come over.

“We’re going to fix Mommy?” Asha asked.

“Yes, I can fix your mom now”, I smiled. Ira and Asha held hands once again, and we all walked together back to the stone figure of Evara. Asha’s big smile and skips began to fade the closer we got to Evara. I found my eyes avoiding Asha after that observation.

“Nia, can we talk?” Ira asked, her face uncharacteristically serious.

“Of course. Asha, do you mind giving us a few more minutes before we help your mom? We’ll head there straight after.” I asked her.

“Yeah, I’ll go play over there until you’re done”, she said, giving us a thumbs-up. She ran off where we could still see her and began playing in the dirt with a stick.

“Are you truly going to leave Asha with Evara?” Ira cut straight to the heart of the issue: “It seems like she's being continually abused.”

“What are we supposed to do for her? I can’t change Evara, and we can’t care for a child. The townspeople all look at her like she's a pest, and if someone was going to take her in, they would’ve done it by now. What can we do?”

“We could take her to another town and look for a family there.”

“And if her mother says no? Are we going to kidnap a child from their mother? We can’t save every child we see. There are far too many children in need in the world, and we’re just two people. That’s up to the kingdom of Fiore to deal with. Not to mention, we don’t have the time to make a detour and find her a family. That could take weeks. Time we don’t have the privilege of having.” I tell her.

“I get what you’re saying,” Ira replies, “I just wanted to be on the same page as you. You’ve looked bothered all day, and I was just looking to allow you to voice your concerns. I also wanted to tell you that if you change your mind at any point, I’m down for whatever that looks like. I told you that I would be your assistant on this journey, and I meant it.” Ira was more thoughtful and sincere than I could’ve expected. She was truly on her way to becoming a friend I’d like to have for a lifetime.