Chapter 14 : A day's end

They walked home together, Mason still a bit tipsy, babbling about his life and his work. Though it was a lot to unfold for a child, Kieran wasn’t a child mentally. Kieran just held his hand, and stayed silent. Mason didn’t mind talking to himself, it seemed as if he just needed to unload all his pent up feelings. They walked for a while, until they stopped in front of a house. It had lights in it, and was a bit nicer than the one Kieran had awoken in. It was made of stone, and was designed. It wasn’t just put together like Kieran’s home. Kieran looked around, and realized that all the houses were similar. They weren’t as beat up and old as his home. Was he really living in such poor conditions? Just thinking about it made him tear up a little, though Mason did not see this. He thought about his mother who had sacrificed so much for him, and tried to always give him what she could afford to give. A mother’s love was truly endless. And though he experienced this in the memories inherited from Kieran, Edward wished he could experience this himself.

“Here we are,” Mason said, proud. For some reason, he couldn’t stop smiling at it.

As the two of them walked in together, Mason opened the door to reveal the living room. There was a fireplace, and a couch made of what seemed to be sheep’s wool and stone. There was a long table with fruit on it on the far end of the room, next to the open kitchen. There was a woman standing in the open kitchen, preoccupied with something until Mason grabbed her attention. She was a tall, slender woman. She had long, brown hair that reached her waist. She had striking facial features, one that could make her a model back in Edward’s world. Her smile was warm, it would pierce through you and make you feel as if you were melting in place. Both Mason and this woman gave off similar vibes.

“I’m home,” said Mason, yawning as he told her.

“Honey…” she said, in a low, almost growling tone of voice. She was still smiling while saying this.

“Do you know what time it is?” she asked, still smiling with warmth, but you could sense hostility.

Mason looked away in embarrassment, smiling at Kieran.

“Um.. time to go to bed?”

“NO, THAT WAS 2 HOURS AGO!” she yelled, hands down at her side, face forward. She was extremely fierce, and Kieran thought of her as a scary woman. She was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Haha…

Mason laughed it off, trying to downplay the situation as the woman scolded him. As she was scolding him, she noticed Kieran next to Mason, and stopped. She looked at him, eyeing him. Then, she looked back at Mason, back at Kieran, then back at Mason. Slowly, she started to realize what was happening.

“MASON!” she yelled at him

“SHUT UP!” a neighbor yelled back.

She stayed quiet for a while, a little embarrassed, but continued on her interrogation. She grabbed him to the side, and talked with him.

“Mason,” she whispered, “This child, is he not Elizabeth’s boy?” she asked, still eyeing Kieran.

“Yes, he is. His name is Kieran. I’ve met him a few times before, but it seems he doesn't remember me. I plan to take him in to our-”

He was quickly interrupted by his wife,

“We don’t have room for him,” she protested

“He can share a room with Ren,” he said

“But what about food? We don’t have enough to afford another mouth to feed, Mason,” she continued, still insistent on not keeping the boy.

“I’ll work extra shifts. We have to help him, dear. His mother-”

“I know his mother died, and I feel bad for him too, Mason. Elizabeth was my friend, but what about our family?”

“He will be a part of our family, Sarah. He and Ren can get along fine. Ren always wanted a brother, remember? We can’t just leave him in that house, Sarah,” he said, pleading with her.

Time went by, Kieran still standing by the front door, his legs sore. The two adults exchanged glances with each other and continued talking, until Sarah sighed and seemed to give in. She moved Mason aside and walked over to Kieran. When she got to Kieran, she squatted down, and looked at him in the eyes. Her eyes, pained with grief and sorrow, pitied the boy. She held him by the shoulders, and then proceeded to hug him. Kieran hugged her back, and she tightened her hug. She was crying, Kieran could feel the tears on his clothes. After a while, she let go, wiping her tears away with her sleeves. She looked at the boy, this time smiling at him.

“Hello, Kieran. I don’t know if you remember me, but I was good friends with your mommy. I came to the shop often,” she said. “My name is Sarah, and you already know Mason. I have a boy named Ren as well, he’s around your age. You two will get along fine. I know you’re tired, dear, so let’s go wash up, then go to bed, okay?”

Her voice was soothing. Kieran could fall asleep just listening to her voice all day. It felt like snow. He imagined it as walking through the dark, not knowing where you were going, just wandering, as you listened to calming music. He felt captivated by it.

Sarah led him to the bathroom, where she helped Kieran wash up. She then guided him to Ren’s room. There was a boy on the bed, though he was facing the wall. She tucked Kieran next to him, then kissed him on the forehead.

“Good night, Kieran,” she said.

And though she said this, as she left the room, just moments later, talking could be heard on the other side of the door. They were talking about Kieran and what to do with him. Though Kieran tried listening, the fatigue and the exhaustion of the day took over. His child body couldn’t handle it, and needed sleep. He tried staying awake, trying to listen to their conversation, but to no avail, it was pointless.

As he slowly drifted off to sleep, all he could hear was the lullaby of the crickets chirping and leaves rustling.