The Maternal Shadow

Almost a month had passed. Despite having some time left, Ren was nearly finished with his manga; he just needed to create the final challenge.

During this time, he occasionally went with Aria to the music room to doodle. However, her weekends were filled with piano practice with her mother, so they didn't have time for a real date.

Moreover, he hadn't found the right moment to confess his feelings. He hadn't gone home with Aria since they both didn't want to be seen together by Aria's mother, Hanna. He thought the best moment for it would be after her competition when she'd be more at ease. Perhaps after he won the manga competition and have a lot of magic happening at once, as he had never been so confident in a work as he was with this one.

To the delight of the young couple, there was a school festival with various activities and delicious food coming up, a perfect time to spend with Aria.

Ren and Leo were sitting on the school patio, watching Aria and Erika chatting from a distance.

"So, stud, are you two dating yet?" Leo asked, eager for some news.

"I don't think officially. I don't know, these things are complicated. We've only kissed twice. "

Leo was impressed with his friend.

"I don't understand you, you two are always together. You don't even talk to me during class breaks anymore; you only talk to Aria."

"I enjoy talking to Aria..." he replied shyly.

"Alright, man, but start dating her soon, or I might beat you and get in a relationship before."

Now it was Ren's turn to be curious.

"Are you interested in someone?"

"No, but you're taking so long that there's a chance I'll beat you to it before you two starts dating."

"And what about Erika? She's pretty cool, isn't she? You two would make a popular couple."

"Erika?" Leo asked, almost disgusted "She's like my sister, man. It would be too weird to date her."

The girls approached, and they changed the subject.

"I've already planned out my schedule with Aria for the festival. An optimized route for entertainment, food, and rest."

Leo nudged Erika, pointing to the other pair.

"Are you going to ruin their date?"

"Of course not, we're all going together. I've set aside some romantic moments for them to be able to have time alone."

As usual, the couple blushed at their love lives being exposed by their friends.

The school was already changing, setting up stalls in the open spaces and preparing some classrooms for special events.

Erika went over her plan with the boys, which sounded more like an event order than a suggestion.

The school day had already ended, and the group was getting ready to head home, excited about all the things they could do at the festival.

"Aria, come here this instant."

Everyone turned to the harsh voice. They saw the tall and stern woman whom Ren knew was Aria's mother, Hanna. She didn't even glance at her daughter's friends, walking straight to her instead, which calmed Ren down, he didn't want to be recognized by her.

"Mom! What are you doing here?" Aria asked, frustrated.

"I came to see why you take so long to come home; it's not a long walk. Every minute wasted here is one you should be practicing."

Aria was dying of cringe from the scene her mother was causing. The girl turned to her friends to make introductions.

"Guys, this is my mom, Hanna. Mom, these are my friends..."

"I don't care about these people! I give you enough freedom to have your little teenage life, but you need to come to rehearsals; that's our agreement."

Ren wanted to help her, just like Aria had helped him with his father; it felt good to have someone to lean on. However, he didn't know how to do the same in this situation.

"I was already on my way back, Mom! There's no need for all of this! "

"Since when are you so sassy?" her mother asked without losing her composure "Aria, if you break our agreement, things will change. You're forbidden from going to this festival; you'll spend all that time practicing."

Ren couldn't find the strength to hold Aria's hand as he watched her tremble. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she tried to reason with her mother.

"Mom, I've been practicing a lot. Let me go to the festival!"

"My decision is final; let's go now."

She turned her back on her daughter without waiting for any further discussion. Ren saw the tears and sobs welling up in Aria, but instead of following her mother, she ran, fleeing the school and going in the opposite direction of her home.

"What the..." her mother asked, but there was no one to answer her; she had already disappeared, and the woman wouldn't chase after her.

Unlike Ren, who froze for a moment, he then ran after Aria. Unfortunately, he took a bit longer than he should have, and she was already out of his sight.

He ran nonetheless; he knew where she must have gone until the first turn in the street, where he'd have to guess where she would go. But maybe he didn't need to rely on luck and deduced the most likely path.

She was new to the city, didn't know many places, and had gone in the opposite direction of her home, where he knew there was at least one place she was familiar with.

So, he went to his house and found her sitting on the ground in front of his gate, crying. Ren calmly sat down next to her on the ground.

"Do you want to talk?" Ren asked.

She shook her head negatively between sobs. Thinking about what he could do, Ren placed his hand on her shoulder, and she removed one of her arms from her face and handed it to Ren.

The two sat there without saying anything, holding hands while Aria tried to calm down. Ren didn't think about suggesting they go inside; she seemed to need a moment with him, and he was there just so she wouldn't feel alone.

When her sobs lessened, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you... I hate her so much."

Ren knew this was a delicate subject and didn't want to make her more uncomfortable.

"Parents can be complicated" he said, speaking from his own experience.

For some reason, the sentence made Aria laugh.

"I feel so good with you" the girl said.

Ren's heart was pounding so loud he was sure Aria could feel it against her head on his shoulder.

"Me too. And after the competition, you'll be freer, right? We can do whatever you want. Maybe go to a nice restaurant or see some performances."

Although she was happy with Ren's suggestion and would definitely like that in the future, she didn't want to miss the festival to practice with her mother.

But with neither of them having an immediate answer, they sat on the sidewalk, enjoying each other's presence.