Gone

[Criala 729]

The breeze blew Ryllae's hair around, before letting it settle down over his shoulders again. With his hair growing longer and reaching past his ribs, the resemblance to his father was even greater than it was before. 

 

Currently, he was looking at the note Seith had left him all those years ago. It was something he did every now and then, especially if he was feeling anxious or the like. Normally, it was able to brighten his spirits, even if it was only by a little bit. The last thing his father had ever said to him...

 

At least he had that for his father. As for his mother... There was a lot about her that he couldn't remember, since her passing had happened when he was very young. There was one thing that he could never forget... The day that she had passed.

 

-

 

"Daddy, why's mama still in bed?" Ryllae asked, looking up at his father with confusion written all over his young face. "It's nearly bedtime again!"

 

"She hasn't been feeling well, Ryllae." Seith replied, smiling at his son. It was a forced smile, but Ryllae's young mind didn't catch it. 

 

"Then we gotta help her feel better!" Ryllae exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. He turned around, ready to run head on into his parents bedroom to see his mother. But Seith caught him before he could go running in.

 

"She needs her rest, Ryllae." Seith told him, gently holding onto his son's shoulder.

 

"But, I wanna go see her..." The young elf pouted up at his father. 

 

"..." Seith let out a sigh. He could never hold out against Ryllae's pout for long, and the young elf knew it. "Alright, but don't go jumping on her."

 

"Yay!" Ryllae grinned brightly. As soon as his shoulder was free, he hurried off to go see his mother. 

 

Seith trailed after his son, making sure that he wouldn't take a flying leap at Meleia. But Ryllae was good. Approaching the bed carefully, peeking over the edge to look at his mother. Her face was very thin, sunken in. And her skin was pale, instead of its normal light tan.

 

"Mama." Ryllae called softly, climbing onto the bed. He was careful with his movements, not wanting to jostle his mother.

 

"Ryllae...?" She opened her eyes, turning her head to look at him. A slight smile came to her face, but it was interrupted when she burst out in a coughing fit. It died down after a few minutes, and once it had, she looked worn out.

 

"Mama, are you okay?" He asked, looking quite worried.

 

"Don't worry. Mama's fine..." She tried to reassure him, sounding breathless. 

 

"Okay..." He didn't sound convinced. But he didn't say anything else. He merely laid down beside her, letting himself curl up against her side. "I love you, mama." 

 

A tired smile came to her face and she slid her arm around him. "i love you too." 

Seith sat down beside her, running his fingers through her hair gently. It pained him to see her like this... The love of his life looking so fragile and weak.

 

It didn't take long for Ryllae to fall asleep, nestling into his mother's side.

 

"Seith..." She spoke softly as to not wake their son up.

 

"Meleia?" 

 

"I love you..." She murmured, her eyes fluttering closed.

 

"I love you too." He smiled, though it held a hint of sorrow in it.

 

Within a few moments, she was fast asleep. But it took Seith a long time to get to sleep that night. Even when he did, it was only for a few hours before he was awake again.

 

Ryllae woke up the next morning to his father picking him up.

 

"Daddy..." He let out a yawn, looking up at his father sleepily. "I wanna lay with mama..." 

 

"You... Can't, Ryllae..." He said quietly. There were streams of tears running down his cheeks. His eyes were puffy and red. 

 

Ryllae frowned, turning to look at his mother. She was laying where she had been last night, completely still. Not even her chest was rising and falling to signal that she was breathing.

 

"What's wrong with mama...?" He asked, turning to look at his father again.

 

"She's gone, Ryllae..." Seith said, barely above a whisper.

 

"No, she's not... She's right there." Ryllae insisted, pointing behind him at the bed.

 

"Ryllae... Not that kind of gone..." Seith paused to swallow and hold back another around of tears before he continued. "She's... Dead..." 

 

That made Ryllae freeze. He knew what dead was. They had talked to him before about what dead meant. 

 

"M.. Mama's... d.. dead?" His voice broke and tears welled up in his eyes.

 

"Yes..." Seith whispered, taking a deep breath and holding his son close to his chest.

 

Ryllae burst out into tears, clutching his father's shirt and burying his face in his shoulder to sob.

 

-

 

"I miss you, mama..." Ryllae whispered to himself as he thought about that fateful day. "I'm sorry that I haven't visited you in a while... I will soon..." 

[Knox213 10]

Moved to the Archive. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.