Syla's mother was frozen on her chair, her eyes were half closed, and a frown began to form on her lips.
"—So, you've made your decision.." She said, her voice was quiet, almost like a whisper. "Are you sure about it?.."
"—Yeah, im sure.." Her husband responded as he held her hands.
"I thought you were supposed to convince her to stay with us.." Yulia was visibly disappointed, her tears started to drop, and she looked at Syla with the same pitiful face that her father had that morning. "I still have so much to give to her.. Im worried Hargal, im scared."
Syla turned her head down, she wasn't able to look at her mom directly, it was way too heart wrenching for her, she stayed quiet while staring at her meal that was getting cold.
"Me too, but you need to trust her.. Remember everything that she went through.. She learned how to use magic, diligently improving it as she grow, and she also learned swordmanship, to the point that she's now stronger than me and Raywen, our hunting squad leader.. She's the most skilled individual in this village, and it was all because of her hardwork, her endurance, her struggle, she walked through the thorny path all on her own, injuring herself many many times—
"She pushed herself to her limit, all was done because she wanted you to trust her, that she was strong enough to live by herself.. And she's no longer the shy girl that only reads book– We both knew that at some point, she will fly out of her nest, we can't keep forcing her to stay when her heart yearns for freedom.." Her dad explained with teary eyes.
It was at that moment, that her mother cried, her tears overflowed from her eyes as she wasn't able to contain it any longer, she sobbed and wiped her tears with her clothes after realizing that her emotions were getting the best of her.
While Syla's mother was crying, her dad stood up from his chair and gave her mother a hug, it was similar to the hug that he gave to Syla, an earnest hug that came from the deepest part of his heart.
"—I can't believe it.. That time passed so quickly, it's so cruel.." Her mother said while still being hugged. "I– Im so sorry... That i became such a selfish mother.."
"No..." Syla whispered, trying her hardest to not interrupt her parents, she felt guilty for seeing her mother like that, both of them thought that their desire were selfish, one who wanted to be free, and one who wanted to stay together. With how contradicting it was, it's no surprise that both side would feel the burden of their own choice.
"You don't need to be sorry.. You just wanted the best for your daughter, i know that very well, and i know that your love for her is irreplaceable– However, sometimes.. The best option doesn't always go with your expectation, and you might lose something in the process." Her dad said as he tried to calm her mother down.
Syla looked at her meal that was already gotten cold, she played with it for a while and cutting it into bite sizes.
'Now i know why many wanderers in stories have dead parents as their backstory.. It's different than when you're trying to enroll in an academy or a job at other towns.' Syla thought as she put one of the meat that she cut into her mouth.
The room was quiet for a moment, no one talked, only the sound of sobbing and the night crickets filled the air as the night grew darker.
Then, a voice broke through the silence.
"Syla.. Can you promise your mother one thing.." Yulia said with shaky tone.
"What is it, mom?" Syla replied while clenching, she was unsure with what her mother wants.
With a heavy voice, her mother then said her final decision, and also the promise she wants Syla to fullfil.
"Come back when you think it's the right time.. And try not to cause any trouble out there.."
Syla's ears perked up upon hearing those words, her heart began to ache, as if it was releasing something within it, then came the wave of happiness. She smiled at her mother, her eyes lit with glistening light, and her tail wags aggresively.
"—Yes! I promise!" She said, a single tear dropped from her eyes as Syla hugged her mother, replacing her dad's warmth.
Everyone in the house at that time, had nothing but smile in their face, after everything, they were glad that they managed to reach to a satisfying conclusion.
Syla's dad watched as the two of them cried their eyes out, embracing each other and relishing the short time they had left.
'At moments like this is where i can't tell the difference between the two of them.. Good grief, they're like two different bodies with one soul.' He said in his mind after seeing the two whited-haired demihuman shared a hug.
After a solid minute had passed, Syla then let go of her mother and turned her head towards her dad, she approached him until she was standing right before him. She opened her arms wide and gave her dad a big hug.
"Thank you, dad." She said earnestly.
"You're welcome, Syla.. You're welcome." Her dad responded as he gently stroke her head, moving to her ears moments later and startled her.
"Hm!? Wh- what are you doing!" Syla felt her ears being rubbed and felt ticklish from it, she took a step backwards to get away from her dad's rubbing.
"You don't like it?" Her dad asked.
"No– But that was just unexpected.." Syla replied as her tail was wagging behind her. "Anyway, im grateful to all of you!.. I really do– Thank you, for supporting me.. For everything."
"We can say the same thing to you.. Thank you, for being our child, and thank you for making us proud, i've said this before.. But you're the best daughter we could've ever asked."
Syla enjoyed the time with her parents that night, they continued to talk with each other, remembering the past and their memories until they slept. That day was soon remembered to be one of Syla's happiest day in her life.
.
.
Next week, 8:00AM—
"Hmm!, that should be it!" Syla looked at the mirror in her bedroom, her hairs swayed from her head movement as she inspected every inch of her body. She wore the same outfit from last week when she was about to go training, the white ruffled blouse and the black pleated skirt while embroidered in accessories made her appearance much more beautiful than before, the red hairpin with the shape of a rose on her head exuded an elegant aura, Syla stared at her own reflection for more than a minute before she realized that she was taking too much time looking at herself.
"Where's my bag?" She said as she searched through her desk, she looked for a few seconds and eventually found what she was searching for, a leather satchel that she bought from a store a few days ago. "There it is."
Syla put the satchel onto her shoulder, letting it hangs just beside her waist, with this, she would be able to store many things such as food boxes, water jug, coins, and many things that she may find interesting when exploring.
"Haahh.. Okay, today is the turning point of my life.. After everything i've went through, its all for this moment." Syla said while holding the door handle.
She opened the door that leads to the living room of her house after a few seconds of standing still, once she left her bedroom, she was instantly greeted by her parents.
"There you are." Her dad said.
"You brought everything?" Her mother added.
"Yes, i made sure to double check." Syla responded with a smile.
After confirming that she had everything with her, the three of them then wasted no time and began walking out of the house.
But just before she was about to step outside, her dad called her out from behind, Syla looked back to see her parents and saw her dad holding a sword scabbard.
"This is the only thing i can give to you, it's a real one– You're not thinking of leaving without a weapon aren't you?" He said while stretching his hand to her, waiting for Syla to accept his gift.
"Really!?" Syla was ecstatic to see the sword, she gladly took the weapon from his father's hand wore the scabbard over her shoulder, resting the sword on her back. "Thank you dad, i'll be sure to use it well."
"It's nothing really, i have more– Now, go! You still have a long journey today." Her dad responded as he pushed Syla out of their house, with him and her mother following closely behind.
While Syla was walking on the street, she noticed a few stare from some passerby, most likely admiring her beauty, Syla ignored those stares and kept walking, when she arrived at the village's entrance gate, she was surprised to see many of her acquaintances gathering at the side of the road.
"Syla!" Raywen shouted, calling for Syla in the distance.
"Yoo!! Syla! How's your day!"
"Syla! I heard the news, you've grown up to be an outstanding person huh!"
"I can't believe you're the same quiet girl that always read a book back then."
There was so many person that Syla knew, it was kind of overwhelming for her, her neighbor Ferin who was her mother's close friend were also there with the uncles at the hunting academy, not only that, the village chief was also present among the group.
"Everyone.." Syla was touched, she almost cried but decided that it would be embarrassing if she did it infront of everyone, so she held her tears and walked closer.