"Aven, please!" Elira begs, running after Aven. "I-I didn't know how else to save us."
The cold midnight wind howls as she catches up to him, tightening the straps on her coat. "Aven…" She glances at the floor before looking him in the eyes again, "We would've died! We had no money! We're broke, Aven!"
Aven doesn't blink.
He hazily stares through his mother, pushing her out of the way as he continues to walk forward.
"We would've died?" He scoffs, turning to face her, genuinely looking her in the eyes for the first time in months. Elira stops dead in her tracks, taking a deep inhale as she prepares for her sons wor-
"I wish we had."
Elira doesn't move.
He glares at her, disgust imprinted across his face, breath fogging as he speaks, "No mother of mine would betray the family like that."
Elira's reddened eyes look to the night sky, constantly choking on her breath in an attempt to compose herself.
"You're dead to me, Elira."
Elira drops to her knees, clawing at the ground.
"My mother left the day she got married. I've been abandoned. I'm alone."
Aven turns his back to her as he walks off into the distance, "I'm going to sleep." He chuckles, "Happy birthday to me I guess." He tells himself, attempting to force a smile, wiping away a single tear trickling down his cheek.
The sun has once again risen, although this morning is unlike the others. No birds chirping, no golden glow.
Just… silence.
I wipe my eyes and perform a quick stretch before dragging myself out of bed. Last night was weird. I didn't get much sleep, Elira was crying all night.
I puff out my chest, "Welp, what you're not connected to can't hurt you. It's just me and you, Aven."
I smile, "Happy birthday, son." I tell my reflection.
I shake my head, "No that's not how he would've said it." I clear my throat and attempt to deepen my voice, "Happy birthday son, from me and your mother." I grin, "That's better." I clap my hands together, "Time to get Aven's 15th underway!" I announce as I run into the living room.
"Hey…son." She murmurs.
I sigh, "Damn, how's she even still awake?"
"Hey, Aven. I really just wanted to-" I cut her off, "Elira, you really should get to-"
I roll my eyes, "Nevermind."
"Aven please! I want to fix things," She begs.
"She's really still talking?" I ask myself as I begin to head toward the doo-
"Mum?" My train of thought is completely cut off.
This feeling, one I've not felt in years. Her warm arms wrap around me, her chin resting on the top of my head. I try to speak; I can't.
"Shh… It's okay Aven." She whispers whilst ruffling my hair.
The sun begins to glow, birds chirp once again, a golden glow stretches across the grassy green planes.
"Mum!" I shout in amazement, "How are you-"
"I couldn't do this anymore… I've missed you Aven… Happy Birthday." She tells me.
I break the hug so I can turn to face her. I pinch myself, and again… and again.
She chuckles, "I'm real Aven. It's me. The same woman from last night with that man, the same woman you've grown up alongside for all these years."
I shake my head, "I thought you left me, I couldn't even recognise you." She bends down towards me, her soft hands wiping my eyes, "He's going to be so mad at me." She giggles, "But I couldn't stand to see you like this anymore." She holds my hand out before reaching in her pocket and sliding a beauty on my finger: a silver ring with an emerald gemstone atop it.
"We'll always be proud of you Aven, both me and your father."
My eyes widen, my chest flutters, my stomach tingles, "W-what are you saying?"
Without answering, she pulls me into a tight embrace, "Just promise me this Aven, no matter what, you'll keep going. Even if your father's not here, even if I'm not here," Water descends the length of my forehead. "You'll always be the same Aven who won't let anything stop him." I smile, holding her tightly.
"I'll always love you, Aven… So will he."
She lets go with a quivering smile.
I beam a smile back, "I-"
"Tell me later." She instructs, her voice slightly shaking, "We can catch up in a few minutes okay?" She points to the door, "How about, you go to the training tree and I come to watch you train?"
"Really?!" I ask, eyes glistening.
Without another word, I sprint out of the door, not once looking back.
"Mum's back. She's really here!" I announce as I punch the air in celebration.
I hunch over as I repeatedly pant for breath, "Damn it…" I look up at the tree, "How long have I been here?" I glance behind each shoulder before shrugging, "Gotta keep going I guess… Mum needs to see how much I've improved." I stare at the tree once again, planting my feet as I prepare to sprint toward it.
The ground shakes, the birds disperse, animals and insects are sent into disarray.
A loud boom, a noise louder than anything I've heard before, rumbles throughout the forest.
I struggle to maintain balance, winds pick up, rain falls and thunder sounds.
"A minor storm's not gunna throw me off. Mum said I won't let anything stop me." Hours pass, the storm continues to escalate; I continue to train. "Mum wouldn't want me giving up, I can push through this." I repeat to myself.
The sun sets, the golden glow from the morning now replaced with the shadows cast by moonlight.
"Still not here, huh?" I mutter, turning my back to the tree and beginning to exit the forest.
"Aven! Please, just forgive me… Aven!"
Those were her screams from last night. They didn't stop. She probably didn't sleep too much. After she got that apology off of her chest, I bet she conked out instantly.
"I'm real Aven, It's me."
I smile, remembering our earlier conversation, but why now? Why the sudden switch? The woman before her…
"Someone has to be sane in this house! Why?... Why can't it be you?"
Is like a completely different person from the mother that raised me, and the mother from this morning.
Who actually is Elira Velmera?
I begin to ascend the hill.
The hill I've climbed numerous times over my 15 years of life.
The hill that my house lays atop.
The hill that my loving mother resides upon.
The hill where my father once introduced me to the beauties of this world.
The hill that no longer exists.
My eyes widen.
Saliva dribbles from my mouth.
A vein bulges in my forehead.
I hyperventilate.
I'm dizzy.
Help.
"Where is it?"
I'm shaking.
I fall to my knees.
I'm crying.
My house… is rubble.
I wail.
The air's scent is tainted with smoke and ash but amidst it all, her perfume lingers.
I gulp.
"Mum?!" I sprint over to the ruins of my house, rummaging through ripped furniture, broken walls and piles of litter in an attempt to find her.
"Where's my mother?!" I roar, lightning striking the forest behind me.
Smoke begins to arise as the forest burns.
I continue to search.
"Mum, Mum, please not again… don't," A tear falls onto the floor, "Don't leave me." I whisper.
Hours pass.
I continue to search.
My hands blister and bleed, my clothes soak through, my throat aches.
I continue to search.
Reality is cruel.
The present is an illusion. The moment you touch it, it's already gone. Locked away.
If it can't be changed, then it was never real to begin with.
The future isn't any better. It's the sum of choices you were forced to make in previous presents. If the present is fake, then whatever comes after it has to be fake too.
And the past…
It only exists to hurt you.
It shows you everything you could've had, everything you've lost without asking.
A collection of "what ifs" you can never regain.
"Never let things bother you, Aven. Pay no mind to it."
The past bothers me.
So I won't look at it.
And if I don't look at it, it can't be real either.
Past. Present. Future.
Three lies stacked together and sold as life.
I conclude my search.
If only I truly exist in this reality, it explains why only I am abandoned.
Reality itself is designed to combat my existence.
There's no point in dying either. I bet if I was to die, I'd somehow find myself in the same situation I'm in now: abandoned, alone-
I begin to wander.
I don't want to finish that train of thought.
I have no reason to do so.
There's no point in me thinking, no one can hear it anyways.
With a sigh I stare at the sky, embers from the burning forest illuminate the otherwise grey atmosphere. "She left me. He left me."
"Aven… you've never met your father."
I grit my teeth, "Liar."
Who was Elira Velmera?
Who was Darian Kaymar?
What is Aven?
The emerald ring gifted to me by Elira reflects the light from the burning forest.
I raise my shaking hand to my eyeline and remove the ring.
"I've missed you Aven… Happy Birthday."
With a deep breath I launch the ring into the flames.
I take a seat as I watch the ring burn, mirroring the simple fact of existence: Life is born and Life Dies.
End of Prologue