244 Lazy Day Pt. 2 (2/2)
”Loriana,” I muttered her name, turning on the chair and looked over at her.
”Yes?” she responded by meeting my eyes with the utmost caring and loving look in her eyes.
For some reason, at that moment, I felt a strong urge to cry. Seeing her always calmed my mind, and it must be the same for Alevian as well. To be honest, Alevian is more or so a stranger that is also the person I am the most familiarize with. He is myself, yet...I had yet to spend much time with him. And compared to him, Loriana is someone who I have known since my youth. Even if it might be a falsified past, forged memories, she is the only person in this world...that cared for me.
Without saying anything further, I threw myself at her, bringing my arms around her and embraced her. Just like I had remembered in my memories, her body is soft and had this...pleasant scent that is relaxing and calming to the mind. I can sleep peacefully in her arms with her warmth warming my body.
”Thank you,” I whispered as I hugged onto her tighter.
”...” Loriana remained silent as I embraced her, and after a while, she returned the embrace, gently bringing her arm behind my back, resting her head against mine. She gently stroked my hair with her hand, moving at a slow and comfortable rate as she slowly rubbed my back with the other.
After a minute, I slowly retracted my arms from around her, left the embrace. Once again sitting straight on the bar stool, I wiped the mysterious tears that had formed in my eyes with my hand. As I did so, Loriana rested her chin in her left hand as she looked over at me, smiling in an amused and joyful manner.
”This is the first time,” Loriana said, smiling, ”that you did that.”
I chuckled from her comment, laughing softly as I gradually ceased sobbing. Loriana simply gazed at me with that loving look in her absorbing eyes, slowly warming my heart like the gentle rays of the morning sun. She seemed to be in a great mood as that faint smile remained on her face.
Upon realizing what I had just done, I blushed from embarrassment. But...just looking at the way Loriana is gazing at me, that feeling of cringe slowly dissipated. Maybe occasionally...it's fine. With a content smile, I resumed my morning meal, and not too long after that, I finished with the food.
”It's time that I leave,” Loriana said, grabbing her car keys and purse before she walked over to the front door.
I followed her to the door to see her off, and watched as she slipped her slender feet into a pair of stylish black heels. She opened the door and walked out. Just before she shut the door, she smiled at me in her usual mature manner and gently waved goodbye to me before closing the door. Even after the door had closed, I remained frozen in place, contemplating my relationship with Loriana and putting Alevian also into the equation.
She had given up her original love life to care for us, and with us as her burden, she was unable to reenter another one. Alevian and I...we're her burden ever since we started living with her, which was approaching its five year anniversary now... Because of us, that twenty one year old college girl was forced to take on the responsibility of a parent, and is forced to worry about us. She was unable to enjoy the final year of her college life, and even after college, she was never able to engage in any real socializing circle. Yerith and Cheral are her only friends from work, and she never really have the opportunity to go out and meet other men, making it so that her relationship status had been on an everlasting halt ever since her previous break up almost five years ago... How long would this have to last? Would she have to remain single, deprived of a fulfilling relationship until Alevian and I are able to care for ourselves?
Come to think of it...we're seventeen already, and this school year will be over in a few months. Soon, we will be in our final year of high school. Although Alevian and I will most likely be attending Nocsinis Imperial Univeristy, which means that we will be able to commute easily from home, I do not know whether or not we will remain at home... To think that one day, we will have to move out...time really has been slipping by.
With a somewhat troubled expression on my face that resulted from the idea that my current life, this life that I have known for so long, will not be eternal, I walked over to the living room couch and sat down. I leaned back against the backrest and rested my head against it as I allowed myself to slide down the couch somewhat, a posture that would definitely be considered unladylike by those in the old eras. Yet, since I am by myself right now, that really didn't matter to me at all.
My eyes glanced over out the sliding glass doors, looking over the glass balcony railings and at the blue sky outside. With my mouth slightly open, I stared at the city scene, finding requiem-like serenity from it. I allowed my mind to embrace a slate of nothingness as I sat there and listened to the soft humming sound sourcing from the central air conditioning unit as it ran, simply thinking about nothing and simply just passing time and waiting, waiting for Elise's arrival to take my mind off of this weird onset of melancholy.