Chapter Text
-> 12 - 05 - 2030
| New York - 9:02AM |
Spring symbolizes many things, including the rebirth of nature. Although summer was still a month away, for a little girl whose world revolved around her family, this was one of her favorite days.
"Careful, sweetheart" the taller man says, filming his daughter carrying a plate. "I can do it, Daddy!" the little girl whispers softly as she leans on the stair railing.
In her hands was a bowl of sliced oranges. "One step at a time!" The man, on the other hand, held the rest of the breakfast: a wooden tray with breakfast for his wife.
"I can do it!" her six-year-old daughter's childlike voice was very determined for her small body. "I know you can. Just be careful not to slip." The two of them climbed the stairs very slowly because the little girl was afraid of knocking something off her plate.
Upstairs was her family dog. "Chappy, shh!" the little girl called to the dog, who was wagging his tail from side to side beside her. "Chappy, you'll wake Mommy!" the little girl protested as she reached the second floor.
"Hurry up, Daddy!" the little girl's cheeks were flushed with excitement. "I'm coming, I'm coming" the man chuckled as he watched his daughter walk slowly. He whistled, and the dog went into the room first.
[Good boy!] That was the signal for his wife to pretend to be asleep. Something they had to ensure for the sake of their daughter's innocence; Anne had gone to great lengths to help him make breakfast.
"Daddy!" the little girl shouted to her dad. Her brown eyes sparkled with happiness. [I have to take a picture of this] he thought as he recorded his daughter opening the door as slowly as possible.
The little girl placed the bowl of oranges on the small table nearby. It was her father who prevented it from falling to the floor because, due to her height, she placed it right on the edge.
The little girl began to climb onto the bed, using her small hands to pull the sheet up. "Daddy, help me!" The girl turned to look at him. "Of course, princess." The man, with one hand, lifted his daughter onto the bed and told her to be quiet.
Upstairs, his wife was asleep next to the dog, who, following the girl's orders, made no noise. Although it did wag its tail from side to side.
"Mommy..." the little girl whispered as she uncovered her mother's face. "Mommy" she said a little louder, patting her face. "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy!" the little girl threw herself onto her mother
Waiting for her to wake up on her own. The man couldn't help but laugh, because he could see perfectly how his wife was holding back her laughter. "Mommy, wake up" Anne began to shake her.
The little girl watched her mother asleep; to her, it was like seeing one of those princesses on TV. Her mother was very beautiful; her hair was so long that all the other mothers at school were envious.
[Aunt Tay is pretty too] she thought as she ran her fingers through her mom's hair. It was red like her own, a lovely warm orange shade that all her friends said was the prettiest.
"Mommy..." Anne moved closer to her face, touching all the freckles her mother had and scar. She ran her finger over her freckled skin, over her eyebrows the same color as her hair, and over her long eyelashes.
Anne hugged her mom; she loved being close to her. "Daddy! Mommy won't wake up!" the little girl pouted. "Give her time" her father said, laughing. The little girl kissed her mom's cheek.
"Chappy lick!" the little girl said, and the dog started licking her forehead. "Anne, don't kiss your mom where Chappy licked" her dad told her, laughing even louder. "Mommy, are you there?" the little girl asked.
Using her six-year-old logic, she thought about how princesses woke up when their true love kissed them. "Daddy kisses Mommy!" The little girl let go of her mom and, rolling over a bit, ended up in front of him.
"Kiss?" the man asked, confused. "Yes! In the movies, when a princess doesn't wake up, her true love comes to kiss her!" The girl closed her eyes and said it with such seriousness, as if it were the most obvious thing.
"You're Mommy's true love, aren't you?" The little girl stared at her father, who started to laugh, though his ears turned bright red.
"Yes, that's right! I am Mommy's true love!"
The little girl started laughing, and her father approached, whispering something to his wife.
"Just play along" he chuckled. "What do you think I'm doing?" his wife replied, also laughing softly.
Because now she could feel her daughter's intense gaze. She was surely waiting for her mother to wake up like in the movies, with the classic: True Love's Kiss. The two adults were having a lot of fun with this.
"Kiss her!" the little girl shouted as she hugged her dog, who was barking softly, making sounds of excitement just like the girl. "Don't rush me, sweetheart!" the man said, now blushing, first taking a peppermint spray from his drawer
He poured it into his mouth and looked at his daughter for a moment. Her brown eyes were shining brightly, she had that look of wonder that every child has when they see their parents like that. [My daughter is so beautiful!] the man thought as he approached his wife. He was mesmerized by how beautiful she looked even in the morning.
[I can tell she inherited it from her.] he cup my wife's cheeks and kiss her, softly, warmly, peacefully. he hear their daughter's excited squeal, her little feet stamping on the bed, and he feel my wife start to giggle mid-kiss.
"Hi" he greeted his wife, who was finally opening her eyes, that unique green he had memorized since he was 15. "Hi" his wife greeted him, smiling, her cheeks flushed and they both touched their foreheads together.
He didn't care if she had dog drool on her forehead. He just wanted to feel her, like every morning for years. "Mommy!" the little girl ran to hug her mom, "Hi sunshine"
She kissed her daughter's forehead, picking her up and showering her with kisses. Her daughter started to laugh, cupping her mother's face and pressing their foreheads together. Her husband joined the hug, holding them both.
Kissing his daughter's cheeks and his wife's lips. "That's enough!" the little girl complained, laughing. Even the dog had joined in the hug. The girl was surrounded by love, by that invisible warmth that envelops you in special moments.
"Mommy, we made breakfast!" the little girl squirmed, pointing at what they had brought. "Oh! What could it be?" The woman let go of her daughter, who tried to pull the tray away, though she almost fell, and her father had to catch her.
"Careful, sunshine" the man said, holding his daughter and extending the food to his wife with his other hand. "Quite the breakfast in bed" the woman chuckled as her daughter held the plate she had brought.
"Daddy helped me!" she said proudly. As if her dad hadn't done 99% of the work, "That's right, I was just a helper!" The man lay down next to his wife, who, laughing, moved him a little further away.
Breakfast was simple, or if you could call it that. Pancakes with honey and chocolate chips, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, chopped fruit with yogurt, and mint ice cream on a plate. [They brought what all three of us like.]
"Happy Mother's Day, Mom!" Anne hugged her mom. She stood still for a few moments, holding her daughter close. Even six years later, it still felt new. "Thank you, sunshine."
The little girl smiled happily, "I made this for you!" She showed her the plate of chopped oranges. "Daddy said you liked them like this! So I did it myself!" The little girl smiled happily, her cheeks puffing out
"She did it herself, Ash" she turned to see her husband, who was smiling calmly. The orange was badly sliced, but seeing her daughter's smile, she felt something even bigger in her chest. [Don't cry now, Ashlyn] she repeated to herself.
She ruffled her daughter's hair, that red hair she inherited from her. "Let's eat together" she said, seeing that her husband already had the three sets of cutlery ready. "Really, Aiden?" She looked seriously at her husband but then started to laugh.
"Yes?" He turned his head to the left. She laughed louder, "You never change." She shook her head and watched as her daughter began to eat the pancakes. Aiden took out two thermoses; one had coffee, the other chocolate milk.
Chappy ate with them too. Chappy was like her first child, after all; he'd been with her during her pregnancy when he was just a puppy. It certainly taught her patience.
"Remember the meeting at 6" Ashlyn told him. "I know" Aiden said, laughing. "Leah made the reservation." Ashlyn nodded happily. "Thank goodness. Otherwise, you'd forget everything, even your keys."
Aiden felt offended but started laughing. He recorded for a few moments how similar his daughter and wife were at mealtimes. "Mommy, eat!" Anne handed Ashlyn a piece of pancake.
"This is delicious" she said as she ate, and her daughter hugged her again. "Are Grandma and Grandpa coming?" the little girl asked. "Yes" Ashlyn replied. The girl was very excited to hear that, and the adults sighed.
"Anne's life is so simple" Aiden said, sipping his chocolate milk. "That's good. I'd rather my daughter have a comfortable life than a... difficult one." Ashlyn looked away.
Wearily recalling her adolescence, she sighed in relief at seeing her daughter smiling, peacefully smiling, as she watched her daughter feed Chappy a piece of sausage. [I prefer her to live like this]
Anne didn't need to know about the PD, or the government, or all the horrors they had endured.
No, she wouldn't allow that. Her daughter would live and grow up like any normal child, although sometimes when she looked at her ears she felt a pang of remorse.
[I left that to her] she touched her ears, those headphones. [Something to carry around for the rest of her life] the mere thought of Anne hearing those noises... made her anxious. But she felt her husband's hands on hers
That calm smile he always used to tell her "Everything's okay" without saying a word. Their heads rested together, that familiar, comfortable pressure.
"She's okay" he whispered. "I know" she replied.
The two watched their daughter as she ate peacefully and played with Chappy. That tranquility gave them peace; it told them that in some way they were doing everything right.
They were like that all morning, though Aiden had to leave to do the laundry. Since it was Friday and a day off, they relaxed, and the three of them watched a movie. One of those good ones.
"I love you" Anne said out of nowhere. They were both surprised but pulled their daughter into a hug. "We love you more."
Anne smiled happily, laughing. Like a child who didn't fully grasp the weight of that word, but Ashlyn and Aiden did; they knew the price of love. The sacrifice they made to get where they were.
The fights, the deaths, all that pain and suffering that led them to have the quiet life they had.
Ashlyn didn't think she could be a good mother. Not after all the lives she took in the military, every death, every time she got her hands dirty with blood. She didn't think she could, but...
She still remembers holding Anne for the first time, that tiny baby who stopped crying the moment she touched her. That instant love her parents had told her about when she was pregnant.
Now her daughter was six years old. It all happened in the blink of an eye, or so it felt to her. [Someday she'll be sixteen] she thought involuntarily as she watched her daughter and husband play. [I was sixteen once] she thought
She was 28 now, and would be 29 in a month. She thought about how time had passed, so quickly, as if it had happened in the blink of an eye. She pulled her daughter into her arms and hugged her tightly. [One day Anne will be 28.]
"Mommy?" Anne looked at her mother, confused. But Ashlyn could only think about how that age felt so far away and yet so close. Because time passes in a second, and she should enjoy every moment.
"Mommy, why are you crying?" Anne turned her head, confused. "Didn't you like breakfast?" she asked sadly, but Ashlyn shook her head. "No. I loved breakfast." She hugged her daughter tighter.
"Then why are you crying?" the little girl wiped away his tears with her hands. "It's just that I love you so much" she replied simply. The little girl was confused.
Why would loving someone make you cry?
"I love you too, Mommy!" the little girl said, hugging her around the neck. Ashlyn hugged her daughter tightly, feeling her small body in her arms. "I will always love you, Anne."
The two girls touched their foreheads together, the little girl laughing as Ashlyn began to kiss her cheeks. Aiden, who was behind them, started hugging them and kissing them again.
Chappy joined them again, wagging his tail from side to side. Anne was right in the center, receiving her parents' love, the light streaming through the window banishing all darkness.
Anne loved Mother's Day even though she had hardly any memories of the previous year. As a child whose world revolved around her family, she loved spending mornings with her parents and Chappy lying in bed.
Snuggled together, the four of them. She loved these peaceful days where she didn't have to fear the dark because her mom and dad would always be there for her. Always by her side.
Always... together .