35 The First Chores

"I don't believe a word I just heard!" Jin Wo said crossing his arms over his chest, clearly displeased with the news that fell on his ears.

Just a moment ago, the head maid of Queen Eun Ae came to deliver the news that their brother has given to his mother. Honestly, the contents were ridicules to all of them.

"I don't believe it either! He must be lying!" Min Jun exclaimed almost on the verge of tears. Not buying that his brother that ruffled his hair and wiped his tears on the day that he left would say such words.

None of them did to be precise.

"Did you hear anything Noona?" Yu Jun spoke for the first time looking at his half-sister hoping that she knew something about this that they didn't.

She shook her head, which was the truth. Whatever her mother is plotting with her brother is out of her reach, just like how it's always been.

Just the fact that she is a girl made her below her brother. She might have been the pampered little princess but that was what's on the outside. A façade made for the sake of her title as a princess, deep down she was nothing compared to her brother who was still younger than her but he was already known as a peacekeeper.

It made her furious. Not at her brother, he had no hand in this and she can swear on that, it was her mother.

The sound of silence as they all sat in the rhombus- shaped pavilion by the lake was suffocating everything around them. They had nothing to say and no energy to do anything. Along with the memories that were preserved in this place, it made matters even harder on them.

They are falling apart like the petals of cherry blossom in the middle of the winter.

"W-we won't be affected by such none sense then!" Yu Jun said finally gathering the courage to break the silence. "We will keep writing to him until he replies back and tell us himself that he doesn't want to talk to us."

They all looked up at the eldest then at each other.

"Then let's do that!" Jin Wo said getting up from his seat in excitement and hope. Hope that their brother who they love loved them back.

But they didn't know that sometimes fate comes in stronger than any bond of family, friendship or love.

~~~~

"You two seem awfully close these days."

Javid and Ashkan looked at each other and then at Lady Afreen Abbas. Javid's wife and of course, Ashkan's mother.

She was bestowed with ethereal features, deep green eyes resembling that of her son and long brown hair that reached beyond her back.

It all makes sense to how Ashkan was born with such a pretty face. All thanks to the good genes from his parents.

Now back to the main point here…

Ever since they both came back from their vacation in Korea, Lady Afreen could notice how her son no longer complained to her about how scary his father is or how he would always sit all tensed up when they were having their family dinner every now and then, just like how they are right now.

Javid covered his mouth as he faked a cough. "What makes you say that?"

"Well," she said looking down at her son's half-empty plate. "Ashkan never touched his food during our family dinner."

Javid turned to look at the same spot she was looking at her, his son's plate. He tilted his head and curved the corner of his mouth downwards. "I don't think I've ever noticed that."

Well, that's why mothers are mothers. How couldn't she notice that her son didn't even raise his hands to hold the silverware and at least pretend that he is eating.

'I am scared I might make something to make him angry' he always said and no matter how much she tried to convince him otherwise, he would never listen and the same thing would happen on the following family dinner till she got tired to even mention it again.

And so, they both agreed that after his father done eating and goes on his way, he would sit down and finish his untouched plate which worked fine till they went to Korea.

Now, there was no need for that agreement anymore, his plate is always empty by the end of the family dinner.

"Well," she said, "maybe because you were too busy hating your son to notice." She bluntly stated not sparing her husband another look.

Ashkan stopped the spoon midway, glancing at both sides at his parents who were in the middle of having a cold war over half eaten dinner.

"You know I don't hate him." He said those words, it came from his lips as if he was talking a foreign tongue, the words were to strange to him. He wasn't used to saying such things.

Maybe she was right, maybe he was indeed too busy faking his hate for his son to notice such obvious things about him.

"Mommy…" Ashkan said looking at his mother after he saw how uncomfortable his father was getting.

"Wow, so now you are siding with your father after all I've done for you." She scoffed at her son.

"We both know that he didn't actually hate me." He said looking down at his plate. "I don't know why he did that but I'm sure there is a good reason behind it."

Afreen was taken aback from her son's words, just before he left, he was too scared to even look at his father but look at him now talking all big.

Honestly, she couldn't help but feel proud.

"A friend of mine once said," Ashkan said gaining the attention of both his parents. "She said that no matter what it is there is no father that could hate his child."

"That is what I want to believe."

And that's how all of the little friends went back to their lives. Some going back home and accepting what fate has in stored for them, while some moved away from their home to fight for a cause that they didn't know or care about and some were just caught in the middle of this mess.

One month. One month was all it took to turn their lives upside down without them knowing it.

One month was going to change what they thought and what they believed. They are still children who have yet to have a taste of the world and this was the first step to it.

This was their first step in growing up.

This was the first chores of the song. The song of ancient times.