Chapter 1: Behind the Life.

The beat of her running steps synchronized with her pulsation. Right now, she was forced to take the long way from behind the stage since she can't just pass the closed curtains and jump off from the platform in her ignorant excitement. As a sign of respect, she thought; followed by the approval of her conscience. The little girl named Tenten was rushing toward the front of the building where the audience should be.

Here she is. A scene of harmony that shouldn't be possible to see earlier years ago. A lot of people here, in the hall building next to the reformed church, have a casual conversation, eat food, and buy souvenirs with satisfaction written on their entire faces. The kind of face that was contagious to her pride earlier. But her care wasn't focused on these strangers. What she looked for are that person who has fulfilled her promise to her. A promise to . . .

"Ah!" 

Suddenly, the vision of her left eye has became like her right eye which was covered by an eyepatch. The world around her turned dark, but it wasn't something to be scared of.

"Guess who?"

It's the one you have been looking for. "Mama!"

The next thing she did was give her a hug.

"Whoah, there!"

She struck her like a thunderbolt, struck her with love to be exact. 

"Ehe~."

The little girl's hair drenched her mother's stomach area. She couldn't help it since she wanted to start their chains of love after a long time, for her.

She took off her embrace and opened her arms like she usually did in rehearsals up to this day. 

With a sweet face as sugar, she gave her a taste of home.

"Welcome home, mama!"

"I missed you too, Tenten. Sorry for leaving you alone for the past month." Her mother, Koko, lowered one of her knees to the ground. Face to face with her daughter.

Now, she can clearly see her annoyed face, for some reason. "It's fine. Tenten told Mama already. We don't need to have this guilt-assurance conversation again, weren't we? Since―"

"Since you were about to turn 13th tomorrow, right? Yeah, yeah. I can always count on you to take care of me when I get old."

"You are old, then,"

"Don't go there, young lady!"―she flicked her fingers on her forehead soon followed by an audible ouch came out of the little girl's mouth―"I'm relatively still young. Twenty-two, ya'know?"

"But you are twice Tenten's age."

"Then what are you called people in their fifties or forties?"

"Death."

An awkward silence enveloped the air. The mother responded in her best way to her weird humor―or her teasing―by flicking her fingers again on her forehead. 

"Hahahahaha!" Tenten laughed in satisfaction. Her mother let out a small giggle. And the air now filled with their happiness.

This flow of conversation suited her more. This air calmed her lungs. Refreshing. 

Right now, she can relax and enjoy her life.

"Mama, mama!"

"Yes?" Koko tilted her head a little with an honest smile on her countenance. "What is it?"

"What does Mama think of Tenten's performance earlier?"

The answer is obvious, but it will not affect her desire for fulfilling her innocent greed.

"That was a spectacular performance!"

A soothing voice praised the little girl. She proceeded to tell all of her greatness in front of the crowd. 

Starting from the obvious, she let her know how on-point her mannerism is with her vision of the performance. How on point the tone of her speech and dialogue as if she closed her eyes, she can imagine precisely the same thing that happened in reality. The way she expressed an emotion that shouldn't be possible to portray with facial expression. Pointing out the small things in those expressions: her head movement, her lifted shoulders, her positioned opened arms, even her hands that faced ceilings, the fingers that snapped with so much conviction behind them, or to be exact, her entire arm displayed a great deal of conviction during her glorious speech, the way she swung it without overdoing it to engage the audience.

"All of that satisfies my heart now that I think back on it again."

Even though she may just be exaggeratedly analyzing her stage play, she can only stay silent with her head lowered to hide her embarrassed face. Her pride didn't deny or do any attempt to stop her mother's flattery.

From happy to ecstatic. 

She might not express it as big as the size of her ball of ecstasy. She is just honest with it.

"Tenten, you listening?"

Yes, she did. She heard every praise she poured on her daughter. Her mother hasn't finished talking though.

"Remember when others talk to you, make sur―" Before she finished talking, the little angel lifted her head.

"Make sure your eyes are looking back at them, right?" Tenten ended her general advice with a smile.

A genuine smile. Her cheeks loosened and her eyes softened. It isn't a big smile, but a small smile that just felt natural to her. A radiant face that could pass the earth's atmosphere itself. She just simply shows her a genuine smile.

"Right." There was a three-second pause before she gave her that answer. Because she was distracted by her daughter's love.

To continue this chain of love, The Angel of Sin gave her a pat on her dove-shaped hair.

"I'm so proud of you, my little angel."

※　※　※　※　※

"Thanks for your volunteer, partner." 

"It's nothing. She has been a good kid while you were gone, ma'am."

"Obviously." My daughter uttered nonchalantly at his report. I had no doubt to begin with. 

By the way, I am currently in a car and as it seems, doing what normal people do in a car. Ahh~ how I missed this stuffy sensation of his small out-of-date car. Speaking of his car, introducing our driver and the owner of this car, Domini. My partner in crime. 

"What's the matter?" Startled a little by his worried, I reflexively answered that it was nothing. He probably noticed me staring at him when I just spaced out. 

"You can talk to me if something bothered you." 

"I'm fine. Honest."

I'm not lying, though. Today is a great day for an obvious reason. And I'm about to multiply this greatness as me and my daughter are on our way to the promised land.

"Except, one thing . . ."

One annoyance, one nitpicking to this awkward ice block.

"Don't call me ma'am, please. We are not on a mission, Dom." 

"Sorry, you know it's a force of habit, partner."

Partner? Hehe~ Not bad to restore this maiden's dignity.

Out of nowhere, my daughter joined the conversation. "Flattering detected," teases Tenten, or at least I thought it was what she tried to do. I let out a small giggle, and Domdom turned her head away from both of us. Well, this is interesting.

"Look ahead, Domdom."

He did what I just said with no comment. His face is flat, sadly. That is what they called a poker face, I guess.

"Speaking of the mission . . ."

I turned to my little angel who had been sidelined in this three-way conversation.

"Ta-daa!"

I showed her the souvenirs of my one-month departure. The gifts consisted of a book and pen, a clock necklace, and the main gold of them all, an iconic luchador mask. These might not be classified as 'the children's most favorite souvenirs' from those recommendation websites. Her countenance however showed a shining spark of pure liking.

She didn't say much―only a cheer of an audible yay―as she said reached out her hands to take my prize. She stared at it. Her mouth opened in an O shape. Then, she wore the luchador mask as the first thing she did with my many souvenirs. 

"How was it?"

Tenten stared at me back, still with that face of hers, she said, "Tenten loves it."

"I'm glad you like it," I responded even though she didn't give me a second before she back to busy herself with the souvenirs. I'm even more glad about that.

"Where did you get those stuff?" Domini asked. Understandable question as we lived on this isolated place called Ruluna.

I said that I found it in the enemy hideout. "Honest."

He reacted with his usual stone-cold face. And, I took that as a challenge.

"If you want a souvenir,"―I put my index finger in front of his lips―"I'll have one right here for our night date."

"Ew." On the sideline, again, she was forced to hear our adult talk. I'm sorry to make you a third wheel, Tenten. Glancing at her who was still wearing the luchador mask, I poked my tongue out a little.

"Hehe~"

Meanwhile, I glanced back at the target of my coquetry. I anticipated a reaction, only to be met with the stone-cold face glued on the road. Not even a response or a single glance. This ice block.

"Geez, get a hint," I said as I knocked on his cheek like a door 

"I figured you will say it though." 

"Eh?"

Suddenly, Domdom made a statement that oozed with his usual poise.

"You hear it clear, right?"

"Yes, flirting detected."

Now that I had my eyes on my daughter again, I saw her take out twin sheets of paper from her bag. She circled a corner on both papers―which has a 5x5 pattern similar to a chess board. Wait, are they?

"Hey! Don't make me into a bingo material!"

"Gyahahaha!" Tenten took the paper away from me while she was playing me, literally.

Shifted my annoyed face to him again, Domini just gave me a thumbs up with our eyes met each other.

"Ugh, why?"

"Mama has no right to complain."

Karma sure does strike you like an egg to the face. 

Nonetheless, Domini answered my grievance. 

"That's because she's always talked about you while you were gone. She's always happy when it became our main topic and sad at the same time when she misses you. So, when the time we shared our annoyance with you, I came up with a solution to hit one bird with two stones at the same time."

"And, this is your best solution?"

"Yes! You should see your face, partner."

"Humph!" 

My daughter now pokes my poufed cheek from the back like I did earlier. I must admit, their solution was effective. They got me up to the reaction they wanted. Yet oddly―

"You don't mind it, right?"

". . ."

When I looked outside, the sun was brighter than ever with these two beside me. It's a miracle that they are still alive today, spreading their liveliness to me, and having a conversation with me, the one that didn't deserve all of this. Even belittled 'me'.

Do I mind it?

It's a disgrace, of course. But since their conversation centered around me. Since I'm happy, now.

"Not that I mind at all."

I turned my face away from them and gaze at the afternoon sky.

"Permission detected." Tenten continued to circle one of the squares.

. . .

Me and my daughter finally took our bag out of the car. 

"Pick us up at 4 o'clock," she said it first before I could. Then she raised her pinky finger and added, "Promise?"

"Promise. One hour from now, I'll be here again." Domdom raised his pinky as well. Because of their distance, they can't lock their pinky. Just their cognition alone was enough to lock their promise.

Then he drove away out of our view.

Finally, we're here at this time of the year. Our time. 

"The place where we first met," I cast my gaze to the entrance gate.

Rebuilt from the ash, now it was just an ordinary park.

I offer my hand to my daughter, my little angel, or in this case. . .

"Shall we, princess?"

"Don't call Tenten that! It's embarrassing."

Nonetheless, she didn't say anything that refused my hand. This princess is now accompanied by me to the royal castle. Well, at least it used to be similar to a castle. Nowadays It's just a park for us to have fun and breath fresh air.

"Mama, Tenten want to go 'there'."

'There' itself could be anywher―. . . Ya'know, why am I even thinking about this? Of course, after 7 years of living together, I knew where is 'there'.

"Yeah, let's go 'there'."

We walked forward forty meters to the destination from the park entrance gate, hand in hand.

"It's weird, right?" Tenten asked.

"Huh, what is it?" I asked back and Tenten swung his right hand that locked with my left.

"This isn't embarrassing for me." Ah! I understand what she means, though I don't understand why she asked that.

"I love it, though. Felt nostalgic."

"Yeah, Tenten either."

"And, that is your answer, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh. That's clear," she nodded. Again, I don't understand her reason for this topic. I better ask her about it.

"Why? Just a random thought in Tenten's head. Should Tenten get embarrassed since Tenten's about to be a grown-up?"

Leave aside her fallacious perception about age, I got my explanation as we just passed the twin fountains―no longer spurting any water―on our left and right, twenty-four meters away from the entrance gate. After I took a short glance at my surrounding to compile my thoughts, I assured her,

"In my opinion, you shouldn't. As long as you love or are comfortable with what you're doing, and happy as a result of it. So, don't let the other's common sense talk you out of your belief!" 

"Yeah. Sounds right to Tenten," she nodded the same way as before.

Well, that's one way to cover the silence on our walk. Thirty-two meters since the last minute, I spent the last eight meters of my journey appreciating the garden and its flowers again. Wasn't the longest journey I had. But the destination is what matters. It can already be seen clearly from here.

"Still a beauty as ever."

We're here, in front of a human-size statue of a true beauty from the realm of heaven itself. I wonder who is this faceless gorgeou― Nah! Who am I kidding? That statue is obviously me in my glory, chiseled for many next generations to see.

Those three hours of me finding the right pose finally bear fruit in the long run, I commented to my still-perfect posed, faceless sta―

"All thanks to the sculptor and those tending the statues, Mama."

". . ." 

Sometimes, I forgot she can envisage my mind.

Even sealing my lips wouldn't do much. She probably can read this thought too in her current state, so I better be a captain obvious, and not thinking at all.

Right now, she closed her eyes while lowering her head. Took her hand off me so she can properly put her five fingers on each between her fingers. She prayed.

―  ―  ―

Now she opened her eyes.

"This one is weird too, right?" She looked at me and the statue beside me. "Every day is a prayer to Mama when Tenten is with Mama. When Tenten is not with Mama, It's what prayer should be, a message to somewhere we can't reach, expressing gratitude or an entreat from the heart's content."

Tenten back to hold my hand. I let her wander on her own, because of one thing I found out while I'm gone, while saw him grow up, I knew she was capable on her own.

"You knew the answer for this too, right?"

She nodded with a smile, no, with a soft smirk.

"Prayer is an act of the heart. To submit ourselves and let us flow with the time. There's nothing that warmed Tenten's heart more than that. As Mama said earlier, It's a love that I'm comfortable with for those up there."

Her hand clutched tighter in mines'. Her slender, strong―for her age―hands won't let me go other than when it's necessary. Hehe~.

"Hey, let's go to the field!"

Without giving me time, she ran to the greenfield right behind this statue. To begin with, we were never given enough time. We just have to live to the fullest and appreciate life. Basically, I felt old.

Maybe, Tenten was right about my age, haha.

Looking at her white wings of her long hair from behind, made me wish for eternity . . . Why is time even a thing? What am I to time? Who created time?

"Mama, c'mon c'mon!"

I walked up to my daughter with a burden still in mind.

"Hey, Tenten."

With curiosity still intact, I asked my little angel, "Do you believe in God?" 

Hearing my question, she tilted her head a little. Only for a second later to raise her head with a shine. "Yes!" 

"Why?"

With the speed of light and not leaving a single trace of hesitation, she answered, "Because God sent Mama to be a savior that day."

Her conclusion was an innocent one that I wished to protect as her savior.

"What about Mama?"

"Me?" She clarified again that yes, she wanted my thought about God in return.

"I believe in their lesson, and…I believe in myself."

"Oh. Booooo~."

"C'mon, ya'know who I am." Our repartee ended in a well-known firm of mine as the highest power in the human hierarchy. I truly believed that I… "believed.'

"Yup, so c'mon. Let's play soccer!"

Again, she ran to the greenfield without giving me time to think, to use my retrospective mind. It just, I'm so used to saying what am I to these insects so it feels strange now to think that,

I used to think of myself that way.

My daughter turned to me. Just stared at me for five seconds before she waved her hands upward. 

Her face was worried; I think because of our distance made it unclear. Because I didn't follow her, or… Doesn't matter. All I know is I want her to put on a happy face.

So, I ran as fastest as I could; tackled her, and yelled out "Spear!" at the top of my lung. No one hurts in my area of professionalism and we both can laugh about it.