7 Who Is This?

"Mum!"

Isabel was in a daze after exerting so much adrenaline, but she instantly snapped out of it at the sound of Kelvin's shrill cry and looked to to see the little boy rushing towards her, his face pale with fright and panic.

"Mum, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Kelvin knelt next to his mother, flustered. He grabbed her face, then her shoulders, then held her hand only to go back to grabbing her face again.

"Mum? Mum... mum!"

When he saw Isabel just staring at him without responding or moving, Kelvin became very anxious, but then Isabel moved and placed her hand on his cheek, her lips curving up in a small smile.

"I'm okay, Kelly."

"Mum..." Kelvin's small body sagged with relief, but then his eyes filled with tears and he wailed as he threw himself into Isabel's lap.

"Don't ever- ever do that ag- again!"

"I won't, alright? I promise."

Isabel stroked her son's head as he cried on her lap while her other hand was still patting the back of the little boy sobbing into her chest spasmodically.

Earlier, it wasn't that she had been scared, but she was just surprised when she saw how worried Kelvin was about her, although she was obviously fine. She couldn't help but think if, in the last life, had her son also held this kind of concern for her?

Had he always worried about her to the point of tears yet, she never noticed his concern and continued to run around, chasing Brycen? Had it really been like that?

She recalled her last memory from the previous life of her kids' voices calling for her from beyond that world of red; the sadness and despair in their cries.

Isabel suddenly felt very guilty toward Kelvin.

"Izzy, are you okay? What the hell suddenly got into--?!"

Davina stopped in her tracks and tilted her head quizzically at the extra little person in Isabel's embrace.

"Who is this?"

"I don't know. But, I saw him about to fall from the guard rails earlier and I reacted faster than I could think."

Only nodding to show her understanding of the situation, Davina didn't comment. She knew better than most people about Isabel's impulsiveness, but, as long as she wasn't hurt, it was fine.

"Can he be a relative of one of the staff?"

"Possibly."

Isabel stroked the boy's curly black hair.

"Shush. It's alright sweetheart. It's okay, you're safe now." She spoke in a soft and soothing voice, but her careful treatment only seemed to make the boy's shoulders shake harder and his hold on her tightened as his sobs turned to wails.

"It's alright baby. Let it out."

Isabel could only imagine how scared the boy must have been just now when he thought he was going to fall. Sure, anyone would argue that it was his own fault for climbing the guard rails in the first place, but he was only a child and he had been left unsupervised; if anything, his guardian/s was to blame.

Softly, calmly, patiently, Isabel coaxed the boy in her arms until he calmed down and his cries stopped.

"Sweetheart, can you look at me? Are you injured anywhere? What's your name, can you tell me?"

"Don't ask him so much at once, Izzy."

Davina rolled her eyes and Isabel stuck her tongue out. She was anxious, okay.

When she saw him climbing the rails earlier, the boy had been reaching between the branches of the Chinese scholar tree growing besides the building. When she reached out to catch him, her own arms had gotten a few scratches, though only minor ones. The boy had actually fallen partway through the tree branch, his face could have been scratched or even his eyes could be injured.

Isabel was worried, she couldn't help it. She was a mother and this boy and her own son looked to be about the same age, it was her maternal instinct to worry.

"Sweetheart, are you hurt? Can you tell aunty?"

"Aunty?"

Isabel shot a glare at Davina who was snickering behind her hand at the form of address before rolling her eyes and looking back at the boy.

"Sweetheart..."

Just as she called him again, the head full of midnight curls in her bosom slowly tilted backward to reveal a fair little face with a cute nose that was bright red and red rimmed eyes that had brilliant, dark pupils that shone like a galaxy. As the late evening sun spilt over her shoulder and lit up those dark eyes, Isabel saw that their true color was actually a dark purple.

"I- I'm not hurt. Thank- thank you for... save- saving... me."

His voice was small and sweet and his cheeks flushed a bright crimson as he shrunk into her embrace the more he talked and his voice also grew smaller and smaller. Such a shy child.

This level of cuteness completely KOed Isabel and almost fried her beauty sensors.

"So... adorable!"

Isabel could see that the child before her was shy, so she couldn't use the enthusiasm she usually doused her own kids with, but the boy was too precious, so she couldn't stop herself from at least hugging him and kissing him a few times on his pretty eyes and sweet cheeks.

"Muh!"

Hearing a small grumble come from her lap, Isabel glanced down and found Kelvin latched on to her waist at an awkward angle as he glared at her with a blaming look.

Oh!" Isabel pressed her fingers to her lips as she realized she had just succeeded in making her son jealous and any other day, while kissing any other child, she would have immediately apologized while ensuring Kelvin that he was definitely the cutest and most adorable boy in the world but right now, she couldn't. The little boy in her embrace was just that adorable! He had the power to rival her own kids.

As if he had read her mind, Kelvin's expression became dark and he turned his glare at the other boy that his mum was hugging, making the boy flinch from the severity of it and hugging Isabel's waist firmly he said, "Get your own mum."

Not only Isabel, but even Davina was shocked by Kelvin's sudden hostility and Isabel had wanted to reprimand him that there wasn't any need to be that mean- but a small voice suddenly stopped her from saying anything further as a lump rose in her throat.

"My mum is dead."