A Conversation of Love

"Where did you go, mother?" Zephyr asked in a low voice as he looked at his mother, who had just entered their home through the creaking wooden door.

"Oh, mommy just went to the community center to get some work for the day," Grace said while hanging the empty jute basket on a nail next to the door and heading to the water tank near the utensil rack.

"So, did you find any?" Zephyr asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sure, but they said they will give me payment by next week," Grace lied through her teeth.

"Is that why you stopped by Mrs. Marge's place?" Zephyr asked while standing in the same corner of the room.

Grace's smile faltered for a moment as she accidentally tapped her hand with the ladle she was using to take water from the bucket to wash her hands.

"Oh my, clumsy me," she said, sticking her tongue out and rubbing the back of her hand.

"You are very bad at putting up an act, mother," Zephyr said, looking at her with a narrowed gaze. Although he didn't want much to do with his family and kept his distance, he still couldn't just sit and watch when someone insulted the person who took care of him.

"Whatever do you mean? People tell me I am a great actor," Grace said with a grin, obviously attempting to change the topic.

Knowing that speaking too much might make him appear overly mature for his age, Zephyr was usually careful not to initiate conversations, especially on such sensitive topics. However, today, after witnessing what transpired a few minutes ago, he found himself unable to hold back.

"Mother, you really shouldn't ask the neighbors for food at the end of the month, you know," Zephyr said bluntly, obviously not taking the bait of the topic change and continued, "I would rather stay hungry than let some outsider hurl insults at you for asking for a few morsels of food."

"Aren't you a bit too young to talk about not eating your food properly, young man?" Grace said while walking to Zephyr and trying to flick his head. He held her hand with both of his and said, "Mother, isn't dignity and pride important to you? You don't need to get insulted by those pitiful fools for something like food."

She sighed and put her hands on her knees.

"Gosh, why have you become so grown-up all of a sudden? Where did my little dumpling go, the one who used to look around curiously and absorb all the information I taught, just like a sponge?"

Zephyr continued to gaze at her without a word.

"You see, dumpling, dignity is very important in life, and so is pride. But what good does dignity do to a bunch of starved and dead people?"

"As I said, I can take hunger just fine. Rather than letting someone throw insults at you, I might as well starve myself," Zephyr said, crossing his arms.

Grace smiled at him and slowly lifted him up from his chair.

"Let's say, my dumpling, that you can survive hunger just fine, which I will definitely not let you," she added with a wink while making him sit on her lap. "What about your sisters? Will you let them survive like that?"

"Of course, they can do this much for their mother-" Zephyr started but was interrupted by Grace saying, "But I will not let them. Not as long as I live."

"But why? Wouldn't it be more effective if you fulfilled your needs first with the money you earn? You will have three fewer stomachs to feed. It's inefficient and plain stupid to do so much for children who can't even return the value of your investment in food," Zephyr blurted out in confusion, remembering the words of his ex-mother.

"I agree, it's extremely stupid," Grace said, nodding her head.

"Then, why?" Zephyr asked.

"Because mommy loves the three of you more than I can ever love myself, and that's just how stupid love is, my cute dumpling. It's so stupid that it makes you care unconditionally for the ones you love. It's in possession of an unreasonable ability to make you do things you normally wouldn't," Grace said, making Zephyr even more confused.

"But why would you love me?" Zephyr asked, even more confused because of the experiences of his previous life.

"Of course, because I am your mother, silly dumpling," Grace said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, which threw Zephyr into even more confusion.

For Zephyr, the word "mother" since his previous life held a completely different meaning than for a normal person. For him, all he ever knew in the place of a mother was a drug-addicted woman who didn't have a husband, who just took out her frustrations on her own child, going as far as physical abuse. She didn't give him proper food, sometimes even starving him for days, and even taking the minuscule amount of money he earned from part-time jobs.

From that to this. All of this felt so confusing to Zephyr. Even if he wasn't cursed, this was one of the reasons he never got very close or opened up to his new mother, who showered him with such affection and care that it felt overwhelming to his broken heart. Even his sisters took care of him since he was a child, feeding him, changing him, and loving and caring for him. Then there was his father, although Leif stayed out of town for many days, that didn't mean he cared any less about his family.

Considering all these factors, Zephyr was still very reluctant to open his heart to anyone. Why? Well, because till now, the only thing the curse put him through was destitute conditions, but he had this strange, nagging feeling that as soon as he got to the age of awakening magic, his curse might—no, will definitely—flare up. And as he didn't know what kind of suffering he was fated to endure, he needed to be distant enough from them. Not only for his own good but also for their good as well.

While they were talking, the door opened again, and his sisters stepped inside their house, followed by a man with black hair and brown eyes—Zephyr's father, Leif.

"Mom, Dad picked us up on his way home, and look, he even brought us some monster meat!"

Grace stood up and put Zephyr down on the chair she was sitting on before and went to her husband, saying, "Oh, honey, you are back early! I thought you were delayed by two weeks and would return next weekend only?"

"Yeah, the commander let us off duty early due to a temporary peace treaty. Only those with the duty of manning the castle are still there," Leif said as he gave Grace a hug, handing her a big jute bag and proceeding to ruffle Zephyr's hair. "How has my smart man been? Have you been a good boy?"

"I am doing good," Zephyr said.

"Oh dear! Is this the Bael Ox's meat?" Grace said as she looked inside the bag with a beautiful smile.

"Yes, we hunted one along the way back. More like it attacked our caravan in a suicide attack alone. Probably an old leader exiled from its herd. My platoon delivered the final blow, so we called dibs on its meat. Although its heart was taken by the captain," Leif explained.

"That solves our food problem for a long time. To be honest, I was worried about how I would manage it. But it seems like the gods are still smiling on us," Grace said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Ava, Zeph, and Bella, go and take turns bathing. We shall be having delicious and filling steak tonight," Grace said, pumping her fist in the air, filling Ava and Isabella with the energy of having a good meal.

After bathing, Zeph watched as his mother lit up the firewood with her magic and carefully grilled the Bael Ox's meat. True to her word, Grace cooked up an extremely delicious and filling dinner that night, accompanied by everyone's laughter and booze for Leif.

Even Zephyr let out a rare smile, feeling strangely at ease, as though the chains of his heart were freed. The chains that bound him to his previous mother and his former life.