Cloud Gazing 

*Wwwuuu* *Wuuuww* Paula, disguised as Amelia, sat in her bed, lost in thought. Interrupting her attempt at deliberation, a loud voice originated from a few feet away from her. Looking up, she found the source.

A crib was located away from the bed, holding a newborn baby in it. *Wuuu* *Wuuu* Initially she chose to ignore the crying, thinking that the young one will fall asleep by herself. Alas.. this girl sure was an expert crybaby.

Annoyed at being disturbed, Paula crawled out from her bed and peeked inside the crib. The baby inside was throwing her limbs all around. "Tch.." Paula recalled that she was alone with this newborn here. Ruby had left earlier with Jeff to bring some groceries.

*Wuuu* *Wuuu* "Dammit..!!" The baby was persistent in her cries, each syllable hitting Paula like an arrow. "Shut up...!!" She bellowed, not knowing how else she should be responding to the situation. Her sharp eyes were enough to make any man piss their pants and yet...

"Wahhh.. wwuughhg.." The baby was amused. Pumping its little arms around in delight. Paula was not expecting such weird feedback. "Wwaaghhh..??" *Wuuuu* *Wuuuu* Being ignored by her for another minute, the baby took to crying once again.

Veins popped on Paula's head. "You little twat." She massaged her face before yelling at the brat. "Quiet bug!!" "Ghheeheehe.. heewwheww.." The baby broke out in laughter this time around, even more, excited now.

"Ignorant is the bravest, indeed." This scene repeated itself tens of times. Paula will yell at the newborn, she will respond with a clap at first before beginning to sulk again. The woman herself didn't realize how engrossed she had gotten over this new tendency of hers.

With time the tense expression on her face relaxed and before she knew it, there was a cheerful smile on her face. "You sure are an interesting creature haha..!" The baby hoisted its two adorable fists in the air, waving them around as if she approved of Paula's findings.

"Gughhgff... Wwaaghh.. ufeeeghhh..." She kept her arms raised, calling out to the lady. "Hn? You want to pick you up?" "Yuugghff..." With those cheeks filled with fat, it was almost impossible for her to make any coherent sounds, nonetheless, Paula seems to get exactly what the brat desired.

She hesitated. "You are a filthy creature.. first let me check if you pooped your pants." Only after assuring herself that the baby was clean, did Paula muster up the courage to pick her up in her arms.

"Rreeeehebehe...!" As soon as she did that, the baby broke out into a string of raspy laughter. "Well, you are much less annoying when you are laughing at least." Holding the newborn in her arm, Paula can't resist her fervent desire to squeeze those puffy cheeks.

"Essghh.. uygggheeee.." The baby chuckled, her cute fingers taking hold of Paula's hands. "You like that..? Han? You like this..?" She began poking the baby all over its tummy, making her laugh even harder.

A quarter of an hour passed like this without Paula realizing it. With time the baby seemed to be losing energy as her antics grew lethargic. "Uuuuooohh.. chuupp.." Paula saw her open her little mouth to take a long extended yawn before snuggling into her chest.

"That's it..? Hahaha.." The lady laughed observing the young child hold onto her left breast with both her podgy arms. "Hn?" Closing her eyes, the young one attached her plump lips over the protrusion on Paula's teats.

Even over her fabric, the baby located her nipple and began nibbling on it. Paula didn't know what came over her but she dropped her dress and took her breasts out. To her amusement, without even looking at it, the child located her nipple purely by instinct.

"Chuu.. chuu.." A subtle tug on her mammary gland left Paula fazed. This sensation.. it was familiar and yet unknown. The way the baby girl had attached herself to her breast she can only keep gazing at her in amazement.

***

Ruth lay in her bed with a book in her hands. Now that she had no responsibilities to speak of whatsoever, she can relax all day long. And books were her best buddies to pass the time.

"Haaahh..!" With a refreshed face, she stepped out of her bed and stretched her arms out. Twisting her back on both sides she walked over to the window, looking for fresh air to breathe.

Outside the window, her eyes fell on a young girl with pale blue hair, meditating on the lawn. Water droplets formed a circle around her, spinning like a top. Ruth smiled and her body gradually levitated into the air, passing through the window and dropping down right beside the girl.

"You are back early today?" Her words spooked the young maiden, splashing the suspended water all over the grass. "Aahh...!" Kira massaged her chest. "You scared me, granny." She puffed her cheeks up, making Ruth chuckle.

"Hehe.. did I?" Settling next to the girl, Ruth kissed her head. "Granny is sorry then." Kira was not satisfied with the half-assed apology. "Huh.. you always do this." "Haha.." Ruth pealed into hearty laughter, tugging the girl by her waist and pulling her into a hug.

"That's because you don't give granny enough attention, little girl." Being Lyla's only daughter, Ruth and Kira had been familiar with each other for a long time. Their relationship only grew closer after both of them got involved with Ryu.

"Tell me how was your day? Did the boys irritate you too much?" Kira shook her head in response. "Nah... it's fine." Ruth gently squeezes her shoulders. "Then how come you returned home this early?"

Kira smiled ruefully, recounting the boys' involvement with aunt Suna. "Those horny jerks..!" Ruth shook her head in loathing. "Hahah... it's okay. I don't mind it."

Ruth rubbed her back. "Things happen, Kira, you don't need to put these matters to heart." With all the experience she had gained over her age, the older lady could very well discern what was weighing on the mind of the young one.

Kira smiled bitterly. "With time everything will be fine." Ruth continued. "I know, granny." The girl could tell how genuinely concerned everyone around her was, regarding her condition.

"It's just something that feels off whenever I try to move with brother Ryu. Like.. some horrifying memories will surface.. memories that I am sure never happened to me but still.." The girl was showing every sign of PTSD and Rith had been worried about this all along.

Her mind was wiped clean of the torturous night, even so, the sheer muscle memory was etched in her brain, haunting her. She pulled Kira's head into her bosom, making her lean onto herself. "I won't say I totally understand your circumstances, girl. But yeah... I have seen my fair share of people troubled by something very similar to you."

Her life flashed right across her eyes for a second. She was not any different than this girl. Fortunately, age was on her side, allowing her to endure everything and still manage to keep her sanity.

"Have you?" Kira was surprised. She seemed intrigued by the proclamation. Didn't this mean granny can have some type of solution to her situation? "I did. But sadly... I have not seen any one of them heal."

Kira's smile died out instantly. Her face turned stoic, unable to come to terms with those words? Never heal? Was she cursed to keep dealing with those nightmares all her life? Her eyes inspected the lady's face when...

"Pffffftt... Hahaha.. you fell for it." Ruth began laughing uproariously. Kira was angered to the point of trying to free herself from the woman and run away. It was only after repeated apologies from the grown woman did she return to her place in her lap.

"If you do that one more time granny, I won't talk to you." Ruth affectionately pinched her cute nose. "Okay.. okay.. that was the last time. So where were we..." She took some a minute to gather her wits.

"Look, little Kira." She pointed to a cloud in the sky. "Can you see that big cloud over there?" Kira nodded. "I am sure you must want to get rid of this condition of yours. The strategy to deal with it is quite simple if you ask me."

Kira kept quiet, avidly listening to the old woman. "All this sky is your mind. Now I want you to focus on that single cloud there. Keep looking at it until I make you stop." She did what was asked, not faltering her vision for even a blink of an eye.

"The cloud you are watching can be labeled as the set of bad nightmares you are experiencing. The clouds all over the rest of the sky can similarly be referred to as your rest of the memory."

"Are you watching it?" "Yes." Kira replied aptly. "See any changes?" She didn't reply this time, taking her chance to better observe the cloud in focus. A minute passed and then another. Like this five minutes passed when Kira noticed what was wrong.

The cloud she had been looking at was there in the sky, but its shape had changed completely now. Had she not maintained it under her focussed vision, it was entirely possible that she could not have even recognized it.

"It changed." Ruth smiled and fondled Kira's face. "Not only that.. look around." Another realization hit the girl when she expanded her vision to cover the entire sky. No cloud had remained the same. In the last five minutes, the entire landscape itself had transformed, such that every mass of cloud had not picked on a different shape and size.

"They changed as well." She declared. "Yes, they did. All of them changed. Do you understand what happened?" Kira was not exactly sure how this could watching can be related to her situation. Befuddled, she shook her head.

"Haha... it's fine. Granny will explain." Ruth pulled the girl closer to her chest, raising her hand to point to the sky again. "In the time you had wasted on that useless piece of cloud that represented your bad memories, you ignored everything nice around you."

"Time always runs supreme and it will keep shaping your mind with every passing day. This is your time to live life to the fullest. If you waste it over something like that.." Her finger pointed to the earlier cloud that was transforming even as they talked.

"You lost the time to cherish everything good, happy, jubilant, and delightful around you. Do you understand what I am trying to say?" Kira's pupils flashed with a glitter. Granny was right. If she remained stuck on this matter, she will lose the time to properly live her life.

As far as she was concerned, brother Ryu was with her and that's all counted. Not only that, she even had two new friends as well. Both Kyro and Jake had accepted her into their group, treating her like a full-fledged member of the gang. So what if there was an issue with her at the moment, life doesn't revolve around sex. Also, Ryu was not going to love her any less because of this, that she was sure of.

A beautiful smile bloomed on Kira's face. "Thank you, granny. I know where I was wrong now." Ruth caressed her face, shaking her head. "The lesson has not ended kid. Don't you see what actually became of the cloud you were so adamantly observing?"

Kira looked back at the sky. This time she failed to even recognize the same cloud she had just spent five minutes gazing at. "Yes, it changed completely into something else. Now, do you understand how futile it was to waste so much of your precious time on something that is anyway going to be destroyed by time?"

Who would have known there can be such a perspective on life as well? At least Kira never thought of this. There were stars in her eyes when she directed a gaze filled with reverence towards Ruth. "I... I will always keep this in mind, granny."

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