Chapter 61

I'm fine, just a bit under the weather, Astrid said with a grin plastered across her face as they returned

"Astrid, we're back!" Elowen, lively as a bunny, hopped over to Astrid's bedside. Her round face was lit up with a sweet smile.

"Elowen, you're back. Let me take a look at you. Wow, you're growing up to be quite the heartbreaker, Astrid said, her face filled with love as she gently caressed Elowen's soft cheeks.

"Hi, Astrid," Dorian chimed in, moving closer to greet Astrid.

"Astrid," Atticus added.

"Hello, Astrid." Sophia came forward to greet her too.

Astrid was grinning from ear to ear. Tve got loads of sweets. Let me fetch them for you."

She got off the bed and pulled out a handful of beautifully wrapped candies from her cupboard, distributing them among the four children.

These candies were gifts from the villagers during festivals. She'd saved them for when the kids came around.

The kids were thrilled with the candies and started munching on them, their faces beaming with delight.

"Thanks, Astrid they chorused in their cute little voices

Astrid's face wrinkled with laughter "Ah, don't mention it."

Then the four kids scampered off to play.

Watching their small figures disappear, Astrid's laughter turned into tears. Her heart ached so much that it felt suffocating.

Her own daughter was about their age when she drowned

If she were still alive, her child would be as old as them now.

Seeing Astrid in tears, Thalassa quickly handed her a tissue. "Astrid, it's all in the past. I believe Celia must have been reborn somewhere else by now, living a happy life in some other corner of the world"

Astrid nodded through her sobs and said. 'It's been many years now. What's hard to accept is for us, the living."

Thalassa felt a lump in her throat. She was a mother too, aware of the unbearable pain of losing a child

She could empathize with Astrid's anguish and torment.

Handing Thalassa a tissue. Astrid wiped her tears and regained her composure. "Let's pack up and head to the graveyard. We shouldn't let Celia feel alone."

Thalassa nodded.

Celia was buried in Hollowbrook's public cemetery.

To get there, they had to cross a narrow, dirt ridden country road

The kids frolicked along the path ahead like little bunnies, with the adults trailing behind them.

Astrid, still hale and hearty, walked on her own. Thalassa offered her support.

Soon, they arrived at the graveyard.

Unlike the city, rural graves weren't cemented neatly but were simple earthen graves with rudimentary stone tombstones and no pictures.

Thalassa and Astrid laid down the food they'd brought in front of Celia's grave and cleared off the weeds around it.

Just then, Isabella arrived and said, "Auntie, I'm here to visit Celia."

Isabella addressed Astrid as 'Auntie

Astrid gave her a nod

Isabella stepped forward towards the grave, silently praying, "Celia, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to use your name to deceive Lysander. I didn't mean to offend you. Please forgive me"

She knew that today was Celia's death anniversary and had come especially to pay her respects, hoping that Celia wouldn't blame her for using her name to hide the truth that Lysander's bedfellow that night was actually Thalassa.

Meanwhile, a-black Rolls Royce pulled up at the entrance of Hollowbrook

Lysander, seated in the back, exuded an aura of calm composure

His assistant, David, stopped the car and asked a local, 'Excuse me, could you tell me where Celia's grave is?"