Chapter 6 - Longing for Mother

It would be nice if you could turn on the short video I'm going to leave below in the background while you read this chapter.

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Time flew by. It was late at night. The sun was just showing its face. It was an hour when someone didn't even need to be awake, let alone work. James was in the middle of a strange dream about fighting a giant monster in his sleep.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

He woke abruptly as he heard the sound of the keyboard keys. The brightness of the air stung his eyes. Then he saw Esther sitting next to him. She was typing something on a keyboard with rapid strokes.

"What are you doing in the morning?"

James asked tiredly and Esther replied as she stared at the digital screen and her hands continued to pound the keyboard hard:

"I'm writing a song."

James was stunned.

"A song?"

He had never thought Esther was interested in such a thing. Still, he focused on what she was doing.

Esther was extremely focused. Each word chased inspiration with a quiet rhythm. It was so fluid that James could only watch in concentration.

As the words continued to pour out, she paused suddenly. A tear slipped from her right eye. And in that moment, James saw longing in Esther's gaze. Longing for a parent. He knew that. He had seen it...

He tried to look at what she had written. And his heart sank as he read the lyrics. Esther's fingers tapped on the thin bottom casing of the small, digital windowed laptop.

The flow of inspiration mingled with her longing. With his longing, her thoughts were no llonger capable of being written down. She took a deep breath, then began to collect her thoughts and hum along to the pleasant music. 

"I miss you every day,"

"Your laughter still echoes in my ears,"

"But there's only silence now, a sorrowful breeze blows,"

Caught up in the rhythm, Esther closed her eyes and continued the words without looking at what she was writing. Without hiding her longing, she let herself fall into the arms of inspiration. She spread her arms as if waiting for someone to embrace her and looked up at the ceiling.

"I try to understand your troubles,"

James shivered as the words traveled. He could feel the longing in the slightest word, and it was so familiar to him that it hurt. He could empathize with Esther's sadness.

"The sorrow in my heart reflects on the clouds,"

James wanted to go and hug her, but it was impossible.

"I wish I could understand you, open your heart's secrets,"

Esther paused for a moment, tears flowing down her eyes. But she didn't stop. She didn't want to stop at that moment. So she kept going.

"Why did you leave me, mother? I don't understand,

"Or am I not close enough?

"Being with you is my only wish, mother,

"I miss the love that flows from your lips."

Her voice trembled as she said the last words. James turned to her as soon as he heard the tremor in the last words as Esther's voice broke into sobs. She threw the laptop aside and began to cry.

"I-I... I dreamt about her... I wrote thinking about her... She wasn't looking at me. She had left me in my dream just like now..."

Esther wrapped her arms around herself and folded her legs. She leaned her back against the wall and looked at the family picture on the nightstand.

"Mom..."

Esther missed her. No matter how much she tried to deny it, no matter how much she tried to normalize it, she missed her. This longing had been there since her father died. Her mother had distanced herself from her. Her oppressive, anti-bakugan behavior had torn their family apart.

Now, her mother was working entirely for the Vexos. Seriously... it was unbearable.

When James saw her sobbing, his mind raced back to his old life. His stepson's expression as he missed her flashed through his mind. It made it easy for him to empathize with her, but it also awakened something inside him.

He stepped onto the frame and through it leapt in front of Esther. James landed right between her legs and Esther looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

"Hey! Look at me. Where's your joy when you were Siren? Where's your confidence?"

His tone could be interpreted as harsh and even cruel. James' silver eyes met her blue ones as he spoke harshly. He could see Esther's emotional turmoil with the naked eye. Her body trembled every now and then.

He could roughly estimate his mother's condition. She was in the best place for someone with anti-Bakugan views to be. His horns moved back and forth as he looked at her.

"Is your mother on the side of the Vexos? Then we'll be Vexos too. Just don't upset yourself."

Esther paused at the words she heard. She took a napkin from the drawer and asked as she blew her nose:

"What... what do you mean? Are you... serious?"

Her voice was trembling but full of uncertainty. It was a natural reaction. Given the secrets the Vexos kept and the way they behaved, it could have been tantamount to the betrayal of Vestal. But James nodded slowly.

"I'm serious. Spectra Phantom probably has the only way for me to become human. We need to get on his side. And his side is Vexos. There's no better way to get your mother back."

Bakugan was the cartoon that James was exposed to even after his death, even as his memories came back. There was no need to explain the magnitude of its meaning. He remembered events in detail because of that.

And Fox emphasized to him that he had to evolve if he wanted to regain his human form. Spectra Phantom possessed the Forbidden Card: Chaos Ability X. If he applied it on himself...

It was worth all the pain.

Esther was lost in thought at the words she heard. This was too dangerous. This would become more than a game, a struggle for survival. More than a clash of ideals and possibly swimming in danger.

And that meant a great adventure. An adventure to meet her mother, to get her back, to convince her, so that James could regain his human form. It was an adventure where the risk was high and the poisonous lure of the reward was equally high.

It was...

As she wiped away her tears, a smile appeared on her face.

"This is so stupid... This is really stupid..."

She laughed after saying these words. She could not believe her own words.

"I'm such an idiot too. Ha ha! Let's do it! To find my mom and to get your human form!"

They both had a common interest. They both had a goal. They both needed to work together on this.

The clouds of sadness and grief inside Esther dissipated. A smile appeared on her face.

"So... what are we going to do about the restaurant?"

James, on the other hand, wore a relieved expression. Now that Esther had accepted his request, the rest could follow. As for the restaurant... James laughed.

"I have a plan for that."

Esther's gaze became interested. She took James in both palms and pulled him closer.

"What's your plan?"

James jumped up on something and touched his front long horn to Esther's nose.

"Change first, idiot. The early bird catches the worm."

James's scolding and the slight pain from the horn hitting her nose made Esther grimace.

"Ouch! That hurt."

James jumped back onto the nightstand.

"Let it hurt. I don't ever want to see anyone grieving again."

His voice trailed off on the second sentence. Esther could still hear it. For a moment, a question mark hovered over her head, but she felt it wouldn't be appropriate to ask it now. So she shook her head slightly and got out of bed to get ready.

Today was the beginning of new events. The sun's rays were more sinister this morning.