Farewell night

At the residence, in the midnight, Ava could hear a patterned knock on her door. She rushed to the door for she knew very well that it was Zen who was knocking. The moment she opened the door, she saw him looked at her with a silly grin on his face.

"What?" she asked and purposely giving him the cold-shoulder. "Can I enter?" the boy asked, ignoring the plain reception of the room owner. "Uhuh," Ava made the gesture to welcome him in. Zen chuckled and walked inside the room.

"Do you know that it's illegal to enter a girl's room at midnight? Talk about moral-values?" Ava jumped on her bed and hugged a pillow. She pretended to be scared. "So, why did you invite me in?" Zen played along.

"That was me showing courtesy," Ava reciprocated but Zen was no longer paying her any attention. He seemed distracted by something else.

"What is it?" Ava started to worry. It was rare for Zen to act as he did now. Restless and distracted. "What have you find out when you read Ivy's mind?" Zen pulled Ava's dressing chair and positioned it next to her bed.

Ava sighed. She had already known that Zen would pursue the matter and would only stop until she explained it to him. "It was only one of her so-called almighty thought. I would prefer to ignore them," she replied. The more she thought about the matter the more she felt that it wasn't making any sense. Ivy probably made up some fantasy inside her mind.

"But I am very interested in this almighty thought of her,"

Zen pulled the chair closer to her bed, expressing how interested he was on the matter. His head lowered with both arms to support it. Ava frowned at his cute act.

"Well, there was this sentence where she said 'wait until my dad take over the company and I'll let him chase you out back to the orphanage' and another 'Zen will be mine forever," Ava recalled what she had found out. Now that she actually said it out loud, the terrible feeling she had experienced earlier returned.

Of course, she didn't explain the whole thing such as the process of how Ivy's father would take over the company or how she would be thrown away to the orphanage. She thought it was jealousy that drove Ivy to think about those nasty things to achieve the result she wanted.

"For someone so young to think like that...that was terrifying," Ava shook her head.

She saw the wrinkles on Zen's forehead. Then, he suddenly breathed in lots of air before letting them out. Ava instantly knew that Zen was about to tell her the thing he kept hidden from her.

"Ava, there's something I need you to know," Zen said after remaining silent for quite some time. Ava tightened her arm, pressing the pillow to create its slim waist. She knew that asking about what Ivy was thinking was only the appetizer. He was preparing himself to tell her the bigger news.

"I'm going back to my country," he said. His voice was calm but the weight of the news was taking a toll on his mind. When he met the Grandmaster this evening, he was on a video call with his parents.

They told him to return, to learn the way of the Easton. They said the situation had calmed down, but, they needed him there to be their strength. They said they missed him and couldn't wait to see him.

But Zen wasn't dumb. He knew a bigger problem was looming over his family business. So, he forced them to tell the truth and it was exactly like he had expected.

Zen looked at the girl who was hugging a pillow. He saw her calm expression slowly turned a shade darker and her eyes widened in shock. Soon, it calmed down but her brown eyes were no longer shining bright. They were blurry as tears started to form in the corner of her eyes.

"This will be the first time I saw you cry," Zen teased her. He didn't want to prolonged the tension that started to encircle them. Moreover, he didn't want to see the tears fall onto her cheek. Ava was always the strong girl in his eyes but at this moment he saw her weakened and it was all because of him.

"When?" Ava ignored his teasing for the things she wanted to know was crucial. The delay could make her gone crazy. Only she could tell how chaotic her mind was and how sad it was to listen to the news of him leaving. She wiped the tears that started to form. He was right, she never cried. But there was a reason for it. Every time she felt like crying, he would always be there doing weird faces to make her laugh.

"I'm boarding the earliest flight tomorrow,"

Ava cackled, unsure of how to react. "That's too early," she muttered.

"I'm sorry," Zen was feeling helpless. Seeing her became frustrated felt as if he had failed her.

"The Easton was in crisis. They need me there," he explained.

"What can you do? You're only nine years old," Ava was annoyed. His grandfather had informed him that Zen was here so he wouldn't be entangled in the crisis his family was having. Now, the situation was reversed, she hated it.

"Well, I'm not a normal nine years old boy. Don't you know that I'm so powerful people are afraid of me," Zen boasted only to have a pillow be thrown at him. He laughed, happy to see the aggressive side of her. It was better than to see her cry.

But, he also knew it wouldn't last long. Her aggression was to control her emotions. He knew it wasn't easy to say goodbye. Their relationship could no longer be described as an acquaintance. Ava meant a lot to him. He even refused to leave but seeing the expectant look of his parents, he gave in.

"Here," Zen climbed the bed and put something on Ava's neck. He hurriedly returned to his chair once he put the necklace on. "This..." Ava touched the necklace that was now hanging on her neck.

"You like a rabbit so I make you one," Zen smiled.

"Is this your farewell gift?" Ava could feel the tears rushing down her face. She tried to stop them but that action caused all sorts of weird expressions to form on her face.

"Don't laugh!" she cried and Zen who was about to laugh froze. He nodded and put up his hand telling her that he wouldn't dare to laugh. Yet, he couldn't hold it in. Ava's face earlier was too funny, he needed to release the tingling feeling he was feeling inside. Ava frowned, she started to hiccup. A result of trying to hold her tears.

"Look at what happened now," Zen complained and walked towards the mini-freezer in the room. He prepared a glass of water for her. "Drink this," he took her hand and placed the glass in her palm.

Ava obediently followed what she was instructed to do. Once in a while, she would stare at him. Sadness was apparent on the pair of eyes she possessed.

"When I'm gone. Make sure to listen to your grandfather. Study more and be wary of other people especially Ivy and the people who think like her," Zen advised.

"Don't consume too many sugary foods. Follow the plan I made for you and train your body," he added.

"Do you understand?" he asked after receiving no response from Ava. He watched her nodding her head slowly.

"What will happen to us once you leave?" her voice cracked when she asked the question. To her, Zen was the first person she trusted. The first who become her true friend.

"Nothing will change. I'll always be your bodyguard," Zen assured her.

"But you're not here to guard me," Ava cried. "I know. This necklace I gave you will remind you of everything I've taught you," Zen consoled her.

"Will you come back? Promise me that you'll come back," Ava held out her pinky finger.

"I promise that I'll come back to you. Until then, you must stay alive and healthy as you do now," Zen completed the promise by intertwining their fingers together.

"Thank you," Ava whispered but it was enough to reach his ears.

"Sleep. I'll return to my room," Zen stood up and returned the chair to its original position.

"Goodnight," he said.

"Goodnight," Ava replied.

That night was the night where both of them were restless throughout. The next morning, Ava was still sleeping when Zen left the residence.