To speak°

I fiddled around with the card. Apparently Mr Fish elf was the director of an Arts And Crafts Museum.

"Iun"

The door to my ward burst open, Eudora stood there panting

"I could kill you right now" she fumed before flopping into the chair beside me

"Alright start talking"

I sighed and began to talk

"After you told me I kind of passed out"

"Passed out? And brought to a hospital, who brought you here?"

I showed the card to her. She stared at it before flinging it my way

"Just stay here, I'm going to pay the bills"

"He already paid"

"He?"

"Mr Iun"

"Oh"

Silence enveloped us as we sat in the ward. The heart monitor connected to me continued to beep steadily. I toyed with the card a bit before laying back down

"You know, Mama showed me"

"???"

Eudora shot a confused look at me

"Dad's death, she showed it to me, I thought I was tripping at first but I couldn't shake off the strong feeling of deja vu"

"And why would she do that?"

"I don't know...w-well it wasn't everything. Just the part where you broke the news"

"When was this?"

"Moments before she died"

Eudora chuckled and she buried her face in her palms,

"So that's where her astral mana was being concentrated into"

"What?"

"Pack your things, Dad's funeral is going to be held two days from now. I want that dipshit 6 feet below as fast as possible"

She reached for back on the floor. And that's when I saw it. Her hair slipped to the side revealing a purpling bruise

"Are you alright?" I questioned while unplugging the equipment connected to me. She responded but I couldn't hear it because of the flatline beeping sound the heart monitor made when I took it off.

A nurse burst into the room, her demeanor panicking but composed

"Ma'am you haven't been discharged yet, you still need to rest"

"I'm perfectly fine and I would like to go home now"

I waved my hands trying to dismiss her but in the end, we had to meet with the doctor assigned to me, he reluctantly wrote a discharge letter for me after Eudora and I told him about our family 'emergency'.

Dream enveloped me in a hug before blasting me with questions and berating me. I assured him I was fine, I properly introduced him to Eudora. She simply gave him a small nod of the head and pulled me into my room.

"So...about Dad's funeral"

I broke the thick silence

"I'm not attending, his wife insists he be buried at her place" Must be Pica

"Which?"

"Annette"

"What? Why would she want him to be buried at her place?"

"I don't know Elora, she claims it's her culture, tradition bullshit"

"..."

"Besides it's a double funeral"

"What?"

"..."

"Who is the second one for?"

"Keith"

I froze, "what? No, he can't be dead"

"Well he isn't, she doesn't have his corpse... A dead child is better than a lost child...my opinion"

"She's just gonna give up?"

"Yeah, what do you expect, Elora it's been what 4 to 5 years since he just up and left. Besides I heard you switched institutions because you wanted to find him, now tell me how much progress have you made? When was the last time you even thought of him?"

I opened and closed my mouth like an ocean breather, I couldn't say anything. She was right. So much had been happening that I had completely forgotten the reason I had started all this.

"I even heard you were told to withdraw from the institution, Elora just what are you doing with your life?"

I don't know honestly.

"I don't blame you, I blame Mother for spoiling you. I blame her for not letting you see the true reality of this fucking world!"

"Don't bring Mama into this"

"Oh please, if she had trained you properly you wouldn't be looking like lost shit in front of me!"

"If she had trained you properly, you wouldn't have taken advantage of me and assaulted me!"

She flinched, her expression quickly turning unreadable

"What the hell are you saying?"

"I, Eudora, I was just a fucking child back then and you ruined my life because of your selfishness"

I was shaking, tears streaming my face as venomous words pooled in my stomach

"What?"

She took a step back "that's a thing of the past"

"No, it's not"

"..."

"Mama is a figment of the past, and if you can bring her into this, I can always do the same. You know what?"

"..."

"You're right, I blame Mama too. If she hadn't birthed me or you, if she hadn't met Dad maybe all this won't be happening. And now the same thing is happening all over again, with you"

"Shut up"

"I think you deserve it...no, you deserve it and I'm being forced to take part in your shi-"

My cheek burned as her hand struck me

"Fucking bitch!"

Huffing she stormed out, leaving me in tears.

"I'm so sorry Mama"

I felt small hands envelope me in a hug, I quickly reached out and latched unto Dream. Small fairy lights enclosed us. He was talking to me but I could only hear myself bawling my eyes out.