Grounded

21

On his 13th birthday, Este had been sat down by his mother with a careful expression.

She had smiled slightly, nervous, almost hesitant.

Este of course had responded to her hesitation with a bright grin.

She smiled back, and gave him a small box, wrapped with a small red ribbon. She had handed the gift to him with such care, Este seriously though it had something fragile like glass or ceramics inside.

Este opened the box carefully, slowly. Making sure he didn't shake whatever fragile object was inside, with fingers that were trembling from the burning anticipation.

It at last revealed a pure black choker necklace, with a small almost perfectly polished red-orange gem of cor lapis hanging on the middle.

He took it out with shaking fingers. Holding the surprisingly thin but sturdy feeling black fabric up to his face to properly look at it.

The polish on the cor lapis was so immaculate he almost didn't realize it was in fact a cor lapis. It looked more like the ambers found in the adeptus filled mountains of Liyue.

On the back there was a clasp, and near it, there on the underside, was written with careful needlework in looped calligraphy his former name, Veera.

He had cried himself to sleep in her arms that day.

Over the years she had slowly inquired more information about Veera.

Este had mentioned her love of necklaces only once perhaps, but it still caused such an emotional response in him, to see such a familiar accessory.

Este wore the choker everyday since he got it.

At first Diluc had teased him about being girly, before Kaeya took offense to that sentiment. So the blue-haired boy had also started wearing one.

Subsequently, Diluc was forced by their teamwork to wear one for a week. By the end of that week Kaeya got Diluc to say he actually didn't mind it and to take back all his minorly offending statements.

Este wraps his fingers around the cor lapis.

Today is his 19th birthday.

Diluc has been gone for almost 3 years now.

At this rate Diluc won't be back before his mother-

And Este-

Este keeps himself busy. Doing anything he can to help his mother.

Her still body laying on the bed, shallow breaths barely seen, boney face, far too pale-

Este hasn't seen his father in weeks now.

Always missing, never present, absent, gone away.

Este grits his teeth. He marches to the door, and wrings it open. He steps outside, and slams the door behind him shut with a loud bang.

Instantly as he stepped out the rain starts pouring down on him. It flows through his hair like a wild waterfall, causing his sight so be only filled with the raindrops falling down from above.

The rain falls, soaks the buildings, the streets, his clothes and Este himself to the bone.

A sob breaks through, and he wonders if anyone could differentiate his tears from the raindrops flowing down his face.

The healers of the church are trying their best. She would soon have to be transferred to the small grim patient ward in the church.

Each day her condition turns worse-

Este has tried everything.

His visions usually damn useless healing abilities. All the herbs and medicine he could find. Este has travelled to Liyue and Sumeru to get something- anything-

His mother-

His mother-

She is-

His mother is-

Withering like a flower past her prime, with no water for her to revive her.