Flowers apart

10

It was surprising how natural the song came to Venti, and how he easily plucked the strings of the lyre to play a song that he has heard himself play before, in one of his dreams.

He doesn't fully remember what happened in it, but at least, he remembered the melody.

***

"Are you okay?" He heard himself say. He remembers the moon that night, full and shining, and it seemed to reflect light off Alatus, but he still couldn't see his face.

"I'm fine."

"You don't seem okay."

"What do you mean? I'm not bleeding anywhere, am I?"

"You sound...unhappy."

Alatus scoffed. "That's one way to put it."

"I'm sorry for being extremely late this time, okay?" Venti pouted. "I was really held up by something this time. Forgive me, pleaseeeeeeeeeee~"

"To make it up to you, I'll play you a song!"

"Please, you play me songs everyday-"

He soon interrupted his words with a note, played on the lyre that he had taken out during who-knows-when. And he played another.

Alatus didn't say anything else as he played the melody. No more arguments or protests, just his presence, the only sounds that came from him after that were the comforting sounds of his breathing as Venti played into the night.

***

That was all Venti remembered from the dream. And before he knew it, his hands had stilled on the lyre. The song was over.

The three kids and Granny Zi just stared at him.

"And you said you never learned the lyre, liar!" Xiu Ning sniffed, before his companions broke out into giggles.

"That was so good, Venti!" Jiu He cheered. "Play again, play again!"

"Kids, Venti has to go now. Let's not keep him any longer." Luckily, Granny Zi came to the poor boy's rescue.

"Awwwww..." All three of them groaned, pouting.

"Will you ever come back to visit us?" Ling Xing quietly asked.

Venti bit into his lip, not wanting to lie to the three kids. He didn't want to give them false hope, and the truth was, he probably wouldn't ever come back.

"Probably not," Venti sighed, squatting down to look at the children at eye level. And before they could protest, he quickly extended his arms out. "One last hug?"

They all nodded solemnly, and Jiu He seemed as if he was going to cry. "But if I can, I'll come back, ok?" Venti can't help but add when water started to collect around the poor boy's eyes.

"Okay!" All of them exclaimed.

After all the goodbyes, waves, hugs and tears were passed around in the village, Venti left, with Granny Zi's basket and the trio's lyre in tow.

Archons, he's going to miss them.

***

Nothing was going right that day.

It was the little things that irritated Xiao, but he usually forgot about it after awhile. But on that particular day everything seems to be going wrong.

He spilled his almond tofu in the morning. And it was completely untouched and haven't been eaten by Xiao when he spilled it. And then when he went back into his room he found that the laundry - that he had hung beside the window - had fallen all the way down to the ground below.