The Reaper Child: Book II [Child!Reader Protagonist]

~Chapter 16~

You and Grell left the parking lot and stopped at an ice cream shop. It was one of the most popular ones in the city that offered a great variety of flavors. You picked out the flavor of your choice while Grell had a red velvet flavor ice cream cone. Eager and excited to have received such a delicious sweet treat, you began to devour it the moment you both took your seat at a small table within a shop. It didn't take long for you to experience a brain freeze.

"Be careful, darling," Grell said as she laughed.

It had been ages since you had ice cream. Back during your times in foster care, there were occasions where you among the other kids were treated to ice cream. But being treated to ice cream by your adoptive mother after doing a good deed, or at least, "good" in the eyes of your mother, provided you with a much better, more unique experience. If earning this treat meant you assisting Grell with more of these shoplifting stunts of hers, then it was very much worth it in your eyes.

By the time you finished your sweet treat, your face was coated with ice cream and some cone crumbs.

"My my, you're a messy one, aren't you?" Grell said, seeming more amused than anything. She grabbed a napkin and helped clean your face.

After you and Grell both finished your ice cream, you left the shop. Still having many hours to kill for the day, you both finally headed to the park.

The weather was too wonderful to not spend time at the park. The bright blue sky was almost cloudless. The sun provided an ideal balance of warmth with a mildly cool breeze with its crystal clear air. A nature trail that you and Grell strolled on brought you extraordinary sights of the greenest grass you've seen in a long time along with rivers. Seeing the refreshing-looking water flow down made you want to take a swim.

After spending some time strolling around absorbing the sights of the park's nature around you, you and Grell took a seat on a body of grass just in front of the rivers. Numerous ducks were hanging around the area. It just so happened that Grell had brought some bread in her purse. You both used it to feed the ducks, which they seemed to appreciate.

Once all of the bread was gone, both of you sat in silence for a while. You were still sitting in place, admiring the sight of the river with the ducks swimming around. You imagined what it was like to be a duck, and found yourself wishing you were one, being able to do nothing but swim in lovely waters all day long.

Grell, on the other hand, was laying on her back beside you. She had her eyes closed, humming softly to herself enjoying the park's natural ambience.

"Can we come here everyday?" You eventually spoke up.

With her eyes still closed, your mother chuckled. "I don't think so, darling. I wish we could! It's so lovely here. Your father and I come here for our dates when we both have the day off. It gives us a nice breather from our everyday work lives."

You were irked when Grell referred to Will as your father again. But you didn't debate against it and kept quiet. When was she going to stop doing that?

Grell then stood up, letting out a sad sigh as she gazed at the river. "Speaking of which, today is my last day off. It will be awhile before we have this sort of day where we can go out and do fun things."

"Oh, and you will have to go to school soon," Grell added. "Sadly, it's against the law to not have your child in school. Rather silly if you ask me. You only use a small amount of what you learn from school later on in life."

"But I thought school was a place where you learn," You said.

"Yes, it is," Grell replied. "But like I said, you only use a small amount of what you learned. The problem with a curriculum is that they don't teach you enough of the important stuff and instead occupy you kids with busy work that means absolutely nothing! They may tell you that succeeding academically will lead to grand opportunities, but that is only half right, my dear."

You looked at your mother, slightly confused. She was the first and only grown up to speak of school in this way.

"Perhaps you will have better opportunities should you be a slave to the curriculum. But what good are those opportunities if all you do is do boring paperwork all day?"

"Yuck!" You grimaced.

"Exactly!" Your mother said. "Someday you will fully understand what I mean. Besides, it's best I stop now before I ramble too much about this. It's something I'm a bit passionate about." She was about to lay down again when you both noticed clouds covering up the entire sky. Seconds later, drops of rain began to fall all around you.

"Aw, the weatherman said it was supposed to be sunny today! He lied!" Your mother whined. "Oh well, I suppose we should head back now. Wouldn't want you getting sick on your first few days here."

Both of you stood up. Grell took off her red overcoat and wrapped it around you.

"Did you have a good time, dear?" Grell asked you as you walked back to her car.

"Of course!" You replied excitedly. "This is the best time I've ever had in my life!"

Grell smiled warmly, looking extremely pleased at your response. "Glad to hear, darling. I hope with time, you are able to make yourself fully at home."

The thing was: you already were at home. You've been at home since the moment she brought you into that house. The more time you spent with Grell, the more you got to see her motherly side. It gave you a sense of ease and safety.

It made you feel loved in a way you have never really felt before.

The rain had begun pouring harder just as you both arrived at the car. Thunder could be heard from a distance. As you were seated in the back, Grell kept her coat wrapped around you to keep you warm during the car ride.

On the ride back home, you looked out the window, watching as several rain drops tapped against the glass.