Seraphic Wings

12. The Photo

When Lucette made her way down the stairs, she stopped on the last step. She took a brief look up the stairs and sighed before going in search of where Eros went. He wasn't in the living room, nor was he in the kitchen or even the downstairs bathroom.

"Darn, where is he?"

At that moment, she overheard a shuffling sound. Heading in the direction of the source, she could just make out a figure in her small conservatory. Lucette slowly opened the door, and the figure turned around. The figure, who she figured out was Eros, beamed back at her. Though she couldn't help but notice that he was holding a brown book.

"Is that my family's photo album?"

"Hm? This?" He raised it slightly, to look at it more. "I suppose it is... I knocked it while I was tidying up..."

Tidying up? Why on Earth was he tidying up in here for..

"Did this room need tidying?"

"It could've done with a spritz."

"Riiiight...."

"Hey, you know. Never really looked in here before.."

"Well..." Lucette moved so she sat on the sofa that was in there. "I tend to hide it because of a certain... she who will not be named..."

"Oh right... Got you." Eros moved so he sat beside her, with the album still in his hands.

"You can look through it, if you want..."

"All the unknown areas of your life, revealed!" He opened it to the first page.

"Well, it's not really unknown... Mai saw it once, then I had to peel it off her..."

Lucette watched as she saw Eros turn the pages, however, she never really looked at it. She couldn't help but notice that most of the images were of her. In truth, it was more or less an entire album of her.

"Your parents really do love you.."

She reacted with a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I suppose they do..." Taking the book off his hands, she rested a hand on it. She really did miss her parents, but they gotta do what they gotta do. Getting up, she made a beeline to put it back, and her eyes noticed a photo frame. Placing the book down, and picking the photo frame up, she looked at it.

It was a little bit dusty, so she removed some of the dust. As she did, she could see it more clearly. The picture inside the frame was a younger version of her, being held by a man in a well dressed suit.

"Oh? Who's he?"

Eros had come up behind her, and was looking over her shoulder.

"I'm.. not sure..."

"May I..?"

"Umm... Sure..." She handed it over to him.

"I've never really seen him before, maybe he's a family member you may have forgotten about?"

"Maybe..." Though she couldn't help but notice that there was something written on the back of the frame, "Hey, there's writing there... on the back."

"Huh?" Eros turned the frame around and there was indeed writing, he read it out loud. "Be, still my love. I will return to you, however far you feel from me. You are not alone. I will always be waiting and I'll always be watching you...." He stopped reading and looked at Lucette, who was thinking. "Are you sure you don't know him?"

".....No?.... He doesn't look familiar to me..."

"Hmmm..." She watched as he placed it back in her hands. "Whoever it is, sounds like they really loved you."