Entering her house, Alex sees her mother in the living room watching a noontime show with the kids playing by her side.
"I'm home..." She greeted sluggishly, then lazily goes to her room.
Irene turned around to see who it was, seeing that it was Alex, she was about to greet her back when she remembered something."Wait, don't you still have any classes this afternoon?"
"Not now mom, I need some rest." Alex lazily replied as she continued walking upstairs.
Hearing her weak response, Irene can't help but worry. "What is up with your sister now?" Irene unconsciously mumbled in front of the children.
The twins are both puzzled by what their mother is saying.
Noticing the confused looks on the twins, Irene did not bother explaining anything to them. She just went back on making the crying Zandra in her arms sleep faster by singing her a lullaby so that she can go and check on her troublesome daughter.
...
A few minutes had passed Zandra has finally fallen asleep after singing her a couple of her favorite lullabies and breastfeeding her.
She then went to the three children playing beside the television.
"Ax and El, please watch your sister Serene and Zandra for a moment for me, okay? I will go up for a while and check on your troublesome sister." Irene unhurriedly said to the twins for them to clearly understand her.
The twins replied harmoniously. "Okay~~~"
"Shhhh, quiet Zandra is sleeping."
She then placed the sleeping baby in her arms to her crib.
"Okay~~~" The twins harmoniously replied again, but this time in a much softer voice.
The twins then went back to playing with their Serene.
Now that the kids are busy with each other, Irene can now go and check on Alex. "Honestly, what is going on with her?" Irene worriedly mumbled while going to Alex's room.
...
The moment Alex entered her room, she instantly jumped to her bed.
It's been a couple of minutes already since she arrived, and all she is doing right now is just laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling absently.
The silence in the room got broken when she heard her mother knocking on the door.
"She must be worried I probably looked so pitiful when I got home." Alex mumbled.
Alex did not bother answering her mother's call outside of the room. She just continued staring at the ceiling blankly. After a couple of minutes of continuous knocking, her mother stopped and went downstairs.
Alex got up in bed to unlock the door since there is no point in keeping it locked anyway because her mother has probably gone down to get the keys. She then lazily went back to bed after unlocking the door.
Alex then heard her mother's heavy footsteps echoing through their wooden floor right after she got back on the bed.
Her mother is probably annoyed with her right now, sensing her heavier footsteps than usual. Alex prepared for her coming infuriated mother by cowering under her pillow and blanket.
...
With the key in her hand, Irene inserted it into the doorknob. As she was turning the key, she realized that the door is already unlocked. Irene let out an exasperated sigh.
Instead of rushing in to confront her daughter's awful behaviors, Irene softly pushed the door and slowly walked inside the room.
Seeing her daughter holed up in her blanket, Irene slowly sat down beside her.
"Are you okay?" Irene softly whispered.
...
Hearing her mother's soft, warm and caring voice, Alex's pent-up emotions she's been holding back all this time started bursting out of her.
She abruptly removes the blanket and plunges towards her mother's loving arms.
...
Alex's sudden dived into her arms and wailing startled her, and it pains her to see her daughter like this. Nevertheless, she just silently hugged her back, letting her know that she will always be here whenever she needs her.
Her daughter may have grown stronger all these years. But still, it was so fast to the point where slowly teaching things to her can't catch up with her rapid growth. Not to mention the four little children she's taking care of, resulting in her attention with the kids divided among them.
"I don't want to change again." Alex said abruptly and choked out her words in between sniffles from crying.
With Alex suddenly talks about her changing, Irene can only think of the announcement earlier that made her like this.
It probably had something to do with the new virtual reality game and the things that happened to her five years ago.
"Everything will be alright." Gently caressing Alex's back, she can only utter those words since she isn't an expert in handling this kind of situation.
Ever since Alex has been a child, Irene has never seen her daughter cry in any situation. Alex has always been a strong girl since she was born, learning things by herself, not relying on others, solving problems on her own.
But upon seeing her daughter crying for the first time in her life. Her heart feels like getting ruptured every time she feels a tear falls on her shoulders.
Regardless of how strong her daughter became, she is still too young to understand her current self. Her daughter probably thinks that she is nowhere near being a normal girl at this point.
...
Alex and her mother continued cuddling for quite some time. Her rough breathing finally started to slow down, and the adrenaline she felt a while ago steadily calmed down each time her mother gently caresses her back.
Once she calmed down and collected her thoughts. Alex realized that she is most likely afraid that she may no longer recognize herself if she changed once more.
"I'm scared."
"Scared of becoming someone everyone won't like."
Her mother tightly held her shoulders, then pushed her away from her embrace. "Listen here, no matter how much you change, what you become, in the past... Present... Or even the future... Your father and I will always love you unconditionally. That's because you will always be our beloved daughter." Her mother almost shouted those words to her while staring directly into her eyes.
That stirred her calmed heart just a moment ago.
With her vision clouded with tears, she can see her mother's moistened eyes, rosy nose, and cheeks.
All this time, her mother is crying silently while comforting her.
"Mom..." Before she could say anything, her mother embraced her again.
"Nothing is permanent except change. Even I and your father are two completely different people fifteen years ago. Your father used to be the youngest five-star general in history and a ferocious, savage, and bloodthirsty general on the battlefields. The battlefield, he loved, the comrades he treasures, and the title he painstakingly earned he left all of it for his family. Now your father is just a completely normal martial arts instructor. I also used to be an outstanding doctor treating your father and his wounded comrades on the battlefield. Now, look at me, a regular housewife taking care of her five children."
"Did you ever regret changing?" Buried in her mother's chest, Alex had difficulty saying her words.
"Regret?"
"We never had any, we loved our work, but nothing can compare our love for you more than anything in the world." Her mother said while gently patting her head.
"Life is just a journey we are bound to change someday. That's why as long as you're fine with yourself, live your life without worry. No matter how many times you'll change, your family will always be here for you."
"Mom?"
"Hmmm?"
She looked straight into her mother's eyes. "I want to see that world." Alex asked for permission now that she's composed and determined.
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