The Heir

Chapter 3 Bond Starting to Mellow

" Do you always eat like that?" Clara asked, light, sparky voice, as I excavated another spoonful of soup into my mouth.

I looked up, swallowing presto, embarrassed but not about to show it." What is wrong with the way I eat?

She smiled, one of those smiles that was so easy and natural it nearly made me feel out of place." Nothing, just. you look like you are starving."

I did not know what to say to that, so I signed and took another bite. My stomach was just one of those things since I woke up in this city- it was an untamed animal. One minute it growled with hunger, as if I had not eaten in days; the coming, I could not keep anything in my stomach. But Clara. she sounded to understand it without too numerous questions.

She sat across from me at the small table in the café, belting from her own bowl of soup, eyes concentrated on me, as if she was staying for me to say something. But I had nothing to say. I was not indeed sure who I was half the time, much lower what I wanted to say to her.

I do not know why I keep doing that," I murmured under her gaze, a little awkward about it.

She raised an eyebrow." Doing what?"

" Stuffing food in my mouth as if I'll noway get any more," I said, setting my spoon down." It's like I'm trying to catch up with something."

She jounced sluggishly, laying her bowl away, her hands folded on the table." perhaps you are."

I glared at her, confusion stirring in my mind could it be about the past or indeed anything additional? I really could not tell what my own past had recalled, let alone what I must have been trying to make up for. Everything was so different, memories now bare pieces of some glass that failed to link duly. The frustration mounted, issue as issue of forgotten pieces swarmed my brain and refused to click into place.

Again Clara's voice came, soft and calm." You do not need to figure all this out at formerly, Sebastian."

I blinked my eyes open to find the silence still importing in on me, but the burden of her words struck heavy." I do not know who I'm presently."

" You're still you," she replied, her gaze settling across me." Indeed if you forget."

But a moment was each I need to stand there without knowing what to say. For something was in the way she said it. something reassuring. But also something that made me feel like she knew further than I did. Which was n't a nice feeling, a thing to do, though I was not relatively sure I liked it.

" perhaps," I murmured, combing a hand through my hair," but it does not feel like it."

She smiled gently, like she was offering me a safe space." You’ll get there. Little by little."

The words hung in the air, and for some reason, they made my chest ache. I did not know what I was hoping for from her. A way out? A magic fix for everything I could not flash back ? perhaps. But there was something about her that made me suppose it was not about fixing anything. It was just. about being.

" Clara," I began, also fell silent, not knowing if it indeed made sense to pose the question. But something about the silence of the café made me want to unmask, indeed if I was not sure that I should." Do you ever wonder if people can change?

She c****d her head to one side, a reflective look crossing her face." I suppose people can change," she said sluggishly," but not in the way we anticipate. occasionally, it's the little things that change us, the stuff we do not notice at first."

I looked at her, searching her face for some kind of answer." But what if you do not know who you're presently? How do you change also?"

Clara leaned back in her chair, her eyes softening." perhaps change does not always mean knowing exactly who you are. perhaps it's about. what you choose to do next."

I could not help but wonder if she was talking to me. Was I choosing to be then, to start over? Was this life this new life- something I really could get used to?

The silence stretched between us as I contemplated the words she spoke, like they dug deep into me, at some unseen scratch. Something I could n't relatively touch.

" Do you ever get tired?" I asked the question, which slipped out before I could stop it." Tired of. of everything? Of being so kind each the time?"

Clara's eyes opened a little wider, her lips parting as if she had not anticipated the question. But also, she laughed vocally, the sound like a gentle breeze." Tired of being kind? No, Sebastian. I do not suppose I could ever get tired of that."

" Must be nice," I said still, my fingers tapping nervously against the edge of the table.

She looked at me for a long time, her face not saying a word, yet her eyes holding mine." You can be kind, too, you know."

I shook my head. The words got stuck in my throat." I do not know how."

Her smile was bitsy, but something in my chest constricted." You will figure it out."

I wanted to argue, to tell her she was wrong, that I did not earn any kind of kindness after everything I had been. But something in her voice, something in her expression, kept me from saying anything.

For the rest of the evening, we worked side by side, and I could not help but notice how natural it felt to be around her. The way she smiled at me when I brought her coffee, the way she did not ask me a million questions about my past. Clara did not need to know everything to accept me. It was a strange feeling, like she was giving me a chance- something I was not used to.

As I gutted up the last table for the night, my mind kept circling back to what Clara had said" You will figure it out."

Would I? Could I really change? Could I really start over like she sounded to believe?

Before I could get lost in my thoughts, Clara's voice broke through again." Sebastian, can I ask you something?"

I turned toward her, raising an eyebrow." What is over?"

She dithered for a moment, tracing the edge of the counter with her fingers." Do you ever flash back anything? Anything at all?"

My whole body went still, and this question got to me further than I'd like it to. My throat closed over mine and my stomach twisted." I. I do not know."

Clara looked at me, undecipherable." It's okay, if you do not want to talk about it. But I suppose. I suppose it might help, if you did."

I did not respond right down. The concept of flashing back anything, of facing whatever my past had been, felt like a weight I was not ready to carry. But something in Clara's kindness, her willingness to hear, made it feel like perhaps. perhaps I could try.

Before I could utter a word, the door to the café creaked open, and a cold gust of wind blew in. We both turn to look at the same time; my heart skipped beats.

" Who in the hell is this?" I grunted, looking at the figure standing by the door.

Clara strengthened beside me, her eyes fluttering from me to the door." Sebastian.I do not know."

A figure steps forward, its eyes fixed on me. And, just like that, everything inside of me set.