章 31: They Are Coming After Us

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Chapter dedication: @Rea_Rea314 ʕ⁠っ⁠•⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠ʔ⁠っ

•Thank you so much for the Golden Ticket, dear @Rea_Rea314. I feel quite a lot more motivated by your Golden Ticket sent to Hunting Down The Last Elf (mwah)

• I hope you'd love this chapter

~Thank you~

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Ring!!!

The phone kept ringing, but it seemed like there was no one to put an end to it, neither the caller nor the receiver.

"Alice!"

"Ring!!!

"Alice! Come on, pick up the telephone! I'm in the kitchen." Mrs. Anderson continued to yell, but to her dismay, the only thing that happened was that the telephone went silent, and her daughter did not care to answer it.

"This girl..." Mrs. Anderson muttered under her breath, walking out of the kitchen furiously, and went to see who had called. She redialed as she called out for her daughter.

Alicia kept humming as she tried a new hairstyle that helped her cover her ears. She thought, in that way, she could stop wearing those fake ears.

"Perfecto!" She let out an exclamation as she managed to put up a relaxed fishtail, and it looked beautiful with the black bandana she had used to it in contrast to her white blonde hair and her black shirt, which went along with her white jeans.

As she glanced at herself in the little mirror, she squealed at herself. Getting dressed up and beautifying herself or purchasing new books had always lightened her mood, and she could not go up with the latter given that she had to save her money for her cafe, so she got dressed. Feeling content, she plopped her butt on her bed and took the book that rested on her bedside table, and in no time, she was immersed in the world filled with fictional characters simping them, as she had her legs swinging back and forth in the air.

She would squeal and weep time and time again, biting her nails nervously as she went through the little breakdown of her book. After lunch this past evening, she was still on her bed, almost experiencing all the emotions that one wouldn't have felt in a day, not even within a week.

"Alice!"

No response.

"Alice!" The second scream came, followed by a banging knock.

"Huh, ma?" She questioned, eyes still focused on the book. The door to her room opened with a furious look from her mother, her hands on her hips. Alicia paid no heed, for she was still engrossed in the scene where the female character leaves the male character, not letting him know as she could not bear to see him broken and begging when she had to leave, so she was leaving him without his consent when he was sound asleep.

"Oh my gosh, Ame," voiced Alicia with her trembling lips. Her eyes were already welling up with tears; she was on the verge of crying yet again for another fictional character.

"And there she goes, crying for a piece of paper."

"Mom?"

"Huh! For once, I thought I went invisible, you know?" She heard her mother remark sarcastically at her. "Do you remember, there's something called 'Eating'?" Her mother questioned her, stressing the last word.

"Huh? Eating? What's that? Is that another book, ma?" She questioned, trying to infuriate her mother.

Mrs. Anderson gave a disbelievable look at her daughter. "You're unbelievable!" A light tugged at her lips, but she held it back.

"I know, right? Just like my mother, aren't I?" Alicia grinned as she closed the book and walked toward her mother, gingerly hugging her and placing a kiss on her right cheek.

She smiled at Alicia and patted her hair.

"How do I look in my new hairstyle?" she questioned as she zoomed near her mother and batted her eyelashes animatedly. Her mother pinched her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

"You look like an angel descended from heaven to me." She smiled at Alicia before she urged her to have her lunch before it was too late, which it already was.

Alicia nodded before she took her mobile phone and left her room. The smile on Mrs. Anderson's face immediately disappeared, like the sea had washed away all that was there. Her eyes dimmed. "Indeed, you look just like your mother," she whispered. A lone teardrop slid down her cheek, and in no time, more tears slid down with silent sobs. "Oh, how happy would your mother be to see you so beautifully grown up?"

She walked over to the opened window and glanced out through the window thoughtfully.

'Eddy'

'Look after her, Eddy!'

'I have no more time. We have no more time. They are coming after us.'

'I can't afford to lose her no matter what. Please bear her for me.'

'I know you'll treasure me more than I would, and I could.'

The faint voices of her past kept reverberating in her head, aching her heart. She wiped her tears and walked out of Alicia's room, closing the door.

"I promised to hold onto her like mine," she whispered as she walked past the dining hall and saw her daughter filling her plate with the honey-coated pancake. A sad smile crossed her face.

She felt her heart squeeze. Memories of the past kept playing in her head like a tape recorder. She hastily walked into her room and locked it before breaking down in tears and leaning on the door. Mrs. Anderson walked, stumbling on her feet, toward the far corner of her room and curled like a ball, clutching her knees close to her chest. She bit her lips, trying not to make any noise as she wept out her heart.

One could never predict what the other might be going through, even though they might be inseparably close. You would never know unless you were in their pair of shoes.

Given that Mrs. Anderson was a single mother, she had to endure all the insults, all the harsh words, and all the ill-treatments until she came into Hazelwood. A lovely village with decent people who minded their own business but cared for and treated neighbors very kindly. Just the way Mrs. Anderson wished for it. It's been seven years since she moved to this village.

People welcomed her and her daughter warmly. Not once did they hesitate to help her when she was in need. Mrs. Anderson felt safe in the village. No threat had befallen her so far, and she wished for it even in the future.

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Chapter dedication: @Rea_Rea314 ʕ⁠っ⁠•⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠ʔ⁠っ

•Thank you so much for the Golden Ticket, dear @Rea_Rea314. I feel quite a lot more motivated by your Golden Ticket sent to Hunting Down The Last Elf (mwah)

• I hope you'd love this chapter

~Thank you~

_________________

Guess what? It's 6th Golden Ticket of this month and I'm more than content about it (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡ Love you guys a lot ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡