Chương 23: 23. Father and son talk.

The day was slowly fading away, and the night was gradually crawling up in its place. The full moon had risen in the sky, and the stars were starting to show.

Bats were out and about the place, and owls had taken over as watchmen of the night. The mockingbirds were drawn by the beauty and magnificence of the enamoring moon, and their songs echoed in the air.

The killdeer birds going around, looking for little insects to feed on. Somewhere in the same woods were little squirrels scavenging for leaves and tree barks to eat, and another place was possums searching for insects and snails to fill its stomach.

And as they searched for their food, the foxes were also hunting for something to eat. It was a circle of life all around the place.

And at the centre of that circle sat an onion-shaped cottage, and inside that cottage, was a lit-up fireplace. The crackling sound of fire eating up the woods resounded in the house.

IN front of the fire, side-by-side, Reuel and his father, Ligo Caddel sat. A cup of beer was in both their hands as they stared at the burning embers with a clear mind.

Helfer sat on the floor, very close to the fire, and Reuel could swear that the lizard was glaring at his father, but it was nothing new. This look on his face.

"That big guy still doesn't like me, after all these years." Ligo laughs, pointing at Helfer who nods its head as if to say Ligo's words were true.

"I hope you still keep to our three rules," Ligo suddenly says.

"Never let my anger rule over my judgments. Never fight for what isn't mine. Never be obsessed with anything." He lazily turns to look at his father. "I'm not a little kid anymore dad, I know what's right from wrong." He chuckles.

"That's true. So tell me, son, still haven't found the woman for you?"

"The question should be, `still not searching for the woman for me?`" Reuel counters, taking a sip of his cold beer. "Because I've not been searching."

*urgh!* Ligo lets out a long sigh as he sips from his cup too. "So there's no one in your life now? I should not be expecting a grandchild soon?" Ligo raises his brows tauntingly, but the unchanging look on his son's face was more than enough answer for the man.

"So this current girl is not the one either? I was hoping she was special, seeing that you broke one of our rules. You let anger cloud your judgment." Reuel turns to look at his father, confusion written all over his face as he wondered what his father was talking about this time. "Oh, don't look at me like that," he waves a palm, dismissing the look off his son's face.

"I mean, I've not seen you engage in a fight personally before, you beat up a guy and it's for a woman, so don't blame me for thinking that she is something special to you."

Reuel's mouth fell open as he listened to every word his father spoke, how in the world did his father know about his actions?

"How did you...?"

"Magic," Ligo says, playfully moving his fingers back and forth in front of Reuel's face.

"Magic my foot!" Reuel hisses, taking another gulp of his beer.

"You know, there was a time when you really believed in magic. And you were always wowed every time I did a trick and told you it was magic." Ligo reminisces. Looking into his cup of beer as if it was a mirror from which he could see those memories that he talked about.

"That's because I used to be stupid. Every child is stupid to believe in magic, but I quickly grew up to realize magic isn't real." His voice didn't show it, but you could see the slight look of disappointment on his face. Almost as if he wished it to be real.

"Oh, my dear Roo... I always tell you, you need faith. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not real. Sometimes you have to have blind belief in something to see the manifestation."

Reuel slowly turns his head to look at his father, the man had his way with words. He turns his head to face the crackling fire once again as he gulps down more beer.

"There is magic in everything, but remember, it is Faith before Feel. You can't feel it if you don't believe it. When you have the faith and belief that magic is real, trust me, son, you will see wonders." He cheerfully raises his beer cup and Reuel lets out a dry laugh as he bumps his glass with Ligo's.

As soon as he gulps down the beer, his brows went higher, and he turned his gaze to his father as he just remembered something.

"You changed the subject. How did you know about that? Did you have someone reporting to you about my business?"

"Ah-ha! I also almost forgot. Tell me about this new silver-haired lady of yours, since she was able to bring out your dark side, I don't think she's nothing special."

Reuel's eyes dilated, "They even told you her hair color?" the man asked in shock. "Who is it? Is it someone who works for me?" his eyes grow wider at the thought of someone in particular. "Don't tell me it's Gary!!"

"Oh please, I already told you, it's magic. I'm not telling you anything more than that. Now tell me about Erina Barret!" At the mention of her name, Reuel felt something weird happen inside of him. Something he couldn't explain, and pictures of her face flashed in front of his eyes, causing him to wave at empty air, trying to clear the view of her from his mind.

"She's nothing special..." He simply says, but then he starts.

"Well, I do plan on breaking up with her in about three months, but since you asked, I'll just tell you about her. It's not like she's not special, she's just not special to me, I only feel pity for her. She's definitely different, I mean she really is. The way she talks, the way she walks, down to the way she blushes. She's a whole new thing, that girl."

He didn't want to show it, he tried to hide it, tried to deny it, but Ligo could see it, the curve at the end of his lip, that little warm smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Ligo could see his finger that leisurely drew circles round and round his glass of beer.

He could see that glint in his malachite green eyes, and the man could tell that even though his son still refused to agree, the woman was indeed special. And Ligo was grateful for this. Because he knew, she had to be that special one for him.

Now all he hoped for was that Reuel realizes this soon.

"She sounds like a decent girl, I think you finally found your own fated fairy like you prayed for." Ligo says, and Reuel looks at the man like he was spitting rubbish.

"Don't you remember?" Ligo asks with widely opened eyes, "have you forgotten?" he asks again, and Reuel clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

"I can't believe you forgot." Ligo lifts his hands, dramatically letting them fall on his lap again.

"Remember the time when you were little, and you still believed in magic, and I still used to read you bedtime stories," Reuel nods knowingly, so the man continues. "Stories about special fairies, and after every story, you'd pray for a fairy of your own. You really don't remember?" The man asks once more, and Reuel's expression was the same.

"I do remember the stories, but I don't remember ever making such prayers." Reuel simply states.

"Urgh!! Children." The man lets out a loud sigh. "They always remember the less important things and forget the crucial ones." He says.

"I don't know about any prayers, but I know she's not my fate. She's going to be another girl in my past very soon."

"Will she? You mercilessly beat up people for a woman who doesn't mean anything to you?"

"There was a plausible reason for that, I assure you. Not because she was special, just that those people needed some serious education."

Ligo just quietly stares at his son, there was clearly no way of washing this mentality out of his head. There was no bringing him out of this delusional thought. He'll probably soon come to realize that what he feels for the lady was never pity as he claims.

Now, all Ligo could hope and pray for was that he realizes this sooner, before it was too late. That she is his fate.

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