Zeick heard the sounds, and listened as his mother walked around in response. He only paid attention for a moment, for he was far more interested in the book he had, his entertainment after a long day. And it was probably just an official or some noble with some message or want of Tralfor, the man he still voluntarily decided to call father.
“Zeick, it’s for you,” Areka called out. Zeick closed the book and jumped out of his seat, to see who could be calling for him so late at night, a very short while before Zeick usually went to sleep.
Areka quickly said, “Don’t make it a habit of having friends over so late,” and then she retired to the master bedroom. Zeick said a word of acknowledgement, and then made his way to the door.
It was a sight he was unprepared for. He’d often use silly expressions to describe his thoughts and feelings, but it’s the first time one of them came true. He was so surprised that he felt weak in the knees, and then he fell to the floor, pale white with fright.
“You,” was all Zeick could say, the shock overwhelming him.
“Zeick,” Va’il said, looking tired and overwhelmed himself.
“You’re alive!”
“I am. It’s good to see you too. Shall I lower myself to your level, and we can continue this on the ground?” Va’il asked, forcing a false grin.
“Uh, uh, no, no, come in. I’ll, uh, oh my,” Zeick said. He then slapped his legs once, and then forced himself to stand. “Come in.”
“Thanks.” Va’il entered the house, and Zeick led him through it, up the stairs and into a room filled with all the things Zeick used, books and clothes and various papers, along with a certain suit on a wooden dummy in the corner. There was a table and some chairs, and Zeick sat Va’il at one of them. He left for another couple minutes to get something to eat and drink, and returned with milk, crackers, and some other small assorted snacks.
“You play a decent host, nowadays,” Va’il said.
“Leave the joking to me. Where in the world do I begin? You can’t just come strolling in casually!” Zeick said.
“Should I stroll in awkwardly?” Va’il asked.
“Yes! I mean, no. I mean, oh my goodness, Va’il, you’re alive!” Zeick said, finally smiling as the truth fully sunk in.
“Yes. And it’s good to see you too Zeick. It’s good that you’re still here,” Va’il said, and then looked down a bit.
“When did you get back? Where were you? What happened? Is it true Ruby left with you? Why didn’t you tell us? What went on?” Zeick asked all the questions in a very short span of time with one great breath.
“Earlier today. As for the rest, they’ll have to wait. Zeick, what happened? Where’s Mum? Where’s Kelin?” Va’il asked.
“Your mother? Oh, that’s right… but Kelin, what do you mean?”
“You know about Mum? Where is she?” Va’il asked, his intensity growing.
“Hold on. No, I don’t know. You’d have better luck asking Kelin, but he didn’t know either,” Zeick said.
“I came home, knocked on my door, and someone else, some other family, was living there! I double-checked, it was the right place! They said they’ve been there for months! Mum’s gone! She’s gone Zeick! All that time and effort, but she’s gone! And I’d thought of Kelin too, but he’s gone too!” Va’il said.
“No, no he isn’t. Ah, I see what’s going on. Okay, Va’il, here’s all I know. First, Kelin is the one who found out your mother was gone. I think it was soon after you left, she disappeared. He looked around the city for a while, but never did find her, or what happened to her. That’s as far as I know. As for where Kelin is, I think I know. We never did go to his place anyways, it was always Pete’s or your place or somewhere else. Well, I think I remember right. He moved some time ago. It was probably some time even when you were here. He’s in the first district now, has been for a while,” Zeick said. Va’il’s appearance still fluctuated through the explanation, from the anxiety about his mother to the relief about Kelin.
“First district? With all the nobles?” Va’il asked.
“He’s a noble too, you know. I guess I am as well, though my status isn’t near his or the others,” Zeick said.
“Even still, that’s kind of surprising. Just what does his family do?” Va’il asked.
“I don’t know, he doesn’t talk about it. Well, are you calmed now?” Zeick asked.
“Somewhat. So Mum left, did she? I wonder why,” Va’il said.
“Cause you left, of course,” Zeick replied.
“Well, yeah. But still, it’s strange. Where did she go? Will she come back? I need to find her,” Va’il said. His eyes watered a bit, but he resisted the urge to go any further.
“Well, not now. And who knows how you’d find her. Kelin spent a long time when he first discovered she was gone trying to find out, but she didn’t leave any hints. Just vanished,” Zeick said.
“I wonder. No, it couldn’t be. Maybe. Zeick, I’ll explain more soon, but there’s something you should know. I didn’t leave willingly. Ruby and I were kind of kidnapped. I wonder if something similar happened to Mum,” Va’il said.
“You were what? Oh wow. Oh, uh, right. No, you’d have to ask Kelin, but that didn’t seem to be it, from what he could tell. Otherwise your house would’ve been different. Nothing was messed up, and the things that were missing, it seemed like they were taken by your mom. He assumed she left willingly, but couldn’t figure out anything more. Or why. Or where. Where could your mom go, anyways?” Zeick asked.
“I don’t know why she’d leave or where she would go. We’ve always been here, this is home,” Va’il said.
“It’s home, yeah. Well, what did your mom ever tell you about herself before you were born?” Zeick asked.
“Before? I, I don’t know. I don’t know about Mum before she was Mum,” Va’il said.
“Va’il, whatever the answer is, I don’t know. I’m not good at thinking like this. You coming back, being serious, telling me you were kidnapped, it’s crazy. Well, I’d used to think this kind of stuff is crazy, but then again, strange things do happen,” Zeick said while looking around, thinking about something else.
“Well, thanks Zeick. I guess it’s a good thing Kelin moved. Otherwise I wouldn’t have come to your place, I think,” Va’il said, and then grinned.
“Oh, so I’m not your first choice, I understand. Wait, you came to me instead of Pete? Oh, I can rub that in his snout!” Zeick said, laughing a bit to himself.
“Pete? Oh, right, I could have. And his place would’ve been closer to Kelin’s old place. I guess I just ran around aimlessly until I discovered I was near your place. But then again, it’s still pretty easy to talk with you about this. Thanks Zeick,” Va’il said.
“No problem. Now, tell me about what’s happened to you,” Zeick said. Internally Zeick felt a bit of happiness that had been missing for a while. Even though it’d been a long time since, he had always felt bad about betraying Va’il in their youth. When they were kids they had all played for a while, before Zeick felt forced to break off their friendship. Knowing that Va’il could come to him nowadays, even if he wasn’t the first on the list, was a relief to him. He knew Va’il looked at him as a real friend, and he could finally let himself fully return that trust and feeling.
“Do you want the full story, or can I summarize it?” Va’il asked with his trickster’s grin.
“What a tease. Well, summarize it tonight. I can hear the full thing another time. Maybe with all the rest later on,” Zeick said.
