The Butterfly Effect

Yllvamel’s cemetery was on the opposite side of town from the estate, meaning there was quite a walk from one to the other. Usually, Eme left early in the morning, so she’d make breakfast for Astyu and be on her way before too many others woke up. This time, though, she was bringing him with her, so they left a little bit later. To make up for it, she tried to take the ways she knew very few people would be on, and never let a conversation get further than “good morning” when she couldn’t avoid it entirely.

Astyu had been to the cemetery with her a few times before, but almost all of them—and certainly all the ones he would’ve remembered—were to visit his grandparents. So the confused look on his expression was quite clear when they only visited the graves in passing, to set down two candles and say their prayers. He was even more confused when, instead of leading him back out, she went to another part of the cemetery.

She went to where Leander’s grave was.

She knelt down at the grave and, after a moment, Astyu mimicked her. She glanced over at him and kindly asked, “Could you pass me that candle you’re holding, dear?”

Astyu nodded and did as she asked. As he watched her gently place it near the headstone, he asked, “Why are we at this one?”

“I’ve brought you here a few times before, when you were very little. Do you remember that?”

He considered it for a moment, then shook his head.

“It was a long time ago. Either way, I… don’t think I ever explained who he was. This was your father. He died shortly before you were born…”

That somber moment, however, was not one that Eme wanted them to maintain. After they lit the candle and did their prayer, calmed by Vriuh’s comfort and the candle’s scent, she was in the mood of reminiscing.

So she once again turned to her son and asked him a simple question: “Would you like to hear a story about him?”

Astyu was much more interested immediately; he was clearly ready to put this quiet mourning behind them, too. Not to mention, he always was a fan of stories—it seemed like she could keep telling him the same one over and over, and he’d still never get bored of it.

Eme considered the best story to tell, and smiled once she had one in mind.

She told him the story in the same way she told the fairytales, partially because that’s what they felt like to her. Those moments… they were perfect glimpses of paradise, the kind of calm nearly everyone would want themselves surrounded in. She did keep parts of it to herself, though; the original reason they started talking to each other, the “projects” they worked on with decreasing frequency as they got to know each other. Astyu didn’t need to know that part.

He was a smart kid, smart enough to see the parallels between anything that she might mention and what she was doing now. He’d be worried. And if he were to know any part about what she was doing, she wanted him to be reassured… to think it was a good thing, or at least one where the risks weren’t quite as obvious.

After a few of the stories, Eme decided that it was time to go. As much as she didn’t want to leave, wondering about the future where they might be reunited, she knew there were other errands they needed to run. Besides, a couple of others were beginning to come, and she always preferred her reminiscing and mourning to be done in complete solitude.

As they left and started towards some other places they needed to go to, Astyu asked, “Do you want to hear a story?”

It took her a moment to realize he’d said anything—still lost in memories—and another for her to nod. “Go ahead, dear. I’m listening.”

Well, that was a partial lie, but it made him happy, and that’s all that mattered.

“Okay! Once upon a time, there were two siblings—a boy and a girl. They lived with their parents in a little cabin in the woods…”

He kept talking, but Eme started to tune out what he was saying. It wasn’t because she wasn’t interested in what he was telling her; of course not, she always enjoyed his stories made up of different elements of fairytales. She just couldn’t stop herself from dwelling on the past, as well as considering what the future might hold for them. It might not be too much longer now. After so many years of research… they might be ready for a major breakthrough.

And Astyu could know for himself what Leander was like, instead of relying on her stories.

Eme was still drawn out of her thoughts by something of Astyu’s doing, though.

“Astyu, remember what we talked about. You can’t use your Illusion magic in public…”

The small illusions stopped all at once, though his expression proved that he didn’t completely understand what she was talking about. He almost always made projections when hearing or telling a story. At home, she made the possible-mistake of encouraging—or at least, not pointing out—his actions. But she had to remind him when they went out that that kind of thing wasn’t polite; she acknowledged after the first couple of times, though, that she was more or less asking him to manage something that was barely in his control.

He was quiet for a couple of moments before he caught sight of familiar faces in the growing crowd. He pointed right at the two of them and said, “Mother, Jasmin and Kiara must be coming to visit.”

Eme saw them as soon as he said it, and she started to walk over to them. It seemed like they might’ve been slowly making their way towards the estate, but she figured it wouldn’t hurt to talk anyway.

“Good morning, you two,” she called to catch their attention. Once she was closer, she asked, “Are you just out for a walk, or were you on your way to the estate?”

Jasmin offered a kind smile. “A little bit of both, actually. We were slowly making our way there—I know you like to run errands on days like these, so I didn’t want us to arrive too early.”

“What did you want to talk about..? Brynn isn’t wandering around here somewhere, is she?”

“No, I simply sent a letter to Brynn to tell her to meet with us at the regular time. And it’s nothing too serious. In truth, we wouldn’t have left this early, either, but we decided we could both use some fresh air.”

Kiara casually corrected, “Rather, Jasmin got a little too nervous to stay in one place.”

“Oh, don’t say that,” Jasmin whispered back. “Poor Eme’s going to think someone died, with the way you put it.”

It was too late for that kind of comment, though. Eme was already worried. “What happened?”

Surprisingly, Astyu didn’t seem very concerned, even if he was in perfect earshot of all of it. He actually seemed more ready to just move this conversation somewhere else, so that they could finish what they needed and head back home. Eme simply decided that was a good thing, though she still didn’t want to mention too much around him.

Jasmin gave a single glance to the boy, then casually remarked, “It’s not too much of an issue. Just a couple of… odd coincidences.”

“Odd coincidences?” All that did was make Eme more nervous. She knew what that most likely meant, and it was nothing good. But that couldn’t be the case, could it? Not after everything they’ve done. Not after how far they’ve gotten, the breakthroughs they certainly made…

“We don’t know anything for certain,” Jasmin added quickly, undoubtedly aware of what Eme was thinking of. “That’s why we wanted to talk with both you and Brynn—with All four of us together, it won’t be heard to piece together the nature of this. Besides, it’s barely something to worry about here, no? We can talk about it more when you’re done running errands. Go walk around town for a little bit longer, spend some time with your son. We can talk once you’re ready.”

“Y-yeah, you’re probably right. Well, you and Kiara know where the spare keys are—go ahead and let yourselves in when you’re ready. You can even get some tea going if you want, or I think there’s still some biscuits in the pantry. I’m going to get more while I’m out so don’t feel bad for finishing them up.”

“We might just take you up on that offer, then. I’ll be sure to make sure there’s enough for all of us when we’re all there to talk.”