Chapter 26 :Memory
A single tear slips down William's cheek, and before he can wipe it away, Aunt Gretchen steps forward and pulls him into a fierce, crushing embrace. The stoic, unreadable mask she wore all morning completely shatters. Her shoulders tremble, and a soft, choked sob escapes her as she buries her face into his hair.
William hugs her back just as tightly, burying his face into her shoulder. The sheer weight of leaving home crashes over him, and he lets his own tears fall freely, his chest heaving with silent sobs.
“You be careful in this city, William,” Gretchen whispers, her voice thick with emotion as she pulls back just enough to look at him. She cups his face with her rough, calloused hands, her eyes red and swimming with tears. “Don't go looking for trouble, and don't trust every smiling face you see. Eat properly. If that apothecary doesn't feed you, you come right back home, do you hear me?”
William nods quickly, unable to speak through the lump in his throat. “I will, Aunty. I promise.”
Uncle Rob steps up beside them, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. He reaches out and pats William firmly on the back, his heavy hand a warm, grounding weight.
“Wipe those eyes,” Rob says, offering a comforting, watery smile. “It’s not forever. Our merchant caravan will pass through Arindale once every month to trade goods. We will be coming by the apothecary to check on you every single trip. You won't even have time to miss us before we're knocking on Trojjan's door again.”
Hearing that they will be visiting Arindale every month makes the crushing weight in William's chest lift just a little. He wipes his face with his sleeve and takes a deep breath, looking at the two people who raised him.
After crying for a few minutes, William and Gretchen finally release each other from the tight embrace. Gretchen wipes her damp cheeks, her hands trembling slightly as she reaches into her cloak. She takes William's hand and presses a small, worn object into his palm.
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“This belonged to your father and mother,” Gretchen says, her voice catching as she gently folds his fingers over the cool metal. “Your father gifted this locket to your mother on their wedding day. I want you to keep it with you. Always.”
William opens his palm and looks down at the locket. The silver is scratched from years of wear, but as he flips it over, his heart skips a beat. Engraved on the back in elegant, fading script are two names: the names of his mother and father. Cedric and Rina
As his thumb traces the smooth grooves of the lettering, a sudden, vivid memory from his early childhood breaks through his mind like a flash of light.
“Mom, why did you marry dad?” a younger William asks, tilting his head in genuine curiosity.
“Oh, why indeed,” Rina says with a coquettish laugh, shooting a playful, teasing look toward her husband.
Cedric rubs the back of his neck, looking thoroughly embarrassed by the question.
“Well, the reason I married your dad was so I could meet you,” Rina says, booping William on the nose.
“Really, Mom?”
“Yes! Otherwise, why would your beautiful mom marry someone as rough as your dad?” she jokes, pulling the boy into a warm hug. “I only married him so I could get you, my sweet, adorable William.”
In the memory, William turns to give a smug, triumphant look to his father. Cedric just chuckles, offering his son a genuine, adoring smile.
The bittersweet memory reminds William of how much he has already lost. As he looks at his aunt and uncle, a silent determination rises in his heart to never lose anyone else close to him again.
His thoughts are cut short by Gretchen’s soft sobbing and Uncle Rob’s gentle voice. “We have to tell the children about this too,” Rob says quietly, looking toward the city gates. “I don't know how they will react to him staying behind.”
Gretchen takes a shuddering breath, wiping her own tears before reaching out to gently brush away the remaining moisture on William's cheeks. “We can't cry in front of them. Right, William?”
William nods his head in firm approval, forcing a brave smile for her.