Chapter 383 - 375. Together
"Mother, are you going to keep holding onto that?" Hana looked back worriedly at her mother in the back seat, who persistently hugged the box containing the blue urn against her chest.
"Yes," the retired guide answered without hesitation.
Ria and Sherri had been holding onto it throughout the journey, although the esper who came to pick them up had offered to secure the box to one of the seats with cords. But no; Ria knew she wouldn’t be able to visit Lucia after this--at least not as often--so this journey felt like a farewell.
When Zein called them yesterday morning and asked them to bring Lucia’s ash over, they had no hesitation in agreeing. The moment Zein found them, they knew the right over Lucia’s remains belonged to Zein, and if the son wanted them to bring his mother’s ash over, it was the least they could do.
So, when Zein sent over an esper and a comfortable car to pick them up--and not just the ash--they were eager to comply, and willing to make the journey right away, even if they had to travel all night. Due to the strains of traveling with a car, however, the esper accompanying them, Fianna, insisted that they take a rest in a hotel halfway there. It was the young master’s order, the esper said, and so the two retired guides couldn’t help but accept it.
Still, despite their eagerness to fulfill Zein’s wish, the closer they got to their destination, the heavier their hearts felt. Knowing that they wouldn’t be able to visit Lucia every other month like before, and knowing that they would have to travel far if they wanted to do it...
And that was why the both of them had been carrying the box religiously. They didn’t even know if they would have another chance to visit Lucia again in the future, so this might be their last. If that were to be so, then they would rather have a sore thigh and arm than a broken heart.
As the car passed through the gate’s checkpoint, their heartbeats quickened significantly. But it wasn’t even because it would be their first time entering a green zone. It was because they would meet Zein soon, and right after, they would have parted ways with their little sister.
But their nervousness turned into confusion when the gate’s guards led the car to the side--a different way from the one used by civilians. Fianna, however, told them not to worry. She drove the car slowly, and stopped beside two espers in black suites, who proceeded to talk to her quietly through the window.
"Would you be alright to continue heading to where Young Master is?" Fianna asked the three ladies with a gentle smile on her lips. "Or would you like to stop and take a rest first?"
"It’s alright, Miss. We shouldn’t let him wait too long," Sherri replied politely.