SWNOVELXO CHAPTER 101 - Mira’s World.
A while ago.
The morning sun bathed the city in a golden glow, and the air was refreshingly cool. Mira, however, stood blankly at the door of the mansion, waiting for Alex to come back.
'I don't like... this feeling...' Thought Mira as she found her world turning gray again, returning the tasteless feeling.
It happened every time she was away from Alex, and although she was used to it by now, she didn't like it at all. She didn't even know that she had involuntarily clenched her soft fists.
'Why did my... parents... leave me?' A question appeared in her head—one that she always ponders about as it keeps repeating in her head when she looks around the world. Mira wasn't even aware that every child had a mother and father until a while ago. Who would tell an orphan that she was the only one without parents?
It was in the academy that someone—a girl who seemed royal—taunted Mira about being parentless that Mira realized it. No, she didn't even realize it by then. It would be more precise to say that those words were something that made her realize the truth.
After all, Mira had heard many people talking about it for a while. Wherever she passed through, she would hear them talking about what parentless meant. She had gone to the academy just for a single day, yet she had heard the word parentless more than magic.
But even so, she didn't feel anything. She felt it was useless to even look at them, but right now, as she had just met Alex, a hollow feeling after being separated filled her heart, and question after question came to her head.
Mira knew that after meeting Alex today, her next day was going to be the worst day—it happened every time. She would feel like she was living a life when she was close to Alex—it's like she's the only one who's happy. But after Alex is gone, the hollowness returns, making her doubt her life.
The longer she stays with Alex, the longer and worse the following period of hollowness will be, yet she desires more time with Alex.
'One full day...' She muttered inwardly, her face still blank as ever, but the subtle quivering of her eyes betrayed her excitement.
That colorful world that Mira could see with Alex by her side was something she could kill for.
After all, for as long as she could remember, she saw nothing but a dull gray world moving monotonously without her being a part of it, but with Alex, she finally felt that she was part of that world.
Kiiieeee!!
It was then that she heard a screech, making her turn toward it, only to see a small dot of black closing into her. Mira, however, remained still, quietly staring at the dot as it grew larger. But as it grew bigger, Mira's eyes flashed as she saw what it was.
The beast in front of her was, unlike the gray world, colored in black, and multiple star symbols shone on its feathers. It was a large and majestic owl, and the first thought that came to her mind was: 'Alex?'
Only Alex was capable of bringing color into her life, so with a flash, she recalled that this beast was the one Alex had used to travel from the colosseum to the mansion on the day of the election competition.
Mira already knew that anything related—closely related, to be precise—to Alex looked colorful to her. Vanessa and James were the prime examples, so it was easy to make out that the owl was related as well.
'Nyxia...' She recalled the name Alex used to call the owl, and although others would be scared to even stand close to the large owl as it stared down at them, she wasn't. She never feared anything, not even death.
Mira's life was that of a bottom feeder before Vanessa picked her up, and although people pitied her and tried not to be harsh with her, the fact that she could be killed the moment she confronted someone stronger than she still remained.
It is said that weak people learn how to stay low, but Mira didn't. In her whole life, she never felt anything, but she never bowed to anyone as well—until she met Vanessa, of course. So how could she fear a beast that was clearly bowing its head and asking for pats?
Yes, Nyxia was the one who took the initiative to bend down a bit as she was the one who was looking for someone to play with, and Mira, who was standing alone in the garden, became her target. Especially because Nyxia knew that Mira was not an enemy, as she was told about that by Alex, and she had seen Mira living in the mansion.
'Ah...' Mira, on the other hand, had her body, which had tensed on its own, relax the moment she touched Nyxia's soft feathers. 'It's... warm,' she thought as she could smell Alex's scent from Nyxia.
Mira started to imagine Alex standing beside her, patting Nyxia along with her, and she absentmindedly kept doing it, failing to notice Alex, who was approaching her with a smile.
"Shall we?" It was only when she heard Alex's voice that she turned around along with Nyxia, and although it looked like she wasn't surprised like always, her quivering pupils gave her away... again.
Mira was never the same around Alex after all. Whenever he came into the equation, she would start feeling emotions, even though it had never happened before.
But as she stared at his extended hand, offering her to hold it, she hesitated for a second, wondering if she should do it or not, as this would be the first time she held Alex's hands, and she didn't want to get addicted to this as well.
Both of them failed to notice Vanessa, who, out of bed, was now staring down at them from the window of the room she was supposed to be sleeping in.
She kept staring at them as Alex told Nyxia to drop them off at the fifth peak before both Alex and Mira jumped on the owl's back with their hands held.
'A date...' Mira had told her about it, and Vanessa herself was sure that one day Alex would take girls on dates and enjoy his life. Every child grows up, and when they do, their parents can't do anything to stop them, but looking at it happening right now made her feel strange.
Vanessa couldn't tell what this feeling was, as it was new to her, but it was strange.
Letting that feeling remain, she saw how Nyxia flew off. She jumped into the bed and covered herself with the blanket, clutching it tightly as it felt warmer than before. "Alex..." She muttered as she recalled how Alex used to always run away from her with fear in his eyes whenever he saw her—those were the most painful times for her.
Now, when he was finally showing his love to her, telling her that he cared for her, she couldn't believe that he was going to drift away from her again.
However, she also knew that there was nothing she could do about it. She would never stop him no matter what he did, so she just closed her eyes and tried to sleep, feeling the warmth of the blanket. Experience more content on empire