PROLOGUE
The Note: All the characters and plots in this story are fictional and not related to the history of any locations mentioned.
Third person's POV
The month of heavy downpour, the first shower of rain. When the clouds gathered, she found her soul to stir, as she witnesses the air being the carrier of glad tidings. She sighs "I miss rain. What bliss it was if would right now." It is when the amazing aroma of petrichor hits her sense of smell. Faint voices of kids due to the heavy sound of rain can be heard yelling with delight It's raaaining! She jumps up from the hanging swing chair in her bedroom, throwing the book she was reading on the bed. "Did someone just say raining?" She pokes her head out of the window with curiosity and her brows furrowed. Her eyes widen and the space between her brows increase as the God had just listened to her. Grinning in elation, she runs out her huge house's lawn to welcome the sky's tears, which bring the goodness that gives life to the earth. She is a biophile. She loves the rain. She loves how it arrives to quench the thirst of Flora, bringing deep puddles into which children splash.
She gasps when the drizzle turns in a heavy rain, hand-gesturing the guards to open the gates. Just when they do, six tiny looking kiddiewinks run in, like caged birds set free to which she chuckles. She loved the weather which cleanses everything anew and brings happiness to every starver. There she goes, dancing with the kids, quarter to her height, in the heavy shower, while her Raven black, hip-lengthed hair freely sway, enthralling the rain, the rain which chooses to drench them completely. The water droplets cover her whole, hugging her and revealing her perfect curvy figure. She is a symbol of beauty, one of a kind. She jumps with the kids, having no care in the world. Lifting up a little red-headed girl, she spins bare feet and the little girl giggles throwing her head back in the air. Putting the rugrat down, She twirls, in her now soaked, below knee-lengthed white Valentino attire, least concerned about ruining the expensive dress, facing the sky to enjoy the drops kissing her skin with her eyes shut. She tries listening to the torrential sounds of rain and her surroundings but much to her dismay, an angry voice as an additive sound she hears,
"Azure! For gods sake! Come in! Right Now!"
It is when she flashes her eyes, revealing her most beautiful, light-azure coloured eyes, happiness clearly evident due to pour but with a tint of pain as she has been ordered to get in the house. She admires the sky that sends good luck to her, glancing it for the last time before she replies.
"Coming mom!"
She runs to her house but not before bidding adieu to her little friends whose faces are now painted sad, knowing it's the time for their best friend to depart. The red-headed girl comes forth, tugging her tiny hand to the hem of Azure's soaked dress, giving it a pull enough to make her stop in tracks. She turns around to see an unhappy little kid looking at her through her green baby eyes. Her plump lips now turning red due to the cold winds quirk up in a smile gazing at the adorable minor in front of her. She bends down, lifting her dress in folds, enough to meet the height of the little one.
Azure squeezes the cheeks of tiny rugrat, "Little Marina bambino, unfortunately, I have to go right now." She mothereses. Glimpsing Marina's face fall, she immediately resumes, "That doesn't mean we can't have fun today," The kid's face immediately turns up. Hearing this, all the kids turn to Azure, surrounding her.
She whispers while gazing at all of them, "Remember the whistle tonight." They all do a team fist bump, accompanied with cheerful yesses. She looks at them giggling and stops at Marina continuing, "Now, now. You wouldn't probably want a 19-year-old whipped or caned by their mother, do you?" To which Martha and the other little ones nod their head in a no. A blondie little girl pats Azure's shoulder,
"It's okay Zuri, la mia sorella (my sister), " capturing her attention and making her smile. Another dirty-blonde-haired little rugrat steps forward, speaking furiously in his adorable baby voice, "I will protect you!", making Azure chuckle. " Thank you, la mia sorellina, Noemi (Thank you, my little sister, Noemi)". She bows a little "And thank you my little protector but my mom isn't really gonna do that Leo." She says between giggling. That was supposed to be a joke after all. Seems they're too young to get it. She internally sighed.
"Azure! Here in 10 seconds!" Comes the desperate voice again.
"Almost there!" She calls out and stands up but not before tapping the side of Marina's nose with her index finger playfully, causing her to titter.
She gets in the house only to be met with her mother's wrath."What language would you like to hear to understand your mother and obey??"Asks her mother in an angry tone, having her hands by hips.
"But mom, you know how much I love rain" She answers, eyes never leaving her toes, playing with the tips of her index fingers to which her mother chuckles.
"Honey, nothing is more prior to your health. I've told you countless times, you will get sick and catch a cold and you know how much worried I'm for you."She speaks this time in a softer tone.
"I know mom, you love me a lot but you don't have to be worried so much as I never get sick with rain. It does never harm me, plus other mothers send their children to play out as well and they are a lot younger than me." Says Azure, pouting as she has her arms crossed on her chest making her mother's lips form a smile at her childishness. When is this lass gonna grow up? Her mother thought.
"They don't care so much as they don't have you, princess. You mean the world to me. Now go and change. I don't want your dress's pitter-patter on the floor, nor you sneezing and unwell." Saying, her mother gets back to the work she was doing. Azure lifts her dress a little and tiptoes to her room after giving her mother a peck on her cheek leaving her smiling. She changes into a warm black tee and grey pj's as it compliments her white skin and light-azure eyes. Tying her hair in a messy bun, she comes downstairs to dine with her mother. She smells the most amazing smell in the world floating in the air from the kitchen. It's her favourite dinner, tomato flavoured Fettucine and pancakes. She takes her mother as the best cook in the entire world who fills love in every dish, which is also the reason why they haven't appointed a cook but have a maid or a house-keeper for every other house chore. She stops in the kitchen to hug her mother from behind, resting her chin on her mommy's shoulder. Noticing which, her mother grins and places her right palm on Azure's right cheek, lightly patting it. She helps her mother set the table and devours the food while her mother is the first one to speak on the dinner table.
"I wanted to inform you that we're going to your father's place as you had always wanted to study your Bachelor's degree in mathematics in France. Now that you're done with graduation we'll be moving in with your father."
Azure's eyes widen as she was more than happy to hear her mother's words that she has always awaited to live with family. Her father has lived in Allier, Aureign located in France, very close to the forest of Tronçais, which Azure loved as she has forever been a nature lover but hadn't had a chance to explore it as she used to live away for the best school her father had chosen for her. Her father, James had a business which he couldn't leave back and come to stay with them so he chose to stay back while her mother, Lina, visited her husband once in two weeks. "When are we leaving?" She couldn't help but ask.
"Tomorrow," Lina replies casually, sipping on her tea.
"Whaaat?" Azure's mouth opens wide. "You're telling me that now?"
"Since you've asked, yes" Her mommy responses in a chuckle.
"Mom, it's not funny. There's so much I have to pack. We're going to reside there for a while aren't we?"
"Stop freaking out my little pumpkin, you're forgetting you've maids to do the packing for you and no we're not residing there for a while, but forever."
"Forever?" She gasps and her mother nods. "What about in here?"
"We can keep this house for a stay place whenever we visit Italy." Lina shrugs.
Realisation dawns upon Azure. As much as she's happy about going to her hometown, she's sad about leaving her little best friends back here. She stands up, walking out of the house and stops by the small gate in the lawn behind the house. Unlocking the gate, she let's out a whistle.
As soon as the kids hear it, they jump from their beds. "Did you hear it?" Asks brown-skinned one of the kids. "Yes, I did" Answers Noemi. "She whistled!" Screams Marina. "What are we waiting for?!" The black-headed twin kids ask in unison. "Let's go!" Jumps Leo. One by one, all the kids sneak in from the back door Azure had opened for them.
She motions for them all to sit when they finally reach their meeting place, which is a huge tent in the backyard of the lawn. All the six of them abide by her and sit in their usual places. Azure starts pacing around in the tent, anxious about how to break the bomb on the kids as they may not take it well. They're too young after all. Hardly six. The kids furrow their brows when she talks to herself, still pacing.
"Why does it seem you're a carrier of bad news tonight?" Asks Leo, making her stop and head turn to them. She gives them a nervous smile, examining their befuddled, adorable faces. Leo, the dirty-blonde haired, grey-eyed little munchkin. Marina, the red-haired, green-eyed beauty. Noemi, the blonde-head, blue eyes. Then there are black-headed, wheatish-skinned, brown-eyed twins, Franco and Marco. Lastly, there is the brown-skinned, black-headed chap, Antonio. She opens her mouth to say something in spite of the lack of words. All of their eyes flash with uncertainty about what she is going to say but she shuts her mouth instantly.
Leo, Marina, Noemi, Marco, Franco and Antonio are all orphans. No one knows that except Azure. She made sure none did. Azure had found Marina as a baby, once on her way to school. As the soft heart she is, she wanted to help. She made her guards find more kids and let them have foster homes nearby. Being rich has its own perks after all. Since then she played with them, visited them and tried to fulfil their needs if any, using her pocket money. She didn't need much of money after all.
Sighing she sits down. "I'm about to tell you a story." She speaks.
"What story?" Asks Noemi, capturing the attention of all kids as they look at her and then back at Azure.
"So here we go." The kids gather together and nearer and Marina sits in Azure's lap. Marco and Franco get the cushions from the corner of the tent and the kids lie on them, with Marco and Franco on one and Noemi and Leonardo on the other, while Antonio rests his head on the other side of Azure's lap. She moves her hand through his hair with continuing,
"Once was a swan, happy and chirping. She lived in a town in France. But one day, she had to move to Italy to spend the rest of her school life. She was sad. She had to leave her hometown, her grandparents, her father and her home to leave for studies with her mother. There she met six cutest little ducklings. She loved them. She forgot, she had to move back to France, once her studies are over." Azure sighed. "Then?" Asked Marco. "When she realised, it was too hard to accept the reality but she had to." She sighs. "She missed her family too."
"That is sad." Replied Leonardo. "Did she ever see them again?" Asked the curious red-head.
"Of course she did. She face-timed them every day and visited them every month as well."
The kids were happy by the end of the tale, listening to every detail with enthusiasm and asked questions every now and then.
"Moral of the fable was...?" She asked them in amusement.
"Keep in touch with friends?" Asked Franco.
"Hmm...Partially. Any more tries?" She asked again, wiggling her eyebrows and a smile planted on her lips.
"To be born in Italy and not France?" Leonardo asks, making Azure burst in laughter.
"No Leo." She asks still trying to control her laughter.
"The moral is...We don't have to be disheartened at the parting of any friend. We can always meet them or talk to them." She explains them tenderly to which all of them nod.
"Are ya'll going to do that?" She interrogates.
"What do you mean?" Marina inquires, turning everyone's focus to Azure again.
"What I mean is...You all aren't gonna be sad when a friend leaves." She sighs "Even if that friend is me." Their eyes widen till she almost believes they're gonna fall off their sockets.
"What!?" They call out in unison. "Why?" They ask further.
"The reason same as the swan." She replies looking down. She had expected the otherwise but to her surprise, they jump on her, engulfing her in a suffocating tight hug. She stays quiet hugging them back but pulls back when she hears silent sobs and whimpers.
"Hey...shhh" She tries soothing them, caressing their backs. "Remember the moral? After all, we could video every day and I'd come to meet you every month or even sooner." Trying to calm them down, a tear escapes her own eye, overwhelmed by their affection for her and her fondness for them. "When do you leave?" Antonio is the first one to raise a question.
"Tomorrow." They gasp hearing her.
"Tomorrow? That's shortly." Noemi sobs.
"Well hello! If we're done with the melodrama, I've to remind, we have lesser time." Saying, she starts tickling them, making them roll in spellbinding fits of laughter.
When they're gone, Azure sleeps happily yet a little sad reminiscing her mother's words and the kids, visualizing about her new beginning in Allier. Totally unaware of what was coming ahead of her. The combo of her past and future striking as her journey begins with her return to Allier for her purpose in the world.
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~✒ Thanks for reading. It's my first book. Hope to become better day by day.Comment on how you've liked it so far.
