Solflare: The Painter's Secret

Chapter 233: What the Blind See

In the skies above Bastion City in Thule, a golden light slowly pushed some of its dark clouds away. The little that remained had particles of the golden light in it, glowed, and blessed the calm night with a new presence that was from one of its nearby countries.

On the streets of Bastion’s highway, yellow leaves drifted across its side and swirled in the air like a stubborn ghost not wanting to rest. They waved through the metal poles holding the highway together and slowly landed inside the Storm Mansion’s iron gate.

At the front of the main black-stone building, water dripping sounds echoed softly like the tears of an angel, as the water from the fountain danced in the air in beads before regrouping into its larger self.

Shadows of the trees stretched across the ground as the moon’s rays and the gleam from the golden particles attached to the clouds fell on the fruitful trees that had grown or were now growing inside the Storm Mansion.

Warm wind flashed on one of the opened windows and entered like a lost soul finally making peace with its home.

Inside, Li Mei sat in her wheelchair in the sitting room, staring in the direction of the wall, as if she could see through the plaster and into the very soul of the house with her blind eyes. Her fingers moved the needle with every passing second, adding length and weight to the mixture of gold and red thread slowly forming a cloth with beautiful patterns appearing every five-inch stretch.

Lily sat on the floor beside her, shifting her gaze to the patterns and how her mother’s fingers moved with ease, without even making a single mistake.

’How is mom doing that?’ she asked in her head as a new pattern finished its shape and joined its siblings.

At the far left, Zoe leaned against the sitting room’s entrance doorframe while constantly shifting glances from the lit screen of her smart mobile to Li Mei’s patterns.

’Why am I not being able to reach him?’ she said in her head and shifted her sad gaze to the main entrance of the building as if awaiting the arrival of someone who had long gone out of the mansion, then sighed. Her expression shifted to awe when she noticed Lily slowly tilting her gaze toward her, then smiled.

Lily sniffed the air three times, then opened her mouth, inhaling and swallowing the sweet fragrance escaping from the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, clicking sounds echoed as Min-seo continuously cut the vegetables into tiny pieces.

She picked up the beef and began slicing it into flat pieces, then stretched both her right arm and the knife to her left. "Min-ji, won’t you take the bowl for me?"

She stood there for a second before her mind clicked when she turned and saw herself talking to shiny bowls as if they had a human soul. "Why do I always forget she left?"

She exhaled once, then swiped the sweat off her forehead, then moved for the plate herself. Min-seo continued preparing the delicious vegetable stew which would be added to the rice that was already cooked and receiving good reviews from afar.

Lily moved forward and began brushing her fingers on the half-finished cloth. "Mom, why do you always make these?"

A smile tore on Li Mei’s lips as she paused and shifted her gaze toward the direction of Lily’s voice. "Your brother needs it."

’Wait, but Leon is in Agatha now; how did she know?’ Lily said in her head as her eyes slowly shifted to Zoe, then back to Li Mei. ’Did she see the message Leon sent to me?’

Lily giggled, then slammed her right palm on her forehead. ’What am I even thinking? Mom can’t see.’

When Li Mei continued weaving, Lily placed her head on her lap. "Mom, tell me a story of dad you haven’t told anyone."

Li Mei’s teeth appeared when she stopped for the second time. Zoe looked at Lily’s small head, then smiled. She pushed herself off the doorframe, then sat opposite Li Mei, as if Lily asked in favor of her.

"What else do you want me to tell you, Lily?" Li Mei said in a soft voice, then giggled. She loosened her grip on the needle in her right hand, then placed it slowly on the left side of her chest, right on top of her heart.

"I want to know how he moved in seasons like this when the clouds turn to have a golden glow on their edges," Lily said as she pushed herself forward and wrapped her arms around Li Mei’s waist.

Zoe’s eyes sharpened for a moment as she shifted her gaze from Lily to the sky, then back to Lily. ’How does she expect Li Mei to know this? Lily stop fooling, you know your mother can’t see. Why this question?’

"Andrew," Li Mei began as she slowly shifted her sightless gaze to the wall, then smiled. "He was as stubborn as your brother."

Lily laughed out loud and snapped her head back when she saw how Zoe had muffled herself but couldn’t contain the laughter.

"Before your father became a warrior everyone feared, he was a man who couldn’t even stand the sight of a wilting flower, let alone a lady."

’Dad, a warrior? This is indeed something mom hasn’t told anyone.’ Lily’s eyes dulled for a second, but caught up with Li Mei’s words. Zoe’s expression shifted from joy to shock, then she began shifting glances at the walls and Li Mei.

"Andrew always used to say that even the hardest paint needs a hand to soften it. If you don’t use it, it just turns into something sharp that can catch fire and burn the world to nothing," Li Mei said and laughed, then coughed.

She slowly lowered her right hand, then lowered her head. "Leon is just like Andrew’s replacement. I bless the day he first cried under my arm after I gave birth to him."

Deep warmth filled the room as Min-seo exited from the kitchen and leaned against the sitting room’s doorframe, listening to Li Mei. As Li Mei’s words continuously flowed in the room, the amber clouds slowly formed a ring above the Storm Mansion, as if responding to a command that wasn’t from earth.

Lily’s eyes fluttered shut as she slumped fully against the side of the wheelchair, falling into sleep’s hands.

Li Mei felt the shift and slowly moved her arm until it found Lily’s face. She stroked through Lily’s hair while humming to the musing of the last day she got a blessing and also a curse: the first time little Leon cried on her lap.