Evening... Like they"ve planned earlier, Levi picks up Madison at the store before sundown. She and Levi took another road, avoiding crossing more people are the best. They"re taking a slow pace, enjoying the moment together and the scenery of old Paris when there are no buildings and establishments yet in the city.
Before she headed home, the store owner gave her a lot of vegetables, fruits, and a few coins for her service of the day. On their way home, they bought spices and bread for supper. Hands are full, Levi been feeling gloominess because he can"t hold Madison"s hand while walking on this lakeside path with beautiful sunset scenery. It supposes to be a date but how you do that when are their hands carrying foods?
"Where a thousand diamonds s.h.i.+ning upon the sunset..." Madison murmurs while gazing at the lake.
"Huh? Is that the poem earlier? I begged you to forget it." Levi sighed. He felt too embarra.s.sed because of his past self. "I cannot imagine how hilarious I was in my past life. I could feel like, I"ll bring this shame to the grave!" Levi shook his head and covered his face.
"Please, don"t tell our future children about this…" Levi pleaded. His eyes are like a cute puppy.
Pfft. Madison giggled, but her heart flutters when Levi mentioned the words their future children. In a sudden, she could see a scene of him playing with their children. It made her teary-eyed glimpsing that scene. Is that her future with Levi? She wants to kiss him, and she cannot wait to marry him after everything going fine. And so, she looks up in the sky and mumbles a silent prayer. She then glanced at the wrapped one more time. She"s thrilled to know what"s inside.
"What is in your hand?" Levi asked, noticing the finely wrapped cloth in her other hand.
"Mama, give it to me." She told Levi happily, "she"s the one who made it. So I am excited to know what it is."
"Hmm... can we even bring that to the future?"
Madison looked at Levi. He is correct. She can"t bring anything in the future, and she can"t burn it once they"re back in the present life. But she wanted to cherish whatever it is, so how she could keep it?
"Hey, Mrs. Girlfriend..."
Levi called out her using his new endearment, and when she looked up, Levi planted a kiss on her forehead. It touched her of his cute gesture, and so when they were entering the woods, Madison took her veil. She walks past, ahead of Levi then stops in front of him.
Puzzled, his eyes gleaming when Madison tiptoeing and planted a kiss on his lips.
Ugh... He badly wanted to grab her waist and hold her chin, but his hand is full. Luckily, Madison initiated the first moves and even prolongs her kiss before she pulls her lips from his.
"And that"s your consolation," she said afterward then walk ahead.
"Eh? No way! That should be my reward!"
Madison giggling and make long steps to tease Levi, let him follow. They were laughing when Quinn saw them arriving at the house.
"You guys, is that our food?"
"Yes, papa!" she replied cheerfully then handed them to Quinn.
"All right, let"s go inside and I will make soup. It looks like, will be colder tonight."
"That sounds tasty, brother Quinn! Hot soup is the best!"
"You will help me."
"Aye, sir!"
Honestly, they can"t have the luxury life like while stuck here in the past. They were just ordinary people; who do not belong to this era and so, they must do something to find food each day… gladly, there is an abandoned house in the woods that has cooking tools they could use. While Madison and Levi away, he would wander into the deepest part of the woods. He found out, he could chop the cut trees into firewood and then sell them in the market.
Inside the abandoned hut, Quinn lit a fire in the small fireplace to give warmth they needed. Levi began was.h.i.+ng the vegetables and peeled them after. Madison just sits on the bench in the table and watching him doing that after he told her to just do nothing since she"s the one who was working for them to have enough food for the day.
"If we don"t travel back in time, I won"t experience this kind of life," Madison stated this like she is daydreaming. Watching the fire, her lips tear with a smile. "I realized, I don"t mind this kind of hards.h.i.+p. If Mama was with us? Everything is already perfect for me."
Levi and Quinn meet their gazes. They cannot agree more to her sentiment. "That"s for sure," said Quinn, then notice the wrapped clothed on the table.
"What is it?"
"Oh, I received this from mama!" happily, she told Quinn about their encounters today. "And then, she came back just to give this."
"Have you checked what"s inside?"
"No. Not yet, Papa. I might cry one more time, so I"ll just open it when coming back here."
She inhales. Full of antic.i.p.ation, her hands trembled. Slowly, she opens the red lace that tied the wraps, and then she unfolds the cloth. To her surprise, she found a face veil inside. It was too beautiful.
Upon tracing the embroidery, the face veil is soft and lovely. Tears already flooded her face. How amazing that she could still cry a barrel tears.
Levi who seated next to her; pulled her head and allowed her to cry more. Quinn who just quietly peering at Madison cry on Levi"s shoulder... even he is touched by Marivella"s gesture.
To think, Madison would just like a stranger and just met a few days ago. She must feel the connection toward Madison. He is sure that Marivella could feel it too, like what he could feel toward Madison.
In this world, they"re living in are things that cannot explain even by science. He has been pondering about it all the time… this strange matter or magic? That drags them to travel time. Then all this strange event they were often facing, everything is unimaginable for an ordinary person"s point of view. Quinn had these thoughts.
Later then, finally, Madison calming down. She picked up the face veil and put it on her face. Staring at her reflection at the small mirror hung on the wall, she carefully tied the face veil at the back of her head. Marivella personalizes it with her embroidery of a beautiful b.u.t.terfly. She turned around to show it to Levi and Quinn.
Froze, Levi dropped his mouth. "Madison!"
"Hey, are you making fun of me?" she"s puzzled the way Levi reacted upon seeing her wearing the face veil Marivella made.
"No. It"s just, reminding me something." Levi fell in deep thought. "The painting in the library!"
"Which painting?" asked Quinn curiously, he began recollecting all the paintings that hung in that room.
"Have you not remember, brother Quinn? The painting in the library? I grew up seeing it around, but not one mention who paint it until recently I learned the truth after Uncle Edward died; butler Pete told me it was one of my ancestors, Doctor Charles. However, no one knows who she is."
Levi strides closer to Madison. He takes off his coat and puts it on her head. "It"s more like this, exactly the one in the painting."
"The face mask truly the same in the painting." Quinn agreed. He completely recalls now, the woman wearing a face veil in the painting. "The embroidery is truly the one in that painting… then this was mean, it was you, Madison."
"Really?" Disbelief, she can"t comment on anything. This only means that the painting is evidence of how the past meets the future in a certain time, and that time is happening… this might be the reason they keep traveling back here.
That even before they were born in the reset life, and everything happens in their present life, the past already meets them.
This also proves that whatever written in the book, should stay in the book. Reset life is necessary, so it will fulfill what happens in the past.
Since in the beginning, THE FUTURE HAS ALREADY ENTANGLED BY THE PAST...
"But why does another mama be kept traveling to us, Papa?" she asked, still confused about this one.
"That is one thing we must find an answer. Why does the Ca.s.sandra in our lifetime keep switching to the one that supposes not existed any longer?"
"There must be a reason why, brother Quinn."
"I just hope, that Lady Isabella has answers to this…" Quinn sighed. He badly wanted to see Ca.s.sandra sooner.
"I am hoping too, Papa. We have to find the people who could tell us why mama is kept going back to that lifetime."
"You are correct, Madison…" This is one of the mystery they must solve sooner.