Be Your Lover Forever (Alicia)

"Aunt Freya? Is that you? You've changed so much!" "Alicia? What brought you here? I've been looking for you all for a long time!" With tears in her eyes, Freya went forward to hold Alicia's hands and said, "Cin and sit with me. We'll talk!" She then attended to the customers who were still inside the store.

"Hi everyone, please excuse us but something cropped up today, so we'll have to close our shop early. You're most welcto cback tomorrow!" "I'm sorry. Thank you for your understanding." After shutting the door, they went to the back to which Alicia discovered that the perfstore was actually two-storeyed with the first floor as the store, while the second floor as a partitioned living space. With only a space of 400 to 500 square feet, there was a bed on one side while the kitchen and washroom on another. While it didn't seem spacious, the place had been tastefully decorated. Inside it was full of women's items. Even the bed seemed to be slightly larger than a single bed.

After a quick study of the place, Alicia found it a little hard to accept.

Obviously, those were all that she owned.

Based on her memory, back then, Aunt Freya was a popular celebrity personal assistant in the industry. She was adept at all kinds of jobs. Whether her relationship with Sebastian had been as uncomplicated as how it looked, her incalone could afford her mansions and branded goods decades ago. How could she be nestling in such a tiny space now? At the very least, she should have a workplace separated from her residence. After working for more than 20 years, couldn't she at least afford an apartment? Or was she broke? Thinking about this, Alicia found it hard to believe! Her family's bankruptcy was due to them being schemed against by someone else. But she recalled that her aunt, as a woman of her time, was rather conservative in her investments. Back then Alicia's father had given her suggestions, but she said she didn't have high hopes of getting high returns from investments, she had always preferred the sense of security from money saving. Even if she had failed in her investments, how could she have ended up in such a state today? With everything visibly spotted with just one single look across the room, Alicia noticed that there was a sizeable and ornate altar with shiny figurines, with the rest of the decorations being plain and simple. Had she been into sNew Age spirituality practices? Or was it be more in tune with the nature of her business? As Alicia's eyes were fixed on the altar, Freya brought out srefreshments and said, "I didn't expect to bump into you here! I don't have anything better to serve you, so I hope you won't mind..." Pouring a glass of warm water enthusiastically, Freya asked, "Ally, have you eaten yet? I still have TV dinners in the refrigerator! Are you hungry?" Alicia caught hold of her hand, but the feel of her bony hand made Alicia feel somewhat sorry for her. She said, "Don't worry about it, Aunt Freya. I've already eaten. Let's sit and talk." "Oh, dear." Sitting beside Alicia, Freya couldn't help but caressed her face and brushed aside her. Freya smiled, with wrinkles appearing on her face.

"You' re all grown up! And still as beautiful as before, no, even better than before! Oh yes, how's Flora and Martin? I've been back for a while actually, but I didn't have the courage to contact you at all. Then I went to Bayton City once because I really miss all of you and I had planned to just look at things from afar, but only to find out that the Blanchard family had been declared bankrupt. The mansion was even seized by the court. I asked around for your family's information but nobody knew where did you all go. Who could've expected that we'd meet here in Casterwich City!" The emotion got Freya teary-eyed.

Likewise, Alicia also felt emotional and summarized what had happened over the past few years to Freya. "... Dad is recovering and still needs to rest. I have a friend who has this nursing habroad, and I didn't want them disturbed. Just recently Mom accompanied him there. Maybe we could've met if we had bumped into you earlier. Anyway, there'll still be chances. When mom and dad are settled down, we could find a tfor a video call session! And let's gather when they return. They'll be so happy to see you." "Thank goodness everyone's fine. It's good that all of you had made it through! I had never expected so many things to happen. It so unpredictable...." As Freya said and got dewy-eyed, Alicia noticed the endless sadness in her eyes, which, at a deeper level, had a tinge of envy and complexity.

Sensing that Freya had been keeping something to herself coupled with her raddled face, Alicia held her arm and clutched her hands tightly.

"How about you, Aunt Freya? Why did you open a perfshop here? I just saw that Uncle Sebastian will be coming to Casterwich City for a concert! Did something happen between the two of you? You look like you've gone through a lot." "It's a long story. We... we have been separated for syears now." Looking above, Freya choked back. There was an obvious surge of emotion as her body tensed. Noticing that Freya clenched her fists and held her tightly as she spoke, Alicia could clearly feel her resentment Just as Alicia was about to say something, Freya released her hand. Alicia then saw her picking up an emerald green rosary- inspired bracelet and saying something like a prayer silently, which subsequently calmed her down.

Alicia looked at her quietly for quite a while, not wanting to disturb her.

When Freya opened her eyes again, she placed the rosary-like bracelet on a plate covered in flannel fabric. It was obvious that she seemed to like it a lot. The beads on the bracelet were in shades of emerald and jade, which looked crystalline. Alicia réckoned that the bracelet must have been used pretty often.

In the end, with her hands clasped, Freya said to Alicia, "When I have the time, I'll tell you my story in detail." Later the day, both of them went on to chat about almost everything. That night, Alicia and Freya shared the sbed. It seemed almost like the two cold and lonely hearts, after floating in the sea, had finally found a place to dock, thus finding momentary warmth and comfort in each other.

That night, they stayed up talking and only went to sleep late at night.

After waking up the next morning, Alicia got up from the bed and wanted to help with breakfast, but only to see that Freya had already prepared a simple one. Freya had also gone to light up sincense at the altar. Seeing that Alice had woken up, she said, "I've been on a vegan diet for a few years now. As I don't have any meat or dairy products, I've made you soatmeal, fruits and salad. I hope you're fine with this for now. I'll make you something better the next time." "Oh, you don't have to, Aunt Freya. This is more than enough! I should be the one preparing breakfast for you," said Alicia as she passed her a plate of fruits.

She used to love super sweet fruits when she was younger.

She loved her savory snacks. Her aunt on the other hand had a sweet tooth, while her mom was more fond of bread Back when all three of them were at the stime, her mom would joke that they could never find any common ground. However, in reality, habits do change. Who would still bother about preferences when they were poor and hungry? Remembering the many things Freya had told her about the past, Alicia felt a little melancholy.

"Aunt Freya, I'll take good care of you from now on. If you don't mind, you can treatas your daughter. In that way, I will have another person who will love me! All of us will live happily ever after!" "For sure. The only kin I have now is my sister. Ally, learn from my mistake, never trust a man completely. You can go all out for it if you want to be him, but if it's tto let go, you'll need to do so even af you're wringing your hands. You f

yourself always cfirst before any men. Likewise, family first, love second. Find the balance. You've been hurt from a relationship Before, sp stand up tall after every fall and don't repeat the smistakes. Don't walk the spath as I did. I wish for you happiness. And if the tis right, have your own children. I'll help take care of them to experience motherhood myself." X