Chapter 216: Morning with Sorrow
The first month of spring had passed in the blink of an eye. That day was the end of the first month of the academy school year.
The beautiful morning with a clear sky greeted the world with its charm. At the same moment, Elysia opened her eyes and looked at the girl who woke her up.
"Ely, wake up. We need to go a little early. Our first test will be today, remember?"
Hearing that, Elysia nodded slightly. "Good morning, Eve."
"En, good morning, Ely. You keep working late, and you look sleepy in the morning. Next time you dare to go overtime, I'll drag you to sleep. The sleep of perfect quality takes eight hours." Evelyn reprimanded her best friend with care.
"I can't help it. Our pizza business is still in its first month period. There are a few things that need to be done before I can sleep well." Elysia painfully dragged herself out of bed.
"Whatever your defense, I'll drag you to sleep if I want to sleep. You can't overtime again, understand? I'll cook healthy food for our breakfast, please don't go back to sleep when I'm not watching you." Evelyn reminded her best friend once again when she also got out of bed.
"Uhm, all right." Elysia could only nod when Evelyn emphasized it like that.
Evelyn smiled sweetly, and she walked out of the room at a leisurely pace. Elysia only glanced at Evelyn's back for a moment, then she glanced out the window.
She was no longer in the academy dormitory room but in a room on the top floor of a four-story building. It was the building of their pizza business that had been booming lately.
About three weeks since Lavely Pizza opened for business, all the menus immediately received a great reception from the public.
Elysia smiled a little because she remembered the name she suggested, Lavely... Ella, Eve, Ely, then shortened to the word that sounded good and pleasant to hear.
She was not very good at naming, but she could come up with a few good names if it took the reasons and circumstances into account. Ella and Eve readily agreed to the suggestion, and eventually, it was used as their company name.
Once satisfied to see the brilliant but slightly cloudy sky, Elysia glanced down. Their business wasn't open yet, but there were already a few people willing to queue for the first warm and delicious course... Nice, loyal customers.
"Okay, I have to get ready too. There's a test today." Elysia exhaled softly with a cheerful smile. As she was about to leave the room to help Evelyn in the kitchen, suddenly there was a scream.
"Ah! Ely!"
Sensing something was amiss, Elysia quickly rushed to the source of the scream. When she reached the glass door to the balcony, Evelyn was crouching there.
"What's the matter, Eve? Are you--" Worried, Elysia drew closer to Evelyn's side. However, she immediately knew the problem and fell silent when she saw the one in Evelyn's hand.
"Ely, I found Tweety lying helpless in her little birdcage. Her heartbeat isn't there either. I tried to help Tweety with Healing Magic, but my magic didn't work. What happened? Tweety is sleeping or maybe hibernating, right?" Evelyn spoke rapidly in panic.
It was more than a week since the little love bird was released. Surprisingly, Tweety visited every day at dusk, and this little female bird knew where she could meet her saviors.
Realizing that, Evelyn decided to buy a small house for Tweety because the little bird always stayed the night before asking to leave when morning came.
Unfortunately, the sweet squeaks and lovely tweets that used to greet the morning were absent. By the time Evelyn was about to check and feed the little bird, Tweety was lying there helplessly.
Elysia didn't need to answer. No help could be given to the dead. She just shook her head gently while patting Evelyn on the back.
Even though her magic had significantly improved due to advanced knowledge on the fifth floor of the Holy Library, that didn't mean she could revive a dead creature.
"Nee, Ely. Answer me, don't just shake your head. I don't understand." Evelyn tried to reject the obvious. She just refused to believe that her little pet just died for no reason.
"Tweety's dead. Let's bury her properly."
Hearing that, Evelyn could no longer convince herself that Tweety was still alive. Unconsciously, tears rolled down her eyes with grief and fell down her cheeks.
Her first pet left so quickly. Despite the short time she spent with Tweety, she was already fond of this lovable bird.
"That's fine. The living being will meet death in the end. It's a life cycle." Elysia tried to comfort the sad heart with soft words.
After a few moments of sadness and sobs from Evelyn, she finally steeled herself and moved forward. She and Elysia wrapped the little bird's body in cloth because they were going to bury Tweety.
The hearty breakfast on a lovely day was supposed to be cheerful, but not at that moment. Evelyn silently ate her breakfast after she finished showering and changed into her academy uniform.
Elysia and Vanessa were also at the dining table. They had breakfast together. Without realizing it, Evelyn glanced at the white cat with suspicion, and it was noticed by Elysia.
"Eve, do you want to accuse, Vann? It's not like you. You know better than what happened." Elysia looked at Evelyn with a subtle smile, evident in her words.
"Sorry, I didn't accuse anyone." Evelyn immediately turned her attention to her breakfast.
Evelyn felt like she couldn't finish her meal, but she remembered that she needed nutrition for this morning's test. There was no excuse for failure, and no one wanted to fail.
Elysia fell silent after that, and so did Evelyn. As for Vanessa, she didn't even meow at her master's request. Evelyn needed some quiet time to get back to her usual self, maybe.
After that quiet breakfast, Evelyn and Elysia immediately got ready to go to the designated place for the first month's exam. The white cat joined her master openly because Vanessa was introduced as Elysia's contracted beast. Even the beast tamer club could verify that.
The two girls were greeted by the workers they met along the way to the first floor. The opening hours were almost here, and it was clear they were getting ready to serve the customers.
Because their exam was hunting practice, Elysia decided to bring lunch. She asked for two pizza combo packs for herself and Evelyn before they both went out of the building through the back door.
Their first destination wasn't directly to the first graders' gathering place but to their dormitory building. Around there was a lot of land with trees that could be used to bury Tweety.
Elysia dug a small hole, and Evelyn put Tweety's body there. The place they chose was the land near the tree that people rarely walked.
"May the heavenly host guide you in peace." Elysia sent a short prayer immediately after she stuck a small headstone over Tweety's grave.
'Peace in your eternal and easy rest.' Elena gave a short prayer from within the Soul Realm. She was already awake when Elysia had just finished breakfast.
"May you rest in peace." Evelyn also sent her prayer.
The funeral for the little bird was over, and it was time they needed to go to the city's eastern gate.
"Eve, let's go. We'll be late if we don't hurry." Elysia stood up after letting out a soft breath.
"En." Evelyn just nodded with that short reply and stood up.
She glanced at the small mound with a pebble on top of it briefly before walking away with her best friend.
"Nee, Ely..." Evelyn suddenly asked as they were walking through the city streets.
"Hum?" Elysia just glanced over, waiting for Evelyn to continue.
"Ely, am I the only one feeling sad because of Tweety? Why do you look like normal without feeling any sorrow like me?" Evelyn asked, confused. Somehow she wondered that, albeit it felt complicated.
"Hmm... Maybe, Tweety's death didn't have a big impact on me, not as big as you. But it was there. We have to move on and not sink into grief. Everyone has different ways of dealing with their grief. But, please don't overthink, Eve." Despite saying that, Elysia expressed it in a comforting tone.
"A. Uhm... I see..." Evelyn just nodded in understanding. Then, they continued their steps in silence.
'Now I wonder if I did die... Was there anyone who mourned my death besides my family? Or maybe my family just mourned my death and quickly forgot about me?' Elysia wondered in her mind. The thought suddenly came, and she didn't know the answer.
'It must be there, Ely. Of those who mourn the formality, there must be someone who has truly missed your departure and will always remember you in prayer.' Elena responded after thinking for a moment.
'Is that so...' It was only a short streak of response before Elysia pushed the topic aside.
'Ely, but please don't bring up anything about death to Evelyn. She looks fine, but she is trying her best to get back to her usual self. I remember Tweety is her first pet, right?' Elena gave her advice as she looked at Evelyn one more time.
'Yes, I'll just accompany her. She just needs time to adjust her mood and thoughts until she returns to her normal self.' Elysia understood that and accepted the suggestion.
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