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𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗘 & 𝗟𝗨𝗖𝗔
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The park smelled like cherries and cut grass, and Luca thought there wasn’t a better place in the world to eat ice cream. He licked at the chocolate running down his cone and peeked sideways at his mom. She was quiet, looking at the trees like she was far away. He was never a chatty youngster like most kids, and she had raised him to be comfortable in silence.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀When she finally spoke, her voice was soft, like it might blow away if he didn’t listen close enough. “When I was younger than you are now . . . I didn’t get to sit in places like this. Not without looking over my shoulder, not without the feeling that everything could be taken from me at any second.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Luca frowned. He didn’t like the sound of that, nor did he enjoy the profound sadness in her eyes. He wanted to ask who would take things away, but she kept going, so he just listened.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“I lost someone who meant everything to me,” she said. Her free hand unburdened by ice cream brushed through Luca’s hair, warm and steady, even if her words weren’t. “And I got so angry I thought the only way forward was to hurt someone else.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀He stared at her, his ice cream tilting without him noticing. Angry enough to hurt someone? He couldn’t imagine Mom that way. She laughed too much when he told silly jokes. She always kissed the top of his head when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. She made pancakes shaped like stars. She took him to the office with her when she needed to do Councilor duties and tickled him when he dropped a stack of meticulously ordered papers on the floor. She wasn’t someone who hurt people, but still, he didn’t say anything, eyes wide as he watched her intently. Her voice had a weight in it that made his chest ache for her, even if he couldn’t understand what exactly she meant.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“I don’t want you to carry that kind of weight,” she whispered. “That’s why we’re here. Why we eat too much ice cream and laugh when chocolate ends up everywhere. Because we live in a place where you can be free and happy,” Lenore told him, tapping his chest gently as she spoke her next line. “Your light can shine here, forever. I will never let anything take that from you, my little Luca.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Before he could think of anything to say or do, Luca threw his arms around Lenore’s waist, clinging to her with all the strength he had. As if Lenore’s previous words were a premonition, the ice cream slipped right out of the cone he held and plopped into her lap, smearing chocolate across her airy skirt. But he didn’t care. Neither did she.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“You’re the best mom in the whole world,” he blurted, his throat tight. He pressed his face against her shirt, hugging harder like he could prove it with how tightly he held on. He didn’t understand fully what she meant by any of what she said, but he knew he’d never forget her words. And as he grew up, he would come to realize what she meant.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀She laughed, soft though a bit shaky, and pulled him close despite the mess. “You’re all I ever wanted too, dear boy.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The park around them kept buzzing with kids and laughter, but in that moment it felt like the whole world had narrowed down to just the two of them, lap full of chocolate ice cream or not.
