Aster Veren
Episode 191

- Esther

"So ...," I murmured in shock at the information I received from Dean.

The mother who people thought was leaving the house and unknown whereabouts, turned out she was staying in a mental hospital because her mental disorder. And this kid, Dean—he took it all by himself and kept quiet.

She ... doesn't seem to want to put her mother in danger. And he also decided to run away from home along with his sister 3 years ago. Then I heard he secretly began to actively visit his mother who was rumored to have improved.

How difficult it is to be Dean, facing a temperament parent with bad habits who likes to gamble and commit violence to his wife and children. I can't imagine this horrible event.

"Would I go to another city?" His mumbling looks agitated.

"Calm down, if you go what about your unfinished education? What about Yuna?" I immediately patted his back. Made her look at me briefly before looking back at the deep blue sky this afternoon.

"As long as I can save myself and Yuna. I don't care if I have to quit school, you don't go to school anyway." His words really struck me with his last words.

Yeah how else? If I go to school, I have to use my identity, right? While my identity has not been completed, or will never be made. Considering creating a new identity by buying an existing identity is much more expensive. I don't want to waste my uncle's money on something like that, let alone my aunt being pregnant.

Nor can I ask Mr. Albert for help, who has helped me a lot by advising me to stay in the area around here and give me one doctor who will take care of me, uncle and aunt if we are sick. The doctor lives at the border, every month he receives a reward from Mr. Albert. And I heard that he started to practice because there were no doctors around to help the sick population.

What can I do to help Dean and Yuna huh? If my situation is still the same as it used to be, maybe I can ask for help from my father or I will handle it myself. But since my position was also being difficult, I could only comfort him.

"By the way how about you? Are you hurt?" Her question broke my daydream.

"Not bad, just one punch on my face and stomach, after which I ran away following Yuna." I answered while holding my stomach which hurt.

"Once again thank you, and sorry because Yuna you have to get involved with something like this. I really never expected that dad would find us this shoe. I thought he'd find us in two or three years." He returned with his gloomy expression.

"No problem, even if I'm thin like this I can take care of myself enough. A punch like this is nothing." I patted her on the back and walked towards the shop door, "have stopped putting on such an expression. What matters now is that Yuna wasn't hurt in the least, nor were you." I left it outside.

***

"Aster?" Aunt's voice surprised me.

"Yes auntie?"

"Is the food bad?" The uncle asked.

"Ah, no! I just thought about something else and forgot that I was eating. Hahaha, this is so good." My words immediately ate my food when I woke up to my daydreams that didn't know the place.

"What do you think?" Asked the uncle again after swallowing the food in his mouth.

"Itu—" I stopped when I heard a knock on the door loud enough to go upstairs. I saw that my uncle and aunt had also thrown each other questionable gazes.

"Who's coming in these nights?" Asked uncle immediately got up from his place and walked towards the lower floor intending to check it out, I who was also curious and intending to follow him was immediately stopped by aunt.

"You can't go. Stay here with me." His words made me understand with aunt's worries. Inevitably I also sat back in my place and obeyed the aunt's orders.

"What's going on?" Ask auntie ahead of me.

"Deans? Don't tell me—"

"Drink first." Cut the uncle who has returned from the kitchen, give the man some drinking water.

"Come here, let me take Yuna to Faren's room." Aunty grabbed Yuna's body carefully.

"Now you can tell it slowly." Said uncle made me sit next to him, watching Dean's expression look messy.

"He found our home. I ... I ran away in a hurry after breaking the window of the room and taking Yuna away. Me, I was really panicking and didn't know where to go and when I was on the run I suddenly thought of this place. Ma—forgive me for suddenly coming." He looks very trying to stay calm.

Turns right. And again why so quickly he found .. ah! Could it be that the man I saw this afternoon was the man who followed Yuna this afternoon? My mind remembered the figure of the man who continued to stand in the third of the road as I tidied up the shop outside. And again her appearance had also completely changed, different from her appearance as she followed Yuna.

Could it be that when he suddenly gave up following me this afternoon, he came back to change his appearance?

"... i may temporarily stop going to school and find a new place to escape from." His words are breaking down my reverie.

"What do you mean?" I was surprised by his decision.

"I'll go tomorrow morning, so—"

"Stay here until everything's safe okay." Cut the aunt who just came out of my room, it seems like aunt has managed to put Yuna to sleep.

"But—"

"really. Stay here until everything's safe." Cut the uncle cut Dean's speech again.

I see Dean saying nothing to deny the kindness of uncle and aunt, even his face looks tired. It must be difficult to run in the darkness of these nights, especially the road to the uncle's shop is minimal lighting, because the street lights have not been repaired. Not to mention the distance of one house to another house is far apart because of rice farming land, making the lighting limited.

I saw that uncle had already nodded at me before going to his room together with aunt. Maybe uncle wanted to make room for me and Dean so I could comfort him and Dean felt a little calm without uncles and aunts.

After seeing Dean for a long time, I finally got up from my place and carried a P3K box tucked away on top of a hanging cabinet in the kitchen.

I grabbed his injured hand and started cleaning it before treating it.

"I think I should quit school." His words break the silence.

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Thanks for reading...