LUCEM
Chapter XVIII

Mars, wake up. hey, Mars!

Feeling the soft pat on the cheek and hearing the voice I missed the most, slowly my eyes opened and found her shady, smiling face staring at me.

"Marbi, is that you!?" I blinked my eyes to adjust the incoming light.

"Good, good. Finally my sister woke up and recognized her brother." Marbella smiled and patted my cheeks gently.

I looked around and found the rats in complete formation lined up looking at me and Marbella.

"Eh, you're all here?.. eeng, aren't you...?" I was massaging my temples that felt pulsating.

"Come on!" Marbella reached out to pull me up.

I was standing right by Marbella's side but it all felt a little unreal. As Marbella was about to let go of her grasp, I held her back. For a while I wouldn't let go of Marbella's hand, she stared at our hands for a moment and smiled. I put my hand behind his back and turned around.

" We're out now" Marbella told troops.

The rats stared at each other, slowly a smile rose on their faces and boisterously resounded. The damp room was instantly warmed by spirit and happiness. And I'm still 'confused'.

"So fast you're up, huh," Marbella grabbed the top of my head on her tiptoes.

"really? umm... Marbi..."

"Hm..!?" he lifted his face to look at me.

I immediately hugged Marbella tightly, I had to make sure that she was real.

Marbella returned my embrace.

"It's not a dream" he said.

"Yes, it shouldn't." I peeked at Marbella's soft top of the head, inhaling the scent of her brown hair, making sure that it was the same scent as I had known it before.

I breathed a sigh of relief, even though my confidence was not full. For a while I kept hugging him.

⭐

⭐

At night, long after we walked down the hallway leaving the basement of Ahem city, we were in a house with dark brown wooden walls, the floor creaking finely when under pressure.

Marbella advances her steps to knock. A minute later, a familiar face appeared. A young woman, the woman immediately made a quick remark about her work in the kitchen instead of letting us in, and in an instant she had run away leaving us in front of the open door. I looked at Marbella and she shrugged her shoulders to say 'entah'.

We all went in and I sat on a deep green cloth chair while Marbella walked to where the voice of the woman had come from.

Meanwhile, the group of mice had found a place that made them comfortable in an instant and rested, except for the white old rat, James.

"Once, where are the others?" the voice of the woman whose figure suddenly appeared before us made me stunned. He chuckled at my surprise.

"The others are resting" James gave an answer.

"Ooh, I keep a liter and a half of wassail and a bottle of old Cyprus wine I think it'll be enough for all," the woman placed a large glass mug as well as a bottle on the table and took a few glasses from underneath.

[Wassail: A traditional spice drink commonly served during celebrations, wassail is sometimes made in alcoholic recipes.]

James and I looked at each other for a moment, and the woman caught us.

"Heh, don't think I'm a drunk, I only occasionally visit the liquor store and some make me interested to buy it. Well, just taste it," he explained at length as if answering our thoughts.

I just nodded and smiled awkwardly, while James smiled strangely.

"Well, I went back to the kitchen to finish my work. Consider it your own home" he said as he passed.

"She doesn't seem to be far from you, sir. But he doesn't seem to care what textbooks say about addiction and abstinence" James said.

"Yes.. James, can you stop calling me 'sir'?

"Why, Sir? Isn't this a call I've been using for a long time in our communications?" james' face was astonished.

" It feels more comfortable if we just say each other's names, I want a non-pressing atmosphere" I said.

James nodded slowly. A small deal has been reached.

The woman reappeared with a plate full of plaid watermelon, placed it on the table and allowed us to eat it. James was excited.

"Moonflower," the woman stuck her hand out at me.

I stopped my hand with a watermelon in front of my open mouth and looked at her.

"W-what!?" many ensure.

"My name is Moonflower, what's your name? We haven't had a chance to meet before," he said by again thrusting his hand at me.

I put down my watermelon immediately and welcomed her helping hand.

"Mars," I said.

"Ok, Mars, I'm back in the kitchen" she said as she ran away from the room.

I was still staring, James was looking at me.

"His name is Moonflower" James whispered to me from his chair and we both shut our mouths holding laughter until we were tired.