Zavien
Reassuring Soh with a squeeze of her arm, he offered a gentle smile that she couldn't see but might hear in the soft cadence of his voice. "I'm sure they are." They would have to be blind or stupid not to recognize how strong and kindhearted their daughter had turned out, and he'd be the first to stand up for her.
The corner of his mouth lifted when she placed her lips against his cheek, the tender moment fluttering in his chest, tapping its wings against the new gems of information that were solidifying his shimmering feelings for Soh.
When the attention turned to him, Zavien tilted his head, looking out as he recalled his own upbringing. "I grew up in the Silk Houses with my mom. Never knew who my dad was. I'm not sure my mom knew." He'd never struggled to talk about his past, to share the truth that had made him into who he was, to share the woman who had made him into the man beside her. "She was the strongest woman I knew. She worked harder than anyone, staying out all night then coming home to smile and make me breakfast. I knew she was tired, but she refused to let her smile falter for even a second." A trademark smile had crept onto his face. He couldn't recall many of her features anymore, but that was one thing he always remembered: the bright curve of her lips that she wore like the most prized set of jewelry.
The mood turned more somber as he continued, "But when I was ten, she didn't come home. She'd been murdered in an alley on her way back from her shift. They thought it was a jealous client, but we never found out who did it." There was a pause between each sentence, a quietness that told of the darkness that had eclipsed the light his mother had always emitted. But the story didn't end the same as Soh's, and Zavien had to be reminded of how lucky he'd been.
"The community took me in. The neighbors and Erika made sure I was fed, the teachers dragged me to school, the other orphans treated me like siblings." He shrugged his shoulders. "I might have been alone, but they made sure I never felt like it." And in turn, he'd always tried to do the same for others, returning to the Silk Houses to give back to the community he'd been raised by.
A grin popped up, lighter and full of silent laughter. "Even now, Erika seems convinced that I'm incapable of feeding myself."
The corner of his mouth lifted when she placed her lips against his cheek, the tender moment fluttering in his chest, tapping its wings against the new gems of information that were solidifying his shimmering feelings for Soh.
When the attention turned to him, Zavien tilted his head, looking out as he recalled his own upbringing. "I grew up in the Silk Houses with my mom. Never knew who my dad was. I'm not sure my mom knew." He'd never struggled to talk about his past, to share the truth that had made him into who he was, to share the woman who had made him into the man beside her. "She was the strongest woman I knew. She worked harder than anyone, staying out all night then coming home to smile and make me breakfast. I knew she was tired, but she refused to let her smile falter for even a second." A trademark smile had crept onto his face. He couldn't recall many of her features anymore, but that was one thing he always remembered: the bright curve of her lips that she wore like the most prized set of jewelry.
The mood turned more somber as he continued, "But when I was ten, she didn't come home. She'd been murdered in an alley on her way back from her shift. They thought it was a jealous client, but we never found out who did it." There was a pause between each sentence, a quietness that told of the darkness that had eclipsed the light his mother had always emitted. But the story didn't end the same as Soh's, and Zavien had to be reminded of how lucky he'd been.
"The community took me in. The neighbors and Erika made sure I was fed, the teachers dragged me to school, the other orphans treated me like siblings." He shrugged his shoulders. "I might have been alone, but they made sure I never felt like it." And in turn, he'd always tried to do the same for others, returning to the Silk Houses to give back to the community he'd been raised by.
A grin popped up, lighter and full of silent laughter. "Even now, Erika seems convinced that I'm incapable of feeding myself."
If you don't like the road you're walking,
start paving another.
start paving another.
