Solflare: The Painter's Secret-Chapter 169: Cracked Eyes
Leaves slammed into Min-seo’s face. Faint scratch lines remained on her cheeks as she forced the leaves out of her face.
"Little Athena," she screamed, stretching her arm toward Lily, who stood there, watching the triangular war machine.
"We need to get inside." Min-seo loosened her grip on the flower scissors, grabbed Lily, then dashed into the mansion through the main side door. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Min-ji placed slow steps as she walked back into the mansion, following the path Min-seo had taken.
"What is that?" she asked in a low tone, then swung the door shut. Standing by the glass wall, memories of similar vehicles she had heard about in the news flashed into her head.
"Sis," she turned and called to Min-seo. "Isn’t that the legendary Triarch?"
Min-seo made sure Lily was behind her as she neared Min-ji. "Nah, that craft got extinct fifteen years back," Min-seo responded, shaking her head.
Min-ji shifted her gaze from Min-seo, then watched the devilish craft. "It has the same structure as that one. Don’t you think the news of it going extinct is a lie?"
Min-seo shook her head, then gave a sharp exhale.
At that same time, Leon stopped by the gate of the gymnastic room, eyes wide open, mouth forgetting how to close.
"What is that?" A shocked voice escaped from him as he stumbled two steps back. Although he was inside, he felt the pressure exerted by the craft.
Outside the mansion, the flying leaves and speeding wind froze for a split second. In the blink of an eye, the craft vanished from sight.
"Whoa!" screams tore out as all those standing outside the Storm mansion walls stumbled back, a dreadful look dancing in their eyes.
"Did you see that?" A boy holding a candy turned toward his twin brother. "It flew like this. Phhhew..."
He demonstrated by jumping and mistakenly dropping his candy as his boots slammed hard against the ground.
"Don’t fight this time," a voice rose from the blue salon car parked at the side.
The down-cut-haired boy’s face turned pale as he stared at the candy he had dropped. "Mom, can I have another one?"
He walked sluggishly toward the car, then climbed inside. His twin brother, who, on the other hand, had long hair, joined him, entering through the same back door his brother had taken.
Countless vehicles drove off, following the path the blue salon car took.
The entrance to Bastion Hospital remained choked as Mr. Lee’s BMW arrived.
After maneuvering his way inside, Leon went straight to the VIP room, where his mother was, but found no one. "Where is Mom?" His face turned pale as he dashed toward the window, peeking his head out to see if he could find her through the moving crowd.
"What am I even thinking? Mom is blind and paralyzed," he whispered, then shook his head, a faint smile seeping into the dreadful look.
Just as he exited and stood in the hallway, relief fell on him when he saw a nurse pushing Li Mei in a wheelchair.
"Hello, sir," Thess bowed her head slightly, then smiled. "I took her for a walk. Hope you’re not bothered."
Leon smiled back, then shifted his gaze to the smile on his mother’s face.
"So far as she is happy, I am not bothered," Leon said, then crouched down, placing his palms on Li Mei’s lap.
"My son," Li Mei streaked her fingers through Leon’s jet-black hair. "This is my friend Thess."
Leon lifted his gaze and watched the nurse’s face for a second time, still carrying the smile.
Thess’s cheeks reddened slightly. She turned her head, almost as if she wanted to hide the face that had already been seen.
"She is a good child," Li Mei continued, drawing Leon’s attention back to herself. "And I know you’ll be good with her."
"Mom!" Leon threw a shocked glance at Li Mei, then at the nurse.
"Thank you for taking her for a walk." Leon respectfully took the wheelchair handle from the nurse’s hands.
Although Thess insisted, Leon wouldn’t let her keep pushing his mother.
...
"Why did you do that, son?" Li Mei asked as Leon pushed her from the center of the third floor to the far end.
"I didn’t do anything, Mom. You know she is a nurse." Leon paused, then thought of his words. "She is a nice girl, too."
Li Mei gave a sarcastic laugh, then crossed her arms. "That’s what your father told his friend before he began to chase after me."
Leon’s eyes widened, then brushed the thought off with laughter.
When they reached the room where Zoe had been admitted, Leon paused, pushing the wheelchair.
"Why have we stopped, son?" Li Mei asked, the smile on her face fading.
Leon moved from the back and crouched down, holding his mother’s palms. "I want you to meet someone."
Li Mei stiffened for a moment, then turned her head to the left, almost as if she could see through the closed door. "Where is Zoe?"
Leon’s expression died instantly.
Li Mei pressed on. "She didn’t come to me this morning. Where is she?"
Leon unintentionally tightened his grip on Li Mei’s arms, then began rubbing her skin.
"Mom," Leon’s voice echoed without a soul. "Zoe—"
Li Mei’s blind eyes shifted from the door to Leon. "What has happened to her? Have you fought with her?"
Leon brushed it off with laughter, but deep down, that wasn’t laughter, but a dead cry.
Leon straightened, then pushed the door open.
A heavy gust of wind slammed into Li Mei’s nose the moment the tires of the wheelchair she was in crossed the threshold of the door.
Since she had been using her other senses to recognize people, tears began to drip from her eyes. She swallowed at every passing second as the distance between her and the bed closed.
Leon paused when there was no distance between the wheelchair and the bed, then placed a heavy hand on Li Mei’s shoulder.
"Mom, Zoe had an accident." Leon’s eyes welled up after relaying the information. He swallowed hard when he saw his mother’s saddened face.
The wheelchair trembled as Li Mei tried to push herself up. But the moment the tires clicked on the iron stand of the bed, Zoe’s eyes slowly cracked open.
She first saw two figures through the hazy vision, then held her breath when she saw Li Mei beside her as her vision cleared completely.
