It was impossible for anyone not to notice the anger hidden underneath her mother’s words. Though her mother had tried to soften her words, her tone was far too sharp, which made her younger self to flinch and look down as though scolded.
Since childhood, Arabella was a crybaby, a trait she hated about herself, which she eventually tried to change as she had gotten older. But the young Bella now was still the crybaby she had always been, and with just a slight change from her mother’s words, it was enough to cause the young Bella’s eyes to be filled with tears, her lips trembling as she wrung her muddy hands in front of her.
Seeing her cry, her mother let out a sharp sigh, ruffling her hair.
"Why are you crying?" There was no compassion in her mother’s tone, rather it was simply a sharp annoyance, "I hadn’t scolded you yet! If you knew that doing this will make angry, why are you still doing against what mother had told you, Bella?"
"I- I wanted to gather herbs for you, mama..." The young Bella sobbed. "I’m sorry... I will not go out anymore."
"What’s the use of apologizing now?" Her mother clicked her tongue, which made her body jump. "You don’t even know what herbs are needed for my illness. The only thing I need you to do is not to walk out of this house- ever! Don’t you know how tired I am of you?"
Little Arabella couldn’t say anything as her eyes were filled with large teardrops that made her green eyes glassy.
Seeing this, even the current Arabella felt a slight tinge in her heart.
That’s true. Why had she forgotten about this mory?
Her mother had never been loving, but at tis she would have two mories of her mother. The kind mother who would hug and kiss her, the sa mother who didn’t hesitate as she plunged into the cold lake to protect her before slapping Morpheus across the cheeks.
Then there was this mother of her.
The always angry mother of her who would look at her like she were a flaw. The mother who would always despise her presence and would tell her to never step out of the house.
If her kind mother would cook until her stomach was full, her evil mother would do anything to starve her so she would die. She would even beco upset if she hadn’t died.
These were the two mories Arabella had always recalled about her mother. Though now she had accepted that as her mother’s mood swings, she wondered how soone could change so much. From a loving mother to a mother who simply wishes for her daughter to die every single day.
"Stop it! Stop trying to make my life worse than it’s already is!" Her mother yelled as she stood up from the bed, stomping on the petals angrily. "It’s enough that I have to deal with your father and now you?! I don’t want this anymore! Go sowhere quiet with your sister and never appear ever again!"
Bella who had seen her mother cried felt hurt by her words but she didn’t want to leave her mother’s side. After all there was no child who would hate their mother, even if their mother wishes for their death. The little girl didn’t care if her mother had hated her, all she wanted was to appease her mother’s anger but she lacked the knowledge how to do so.
"If you don’t leave. I will leave." Only when her mother threatened her did little Bella walk out of the room, holding her skirt in tight, small fists as she sobbed and wailed aloud.
Seeing herself crying so much made Arabella feel saddened. She wished that no other child would have to suffer what she had gone through, always feeling guilty of her mother’s hatred toward her when it had never been her fault.
She tried to reach out her hand to soothe her younger self, but before her hand could reach, she saw how her little self had run away from the house, leaving the place further away after crossing the fence.
This piqued Arabella’s curiosity.
Though she couldn’t understand where her little self was going, sowhere in her heart she felt that if she had followed her little self she would finally have the answers to all the questions she had always been so curious of.
So she followed the little Bella, who was running with all her might until she reached the forest.
Upon this, Arabella beca startled. She couldn’t tell it clearly which forest they had entered, but she knew the danger of the forest, especially with the wild beasts and animals around it. If little Bella had recklessly entered this place and found dange-
"Mister, here you are!"
Arabella’s worries stopped when she heard Little Bella yelling loudly upon reaching the bark of a tree.
She walked three steps following little Bella, only to find that the young girl had stood in front of a person crouched and curled behind a tree bark, holding to his knees as his green eyes pierced from underneath his hood.
He stared at little Bella, his expression complicated but Arabella couldn’t tell what kind of face he truly has as his entire face was covered by the hood. But eting a man in the forest is dangerous isn’t it?
Arabella beca worried about her younger self, wondering what Little Bella was doing and how she had found this man. But she couldn’t promptly tell her younger herself to run away, and seeing how excited Little Bella was, she could tell that this wasn’t the first ti Little Bella had ever seen this man.
"Why are you back? You said you were going to see your mother."
The man’s voice rang from underneath the hood, his voice so hoarse as if his throat had turned as dry as a land full of sand.
Little Bella didn’t answer but the smile she had pulled upon seeing the man seed to turn small and that man could see how the skin around her eyes had turned red as if it had been rubbed roughly.
Frowning, the man’s tone then changed, "Why are you crying? Did your mother hit you again?"
Again?
Oh.
This man must have t her before when she was once hit by her mother.
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