In a room that looks like a modern-era kitchen bathed in the warm, yellow glow of a flickering LED bulb. A woman and a man were shoulder-to-shoulder at the sink.

The woman, who was in her forties and yet looked quite young for her age, was skillfully dicing vegetables. Beside her, a young man, who was barely twenty years old, was rinsing a pile of green vegies under the tap.

"So, how is college life ?" The woman asked

"uh.. pretty good ?" The man replied

"Why does that sound like a question?" She paused her knife, giving me a pointed look. "Are you actually studying, or are you just playing those video games until three in the morning?"

"See... we’re engineers, Mom. We don't just 'study', We have to troubleshoot, optimize, and deal with... other stuff."

"Stuff?" She sighed, the sound a mix of exhaustion and affection. "Whatever. Just make sure you graduate and get a job. I want to see you in a suit, not a hoodie, for once."

 

"yes, yes but While we are on this Topic, lets imagine a hypothetical situation, mom. Hypothetical, alright ?"

"yes, yes, Hypothetical"

"ok, hypothetically, lets say, I ..can't get a job. I am not able to. I mean, you hear in the news everyday, how bad the job market is. Right ? So, in that case what would you do ?"

"Nothing much, your dad and I will just kick you out of the house."

"Hmm... Why bother lying when you are not so good at it ?"

"when did I ever lie."

"Right now, You know it too." he looked at her as he said "You guys love me too much to kick me out"

"haha.. You sound pretty confident"

"Because, I am. By the way, Mom, Why don't you guys move to a bigger house ?"

"that was out of the blue. Go and tell that to your Dad, if you have the guts."

"Would I be telling you this if I had"

"true, you are a coward, in front your dad."

"Isn't everyone ?"

"Don't know, and to answer your question, we are waiting for you to get a job, marry and buy your own house."

"why are you already planning my marriage, do you to hold your grandchildren that soon ?"

"doesn't everyone ?"

"oh, come on, what if I get myself a bad wife, get Manipulated bu her and sent you Away to old age shelter ?"

"that's not possible"

"why ?"

she stopped cutting vegies and looked at her son and said with a gentle smile "Because you love us too much to send us away, Nick. "

****

"Ty!"

My mother’s voice, filled with concern, snapped the thread of the memory. 

I blinked, the modern kitchen and the scent of onions vanishing as the vibrant greens and golds of the Arbutus garden rushed back into focus.

"Huh? What?" I replied hastily, my voice sounding tight and unfamiliar to my own ears.

"Why are you suddenly spacing out? It’s not like you to—" She cut herself off, her eyes widening. 

She leaned in across the table, her hand stretching toward my face with a grace that felt both royal and deeply maternal. "Why are you crying?"

She brushed the corner of my eye with the pad of her thumb. When she pulled her hand back, her finger was stained with a tiny, shimmering bead of moisture.

"O-oh.. am I ?" I replied in a confused voice. 'crying... huh... It has been years' I thought from Nick's POV. 

"I just kind of remembered something"

She looked at me with doubt, which is natural, since it is weird how the mother who saw me grew up for Six whole years would not know about a memory that would bring silent tears to her son's eyes.

"Yes, you are..." She simply stood up, her silk dress rustling like the leaves of the Arbutus trees, and walked around the table.

Before I could move, she pulled me into a hug, tucking my head against her shoulder. 

"If there's any thing you want to get off your chest, your mother is right here" She hugged me tighter "Do not forget, this Arbutus palace is You--no Our home. You have no need to hide anything"

I held her hand as she was hugging me and said "Thank you ...moth--Mom"

The word "Mom" felt strange in this world of "Highnesses" and "Royal Mothers," but in that moment, it was the only word that fit.

I decided to spend the day with mother. We had Lunch and dinner together and after dinner I went back to my room, Making plans for the next two days before I am to meet my father at the Weekly Royal dinner.