Solflare: The Painter's Secret

Chapter 291: The Question That Changes Everything

The fluorescent light on the ceiling of Room 515 flickered, then blasted when Leon straightened himself.

Ashes of burnt leaves drifted upward when a hazy wind flew at the side of the hospital and moved toward the window of Room 515.

Water dripping sounds echoed in the slightly dim room, graced by the sun of the late afternoon, when Zoe saw the thick black blaze in the eyes of Leon.

"Leon..." she said with an unsteady voice and stretched her palms forward while stepping back. "It’s me."

The red-gold cloth tightened itself around the neck of Leon and pulled him a step backward when he raised his clenched fist. "Why were you running away from me when I saw you in the sitting room, wearing a black hood?"

The walls of the room cracked under the weight of the voice of Leon. Parts of the raised bar of the bed reddened while the blazing black glow around Leon reached it.

All the hair on the arms of Zoe rose on end when she caught sight of the bars of the bed. The moment she shifted her gaze back to Leon, the ghostly voice of Lily echoed in her head.

"Aunty, move forward and place your hand on his chest. Don’t be afraid, I’m with you."

Her heart hammered against her chest when she shifted glances between the face of Leon and his chest, where the gold war suit was blazing. ’Leon, please...’

She closed her eyes and raised her right arm. She felt the hair on her arm dying when she stretched her arm forward. Pain rattled through her bones when she placed her palm on the burning gold war suit.

"Aunty, please don’t remove your hands."

The voice of Lily rose again when Zoe tried pulling her hand back.

The intensified glow in the eyes of Leon and around him began to flicker when he shifted his gaze to the hand touching his chest.

His dual hearts pulsed when he remembered the days of the Alchemania. He saw himself standing on the treadmill while Zoe stood by his side, sweating with fear in her eyes.

His mind drew to the night he entered his new room and slept on a soft object, later finding that he had slept on Zoe when the first light flew over the grounds of the Alchemania.

Just as his mind pulled him back to the valley at the Shattered Land and he saw the smiling face of Zoe, the black glow in his eyes slowly vanished.

Chilled air flew by the ears of Leon when he recognized the face of Zoe, as the last flicker of black glow faded from his body entirely.

The tightness of the red-gold cloth eased and settled on the neck of Leon when he moved his right leg forward. "ZOE."

He threw himself forward and wrapped his arms around Zoe and began sobbing like a baby.

The eyes of Zoe remained locked on the fraying white curtains on the window when she felt the double heart hammering inside the chest of Leon.

Her arms slowly moved down and began brushing on the back of Leon when she closed her eyes.

The hums of the machinery and warm sobs filled the room. Tiny particles danced in the golden rays of the sun gracing the face of Li Mei.

Two warm tears dripped from her closed eyes when the golden sun slowly vanished from the sky and gave way to the chilled night.

Soft footsteps echoed when Doctor Mike walked toward Room 515. A faint smile tore on his face when he stopped at the door and watched the calm glow around Zoe and Leon as they stood there embracing.

He exhaled sharply, then turned and walked out of the VIP floor with soft thuds.

His fingers brushed against the walls as he descended the staircase to the ground floor. Just as his eyes fell on the promotion portrait of Thess that had been hung in her honor, he stopped and sat on the last slab of the staircase. ’I now know why you used your last energy to keep the family safe, my love.’

Tears dripped from him when he stood up and dabbed his face.

...

Inside Room 515, the ghostly figure of Lily danced around Leon and Zoe, shaking her head and waist. It vanished the moment Leon pulled his face off the shoulder of Zoe and looked straight in her eyes. "Zoe, I failed to protect the family my dad tasked me to take care of."

Zoe blinked once, then placed a chilled palm on the cheeks of Leon. "Don’t say that Leon, you’re not the one to be blamed. I am."

She removed her arm from the cheeks of Leon and walked toward the window. She pushed the curtains aside, slid the glass, and closed her eyes to welcome the fresh air of the night.

The curtains flapped on Zoe when Leon turned and walked toward her with a confused expression.

"Zoe..." he placed a hand on the left shoulder of Zoe, then blinked at her reddening cheeks. "Why did you say you’re to be blamed for what happened to my mother and sister?"

Tears trailed thin lines down the face of Zoe and stopped at her chin when she turned and focused on the face of Leon. "Mr. Feng told me to look after the family and not leave them no matter what, but..."

A loud rumble tore through the star-filled sky of Bastion City, followed by pink lightning.

Zoe swallowed hard and inhaled the freezing air flowing in the room. "I couldn’t go against the wish of Li Mei of wanting to give you this."

She pointed at the red-gold cloth wrapped around the neck of Leon and looked back at his face. "I’m sorry Leon."

The mouth of Leon opened to speak, but only faint warm air escaped his throat when he shifted his gaze toward the pale comatose form of Li Mei.

A wood creaking sound echoed when Zoe pressed her palms on the sill of the window. "I came back and saw them in this state Leon."

A gold glow blazed once in the eyes of Leon when he shifted his gaze toward the thundering sky. ’If Zoe and Mr. Feng were not there, where were Min-ji and Min-seo?’

He turned toward Zoe, then placed a hand on her shoulder. "If you and Mr. Feng were not in Bastion City, where were Min-seo and Min-ji?"

The shaking shoulder of Zoe paused for a second when her mind sent her back to the night she came to the house.

Zoe remembered how devastated Min-seo looked when she saw her standing at the side of the fountain, crying uncontrollably.

"Zoe."

She remembered the tone of her voice when Min-seo ran toward her and Mr. Feng.

"Little Madam and Madam are dying."

Zoe remembered how the mansion smelled of poisonous gas when Mr. Feng, Min-seo, and herself dashed into the room of Li Mei.

The mind of Zoe reeled back into the Bastion hospital when she remembered the black-robed lady standing at the side of the iron gate of the mansion laughing when she drove the family out of the iron gate of the mansion.

Blood-veined lines stretched on her eyeball when she turned fully to Leon. "You wouldn’t like what I’m about to tell you."