"What?" Sofia exclaimed in shock.
Avan and Ella walked into the room to hear more of the matter. Avan's heart was beating loudly in his chest as the thought of Ander being back sunk in his mind. He stood next to Amaru.
"It's true, we found him," Malia informed the smile on her face widening.
"Where is he?" Sofia asked dropping everything that she was doing and running out of the room. Out of excitement, she didn't wait to hear more and ran to find her son. Her heart was filled with joy, this time she would ensure that nothing bad ever happens to him. She would take him far away from there and never return with him again.
Realizing that she had no idea where he was, she turned around to return to the room.
She felt so light, her feet moved with ease making her arrive back at the room sooner. She saw tears in Avan's eyes, he was embracing Amaru and crying. The scene surprised her, she turned her gaze to Malia who stood to the side watching the two boys.
As their eyes met, Malia motioned to her that it was him. Amaru was her dearest son Ander.
She took slow steps into the room and waited for Avan to finish letting out his emotions. She gazed at Amaru from top to bottom. She was in disbelief, all this while her son was right there before her eyes and she did not know.
They had exchanged a few words here and there and she never even knew that he was the one that she was searching for.
"Why didn't he ever come to us?" she questioned.
"We believe that he has lost his memories. He couldn't have come to us because he doesn't even know who we are," Malia explained as best as she had understood the situation.
"How did that happen?" she inquired.
"Kazar," Malia replied.
The mention of that one name made Sofia frown. She wished to never see that boy again, he was trouble, especially for her baby.
"If he is the cause of everything that happened then I curse him. I curse him to live the most miserable life possible," she said.
"He will, the gods won't spare him for what he has done," Malia added.
Avan finally let go of Amaru, he backed away from him giving Sofia a chance to gaze at her son. She took a few steps closer to him, the moment felt like a dream that she might wake up from. She didn't want it to ever end.
"Ander," her lips let out softly. She took her time to look at him before she raised her hand to him. Brushing his cheek gently she couldn't stop the tears that freely flowed from her eyes. It was truly the most beautiful day of her life.
She finally braced herself and hugged him. She closed her eyes and imagined the face of her baby boy. His appearance had changed but it was arched into her heart and memory. She could never bring herself to forget her son's face.
"I have missed you so much," she spoke between her tears. "How could you leave your mother and go away?" she asked him.
Ander felt a pang in his heart seeing her like that. He almost felt guilty for the way that he had treated her. But he didn't let himself feel for much longer, he numbed his body of any emotions.
He had seen his face from having a heart and using it. Not wanting the same ending it was best he stayed far away from feelings of the heart.
"I love you so much."
Her last words pierced through his heart removing the shield that he had raised over his heart. His efforts to not feel went down the drain as his heart melted.
He found himself hugging her back and holding her weak body in his arms. She was shaking in his embrace.
"We should let them talk in private," Malia said ushering Avan and Ella out of the room. She locked the door behind her leaving the mother and son duo alone to talk.
"Did you not miss your mother even once?" she asked him breaking the hug.
"I had no idea that you were my..."
"Don't lie to me," Sofia uttered coldly. "You know I hate lies. Why?" she asked him.
"I...I.."
"I can see recognition in your eyes. You very well know who I am and what I am to you so stop pretending you don't," she said interrupting him. "Tell me why despite having your memories you chose to stay away from your family. From me?"
Ander was rendered speechless, she had seen through him in a matter of minutes. He couldn't lie, she would know if he did and the truth was one that he knew she would never be able to forgive. Seeing the difference between the way she treated him and Olivia's behavior towards him was starting to understand a mother's love.
"How long should I wait to get an answer from you?" she asked impatiently. She held his arm to get him out of his thoughts.
Ander snapped out of it and glanced at her, she had her eyes on his hand. Her eyes were wide as though she was shocked. Her face was unreadable to him so he couldn't understand what she was feeling or what was in her mind.
"How could you?" she asked him in a pained voice. There was a hurt look on her face.
"I should have co..."
"How could you have tried to kill me?" she asked him taking steps back away from him. There was fear written all over her face. She was trembling in fright.
The look she gave him made his heartache, he tried to reach out to her but she moved away from him. Her rejection felt like a thousand knives to his heart.
"Yo..you are the voice in my head. The person who wa..wanted me dead," she said repeatedly while backing away from him.
Ander's breath hitched when he heard her words. She knew, realization dawn on him that she had figured it out. She must have felt the negative energy from him when he had his guard down. She must have recognized it as the one she felt when she heard the voice in her head.
He felt his knees grow weak. In all his plans he had not anticipated this, he had never thought he would be found out, and more importantly. He had never thought that he would ever see the day that his mother would be terrified of him.
"How could you of all people do that to me?" she asked him. The feeling of betrayal engulfing her. She felt immense pain in her heart knowing that the boy that she had raised and loved with all of her heart, would be capable of hurting her that way.
"No...i..."
Ander looked for a reason, an excuse to give her that could justify what he had done but couldn't come up with anything.
"You want to kill me?" Sofia asked him. Ander shook his head, he didn't. He didn't think that it would hurt him this much to be confronted with his action. He did want her dead for standing by on that faithful night. If he didn't do the soul transfer spell when he did then he would have died and would be gone forever.
But he never imagined that it would pain him as much as it did. If it hurt him just to see her like that then he could only imagine how heartbreaking it would be if she did leave the world forever.
Hearing a thud sound, he got out of his thoughts and saw his mother on the ground. He rushed to her side and helped pick her up from the ground. He helped her to get on her feet, Sofia pushed him away from her.
"Don't touch me," she yelled in disgust. "Don't you dare lay your filthy hands on me," she added stepping back.
Ander froze, his whole body was cold. Her words and actions were like a sharp blade cutting a piece of his heart. His eyes turned pitch black. He could sense only negative energy in the air, the feeling in his heart was like none he had ever felt before.
There was no anger or injustice in his heart. Only guilt, he had played the victim for so long that he had not realized when he became the culprit. What others had done to him, he did to someone who had shown him nothing but life and now she too wanted nothing to do with him.
His body lifted off from the ground, dark smoke rotating around his body from his head to his leg. His eyes looked like an empty pit, a black hole.
He wanted it to end. The feeling in his heart to stop. He didn't want to live in a world where she looked at him like a monster. So he let go.