The Cursed King

"Why, thank you Lindsay," Mr. York said to her. "This is my daughter, Maddie."

"Ah, hello, Ms. Maddie," the nurse greeted Elise. "My name is Lindsay. I'm pleased to meet you."

"Hello, Lindsay. I'm pleased to meet you too," said Elise. "Thank you for taking care of my father."

"Ah, it's my pleasure… really. Mr. York often told me about his daughter. You are more beautiful than what he told me," Lindsay smiled warmly. She poured tea into the two cups and gave them to Elise. "Tea?"

"Thank you." Elise accepted the cup and sipped it. It was starting to get cold because Mr. York's window was opened. So, she offered to close it after she put down her teacup back onto the table.

"No, please let it open," said Mr. York gently. He touched Elise's hand and motioned her to sit down. "Today is the first day I could sit by my open window and enjoy the beauty. I want to see the leaves fall from the sky. Look... they are falling like rain now. It is so beautiful. Don't you think?"

He was right. From his window, they could see the gentle breeze shook the trees outside, enough to create a shower of leaves falling from the trees. It looked quite magical.

Elise looked at the nurse, asking with her eyes what did her father mean by saying it was his first day to sit by his open window. 

The man was thin and frail but still looked quite healthy. Surely he could sit by his window easily… right? So.. why did he say those words, as if he had not done it for a long time?

The nurse shook her head lightly and whispered, "Actually, Mr. York was paralyzed for months because of the stroke and only recovered several days ago. He is still weak, but he is finally able to sit and even walk for a bit."

"Oh…" Elise could only clench her fists to the sides when she heard this explanation. She hated Tessa and her family so much more.

They were the reason why she couldn't be by her father's side during the toughest time of his life.

If only she was informed of what happened and allowed to visit her father, Elise would have come here so much earlier and tried to make things easier for him. She would always be by his side.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Daniel York looked outside with a dreamy expression. His gaze seemed to wander further than the small garden beside the facility where he could see several trees which leaves were now falling down when a breeze blew gently.

Elise sat next to him and held his hand. She affirmed her father's words and said, "Yeah… it is."

"I met my wife in autumn like this. She loved seeing the leaves falling down from the sky, like rain, and that was our favorite pastime together. We would sit with a book and a cup of tea and enjoy nature." 

Mr. York turned to Elise and smiled faintly. "I remember when my wife was still alive, we would always sit together like this with a cup of tea in hand, and talked about how much we miss our lovely daughter. It was a shame that she passed away before she could meet you. She would have loved you."

THUMP

Loriel felt his heart beat faster when he heard Mr. York's words. The man didn't mention 'your mother', but he used the word 'my wife',  as if talking to an outsider.

Did he actually know in his heart, that Elise was not really his biological daughter? Was this his way of saying goodbye?

Loriel saw the leaves too and he realized there was something special about it. He remembered that God of Death was poetic and he loved giving a sweet experience for the people he liked when they took their last breaths.

So, Daniel York loved watching the leaves falling with his wife? Was that why he was granted this beautiful sight at the end of his life?

This made Loriel feel sad. He realized that Elise would soon lose this man she considered her father. She had been missing this man so much and was very happy to finally see him again.

And it seemed, Elise didn't notice that Daniel York no longer talked to her as if to his daughter. He spoke about his missing daughter and his late wife, as if talking to an outsider.

"My wife would have loved you."

Elise nodded and wiped tears from her eyes. "Yeah… I wish I could see her. She must be a really wonderful woman."

"She was… She is the best. She is the love of my life, and I miss her so badly." Mr. York wiped his eyes too as tears started dripping down to his cheeks. "We were so tired… in our efforts to find Madeline. We spared no expenses and time… just to see her again."

The atmosphere slowly turned gloomy when he reminisced the time when he and his wife was still looking for their missing daughter after years and years of effort.

Daniel York let out a long sigh. "She never gave up. It was years of frustration and mental fatigue that finally took her from me. I am happy that she has finally rested. That's my consolation whenever I see the leaves falling like rain like today…"

Elise started sobbing faintly. She, too, had a feeling that the conversation she had with her father today might as well be their last conversation together.

Both were now watching the garden from the open window without saying anything. Loriel who just received his cup of tea suddenly felt bad about drinking tea when the old man didn't have any drinks in his hand.

Didn't he say his favorite pastime was watching the garden with his wife with a book and a cup of tea in their hands? Why shouldn't he hold his cup now?

Loriel motioned the nurse to come closer and whispered to her, "Lindsay, why didn't you make tea for Mr. York as well?"

The nurse shook her head apologetically. "I am sorry. He must not drink anything that the doctor didn't allow."

"Why?" Loriel asked curtly. He thought at a moment like this, it was appropriate for the father and daughter duo to enjoy their last moment together to the fullest.

"Because..."

Loriel rolled his eyes and without paying any heed to the nurse, he decided to give his own cup to the older man and whispered to his ear, "Mr. York, please enjoy the last day of fall with your tea."

The man accepted the cup, looking grateful, and nodded. Loriel then gave Elise her cup and motioned her to sit and enjoy the tea with her father, while Loriel asked everyone to leave them to have a private time together.

Elise wiped her tears with difficulty and mouthed her thank you. She got her cup and leaned her head on her father's shoulder, continued watching the scenery from outside the window, while Loriel drove everyone away.

Before he walked through the door, he turned around and smiled at the window. Suddenly flowers popping up in the garden and the breeze carried not just leaves but also flower petals from god knows where.

It was such magical sight!

Loriel was so proud of himself. He could be poetic too.