Talotkan stayed there, sitting quietly,
She didn't want to move.
Not anywhere.
After all...what right did she have to go to her?
Just then, Grandma came and sat beside her, her steps slow, her presence warm and steady. Her voice, soft yet firm, carried the weight of a lifetime's wisdom.....like a master teaching their disciple the truths of life.
"Talo…" Grandma began gently, her gaze drifting toward the swaying fabrics outside.
"Life is never easy for anyone. And what you believe… is both right and wrong.....that fate always walks opposite to the name we're given."
Talotkan turned to her, eyes wide in surprise.
"How, Grandma? How is that possible?"
Grandma chuckled softly, a knowing smile tugging at her lips.
"If someone's name were 'Truth,' do you think they'd spend their entire life speaking the truth? No… sometimes, secrets must be kept. Sometimes, lies must be told. So yes, even a person named 'Truth' can lie. That's how it is."
Her voice dropped lower, thoughtful and calm, like ripples across a still pond.
"But the irony, my dear, is that it is fate itself that gives us our names. And only fate knows what lies ahead."
Talotkan blinked, her brows furrowed.
She still didn't fully understand what Grandma was trying to tell her.
Grandma caught that puzzled expression and laughed again, softly, affectionately.
She reached out, tapping Talotkan's hand lightly.
"What I mean is… when everything is already in fate's hands...and we know we can't change it.....then why struggle so much? Why not simply live? Just think… whatever happens, let it happen. And you.....live freely."
Grandma paused there, letting the silence stretch, her eyes gleaming with something unspoken.
Talotkan puffed her cheeks, her lips curling into a stubborn pout.
She had understood… at least partly.
But she wanted Grandma to say the rest out loud.
So, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she leaned closer and teased,
"And? What else, Grandma?"
Grandma's smile softened, her hand rising to cup Talotkan's cheek with infinite tenderness.
"And… teach others to live too."
For a long heartbeat, their eyes met...warmth against warmth.
And then, suddenly, Talotkan jumped up like a spark and dashed toward her room, her laughter echoing faintly in the hall.
Behind her, Grandma stayed seated, her lips curved in a secret smile, her eyes shimmering with a thousand unsaid words.
---
Talotkan's room was a small sanctuary of green...a world of its own.
Tiny pots lined the shelves, spilling life into every corner, their leaves brushing softly against the gentle wind from the open window.
Flowers bloomed in delicate hues, but among them was one special plant.
A plant with pure white blossoms.
She had named it...Fate.
She knelt beside it, her fingers caressing its fragile petals as if touching the threads of destiny itself.
Her voice fell to a whisper, trembling with quiet resolve:
"Miss Fate… just grant me a little more time. Please.
Once, I had no dreams at all…
But now...now I think I finally have one.
I promise you… I'll finish what I have to do. Soon."