Ali’s voice cracked again. But this time, she was acting like an adult again by trying to hold back her tears. “Can you promise me something?”
I smiled. “What is it?”
“Please think of me from time to time, Daddy. Please don’t forget me.”
“I won’t forget you. And that’s a promise.”
“I was the happiest when I was with you, Daddy. I will keep our memories together safely in my heart. As my way of thanking you, do you want to hear a song? Mommy and I used to sing this song together.”
It was like she was saying goodbye already. But we haven’t found her father yet. So why was her tone like that? But I didn’t ask anymore. Being the mysterious little thing that she was, I knew she would not give me a specific answer anyway. “Go ahead.”
Ali opened her eyes and reached for my hand. She entwined her dainty, little fingers with mine and then she raised our hands.
My mouth opened out of surprise after seeing the marks that appeared on our palms which reached until our shoulders. Both of the marks were aquatic dragons. Mine was blue while Ali’s was blue-green. Those marks only became visible at night. Who would have thought that she had the same mark, too?
In Arameth, only a few people had that mark and had that kind of magic color. Because the aquatic dragons symbolized being a Sormont. Only my father and I had blue magic. I have never seen a blue-green magic my entire life until today. Usually, the people here only have one color. The most common was yellow. When the family members hold hands to create a spell, their marks brighten up even more and their colors became more vivid. Every time it happens, the dragon in the marks seemed to have a life of its own. It would swirl around the palm until the shoulder. It meant that the spell was in motion.
What in the world does Ali’s mark mean? Does this mean that all along, I know who her father was? We have searched far and wide for him never knowing that Ali’s father could be at the royal castle all these time. For all I know, that person could be close to me. He could even be my relative.
“Ali, tell me honestly-“
“Give thanks with a grateful heart,” the child cut me off and sang instead. She had an angelic voice like my mother. I could listen to it the entire day and I would not mind. “Give thanks to the Holy One. Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son. And now, let the weak say, “I am strong”, let the poor say, “I am rich. Because of what the Lord has done for us. Give thanks…”
I was startled. I got up. My heart was pounding when I stared at the little girl. I released my hand from her grip. The light brought about by our marks quickly disappeared. “You… your mother is a mortal, isn’t she? That was the reason why she is not with you right now. You came from their world. Because only humans believe in those types of songs and values.”
I was not able to wait for her response anymore because I already felt the presence of my subordinates. Ali could not see them, but I could feel them. They were watching me from a distance. They already surrounded the entire beach. I breathed harshly. This could only mean one thing.
My rest days were over. They came to pick me up. I have to go back to being a king now.
I stood up and was about to walk away when Ali held my hand. “I will miss you, Mister Sormont. Thank you for spending your rest days with me. Thank you for the hug, for the forehead kisses, for carrying me on your shoulders, and for indulging my wishes. I had so much fun. Thank you for showing me around and for welcoming me in this beautiful kingdom of yours. You’ve been a kind and gracious host.” She embraced me. “I love you, Mister Sormont. I love you so much… Daddy.”
And then she disappeared.

“THIS IS not the way back to Eliran Castle, Theron,” I said, referring to the royal residence. The carriage that we were riding were heading towards the sacred portal that would lead us outside Arameth. Only a few Armethians know about this road.
I’ve noticed the tension on his face ever since he came to pick me up. Theron’s eyes were alert and he would constantly roll up the carriage curtain to peek outside.
“What’s going on? You’ve been distracted since the day we saw each other again. You’ve never been like this before. It’s the first time.”
“And so are you, my king. Despite the numerous hurdles you went through before, I have never seen you waver even for a moment except today. And it was all because of a little girl. Did you think I would not know about her? You called her name many times last night while you were asleep. And if only I didn’t know your situation, I would have thought that you had a child with another woman that’s why you were that attached to the kid who suddenly came into your life, to the kid I did not even meet.”
What the butler said silenced me. Ever since the Knights came yesterday at the beach, I never got to see Ali again. I didn’t even get to talk to her again when there were many things we needed to clarify between us. The peace, the warmth, and the fulfillment that I felt while being with her all left my heart when we parted.
I could always do a location spell to track the little girl. I could easily connect with her since we both have the same mark. People like us had a special connection to one another. But I was hesitating to do that.
Damn, I was also scared. I was scared to trace the kid and to find out that she was not real to begin with, that all the beautiful days that I spent with her were just a part of a spell.