小嫂子的味道

"That was a good one," Ron said as he sat on the ground beside me. Our little spar had ended and now we were taking a bit of a breather.

"You are certainly growing. I\'m sure you would have surpassed me by the next time you\'re here," he said.

"I\'ll take that as a compliment then," I replied.

There was no winner for the previous spar; we just traded blows for half an hour and then stopped. It was enough time for me to assess his skills.

And the result…well, I\'ll have to get here as soon as possible when the calamity will strike. The academy rules won\'t matter after that but I\'m sure they will be valid during the time I\'ll take my leave. Though I don\'t really care for all that.

In everything I was doing, the single goal I had was to save my family from being killed in the calamity. Anything else came afterward.

"Zero," Ron called my name as he sat on the grass beside me. I turned to look at him, an indication that I was listening.

"Are you enjoying your life?" he asked. He was looking at the sky, not at me. His eyes were calm—for once—and his expression was relaxed.

The question came so unexpectedly that I was quiet for a moment. "What exactly do you mean by that?" I queried.

"Huh? I asked if you were enjoying the way you are living your life."

I still wasn\'t able to grasp it.

"What exactly do you mean by \'enjoying my life\'?" I appealed, it was a strange term to me.

"Sigh, sometimes I forget how dense you can be," he said with a slight smile. "What I mean to ask is do you think you\'re living every moment of your life to its fullest? Are you sure that when you would have grown up to be an old man and when you will look back at the time you spent as your younger self, you won\'t regret it and think that \'Oh, I should have done this, or I should\'ve lived more in the present or ah, I wasn\'t able to do this?\'"

His words took me by surprise and for the first time in a while, I was introduced to a question that had left me unable to think for a second. I\'ve never really thought about living life in such a way. After all, I had so many things to take care of, a family I wanted to save, and a future I wanted to survive in.

I never really had the time to sit and think about the present or what I\'ll think of my actions in the late future.

But I didn\'t intend to lie, so I have him an honest answer.

"I…honestly don\'t know," I said.

"I see. That\'s fine then," he replied.

"Huh? I thought I didn\'t reply to what you were expecting me to. I thought your reply would a little harsher."

"Haha, what\'re you talking about? You said exactly what I wanted you to say. In fact, I probably would have smacked you if you said that you ARE living every moment of your life to its fullest. No one your age is mature enough to do that, and if they enjoying their present that means they are ignoring their future. That basically boils down to being careless."

"What were you doing when you were my age? Were you enjoying your life?"

"Heh, hell nah. If anything I was even less responsible than you. I was tangled up in day-to-day problems. Like how to look cool in school, how to outclass everyone in my class, just like every teenager I too dreamed about becoming a hero and saving the world… I remember I was also way too desperate about losing my virginity."

"Wait, wait, you don\'t have to disclose that many details!"

He chuckled, "It\'s fine. It\'s not every day I get to talk to you like this."

"Still, I\'d like to ask how you met with her. Considering the way you describe yourself, I\'m guessing most of the girls would\'ve liked to keep their distance from you."

"Ah, well, you\'re not entirely wrong about that. I was the cheeky, full-of-energy, weirdo during my school days. But that was the reason I met your mother. Although I think you should ask her about this if you really want to know. It\'s not fair for me to tell everything, is it?"

​ "That\'s fair I guess."

"…"

"Zero, let me ask this again. Are you living your life to its fullest?"

"I don\'t know."

"Good. That\'s the way it should be. Take your time, and learn everything the right way. After all, before enjoying your life, it\'s important to learn how to live a life."

***

We talked about a few more things after that, but since Ron had something to do he had to leave.

I also walked out of the garden as it was beginning to get cold. I spent the rest of my time doing your everyday things, and soon it was evening.

Though it was still five o\'clock, the sun had settled behind the clouds and the cold was coming out on the roads.

It was around this time when Anya came to pay me a visit while I was sitting in my room, reading a book.

"Aren\'t you dressed yet?" was the first thing she asked upon entering my room.

"Why should I be?" I asked as I closed my book.

"Don\'t tell me you forgot. We are going shopping," she replied as if I was asking the most obvious thing.

"No, I know that. But why should I wear good clothes when I am going to buy clothes?" it was a pretty logical question if you ask me.

"Sigh. There\'s no arguing with you. Just wear something other than what you\'re wearing right now and come. Ellyn is also ready," she said.

"Oh, that so? Well, I\'ll be doing that then. Now if you will be so kind as to close the door," I replied.

"Don\'t take much time," she left, shutting the door close behind her.