Chapter 9 Goodbye Karan and Cynthia
The deep honey-colored lamb roasted on charcoal fire was cut open by a sharp blade. A layer of lamb fat roasted to a golden color like honey was shining with an attractive luster, and the tender pink lamb leg had the rich fragrance of wine.
Thinly sliced roast lamb was served on a crisp white plate, with grilled onions and a handful of crispy roast potatoes as a side dish.
Avery liked this tender roasted lamb very much. His taste buds awakened before his soul. The touch and taste were very similar to those deep in his memory.
"How does it taste?" Darien asked.
"It's delicious. This is the best dinner I've ever had." Avery swallowed the lamb in his mouth.
Something in his memory seemed to have been loosened. He seemed to have been wolfing down a large plate of roast lamb beside the campfire, accompanied by laughter and dancing, and a girl whispered in his ear...
He didn't remember what he said.
The roasted lamb has a layer of oil on the edge, but it is not greasy. The tender lamb with the aroma of spices gently rubs the teeth. There is no sauce on the roasted onions at all, and it tastes just the sweetness of onions. The roasted potatoes are fragrant and glutinous. It is a very delicious meal.
The spoon gently hits the bottom of the bowl, making a crisp sound. The asparagus and pea soup is thick and smooth, and tastes like the taste of spring. You can tear open the dinner roll and dip it in it bit by bit.
Finally, there was the maple syrup sponge pudding.
Darian is very devout towards any dessert. Before eating them, he will say in his heart, "I'm going to eat you!"
Avery looked at the pudding, hesitating to move his fork.
"What's wrong?" Darien was very satisfied with the fluffiness of the pudding and the sweetness of the maple syrup. The slight bitter and sweet taste of the plant made the pudding even better.
Therefore, he is particularly concerned about other people's opinions on dim sum.
"Cynthia loves it, she told me," Avery said.
The girl's face was smiling sweetly. She had two shallow dimples, which became deeper when the syrup flowed in her mouth.
"She thought you liked it," said Sewell.
"Ah." Avery uttered a soft "ah," but did not ask any further questions.
He finished the snack very carefully, even scraping up the maple syrup that had flowed to the bottom of the plate with his fork.
While drinking tea, Darien handed the diary to Avery: "Open it yourself and take a look. It's all here. Cynthia left you here."
Avery picked up the diary and gently stroked the old leather cover. Too much time had passed and it was too fragile to withstand being touched.
But it doesn’t matter, the soul is very light.
It's time for Avery to be alone.
"See you tomorrow, then," Darien said.
"Have a good night," Sewell said.
"Thank you, see you tomorrow." Avery picked up the diary and went back to his room. He wanted to read it carefully under the bright sunshine.
In the kitchen, Sewell and the Fitches were washing and scrubbing together.
"Avery is a lovely boy. Will he stay here after tonight?" asked Mrs. Fitch.
"Of course, once his wish comes true, he will stay here forever," said Sewell.
The guest who has nothing still has a precious soul, and according to the contract, his soul will return to the tower forever.
"Did he like our dinner?" Mrs. Fitch asked again.
"He loved it, he said the roast lamb was delicious," said Darien.
"Oh dear, why are you in the kitchen?" Mrs. Fitch quickly wiped her paws on her apron and ran from one counter to another.
"I came to find some lavender. I want to drink some lavender tea." Darien leaned against the door frame, his eyes fixed on the apron bow tied behind Sewell.
Sewell reached out and untied the bow.
"Can't sleep at night?" asked Mr. Crow.
"Kind of. Harvesting souls is always exhausting," Darien said.
Mrs. Fitch seemed to be hesitant to speak, but in the end she didn't say anything. Instead, she trotted up the small stairs next to her and opened the cabinet containing lavender.
"Thank you, Mrs. Fitch." Sewell picked up the lavender jar and closed the cabinet door.
Lavender tea and a bedtime story helped Mr. Wizard sleep, and he woke up a little later than usual.
Avery was already waiting downstairs.
He stayed awake all night. One of the benefits of being a soul was that you didn't need sleep. He stayed with Sunshine and Cynthia and read the entire diary.
"Goodbye," he said to Cynthia as he closed the diary.
"Goodbye. When can we meet again?" Cynthia held up the notebook and pressed it against the glass window.
"We'll be able to meet again soon, outside, without the window between us, but this will be a secret between us, okay?" Avery said.
"Okay." Cynthia agreed with a smile.
She would see Callan again, but she would never see Avery again.
"Good morning," Avery said.
"Good morning Avery, or should I call you Callan Easton," Darien said.
"Avery," Avery said, "thank you for giving me Cynthia's diary. It reminds me of everything."
"You remember everything now, so do me a favor and send your friends back home. I need some specific addresses," said Darien.
Sewell handed over a stack of portraits.
Avery could call out the name of every soldier under his command and remember where they came from. They were not just his soldiers, but also brothers and friends.
Their hometown is a border town that is covered in snow most of the year and is a very cold place.
Darien finally understood what it meant that there was no snow in Saint-Cyr in winter. The legendary Saint-Cyr was warm like spring all year round and would not be covered with snow for a long time like their hometown.
All the little skeletons were packed up, and Fitch and Mrs. Fitch came to help, filling the small box with soft cotton wool and placing a dried rose from the tea can in it.
They emptied two whole cans of rose tea.
The gorse door opened briefly, and crows flew over one after another, picked up the packages and carried them back home.
Sewell stood at the side of the door and distributed nuts to the crows in line, a handful of nuts in a package, which was their reward for their labor.
All the skeletons were sent back to the border town called Valena. It was now the short spring of the year in Valena. Snow mulberry flowers bloomed in patches on the steep hills. The souls were sleeping among the blooming flowers and finally resting in peace.
After the last crow had flown away, the gorse door closed again.
"Let's go, Avery," Darien said to Avery.
"Well, thank you, please take my soul." Avery smiled.
They walked together to the top of the tower. The long spiral of stairs was long enough for some more small talk.
"Do you like Cynthia? No offense, I'm just a little curious." Darien asked.
"No, no, we're just friends." Avery lied against his will.
Beneath the ivy-covered high wall, he once pleaded with the unhappy girl, "Cynthia, will you go back to Valena with me? There are endless snowfields there, but in the brief spring, there will be snow mulberry flowers all over the mountains..."
Cynthia gently put her hand into his palm, but quickly pulled it out. She lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry..."
Sorry, she is willing, but she can't...
They were silent, and there was only the soft rustling of the wind through the ivy leaves.
At the top of the tower is a huge dome like the starry sky. The trails of meteors streak across the brilliant star map on the dome. There are no windows here and it is dark all around, but they can see each other clearly with the moon under their feet and the stars above their heads.
"Give me your hand, Avery," Darien said.
Avery held out his hand.
Seville took out the contract and threw it into the starry sky dome.
Darien softly recited a spell from eternity, and the contract thrown into the air turned into a series of glowing characters that flew towards Avery's body.
Avery was surrounded by light, his body slowly floated up into the air, and he gradually became transparent, just like when he first stepped into the magic shop.
"Goodbye, and thank you." He said when his body was about to disappear into obscurity.
A crystal teardrop from the soul fell on the moon floor, splashing tiny fluorescent lights.
Darien's hand was released, and Avery's figure completely disappeared. His soul turned into a star and flew towards the starry sky above his head.
The stars shine, and Avery becomes one of them, and they live forever in the tower.
"What's for dinner?" Darien looked listless and not very energetic.
"How about roasted wild duck with cucumber? And quince jelly for dessert," said Sewell.
Darien nodded and headed downstairs.
Special guests don't come around often, and after saying goodbye to Avery, they returned to their peaceful lives.
Darien's depression lasted for several days.
Mrs. Fitch told Sewell that it was normal for such a persistent low mood to require several days of heavy desserts to cure it.
This happens every time he collects souls, and Darien is infected by the emotions of the souls.
If the soul is joyful, the happy mood will last for several days; if the soul is sad, the depressed mood will last for several days.
Sewell cooked many desserts with double sugar according to Mrs. Fitch's recipe, and Darien ate them all.
The weather in the wilderness today is cloudy.
Mr. Master's mood, the sky is clearing up after the rain, and then turning to local showers.
An old customer came to the store, making Darien miss Mrs. Mary especially.
In Mr. Mage's guest list, female guests are more popular. They have diverse personalities but are generally gentle and amiable, and they are also very willing to pay. Darian doesn't mind giving a small discount within a reasonable range for profiteers.
The most annoying guest was undoubtedly Mr. Morris in front of him.
This middle-aged man needed a lot of compliments and held on to gold coins very tightly. If it weren't for Darien's rules on charging for small talk, he could have chattered on and on all day long.
At this moment, Mr. Morris chewed on the freshly baked biscuits in the kitchen and talked about his business: "As long as you store all the beans when the harvest is good and sell them when the price rises, you can make a lot of gold coins."
Darien said, "You are very far-sighted."
Mr. Morris was somewhat dissatisfied with the brief compliment, but it would have been an extra expense to ask the shopkeeper to say more, so he changed the subject.
"Do you know Baron Sage? He's truly disgraced the nobility, employing rats to polish his boots with cookie crumbs... Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, rats are so filthy, wallowing in garbage and filling their bellies with rotten food... Hmm, this plate of cookies is delicious, it tastes like a palace. Which chef made these?"
That’s a really good question.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
