A Fresh Start

"The capital city! WOOHOOO!!!! I'M COMING FOR YOU!" a boy yelled out as he clapped his hands together in a way that could amplify his voice as he shouted from the top of a cliff. 

"Mikhail! That's dangerous! Your mom is going to kill me if you're not careful!" a girl yelled back at the boy as she ran towards him.

"I'll be fine. As long as you don't--" Mikhail replied turning around only to be tackled by the girl. 

"Woah!" Mikhail exclaimed as he lost his balance, slipping off the edge of the cliff. The girl cried out in shock as she clasped her hands against her mouth. 

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!" the boy yelled out as he slid to the bottom of the cliff, staring up at the peak.

***

"That should be more than enough. I think you're just doing that to tease her." another boy said as he stared at Mikhail, holding a rake as he stood lopsided to one side.

Mikhail stared at the boy before grinning. "Hey, come on. She literally tackled me off the cliff. I'm sure I'm entitled to some teasing." Mikhail pouted as he acted out an injured person. 

The other boy furrowed his brows as Mikhail yelled out a huge "OOUUCCHHH!~" before snickering as he heard the girl panicking from the top of the cliff.

"Cat! He's fine! Just come down here!" the other boy yelled out as he dropped his rake, grinning at Mikhail with a 'Oh, you're so dead' look. 

"Ack! You~~" Mikhail grimaced as he quickly patted on some red dirt onto his clothes to feign injury. 

"Ah! Mikhail! You liar! You made me worry for nothing!" the girl huffed angrily as she caught Mikhail red handed, patting on the dirt.

***

"Hey, you pushed me off the cliff. So why do I still get beat up? Huhu... you guys are heartless." Mikhail groaned as he pretended to sob. 

"Haha! You deserved that!" the other boy laughed as he slapped Mikhail on his back, purposely whacking one of the sore spots caused by the girl.

"OUCH! That hurts! Lucas~!" Mikhail groaned in pain as he grabbed at his throbbing shoulder, glaring at his friend. Lucas grinned and stuck his tongue out as he chased after the girl and matched his walking pace with hers.

"Hmmhmm~ How sneaky." Mikhail said as he grinned at Lucas who was offering to carry the firewood that his other friend was carrying. Mikhail then ran up to them and tossed his arms over their shoulders separating the two, as if a payback for earlier, he smirked at Lucas mischievously.

***

"My my... Mikhail is hurt again? And... his clothes... ... Mikhail..." a woman said as she stared at Mikhail's clothes that were covered in red earth and mud. 

"Thank you for bringing him home. Catherine. Lucas. I'll deal with him now." the woman continued as she smiled and waved to the two; holding firmly onto Mikhail's arm. 

"Alright, have a good day ma'am." Catherine said as Lucas interjected with a "And good luck Mikhail~" before bowing his head to leave.

As the two were leaving, Lucas stuck out his tongue towards Mikhail and quickly followed after Catherine, offering to carry her firewood once again. Ahhh~ I prefer being out there than in here at the moment!!! Mikhail thought as he stared at his two childhood friends walking off in the distance before his mother shut the door. Oh no...

"Mikhail..." Mikhail's mother said as she turned to face him, smiling but not exactly smiling. Mikhail shook in his boots as he grinned at her nervously. 

"I... fell off a cliff..." Mikhail said nervously as he tried laughing it off.

"You... HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SAID THAT THIS MONTH?! DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE SO MANY CLOTHES!!! GO WASH UP RIGHT NOW!" the woman yelled with a face that looked upset yet worried as she pointed at the wooden wash basin that they placed in a corner of their house.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. You're gonna get wrinkles." Mikhail said as he grabbed the wash basin. 

"Wha... Mikhail!" his mother yelled exasperated as she hit him on his shoulder. 

"Ow!" Mikhail yelled as he dropped the basin.

His mother, shocked, rushed towards him and scolded him yet again. "Ahh, why didn't you say you were injured... Ah! I guess I know why but still..." Mikhail's mother muttered as she rested her hands on his shoulder.

She whispered a soft prayer before a white light enveloped Mikhail. "Ooh... This is nice!" Mikhail said as he grinned at his mother. 

"... You should also be able to do this though..." Mikhail's mother said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Yeah, I can... but it's much nicer when you do it. Oh, oh! But forget about that! Its today isn't it?! I can finally go out and explore the worllddddd~" Mikhail said as he spread his arms, exaggerating the size of the world. 

"Hehehe... Yes. But you still need to get changed." Mikhail's mother giggled, watching his antics.

"Oh, okay~" Mikhail said shrugging as he picked the wash basin once again before grabbing a set of clean clothes, waving to his mother before heading out the door.

***

"Ahh~ Finally! I can leave this place! And aaalllll of that nagging! Ugh!" Mikhail said as he stretched inside of the flowing river near his home. He shivered as he stared at the wooden tub located behind his house and grumbled miserably to himself.

Oof... Why didn't I just use it? The river is surprisingly cold even in this hot weather... ... Yeah, that doesn't make sense... Am I sick??? Mikhail thought aloud as he shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

He looked around, taking in his surroundings. This town... Well, village, to be honest... I'll miss it... Mikhail thought as he stared at the greenery surrounding him.

Quaint cottages surrounded the surroundings, covered with thatch roofs and brick chimneys, black smoke coming out from them. The cottages were quite distant from one another giving each family a generous amount of land for cultivating or extension as a means to opening a shop.

It's been sixteen years... I finally can explore the outside of this quaint village. I mean~ Life here is good and all but.... I'm sure it's time to spice it up a little! Mikhail thought as he did a fist pump before ruffling his silver hair free from the dripping water.

***

Patting his body dry, Mikhail threw on his fresh pair of clothing as he wrung his freshly washed outfit dry. He slung his towel over his shoulder as he walked towards a clothesline to hang his wet clothes.

"Well... that about settles it! Now..." Mikhail said as his eyes gleamed. He walked towards his front door before he picked up his pace, running towards it excitedly.

"Mom! I'm done! Does this mean I can go out now?" Mikhail yelled excitedly as he burst through the front of his house door making his mother jump.

"Whoa! Mikhail! Calm down!" Mikhail's mother said as she calmed herself from his jump scare , patting her chest. 

"No way! This is hugeeeeee! I finally get to explore the vast lands of this planet! Of course starting with our capital city!" Mikhail exclaimed with an enthusiastic smile.

His mother said nothing but smiled with a sad look on her face before turning around. She was packing a suitcase for her son, filling it with the necessities needed for a journey.

All children leave their nests... I just didn't think it'd be this soon... If only he could see his son... ... No... I should be glad he didn't... Mikhail's mother thought to herself as she shut the suitcase and dusted her dress as she stood up.

"... I'll miss you..." Mikhail's mother said as she opened her arms, an invitation for a hug from her son. Mikhail rushed into her arms as he squeezed her tightly.

"I'll miss you too! And no worries! I remember eeevvvveeerything you told me. I'll keep them in mind." Mikhail said as he breathed in the familiar smell of aster flowers. Mikhail pried his eyes open and glanced at the vase of blue aster flowers located on the windowsill where his mother always sat to read.

As he pulled himself from his mother's loving embrace, his mother dropped a bag of silver coins in his palms as she smiled. "Use them wisely. I saved this up for you... Remember... you can always come home... I'll be waiting for you. Oh, and also! When you leave..." Mikhail's mother said before Mikhail interjected.

"... don't forget to wear a cape and pull the hood. Don't pick a fight with anyone. Don't be rude... yeah, yeah! I got it! ...Thank you, mom..." Mikhail said as he smiled at his mother. He then kissed her forehead as he grabbed his green cape, covering his hair with his hood and picking up his suitcase before turning towards the door.

"I'll be seeing you then~!" Mikhail said as he grinned at his mother. He tied the bag of coins to his belt before opening the front door, quickly stepping outside. He promptly bowed and waved goodbye as he ran off into the distance.

... And off he goes... That back... So familiar... Just like his father... Mikhail's mother thought as she watched her son run off excitedly towards the town. She smiled sadly as she redirected her gaze to the flowers on the windowsill.