Chapter 396: Can I Have A Patch Of Her Fur?

"That does not make any sense at all, Mika."

Nadia’s dry voice cut through the phone line like a blade through butter.

"My daughter could be called a fox but not a cat, so she isn’t capable of that quantum gag of being somewhere and not being somewhere at the same time."

"So, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"Alright. Let me explain properly."

Mika settled back against the bench, the cool night air doing nothing to ease the complicated emotions swirling in his chest.

"After the football match was over, Astrid did what Astrid always does when she’s upset. She refused to speak to me. Refused to talk to me. Refused to even look at me. She just flew away."

Nadia listened in silence.

"I thought I’d deal with her later. Give her space. Let her cool down. You know how she is—if you push too hard when she’s in that state, she just digs in deeper."

He then shook his head in disbelief and said,

"But who would have thought that she would appear at the party right before my eyes once again?"

Nadia actually stopped breathing for a second.

"What? She actually came to the party?"

Her disbelief was palpable even through the monotone as she went on to say in confusion,

"Mika, you have to understand—given how she is, how she’s against demi-humans to such an extent that she refuses to even utter Nuri’s name even though they’re childhood friends..."

"...it’s genuinely shocking that she would attend a party with so many demi-humans."

"That’s the thing, Nadia." He let out a sigh. "She never truly attended the party."

"Then what—"

"The whole time she was there, she was floating outside. Watching. Never entering. Never participating. Just...observing."

Nadia was quiet for a moment.

"The first time I caught sight of her." Mika continued. "I was actually a little scared for a second. It was almost like she was some kind of ghost watching over me."

"She was just standing there, outside the cafeteria, staring straight at me through the glass."

He shivered slightly at the memory.

"And I could feel it, you know? That intense gaze of hers. I thought maybe she wanted to speak to me. Maybe she’d cooled down enough to talk. So I took a step forward to go to her."

"But the moment I moved, she disappeared."

"Just...vanished. Like she’d never been there at all."

Nadia made a soft sound—understanding, perhaps.

"I was confused." Mika admitted. "But I decided to leave it aside. Figured she needed more time. So I went back to the party."

"But then, a few moments later, I turned around—and there she was again. Same spot. Same intense stare. Same ghost-like presence."

He sighed.

"And when I took a step forward again? She turned away and disappeared. Again."

"This happened more than once?" Nadia asked.

"This happened the whole night, Nadia. Over and over."

He answered in resignation.

"Every time I tried to call out to her, she would run away. Escape. Disappear. By the end, I just gave up and let her stand outside. Because there was nothing I could do about it. She wasn’t ready to face me, but she also wasn’t ready to leave."

Nadia let out a long breath.

"Oh, Astrid." She murmured. "What am I going to do about you?"

She paused, gathering her thoughts before finally saying,

"She probably just wanted to talk to you, Mika. After seeing how much you were enjoying yourself, she also wanted to join you. But of course—because of how you left things off, because of her pride—she couldn’t just come in."

"She would have wanted you to come to her instead."

Mika frowned. "But that’s—"

"I know." Nadia’s voice was calm. "I’m not saying it’s right. I’m not saying you should enable that behavior. She needs to learn that she can’t keep running away and expecting others to chase her."

"But because of that, because you didn’t chase she probably felt incredibly indignant. Frustrated. Hurt."

"She wanted to spend time with you so badly, but her pride wouldn’t let her approach. So she did the only thing she could."

"She watched you from outside. All night. Because being near you, even just watching you was better than being alone."

Hearing this Mika was surprised by how accurate she was for a moment, before he let out a low chuckle.

"Wow, Nadia." He said, genuine admiration in his voice. "You really know your daughter quite a lot, don’t you? It’s like you know everything that’s going on inside her head."

Nadia’s response came without hesitation.

"Of course. She’s my daughter after all."

Her voice filled with motherly pride.

"No matter how much we don’t get along. No matter how much she doesn’t want to speak to me. She is my flesh and blood at the end of the day."

"And as her mother, I can understand her."

"But still..." Her tone suddenly became a little pleading as she said, "I hope you don’t give up on her or anything like that."

Mika opened his mouth, but Nadia pressed on.

"She doesn’t really mean harm, Mika. Because of past circumstances, she’s the way she is right now. And I don’t know how to help her get over it."

"I mean I’ve myself, I’ve tried to breach that barrier and reach her many times before..."

"...but none of it has worked."

A note of pain entered her voice.

But then her tone shifted and became hopeful.

"But you, Mika? You have a chance. If there’s anyone, she lets inside of her world. It’s you. So I really hope you don’t give up on her just because of the way she acts."

Mika scoffed immediately.

"What are you talking about, Nadia? That’s an absolute given."

He looked almost offended by what she has suggested, saying,

"The way Astrid acts is honestly not new to me at all. I’ve spent time with her for years and I’m not even surprised or bothered by it anymore."

"I’ve already gotten used to it."

His voice gentled.

"So, you also don’t have to worry about me giving up on her. That will never happen."

He then added quickly, almost as an afterthought.

"And even in a hypothetical situation where I did—which I won’t—she has plenty of family as well. Her sisters, her aunts—they would never give up on her."

"So you really don’t have to worry about that at all."

On the other end of the line, Nadia felt something loosen in her chest.

She had always felt so difficult about her relationship with her daughter.

Always worried that with the way Astrid treated others, she wouldn’t have any friends.

Always concerned that her own family might eventually give up on her, just as she and Astrid had given up on each other.

But hearing Mika confirm it—hearing him say so matter-of-factly that giving up on Astrid was simply not an option—made her feel so much better.

So much lighter.

So much more hopeful.

"Thank you, Mika." She said softly. "Thank you for that."

Mika opened his mouth to say there was no need to thank him, that it was obvious, that she didn’t have to—

But Nadia wasn’t done and instead she spoke again with a shift in her tone.

Eager now. Anticipatory. Almost hungry.

"So...how exactly is Astrid doing?"

Mika blinked at the sudden shift.

"Is she eating alright? Is she looking good? Are her tails as fluffy as before? Is she grooming them properly? How does she seem right now?"

The questions tumbled out, one after another, each carrying the weight of a mother’s desperate concern.

"I haven’t had a chance to properly talk to her in so long. I just want to know how she is. So, please, Mika. Tell me everything."

Mika’s heart clenched.

It was so obvious—so painfully, heartbreakingly obvious—how worried Nadia was about her daughter.

How concerned she was about Astrid’s mental state, her physical well-being, her happiness.

How desperately she wanted to be part of Astrid’s life, even in this small way, through secondhand updates from someone else.

But because of circumstances in the past.

Because they had chased two completely different ideals.

Because mother and daughter simply could not get along, they had a difficult, fractured, painful relationship.

And even though Nadia was so desperate for any scrap of information about her own child—she couldn’t do anything about it.

She could only ask Mika.

He felt terrible for her.

But he pushed those feelings down and put on a reassuring smile, even though she couldn’t see it.

"There’s no need to worry about anything, Nadia. She’s completely alright."

He then chuckled and added teasingly,

"And the fact that she’s as stubborn as ever means she’s doing good. If she ever stopped being stubborn, that’s when you’d need to worry."

A small sound from Nadia—maybe a laugh, maybe a sigh of relief.

"And as for those fluffy tails of hers?"

Mika continued, his tone lightening.

"They’re in amazing condition. So soft. So fluffy. Honestly, they’re as perfect as ever. I don’t know what she does to maintain them, but whatever it is, it’s working."

Then, trying to lighten the mood, he added jokingly,

"You know, the next time I meet her, I could even cut off a bit of fur from her tails and wrap it up and send it to you. Just for remembrance’s sake. A little piece of Astrid for you to keep."

He expected her to laugh. To say ’don’t be ridiculous.’ To recognize it as the obvious joke it was.

But instead—

"Really, Mika?" Nadia’s voice actually rose slightly with excitement. "Will you really do that for me?"

Her voice grew softer, almost wistful.

"It’s been so long since I’ve touched her fur. Since I’ve groomed her tails. Since I’ve felt that softness."

"It would be so nice to have something of hers. To touch her again, even just a little piece."

She sounded genuinely touched and Mika...

...he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

He just stared at his phone in complete dismay.

"Nadia." He finally said slowly. "I was joking. That was supposed to be a joke."

"Isn’t that...Isn’t that obvious?"