Natasha's eyes turned red-rimmed as well.
As she watched her son sob uncontrollably between her knees, a myriad of emotions welled up within her.
At that moment, even though they did not utter a single word, it felt as though everything had been said.
It was as though they understood each other perfectly.
Anthony's muffled sobs drifted into the air, causing tears to also stream down Natasha's cheek.
She stroked his hair. Her eyes brimmed with tears, yet she kept smiling, her voice inexplicably gentle. “There, there. You never cried when you were young, so why have you started now that you've grown up?”
Sob! Sob! Sob!
Weeping uncontrollably, Anthony clutched at Natasha's blanket. He did not want to cry so pitifully either, but once the floodgates of his emotions sprung open, it was no longer possible for him to hold back.
To him, Natasha was everything. For as long as he could remember, he understood her hardships. Although she did not express her feelings much and rarely spoke of love with them, she had done everything all mothers would do. She was clearly someone who feared loneliness and loved freedom, but for their sake, she left her homeland and lived alone in a foreign country for a long time.
Comprehending her struggles and hardships, he vowed to become stronger and have enough power to protect her from a young age. But never had he imagined that things would come to this.
All along, she had been his pillar of strength. If anything were to happen to her, he could not imagine what would become of him or what he might do.
The mere thought of it was a painful and tormenting.
“Mommy!” Anthony clung to the blanket on her, desperately trying to suppress his grief. But the more he tried to do so, the more devastated he felt.
Natasha gently stroked his back with her hand, murmuring, “Go ahead and cry. Just cry if it makes you feel better. You'll be fine after crying.” She spoke tenderly, resembling a mother for real at that moment.
No sooner had her words fallen than Anthony finally snapped. Clutching onto her, he began to wail uncontrollably.
It was not exactly hysterical, but he bawled his eyes out.
Natasha gazed down at him. Tears occasionally trickled out of her eyes, but she promptly wiped them away with a hand.
Accustomed to being strong, she was still reluctant to bare the vulnerable side of her in front of her child.
Nonetheless, she had to admit that she was also scared. She wanted to live to watch them grow up, spend the future with Kenneth, and take care of her grandfather in his old age.
However, she knew that all that was nothing more than a pipe dream by then.
As she looked at Anthony, her eyes were filled with affection.
If her memory served, that was the second time Anthony shed tears. The first time was when she had a car accident. Back then, he was merely anxious to the point that his eyes turned red-rimmed, but she really did not see whether he cried, unlike that very moment when he was crying like a heartbroken child.
The contrast of seeing someone who had always been mature and composed before her suddenly breaking down in tears like that was indeed heart-wrenching.
Natasha wished that Anthony could still be that child who pretended to be mature. At least, being able to do so meant that he would also be able to accept that fact sometime in the future.
After an indeterminate time, Anthony's crying gradually subsided.
Natasha watched quietly by his side, keep him company.
When he finally lifted his head, his eyes were red and swollen. It was then that Natasha asked, “Feeling any better?”
As soon as she spoke, Anthony's eyes inexorably stung.
At his evasive gaze and silence, Natasha remarked smilingly, “This is more like it, Anthony. You're just a kid. What's there to be unhappy about? You should cry and laugh whenever you feel like it. Haven't you heard of the saying that only children who cry are given candy?”
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