*Nine years later*
"I am so sorry, baby. You were still too young to know what happened to your father. I hid the truth from you—not because I wanted to, but because I didn't want to see you hurt or ruin your childhood with the knowledge of his death. Please, Lilith, try to understand me and forgive me. Please, baby, I would never hurt or wrong you on purpose. Please stop crying now..."
Lilith sobbed into her pillow, her mother's words echoing in her mind. She just couldn't believe how her mother had kept her in the dark for so long, feeding her lies that her father was a ranger among the Triven warriors. She had grown up hoping to meet him one day, never knowing he was long gone. How could her mother have hidden it all for so many years?
Her heart ached as if it would tear apart. She still couldn't accept that her father was dead and that she never got to meet him. Why was this happening to her? Especially now, after she had just graduated from the Kid Rangers Institute of northeast Triven and was leaving tomorrow for the main training courses at the headquarters in Nerwin. Maybe that was why her mother finally decided to tell her the truth—because she was leaving tomorrow and wouldn't return until she was eighteen and a fully trained Triven ranger. Perhaps her mother thought she deserved to know the truth before she left.
Even though her mother thought she was old enough to handle the truth, Lilith didn't think she had handled it well at all. She had walked out on her mother, leaving her alone to cry in her room. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't bring herself to believe that everything her mother did was for her own good and to protect her childhood. She just couldn't accept that it had all been a lie—her dream of meeting her father one day, of having him teach her special fighting skills. Now, all those dreams were shattered, never to come true.
She buried her head deeper into her pillow, crying and screaming into it as if not wanting anyone to know she was crying. But her trembling shoulders gave her away, and soon she knew she would run out of tears to shed.
"Try to understand, Lilith. Your mother meant no harm, nor did she mean to hurt you. She only did what she thought was best," a voice spoke softly beside her ear.
Andreas. Lilith wasn't surprised at all; he always seemed to appear out of nowhere. He had been her best friend and had been there for her since she was five. Their relationship was nothing beyond friendship—not that she expected anything more—because she was satisfied with the state of their bond.
He had been the one who kept her going throughout her stay at the Kid Rangers Institute. He gave her the fighting spirit to never give up, even when her training classes were difficult. However, he had never taught her to fight or helped with her fighting skills because, basically, he couldn't fight. He was weak physically but very strong with words (or so she thought).
"Oh, Andreas," she sat up and hugged him tightly. "You have no idea how hurt I am right now. How could she lie to me and keep me in the dark? Why did she do that? Why wasn't she honest with me?" She buried her head in the crook of his neck and cried harder.
"It's okay, Lilith," he embraced her tightly. "I'm here now."
The hug lasted for long seconds before he gently pulled her away to wipe her tears. "Stop crying now and try to understand your mom. She did what she did so you could have a great childhood. Imagine if you had grown up knowing your father was gone—I'm sure you would have had a very awful time being a child. Try to see it from her perspective, Lilith." He gently creased her face as he spoke calmly.
*Sniff sniff*
"I never thought of it that way," she said through tears, beginning to see sense in his words. "So my mommy hid my father's death from me to protect me?" She looked at him with her innocent purple orbs.
"Of course, Lilith," he affirmed. "She loves you and did all of that just for you. She always wanted you to have a perfect life, even in the absence of your father."
"I was just too emotional to understand. I walked out on her and left her to cry alone in her room. I shouldn't have acted that way. She must be hurt now," she said, sadness clouding her face. "Oh, what do I do now?" she asked him, looking for answers.
"Go talk to her. Tell her you're sorry and patch things up. You know you'll be leaving tomorrow and won't see her for the next four turns of Omania's orbit around the universe's brightest star."
Lilith nodded and stood from the bed. She made her way to her mother's room and found her sobbing on the floor, clutching a photo of her dad. "Mom," she called softly, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Oh, Lilith, come here. Have you forgiven me, baby?"
"I don't need to forgive you, Mommy, because you did nothing wrong. I now understand you did what you did for me, and I don't hold it against you anymore."
"Oh, baby," Lilian stood and gave her daughter a hug so tight it squeezed the breath from her. "I knew you would understand when the time was right."
"I'm so sorry, Mommy. Please stop crying now." Lilith pulled away and wiped her mother's tears. "Save them for tomorrow, when you say goodbye," she teased, making her mom let out a soft laugh.
"I'll be just fine, Lilith," she stroked her daughter's hair. "All I want is for you to fulfill your dreams and become a powerful ranger of Triven, just like your father was. Will you do that for me?"
"Of course, Mommy." Lilith saluted playfully. "I will never let you down." Her pose made her mother smile with pride before hugging her again. She was indeed going to miss her.