HP North Star's Radiance

Page 112

“Human hearts are unpredictable.” Praris looked up at the fish swimming outside the window. “Just like these fish, you don’t know which way they’ll swim before they flick their tails; they’re unpredictable…”

Southend, a coastal town.

In Praris's memory, there was an endless blue ocean, a long boardwalk, and the sea breeze blowing through Sylvia's skirt.

Praris didn't remember much, but she recalled Sylvia standing on the dock's pier, leaning on the railing, gazing at the returning ships.

"Mother."

Polaris Syl William got his head stuck between two railings.

She asked, "Will Daddy be coming back today?"

Sylvia said softly, "No."

"Why?" Praris changed his posture, bracing himself on the railing with both hands, like he was playing on a horizontal bar—but his toes didn't leave the ground.

Sylvia said, "There's no why."

Praris's mother, Sylvia, was pregnant, but a month ago, her father, Depp, suddenly announced that he would be going away for a while.

“Deep,” Sylvia said, frowning, “can’t we wait? I keep feeling uneasy.”

Depp, holding her daughter and whimpering, was practically piloting a plane, saying, "Why? Hill, this is a great opportunity. I have a feeling about it too! I have a feeling I'll get some good shots this time, and you'll see my photos in the newspaper!"

Duple is an astrophotographer who chases the sun, the moon, the stars, and the unknown beauty billions of light-years away.

“But I’m pregnant!” Sylvia scratched her hair in frustration. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay home alone?”

“How about I bring my mother over?” Deepel steered the conversation away from the topic. “She’s retired, she has plenty of time. Please, Hill, this year’s planetary motion is different, I can feel it, an opportunity is in front of me! This is an opportunity given to me by God, one that may not come again.”

“I…” Sylvia clutched her chest, head bowed, “I don’t want to.”

Dipple put her daughter down from her arms and said softly, "Pubby, can you go to your room by yourself? Mommy and Daddy have something to say."

Praris walked toward the stairs, glancing back every few steps, while Depp waved to her reassuringly.

Upstairs, Praris lay on the floor, eavesdropping on William and his wife's conversation.

“Hill, you can’t always do this.” Deepe sighed, somewhat annoyed. “For the two years around the time of Poppy’s birth, I didn’t go out once; I stayed with you all. It wasn’t until she was a little older that we went to the Arctic together. I didn’t film anything during those two years!”

Downstairs, I could hear Dipper pacing back and forth: "Now you want me to stay in Southend-on-the-Sea again! You've already had a pregnancy before, haven't you? Sofia will take care of you! You can't keep me stuck here for another two years!"

"Am I the one who's going to get pregnant? Is this child mine alone?" Sylvia said angrily. "If I weren't pregnant, I could go out with you! I wouldn't be asking you to stay!"

“It was just an accident! None of us noticed—” Deeper pleaded. “Hill, I’ll be back as soon as possible. You said we could pursue what we love together, didn’t you?”

……

Sylvia stood at the top of the stairs on the second floor, looking at Praris who was holding a teddy bear: "Eavesdropping?"

Praris's eyes widened.

Sylvia said calmly, "Don't imitate those actions on TV; you can hear them even standing at the bottom of the stairs."

"Is Daddy going to take pictures?" Praris asked.

Sylvia sighed, bent over and sat on the fabric sofa, her long hair a mess from being pulled so much: "He can go wherever he wants."

Praris put his hands behind his back, walked up to Sylvia, and raised his clenched fist to her: "Mom, don't be sad."

A forsythia flower, which only blooms in spring, appeared in her palm.

Sylvia slapped her hand away, quickly crushed the forsythia into powder, and then looked frantically towards the stairwell.

Only after confirming that Deepell hadn't gone upstairs at all did she lower her voice and snap at Praris: "Praris William! What did your mother teach you! Didn't I tell you! Don't do these weird things when Dad's home!"

“But Mom,” Prarese said, puzzled, “you’re very unhappy.”

Sylvia closed her eyes in anguish, unable to bring herself to blame her daughter any longer: "Pubie, please, please don't do this."

Praris didn't understand.

Mom knows about Dad's affairs, but even though they have magical powers, Mom doesn't want Dad to know.

Ships came and went in the harbor, and Sylvia's belly grew bigger. She refused the visit of Depple's mother, Sophia, and stayed with Praris in their house in Southend by the sea.

The only good thing about Dad not being home is that Praris can unleash his magical powers.

As for the downsides—

One night, Praris got up to get some water and found her mother sitting on the sofa, crying in the dark while looking at a photo of the three of them.

Once, Sylvia took a bite of food and then vomited intermittently into the toilet for half an hour. After she finished vomiting, she started crying.

Another time, Mom tore the photos to shreds, then found her magic stick and glued them back together.

“Can’t we call Dad back?” Praris asked.

Sylvia shook her head wearily: "No."

Prarese said, "But Mom, you're not happy."

Sylvia gazed at the beach and sea outside the window for a long time: "We can't ask the birds not to fly."

Praris would accompany Sylvia to the dockside walkway every day, and Sylvia could always guess whether Dipple would return.

Even though she knew Deple wouldn't come back, she would still go to the dock.

Finally, one day, Sylvia didn't go to the dock.

That night, Depp pushed open William's door.

“Surprise!” Depp, looking travel-worn, excitedly raised her hand. “Pubi! Give Daddy a hug!”

“Dad! You’re filthy!” That’s what he said, but Praris was happy that Dipple was back, because Sylvia would be happy.

Dipple hugged Praris tightly: "It's all about getting dirty, make Pubi dirty too—Hill, did you see our team's report? I photographed Baily's Beads! Although I wasn't the first to photograph them! But I actually photographed Baily's Beads!"

Depp said to himself, muttering to himself, "How about we name our second child Bailey? It's the child who brought me good luck, allowing me to photograph Bailey's Beads!"

“Deepple William,” Sylvia said coldly, “is this what you wanted to say to me? You don’t care if I’ve suffered these past few days, you don’t care if I’m in pain, you don’t care about my physical condition… all you care about is Bailey’s Pearl.”

“I’m sharing something happy with you!” Deepall said, puzzled. “We’ve always been like this—I’m just about to show you some concern, but before I even get there, you’re already trying to dampen my spirits?”

Sylvia opened her mouth, her expression desolate: "What do you mean 'just getting ready'! What do you mean 'pouring cold water'! Do you even care about me at all?!"

“If I didn’t care about you, the first thing I would do after getting off the ship wouldn’t be come home to find you and your daughter!” Dipple said, her head aching. “Oh, my fault, my fault. You’re pregnant, you’re in pain, I shouldn’t have talked to you like that. Why didn’t you let Sophia come? What would have happened if something had happened to you alone?”

“Do you even care if I get into trouble?” Sylvia said sarcastically. “I thought all you cared about was Baily’s Beads.”

"Don't say that!" Deeper didn't understand why his wife always spoke with such a sarcastic tone. "Finding Baily's beads is a happy thing for me, why do you always use it to stab me in the back?"

Dipple's return did not change Sylvia's condition.

William and his wife always argued.

At first, Depp would call Praris upstairs before any signs of an argument would appear. At first, he would repeatedly make concessions and apologize for Sylvia's health.

But later, the two would start arguing about inexplicable things without warning. Even fond memories of their past together became reasons to attack each other.

Whether or not to avoid the issue of children is no longer something anyone cares about.

Deepe was so angry she could barely breathe, and finally blurted out, "Yes, it's my fault, it's all my fault! My biggest mistake was knowing you!"

"What did you say!" Sylvia exclaimed in astonishment.

Sylvia suddenly clutched her stomach and bent over in pain.

Deeper panicked: "Hill! Hill, are you alright?!"

Chapter 112 Out of Control

Dipple ran frantically towards the landline, using both hands and feet.

In his haste, Depp bumped into the telescope he had moved in to take his daughter to see the stars.

Dipple reached for the phone with his left hand and tried to catch the tipping binoculars with his right. He was caught in a tug-of-war, unable to attend to one thing while the other seemed about to slip away as well.

At that moment, a miracle happened.

The telescope did not fall over; instead, it defied gravity and was slowly "supported" back into place by an invisible force.

Through the tripod of the astronomical telescope, a bewildered Deeper met his daughter's dark eyes.

……

"Deepple William! You've been a father for over four years! Don't you know pregnant women shouldn't get angry?!" Dr. Margaret, who had rushed over, was furious. "Did a dog carry your brain away and throw it in the trash?!"

Depp stood awkwardly to the side, letting the gray-haired Mrs. Margaret vent her anger.

Margaret was one of the few doctors in the Southend waterfront area, and also the oldest. When Depple was a child, this old lady treated him for every cold and fever.

cuckoo-

Praris's stomach rumbled, and she looked up nervously at her father.

Dipple paused for a moment, then turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Like a duckling following its mother, Praris instinctively followed behind Dipper.

Depp stopped abruptly and said sharply, "Don't follow me!"

Praris hurriedly stopped.

Dr. Margaret stared in astonishment, her mouth agape as if to lash out.

Dipple took a deep breath and softened her tone: "Stay with Mom, okay?"

Praris nodded blankly and turned back to Dr. Margaret and Sylvia.

Young Praris couldn't understand why her father never gave her a kind look again after she helped him pick up his beloved telescope.

Not long after, Dr. Margaret left.

Before leaving, she reminded Depur to avoid arguing with his wife, otherwise she would definitely complain to Depur's mother, Sofia.