“Mommy, what’re you doooing?”
“...Oooing?”
It was a lovely day. My children had paused their playing, shifting to watch me as I polished my bracelet.
“I’m shining my bracelet,” I told them, opening the cloth in my hand to show them the bracelet inside. My silver bracelet was already polished and on my left wrist. The one that I was shining with beeswax now was the wooden bracelet that I’d been given first.
“Pretty bracelet! Elena wants one too!”
“Mar too! Mar too!”
Maria Elena had taken an interest in accessories as of late. And her little brother Marcus just wanted to imitate his big sister.
“You can’t have this one. It’s mommy’s treasure.”
“Treasure?”
“Yes. My precious treasure, given to me by your daddy. That’s why I can’t give it to anyone else.”
Maria Elena was disappointed by my answer, but still nodded. Near four years old, she was suddenly acting much older.
“Bracelets are special, you know. When you grow up, you’ll meet someone you love, and if they love you just as much, they’ll give you a bracelet.”
“Like mommy?”
“Yep, just like mommy got from daddy.”
“That’s nice... Will daddy give me one, too?” She looked at the bracelet in my hand with jealousy. Though she used to scream when Sir Celes held her, now she was daddy’s little girl.
“Mar wants one too!”
“You’ll get one too someday, Marcus,” I said, smiling at my children. “Oh, but I can give you a flower bracelet!”
Remembering back to when Sir Celes had given me another one, I offered it up to Maria Elena. It was adorable how her eyes sparkled when I said it.
“A flower bracelet!?”
“Yep! Back when we were traveling with Mari, your daddy gave one to me. I didn’t know it was a bracelet, though. Your daddy only told me it was later.”
“Why didn’t you know?”
“You know Shiro at the castle, right? I got it when he was still a baby, and I thought it was supposed to be a Shiro-sized flower crown.”
“Silly mommy.”
“...Silly!”
After telling them we’d make one later, I slipped the polished wooden bracelet back onto my wrist by the silver one. Sir Celes was always saying that I didn’t need the wooden one anymore, but they were both my treasures.
“Mommy, you have lots of treasures,” Maria Elena looked up at me with a smile.
“Yes, I do. But the most precious treasures your daddy gave me aren’t either of the bracelets.”
“Huh!?”
“...Uh!”
Surprised by my statement, Maria Elena’s smile changed into a shocked look. Marcus didn’t seem to understand what she was shocked for, but mimicked her anyway.
Smiling down at them, I picked up my youngest son, Gilberto, from his cot.
“The most precious treasures your daddy gave me are you, my family. Daddy, Maria Elena, Marcus, and Gilberto. You’re all my treasures.”
I wasn’t alone anymore. The treasures that Sir Celes gave me were still with me, making me happier than I could ever describe.