Cheyenne was telling the story, but Kelvin felt that something was off. However, seeing the two children with their eyes wide open and listening intently, he didn’t say anything. After all, it was rare for Cheyenne to have this patience to tell stories to the children, so he wanted to encourage his wife’s behavior.
“The story takes place in Jostrana and it’s even in our area. It is said that a long time ago…” As soon as she spoke these words, Cierra sighed disappointedly.
“Why do all stories start with ‘a long time ago’?” Oliver replied,”Because if it happened recently then it would be fake.”
Kelvin. “…”
It seemed like his son had a point!
Cheyenne frowned because she had been interrupted and she was somewhat angry, “Be quiet and listen to me tell the story or I won’t continue.”
Under threat of strike action from their mother, both little ones finally quieted down and listened carefully.
Satisfied with them both looking at her attentively; Cheyenne continued, “A very long time ago… plastic surgery became popular in Jostrana.”
“There was a woman who used to be very beautiful but still wasn’t satisfied with her appearance so she went to get plastic surgery at the hospital.”
“However, because of poor surgical skills back then; they accidentally cut up her mouth which turned into a cleft palate.”
Afterwards, the woman killed the doctor who performed surgery on herself. Not only that but there were rumors afterwards that every day at five o’clock in the afternoon, the woman would appear wearing a windbreaker jacket, a white mask, and holding large scissors while mingling among crowds of people.
“She would catch kids coming home from school asking them. Am I pretty?”
When Cheyenne mentioned the Cleft Palate Woman catching kids coming home from school, Olive visibly trembled out of fear since he was currently attending school alone by himself. Meanwhile, Cierra expressed interest in this story wanting their mother to continue telling more about what happened next.
“What happened next? What about that little boy?” asked Cierra without any hint of fear on her face prompting Cheyenne to continue telling more details, “If a child answered ‘yes’, she would use scissors turning him or her into an ugly monster just like herself!”
“What if they said ‘no’?” The storyteller paused briefly before revealing an icy smile on her face.”Then, she’d kill that child!”
As soon as the words were spoken, Oliver became so nervous that he started to sweat profusely on his forehead.
After finishing the story, Cheyenne asked the two children on a whim, “If you met the Cleft Palate Woman, how would you answer her question?”
Kelvin opened his mouth and spoke in a low voice tinged with helplessness. “Cheyenne, children need beautiful fairy tales in their world instead of scary stories.”
Cheyenne shrugged her shoulders helplessly at her husband’s comment. “But I’ve only heard such stories since I was little.”
“Um… let me tell them stories from now on,” he said. He was afraid that one day Cheyenne would start telling them about things in mortuaries…
Little did he know that compared to those old and worn-out fairy tales he told, Cierra preferred her mommy’s stories more.
After pondering for a moment, the little girl gave her response, “I should tell her that beauty comes from within, not from appearance. Grandpa once said that one’s face reflects their heart. Kind people are beautiful, while bad people are ugly.”
Considering it an acceptable answer, Cheyenne turned her head to ask Oliver, but her son had already disappeared from sight.
“Oliver?”
Looking closer, she saw that the blanket she had just covered was bulging, and a small trembling figure was huddled inside it.
Cheyenne. !!!
Was this really my usually cool and aloof son?
His courage wasn’t even as good as his two-year-old sister’s!
Cheyenne scratched her head wondering if she should continue telling the story or not.
“Mommy, do you have any more similar stories?”
Just then Kelvin hugged Cierra tightly preparing to take her back to their room for bed time.
“All right then; if you want to listen again we can only do it tomorrow night because it’s already ten o’clock now! If you don’t sleep early enough tonight then you won’t grow tall later.”
Cierra shrank back at hearing she wouldn’t grow tall anymore but finally relented, saying, “Okay fine! I don’t want be short like a dwarf. Let’s leave, brother.”
But Oliver shivered harder than before though…
Seeing this, Cheyenne had no choice but to let Oliver stay and sleep with them. And when Cierra saw that her brother could stay, she insisted on staying too!
That night they all slept together. Oliver held onto Cheyenne’s hand tightly while Cierra curled up ungracefully into Kelvin’s arms with chubby feet resting on top of Cheyenne’s body- sprawled out everywhere!
In the dim light, Cheyenne comforted Oliver in a soft voice, “It’s okay, don’t be scared. Mommy just told a story, it’s not scary at all.”
“Oliver, don’t be afraid.”
She meant to comfort the child but ended up falling asleep first. As she slept, her red lips murmured the names of her children. “Oliver… Cierra…”
Kelvin was the last one to fall asleep. He propped his head up with his hand and looked at everyone. In his arms was his adorable little daughter.
Their son had fallen asleep and still had beads of sweat on his forehead from being scared earlier. Kelvin leaned down and wiped away the sweat with his shirt.
Cheyenne lay next to him in a shallow sleep; she seemed truly asleep with her beautiful eyes closed.
At that moment, he remembered what he bought during the day and secretly reached for a small box under their pillow. He opened it… in darkness; blue gems emitted an eerie glow.
Kelvin leaned over slightly and carefully took out the four-leaf clover sapphire necklace. He gently placed it around Cheyenne’s neck. Her fair skin and graceful swan-like neck made the sapphire necklace even more beautiful. Unable to resist, he planted a kiss on her cheek, filled with admiration.
Kelvin was looking forward to seeing Cheyenne’s reaction when she woke up and saw the necklace in the morning. With a smile on his face, he was about to go to sleep.
Suddenly, Cierra, who was in his arms, opened her eyes.
“Daddy! I want kisses too!”
She saw Daddy steal kisses from Mommy earlier!
Hearing Cierra’s voice startled Kelvin who then looked over at her with deep-set eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”
Feeling afraid of being caught by her father, Cierra immediately closed her eyes and covered her ears, pretending to be asleep. She said, “I’m sleeping, I’m sleeping. I was sleepwalking just now. Goodnight, Daddy.”
Kelvin was amused by her mischievousness, and it reminded him of many years ago.
On a sunny afternoon, a similarly mischievous and stunning girl had pinned him against a door.
“Are you Kelvin? Hello, I’m Cheyenne, your future-wife!”