Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 278: Never stopped smiling [7]

<The days that I spent with her were some of the happiest, and most joyful times of my life. I could tell that she felt the same as the smile never wore off from her face. And soon, it was time for her to fully focus on her play.>

[Don’t be nervous, you can do this.]

[Yes. Yes. Yes.]

[Your acting is great, there’s no need to be nervous.]

[Yes. Yes. Y-yes.]

[Stop shaking your head.]

[Yes. Y-yes. Y-yes.]

[Ah, this…]

David covered his face with his hand. He looked utterly exasperated.

[Amelia.]

His voice turned serious, and it was only then that Amelia finally looked at him. Pressing both of his hands against her shoulders, he stared deeply at her.

[Your acting is some of the best that I’ve ever seen. The scriptwriter also feels the same, selecting you for the play. Don’t be nervous. Go there with a smile, and show everyone else that you deserve to be there.]

[But…]

[Do it.]

David cut her off, his face moving closer.

Amelia’s expression changed, and as she looked into his eyes, she eventually took a deep breath, her face slowly turning serious.

[Okay.]

[Good.]

Finally, David smiled and moved back.

[I’ll go.]

He watched as Amelia turned around and headed into the building. Just before entering, she turned around and clenched her hand. It was a gesture that seemed to say, ‘fighting!’

David mimicked her action, and soon she entered the building.

[Haa….]

Exactly one minute after she entered David’s expression changed as he let out a long breath as he covered his.

Holding onto his shirt, he quietly mumbled,

[D-Dangerous… So d-angerous ]

As the audience was confused by his reaction, they suddenly noticed something. His ears… They were completely red.

<Amelia’s career as an actress began from this moment. Every day, I would accompany her to the theater where she would practice for the upcoming play. I heard that it was quite an important event, and so, whenever I had free time, I would help her practice her lines.>

<This is how we spent most of our summer together.>

[Are you feeling tired?]

[A little.]

Amelia honestly answered as she yawned. Walking alongside David, the two appeared to be headed home.

[It must be rough.]

[No, not really.]

Amelia shook her head, a simple smile appearing on her face. Raising her head, she looked at the sky as her legs skipped.

[It’s tiring, but I feel so fulfilled. It was the first time that I ever felt like something was worth working hard for. It’s such a new and refreshing feeling. And…]

Slowly turning her head, her eyes paused on David who stared back at her.

Seeing that she was looking at him, David cocked his head questioningly, but before he could voice his thoughts, a sweet fragrance filled his nostrils as he felt something soft embrace his body.

It only lasted for a brief moment, but it was enough to petrify David who stood frozen on the spot.

Following this, he heard the sound of rapid steps as they distanced themselves from where he was.

[….]

In the silence that took over, David’s expression slowly trembled as his face turned red.

[T-this…]

He clenched his shirt.

[…It’s not fair.]

<It really wasn’t fair. Was I only worth a few seconds…?>

The audience laughed upon hearing David’s voice coming from around the theater. Before anyone knew it, they were all wearing sweet smiles on their faces as they looked at the stage.

“….”

Only a few weren’t smiling, and Delilah was one of them.

Her eyes were fixed on the stage. From start to finish, she never took her eyes away from the play.

At first, she wanted to understand Julien’s words better.

She wanted to experience the script and see how different experiencing it was from reading it.

And she did see a difference.

It was there.

….But at the same time, she struggled to understand the plot. Her lack of understanding of emotions was making it harder for her to understand the play.

But there was something else that was bothering her.

“….”

Frowning slightly, she lowered her head as she stared at her hand.

‘Why?’

She sat like that for a brief moment before raising her head again. The scene had changed, and she could see a lot of people on the stage.

[Please move this here.]

[May the actors go to the changing rooms to get ready.]

[The tickets are sold out.]

…It looked like today was the day that the play would start. A lot of people were working hard to make sure that everything flowed smoothly, and in the corner, a trembling figure stood.

[Uwa. Uwa. Uwa.]

It was none other than Amelia who looked around in panic.

[I’m so nervous. What do I do? Ah…! I can’t do this.]

[Calm down, will you?]

Standing behind her and fixing her heir, David rolled his eyes.

[You’re going to be fine. We’ve practiced for so long. How can you not be fine?]

[But…!]

[It’s too late for you to doubt yourself.]

David took his hands away from her hair and stood before her.

[…Unless you want to return to the life you wanted before, then this is your chance to start new. Go out there and show the world how much you’ve changed.]

Amelia swallowed quietly.

Eventually, she nodded her head.

[You’re right.]

[Of course, I’m right.]

With a smile, David sighed.

Looking around, his expression subtly changed. But soon, a smile returned to his face. It was a smile that seemed to be the brightest Amelia had ever seen as her face froze.

*Puff*

Then, as if something blew at the top of her head, smoke started to rise and her face turned completely red.

[What’s wrong?]

[N-nothing…!]

Covering her face, she turned away from him.

[I-I’ll be going now. I-I’ll try to see you in the stands. See you!]

Before David had any chance to say a word, Amelia darted away from him. Staring at her, David’s expression froze before he lowered his head and laughed.

[….It’s good like this.]

His figure gradually faded, and Amelia appeared. Standing opposite her was the elderly lady from the previous scene. She was looking at Amelia with a smile she hadn’t shown before.

[Are you ready? There’s only thirty minutes before the play starts.]

[Yes, I’m ready.]

Amelia confidently said.

[That’s good. I’m counting on you.]

[Hehe.]

With a foolish smile, she scratched the back of her head.

It was a habit of David that she picked up as she spent time with him. As the audience noticed this, they couldn’t help but feel like she was so different from the first act.

Slowly… she was turning into a female version of David.

Always smiling.

Always happy.

And foolish.

[Go. Practice your lines one last time. I’ll call you when it’s about to start.]

[Yes!]

Heeding her words, Amelia took out a worn-out script and started to go through it. However, a few lines in, she stopped.

[….Is he there yet?]

Pursing her lips, she looked around. To her surprise, he was nowhere to be seen.

[Why is he not there yet? Is he in the bathroom?]

Whatever the case way, Amelia turned around.

[Good. Since he’s not there yet, he can help me practice one last time.]

With such thoughts, she headed out to look for him. There were still thirty minutes, which was plenty of time.

At least, that was what she thought at first…

[Not here?]

[…Still not in his seat as well.]

[Hmm. Where is he?]

But as the clock ticked, she found that he was nowhere in sight. Before she knew it, there were only ten minutes left of the play.

For twenty minutes, she looked for him, but all of it was to no avail.

She was just about to give up when she was suddenly stopped by someone.

[Are you the one looking for the young boy?]

[Ah, yes!]

Amelia heavily nodded her head.

[If you’re looking for him, he’s at the park outside.]

[Thank you!]

Without a second thought, Amelia rushed out of the building and headed out for the nearby park which was attached to the theater hall.

[Haa… Haa…]

With heavy breaths, she frantically looked around before she spotted a familiar figure sitting on one of the benches with a diary in his hand.

He appeared to be scribbling something.

[David!]

It was only when Amelia called out for him that he raised his head and stopped writing.

Looking at her, he smiled.

[What are you doing!?]

Amelia shouted with heavy breaths.

[The play is about to start!]

Rushing toward him, she went on to grab his hand but was stopped by him.

[Stop.]

[Uh? What do you mean stop? The play is about to start. If you don’t go now then you won—]

[I can’t go.]

[Uh?]

Amelia’s body froze.

Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly before she managed a soft mumble,

[W-why?]

Closing the book down, David smiled yet again.

With the book in his hand, he raised his head to look up.

[At first, I approached you because I was curious. You looked so lonely, and it kind of reminded me of a certain someone. That’s why I approached you. I was curious.]

[….So? What does that matter?]

[It matters a lot. It matters because that person was me…]

[Ah?]

[Affection Distortion Disorder. Do you know how surprised I was when I heard you say it?]

[….]

As if the very breath had been stolen from the theater, all eyes were focused on David. Not a single soul said a word.

A horrifying reality suddenly dawned on all those present as some covered their mouths.

Especially Amelia whose face turned pale.

[W-wait…]

[I wanted to watch your play, but I overdid myself. It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to last until the end.]

[….]

[….I didn’t want you to find out before the play. Not after all the effort you put in.]

[….]

Scratching the back of his head, he slowly stood up with an apologetic look on his face.

[I really did want to be there for you. I really di—Ompf!]

David’s words were suddenly cut off as he was suddenly embraced tightly. Stunned, David looked down to see Amelia’s trembling body.

He smiled when he looked at her.

[Are you crying? Come on now. After all, I did to make you smile? It kind of leaves me sour…]

Raising her head, Amelia showed her face. Tears were streaming down her face as she met David’s gaze.

He looked back at her.

[Can you do it for me? Smile?]

[…..]

Tears continued to stream down Amelia’s face she slowly nodded her head. Slowly, her lips pulled up and she showed one of the brightest smiles that she had ever shown.

Even as the tears rolled down, they didn’t take away from the smile that seemed to light up the entire theater.

Staring at the smile, David matched her smile.

[Yes, that’s how it’s supposed to be. That’s the smile that I want.]

Pushing her face to his chest, Amelia wailed like never before, her cries reaching every corner of the theater.

[I might not be there, but I know how good of an actress you are. Go… show the world just how talented you are.]

As he spoke, the lights that surrounded the two started to fade.

Cli Clank!

…And the surroundings turned dark.

By the time that the light returned, David was sitting on a bench by himself. There was no background, and it was just him and his dairy.

Slowly, as he opened it, he started to scribble on it.

Scribble~ Scribble~

A voice quietly echoed throughout the theater as he wrote.

<….I really wished that I could’ve seen her performance.>

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