The Farewell Whisper of My White Tiger Mother
The rumbling purr echoed softly in the warm evening air, carried by the gentle warmth of the sun on my fur. My back rested against the soft grass, and most of all, my mother was right there beside me.
Even as I drifted in and out of dreams, I could feel her tender, cool hand carefully stroking my forehead and the back of my ears. That careful touch, filled with such deep affection, filled my heart completely.
“……Haaah.”
A deep, lonely sigh from my mother drifted over the top of my head.
Mom… why are you sighing like that…
I tried to lift my heavy eyelids but couldn’t, and I grumbled inwardly.
“My precious child……”
My mother’s voice was thick with sorrow and tears.
“I wish this mother could stay by your side forever…… but it seems the time for me to return is coming sooner than I thought.”
Shh.
My mother’s soft lips brushed my white forehead gently before pulling away.
The loving sensation made me smile sleepily even in my dreams.
“Unyanyang…… Kyuaaa……”
Mom, I love you……
I clung to my consciousness as long as I could, stretching out my front paw toward my mother’s face.
And I flicked my tongue out, licking her cheek where my paw had touched.
“……!!”
The gentle touch of Blanc’s soft tongue made her shoulders shake sharply. She looked down at me.
She paused for a moment, then carefully wrapped me in both arms, hugging me tightly.
“Hik……”
She swallowed her sob so I wouldn’t wake up, biting her lip hard as she held back her tears inside.
Drip, plop.
Hot, wet tears fell onto my white fur and soaked in.
I wanted more than anything to wake up right now and wipe her tears with my paw.
But if I did, she would feel embarrassed and force the tears back down.
So I kept purring my Purr Song in the most steady and comforting rhythm possible, allowing my mother to pour out her sorrow freely.
The sun had already begun to redden and tilt toward the west, but I still stretched my front paws in a long yawn and slowly opened my eyes.
“Kyuaaam……”
Well slept.
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was my mother’s face, still holding me like the most precious treasure in the world.
My mother’s eyes were slightly red-rimmed, but her expression was calm.
I naturally stuck my head out and licked her cheek once more, long and slow.
Shlick.
When she saw I was awake, she smiled as if she hadn’t been crying at all and stroked my cheek.
“Hehe, our cute little one. Did you sleep well?”
“Kyaung!”
Slept perfectly! Mom’s lap is the fluffiest!
I wagged my tail and rubbed my head against her chest.
“Yes, yes. This mother also had a very peaceful afternoon thanks to our little one’s warm warmth.”
My mother stood up, brushed the grass off her skirt lightly, and looked at me.
“Now the day is about to end. Our little one, is there anything else you want to do with this mother?”
“Kya… huum.”
I scratched my chin with my front paw and fell into deep thought for a moment.
If my mother was leaving soon, I couldn’t waste the remaining time.
I have to show her the absolute best scenery from the Imperial Palace!
“Kya! Kyaung!”
Found it! But not during the day. When it gets dark, I’ll take you to a really cool place!
“Oh my, a place you can only go at night? I’m looking forward to it.”
My mother nodded happily and picked me up again in her arms.
“Then shall we head back first? If we return too late, the others will worry.”
We turned and headed back to Kailian’s room.
Kiiik.
As I opened the door, Kailian, who had been writing at her desk, set down her pen and turned her head.
There were faint dark circles under her eyes, like badges.
Still better than Damian… He drank potions instead of water yesterday.
I gave him a short, polite bow toward the working machine that could no longer be called a human.
“Blanc, did you have fun playing?”
“Kyaung.”
Butler, did all your work finish?
When I wagged my tail happily, Kailian laughed softly, stretched her sore neck, and stood up from her chair.
“Your face looks a little less tired.”
Kailian stretched and walked over to my mother, reaching out with both arms to take me from her arms.
“Here, Blanc. Come here. Before eating, let me comb your fur a little……”
The moment Kailian lifted me, her eyes grew wide.
“Eh……?”
“Kya, kyaaaaa?”
Why?
Kailian tilted her head, lifting and lowering me.
“Blanc, you…… seem heavier than when you left this morning? Did your mood change? Your belly seems to be sloshing around more.”
“……!”
Suddenly, cold sweat poured down my spine like a waterfall.
……When did our butler gain a scale function too?
I desperately signaled my mother.
My mother noticed my signal and smiled slyly, nodding her head.
Good… Mom’s discipline is in place… Now just get Kailian to fall for it.
“You seem much heavier than in the morning… Did you secretly sneak into the kitchen and steal something to eat?”
Kailian narrowed her eyes and started questioning me.
I quickly avoided her gaze and stared blankly out the window.
“Kya, kyaaaaa.”
I have no idea what you’re talking about.
I acted clueless, dodging her cheek with kisses until the crisis was over.
Time passed quickly, and night had already fallen.
After devouring the dinner the head chef had prepared with care until my stomach was full, I grabbed the hem of my mother’s skirt in my mouth and stepped outside.
“Kya! Kyaung!”
Mom, this way! Follow me!
I trotted past the spot where I had slept during my afternoon nap and headed toward a very small shelter inside the garden.
“Hehe, where are you taking me that’s so urgent?”
My mother followed me curiously with a smile.
The place I led my mother to was the secret spot Kailian and I went to when her head was in a mess and we needed fresh air.
“This is……”
A soft exclamation escaped my mother’s lips as she looked up at the sky.
A clear, transparent night sky with not a single cloud.
Countless stars shone brilliantly as if they were about to fall right where my hand could reach.
The stars in the night sky were woven into a beautiful picture.
“Kya!”
How is it? Isn’t it really cool!
I jumped onto the chair and puffed out my chest.
“Kya, kyaung.”
This is a secret place only I and Kailian know.
I proudly sniffed the air and showed off, and my mother looked up at the night sky in a daze before slowly approaching me.
“Kyaung.”
I wanted to come here with Mom.
Her eyes fluttered softly at my sincere cry.
My mother sat on the chair and gently pulled me into her arms with both hands.
“……Thank you.”
My mother’s soft voice slipped into my ear on the cool night breeze.
“It’s not just because I showed you this beautiful view.”
My mother rested her chin on my forehead and whispered quietly.
“Because you were born in this world as my child…… and received my insufficient mother’s blood. Just knowing that fact is enough to make this mother feel as if she has the whole world.”
The fluffy confession made my heart throb.
I gently wrapped my long tail around my mother’s arm.
Kya……
I’m really glad I was born as Mom’s son.
We didn’t say anything more. We just shared body warmth and gazed at the stars in the dark night for a long time.
I leaned my back against my mother’s fluffy chest and spoke softly.
“Kyaung……”
Mom.
“Why is that, my child?”
My mother scratched gently under my chin and answered kindly.
“Kya.”
Now, you’re leaving soon, right?
“……!”
The hand that was scratching under my chin suddenly froze.
My mother’s heartbeat thumped heavily and reached my back.
My mother couldn’t answer and only trembled her lips.
I turned my body and clung to my frozen mother’s arms like a koala.
“Kyaung! Kya!”
Mom, don’t be sad. We’ll still meet even if we can’t see each other.
I lightly tapped my mother’s cheek with my pink-jelly paw.
“Kya.”
We’ll meet in dreams too, and Mom will come down again later.
At my comforting words, a clear tear finally fell from my mother’s eyes.
“My child…… hik…… my precious child……”
“Kya, uuurulung.”
Don’t cry, Mom. I’m really fine. I eat a ton of food and am growing well.
I licked the tears on my mother’s cheek earnestly and smiled as brightly as I could.
“Kyaung!”
I’m happy because you’re my Mom.
The terrible loneliness and isolation I experienced while living as a human in my past life had been completely washed away thanks to this gentle mother.
“Huuuuh……”
At my sincere confession, my mother hugged me tightly and burst into tears.