Chapter 19: Wish You Were Here Chris looked at the mother and son duo, clearly surprised by the sudden silence after Martha replied to Grey’s question. “Grey, how come you didn’t even get tea for our guest?” Martha decided to break the silence. Due to receiving guests, she was unable to personally receive Chris. When she saw Grey didn’t even prepare tea for him, she immediately chided him. “It’s okay, I didn’t plan on staying long. I only came over to confirm with Grey when he will be able to leave for the Academy with me” Chris said with a smile. Martha looked at Grey when she heard this, clearly indicating the decision was up to him. When Grey saw her look, he knew what she meant. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮 When he wanted to reply, he immediately froze. He was excited about starting cultivation, so he wanted to say they could leave the next day. But when he thought of it, he felt lucky. ‘That was a close call, she would have definitely flipped out if I said I wanted to leave tomorrow’ Grey thought while heaving a sigh. Although he said this in his heart, he knew he couldn’t leave her so soon. He wanted to spend time with her. When he still hadn’t awoken his element, he was totally occupied with training. Now, he would be leaving soon. It will be wrong of him if he didn’t spend some time with his lovely mother. “I think I’ll have to stay a week before leaving” Grey said. When Martha heard this, she felt happy inside. She knew how eager Grey was about cultivating, but he decided to stay a week just for her sake. “Okay, I’ll come back a week from now. I’ll be in the city until then” Chris nodded and prepared to leave. “Okay” Grey walked Chris to the door. “Take care of yourself, goodbye for now” Chris advised before heading out. “I will, goodbye” Grey waved at him before heading back into the house. When he stepped in, he looked at Martha who was standing and looking at him lovingly. “Why did decide to wait a week before leaving?” Martha asked, although she knew the reason, she still wanted to hear what Grey would say. “What’s the difference if I start cultivating now or in a weeks time. I only took a week off, so I can rest after so many days of constant training” Grey said. When Martha heard his reply, her smiling face immediately changed. On seeing the change in her facial expression, Grey burst into laughter. “I’m only joking mom. I wanted to spend time with the best mother in the world before leaving. If I had left immediately, wouldn’t that make me a bad child” Grey continued laughing while stating his real reason to Martha. When Martha heard this, a sweet smile immediately surfaced on her face. “Humph, luckily you still think of your mother” “Of course, I’ll miss you a lot when I’m not here. Besides, I won’t be able to see a beautiful lady who lights up my life every day” Grey said cheekily. “Save your teasing for the young girls of the Academy” Martha rolled her eyes when she heard Grey’s teasing. She also felt sweet inside. “By the way, how come you’re a Dual Elementalist. You didn’t tell me you comprehended a new element” Martha asked the question she had wanted to know when she heard the result. “Even I didn’t know about it until today, I had a little understanding of the Earth element when I went over to the lightning mountain, but I didn’t expect it to actually awaken the element so quickly” Grey said in a tone that clearly showed his surprise. “Truly unexpected. Well, it’s a good thing for you. Only, I don’t think it will be easy for you to comprehend new elements. You were fortunate this time, let’s hope your luck continues” Martha said seriously. “Yeah, now I’ll have to focus on cultivating and comprehending the elements. It wouldn’t be as it used to, since I wouldn’t be to put all my focus on one of them” Grey shared his thoughts with Martha. Grey spoke with Martha for the rest of the day before deciding it was time to get some rest. “Mom, I miss dad” Grey suddenly said when he was about to leave. It had already been so long yet his father still haven’t returned. “Yes, I miss him too” Martha said with a faint voice. “When will he return?” Grey asked. Grey had been asking this question for a long time now. “I don’t know dear, but he promised me he’ll return safely. He also told me he might stay for a long time before returning, I initially begged him not to go, but he said it was very important and had to leave. And besides he’s never lied to me. So I know he’ll come back to me” Martha said firmly. She knew just how many times she had used this statement to not lose hope. After being gone for so long, she had never once lost hope. Her husband will never lie to her. He will definitely return. “Yeah, he will definitely return. It’s just, I wish he were here to celebrate with us” Grey said with a smile. He knew bringing up this topic will ruin their celebratory mood, but he just had to bring it up. Martha looked at Grey with a smile, she really does love him a lot. She decided to let him off for his performance during the time he was called up. She suddenly felt lonely when she thought about Grey’s upcoming departure, her husband still haven’t returned, now her son would be leaving soon also. She looked out the window with tears flowing down her cheek like rain. She’s always been strong because of Grey. But when she’s alone, she clearly feels the pain of her husband not being here. Doing so much has not been easy for her, but she had to stay strong not just for herself but also for her son. “Wish you were here”