The Useless Extra Knows It All....But Does He?-Chapter 399 - The Returning Bird!

The evening air grew softer as the last traces of sunlight melted into the horizon, painting the sky in shades of amber and fading gold. A gentle breeze brushed past the quiet bench where Luca and Selena sat, carrying with it the faint scent of distant flowers and the lingering warmth of a day slowly coming to rest.

The sounds of the bustling city had dimmed into a distant murmur, leaving only the occasional rustle of leaves and the soft, rhythmic chirping of birds returning to their nests.

Luca’s question lingered quietly between them.

Selena did not answer immediately.

Her violet eyes remained lifted toward the sky, following the slow flight of birds gliding overhead, their wings catching the last glimmers of daylight as they made their way home.

"They must be returning to their nests," she said softly after a pause.

Her voice carried its usual calm restraint, yet there was something deeper beneath it now—something reflective, almost distant.

"To their homes... to the place where they belong."

Her gaze remained fixed on the fading silhouettes in the sky.

"Some of them will be returning to their parents," she continued quietly, her tone steady but thoughtful. "And some parents must be returning to their young ones... carrying food they gathered throughout the day."

Her fingers rested loosely in her lap, unmoving.

"They must feel relieved when they see each other again," she murmured. "After a long day... after wandering through uncertain skies... returning to a place where someone is waiting."

Luca listened silently beside her, sensing that she was not truly speaking about birds anymore.

Selena tilted her head slightly as she watched a small group of birds descend toward the distant trees.

"For those young ones," she said softly, "their world must feel safe... complete... simply because they know someone will come back for them."

Her eyes dimmed slightly.

"But..."

She paused briefly.

"What must a young bird feel... if their parents never return?"

The question drifted quietly into the evening air.

"If the sky grows darker... if hunger grows stronger... if the nest grows colder..."

Her voice remained calm, yet something fragile trembled beneath the composure.

"What happens when the ones who were meant to come back... simply never do?"

She lowered her gaze slowly, her expression unchanged yet carrying an unmistakable weight.

"Do they keep waiting... believing they will return?"

"Or do they eventually realize... no one is coming?"

Her fingers curled faintly.

"Some birds might learn to fly early... forced to leave the nest before they were ready."

"Some might survive."

"Some might not."

Her eyes remained distant, watching the last bird disappear beyond the horizon.

"And even if they grow strong enough to fly... even if they learn to survive alone..."

A faint pause.

"Would the sky ever feel the same?"

Silence settled gently between them.

The evening light continued to fade, leaving only soft hues of twilight stretched across the heavens.

Luca listened quietly, understanding the meaning hidden beneath her calm words, the metaphor revealing more than she had directly spoken.

Selena did not look at him.

Her gaze remained fixed on the birds returning to their nests, her violet eyes following their movements with a stillness that seemed almost too calm.

For a few moments, Luca did not speak.

Then, he leaned back slightly against the wooden bench and exhaled softly, his eyes lifting toward the same sky she was watching.

"You see those birds..." he began quietly.

Selena did not respond, but her attention shifted subtly toward him, signaling she was listening.

"They fly together most of the time," Luca continued, his voice calm, unhurried. "They move as a flock, following familiar paths, relying on each other to navigate distances that would be difficult alone."

A small group of birds crossed the fading sunlight, their formation shifting slightly as they adjusted direction mid-flight.

"But sometimes," he added, his tone thoughtful, "one of them leaves the group."

Selena’s gaze sharpened slightly.

Luca gestured faintly toward a lone bird that had separated from the others, its wings cutting steadily through the evening air as it moved toward a different direction.

"Just look at that one," he said quietly. "It seems to be leaving... finding its own path... searching for a sky that belongs only to it."

The lone silhouette moved further away from the flock, gradually becoming smaller against the vastness of the horizon.

"From far away," Luca continued, "it can look like abandonment."

His voice remained steady, careful.

"Like something was left behind."

The breeze shifted, carrying a slightly cooler chill as the day surrendered itself to night.

"But sometimes... leaving does not always mean wanting to leave," he said softly.

Selena’s fingers tightened slightly against the edge of the bench.

"Sometimes," Luca went on, choosing each word deliberately, "someone walks a different path not because they stopped caring... but because they believed that path was necessary."

His eyes remained on the distant sky.

"There are journeys people take alone," he said. "Journeys they think will protect the ones they care about... even if those they leave behind may never understand the reason."

A pause lingered between his words.

"Sometimes the person who leaves," he added quietly, "believes that by going away... they are preventing something worse from reaching the people they care about."

Selena remained silent.

But her gaze no longer followed the birds.

It remained fixed somewhere distant, somewhere inward.

Luca did not look at her as he continued.

"When someone disappears without explanation," he said, "it leaves behind questions that never receive answers."

His voice softened further.

"And unanswered questions... tend to grow heavier with time."

The evening light dimmed further, shadows stretching longer along the stone path before them.

"But believing that you were abandoned," Luca said carefully, "believing that you were not worth staying for... that pain becomes something that traps you."

He finally turned his gaze slightly toward her.

"And sometimes... that belief becomes more painful than the truth itself."

Selena’s expression did not change, yet something subtle flickered behind her violet eyes.

"People rarely leave because something has no value," Luca continued quietly.

"They leave because something has too much."

The words hung gently in the quiet air.

"That bird," he said softly, his gaze returning briefly to the distant sky, "might not have left because it wanted to be alone."

"Maybe... it left because it believed that was the only way to keep flying."

He exhaled lightly.

"Or perhaps... because the sky it needed to reach... could not be found by staying where it was."

The distant bird eventually vanished beyond the horizon.

Luca’s voice lowered slightly.

"Not every departure is abandonment."

"Sometimes... it is sacrifice."

The evening breeze brushed past them once more.

"And sometimes," he added gently, "the people left behind only see the empty sky... not the storm that forced someone to fly away in the first place."

Silence followed.

The kind of silence that did not feel empty.

Luca did not push further.

He simply let the thought settle.

Giving her something to consider.

Something to question.

Something that might, perhaps, loosen the chains she had quietly placed around her own heart.

The quiet settled deeper after Luca’s words faded into the evening air.

The sky had darkened further now, the golden hues almost entirely replaced by soft shades of violet and deep blue, as the first faint stars began to emerge one by one. The last birds disappeared beyond the distant treeline, leaving behind only the lingering whisper of wings that had already vanished from sight.

Selena did not speak immediately.

Her gaze remained lowered, her fingers resting still in her lap, though the slight tension in them revealed the turbulence beneath her calm exterior.

After a long pause, she finally spoke.

Her voice was steady.

But softer than before.

"Then... what should the child do?"

Luca did not interrupt.

Selena continued, her eyes still fixed somewhere far away.

"The one who was left behind..."

Her lashes lowered slightly, shadowing the faint flicker of uncertainty within her violet eyes.

"It was not their fault... was it?"

The question came quietly.

Carefully.

As though she already feared the answer.

"What did that child do wrong... to deserve being left alone?"

Her voice did not break.

Yet the weight behind the words was unmistakable.

"If the nest becomes empty... if no one returns..."

Her fingers curled slightly, tightening against the fabric of her dress.

"What is that child supposed to do then?"

The evening breeze passed gently between them, carrying with it a silence that felt heavier than before.

Luca did not answer immediately.

He allowed the question to settle fully before speaking, choosing his words carefully, knowing that the meaning behind them would reach far deeper than the surface of the metaphor.

"If the sky becomes empty..." he began quietly, his voice calm yet steady, "then that child will eventually have to step out of the nest."

Selena’s gaze shifted slightly toward him, though she did not fully turn her head.

"At first," Luca continued, "it will feel frightening."

"The world outside will seem too vast... too uncertain... too cold."

He exhaled softly.

"But staying in the empty nest forever will not bring anyone back."

The faint sound of leaves rustling accompanied his words.

"If no one returns... then the child will have to find its own sky."

His tone remained gentle, yet firm.

"Not because it was abandoned."

"But because life continues moving forward... whether we are ready or not."

Selena remained silent.

Luca’s gaze lifted toward the dim horizon.

"If the child truly wants answers," he said quietly, "then it should search for them."

"It should try to understand why things happened the way they did."

"Not every story ends with betrayal."

"Not every disappearance means rejection."

His eyes softened slightly.

"And sometimes... the truth hurts less than the questions we create in its absence."

A brief pause followed.

"But simply giving up on the path..." he added calmly, "closing oneself away... refusing to move forward..."

He shook his head slightly.

"That is not the way."

His voice grew softer.

"The one who was left behind still has a sky of their own."

"A life that still belongs to them."

"A future that is still unwritten."

He turned his gaze toward her fully now.

"Remaining trapped in the moment of being left behind..."

"Only turns the past into chains."

The evening air cooled further, carrying the faint hush of approaching night.

"If that child truly wishes to understand what happened..."

"Then it must grow strong enough to fly."

"Strong enough to search."

"Strong enough to see the truth with its own eyes."

His expression remained calm, yet resolute.

"Because sometimes..."

"The answer is not found by waiting in the empty nest."

"It is found by taking flight."

A gentle breeze passed between them once more.

"And even if the path leads to pain..."

"Even if the truth is not what one hopes for..."

He exhaled lightly.

"At least the child will know..."

"That it did not remain trapped in the darkness... without ever trying to see the sky again."

Silence followed.

Not uncomfortable.

Not heavy.

Just quiet.

As though the world itself had paused... allowing the meaning of those words to settle slowly within the space between them.