The short-haired mature woman didn't speak. She simply turned to watch Marten and his wife Julene walk into the mansion. Her face remained calm until they disappeared inside the wide open door, before she turned back to Leyna.
"Where is Alex?"
The black-haired assistant paused, showing her lack of knowledge, but she didn't hesitate to take action to correct that.
"I will ask Mark."
It was a wonder what made her directly assume Mark as a better option than the person in question himself.
She took out her phone, but at that moment, a shout came from the road their car had taken just now.
"Aunt Grace!!!"
The two women turned back, and they saw a white Rolls-Royce SUV coming toward them. The window at the back of the car was lowered, and a young woman had half her upper body peeking out as she waved her fair palm vigorously.
Leyna paused as she looked at the bright-eyed young woman of barely twenty years old, and she muttered with a smile full of joy and affection:
"Jenny is back."
For the first time since arriving, the expression of the short-haired mature woman changed, and a small smile appeared on her lips.
The white Rolls-Royce barely stopped when the young woman jumped out of it, and she ran over, making her sky blue dress flutter in the wind. Like a swallow returning to its nest, she jumped into the shorthaired woman's arms, and exclaimed with a tone asking to be spoiled:
"Aunt Grace!"
Grace let Jenny enjoy her softness with a slight smile radiating a maternal glow. She tidied the light brown hair that had been made messy, before she stroked the head the hair belonged to.
"You are back?"
Jenny nodded without raising her head from Grace's embrace.
"You haven't told Alex yet?"
While framed as a question, there was a certainty in Grace's words that said she was just stating a fact. And indeed, Jenny looked at Grace with her lips pursed and her cheeks puffed, before she shook her head with a bright smile.
Seeing Grace look unsurprised, she opened her mouth to explain:
"Not yet, aunt Grace. Please don't tell him, I want to surprise him later."
Grace raised her eyebrows, making Jenny look to the side to avoid having her mind read. She grinned at the dark-haired woman at the side:
"Big sister Leyna."
Leyna's affectionate smile grew wider at the innocent eyes untainted by the complexity of the family.
"Welcome back, Jenny."
"Hehe!"
The laughter came in a bright voice, one that seemed to exist only to bring joy with its purity.
"Come on, aunt Grace, let's go in. I want to see who came today."
Grace's eyes shone with an indulgent glow, and she let herself be pulled along.
Leyna shook her head with a smile, and finally returned to what she had been doing before the energetic interruption. Finding Mark's contact, she launched the call.
_ _ _
_ _ _
A small plane was flying over mountains white not only at their peaks. It was a world of snow, one spared from the bulk of human activities, leaving it more desolate, but also pure, or considering what attracted Alex, wild and untamed.
Alex's eyes were bright as he looked outside through the window beside the door.
The plane was not like the previous one. It was smaller, and it was decidedly less comfortable. But fortunately, he would jump out of it soon enough, so there was no need to fuss.
Alex turned to look at Mark. He leaned over, and spoke over the noise of the engines:
"Remember to make a turn and follow me at low altitude!"
Mark rolled his eyes, but nodded with a helpless sigh.
Alex grinned, as the plane passed by the peak which was the destination, and turned around to adjust its course. Alex locked the bindings of his snowboard, and he went to stand before the door which the crew had opened.
Everything was ready, and there was only the ideal position to wait for. The plane climbed higher, and returned to aim at the snowy peak.
Alex lowered the goggles to cover his eyes, and focused his eyes on the mountains outside, while his ears rang with the shouts of the jump monitor:
"Three!!! Two!!! One, go!!!"
"WOOHOO!!!"
With a shout, Alex pushed himself out of the plane, and then, there was only the world and him. The wind was screaming by his ears, but that felt more like a welcome. He didn't face the ground. He spun and spread his hands toward Mark with a grin as he faced the bright blue sky, before he turned around.
Alex's grin grew on his face, and he pulled his mask up to cover his nose, before nosediving, riding the air while his straight posture made it part in front of him. He became a spear whose target was the mountain below.
Back on the plane, Mark shook his head at the recklessness of the one his wife had asked him to take care of. Really, the job was tiring.
Before he could lament for any significant amount of time, however, his phone rang, its vibration the only reason he managed to notice it.
It was a Saturday, and also early in the morning. He could not help but wonder who it was who was calling him. He signalled the air crew to follow Alex's instructions, and took out the phone from his pocket. When he saw the name on the display however, his lips twitched, and he looked at the humanoid bird in the air outside.
He wanted to sigh, but then he cleared his throat and schooled his expression. He went to the back of the plane, and picked up the call:
"Hello? Leyna?"
"Mark, are you with Alex? Where is he?"
Mark looked outside, hesitant on the way to reply, when Leyna frowned on the other side, and her calm voice climbed up a notch:
"Where are you now? Why is it so noisy over there?"
Mark made a grimace before he raised his voice to reply:
"I am on a plane! Alex is not with me right now, but we are outside the city! Is the chairwoman looking for him!?"