Insecurity

There comes a point in many children's lives when they become curious about the romantic ties between their parents. It's part of their natural curiosity to understand as much of the world as they possibly can. With Harmonic's and Atmospheric's children, this impulse was no different. It started out as a simple morning during breakfast. The menu was eggs, wheat toast, and orange juice. The family was sitting around the table and enjoying themselves to the fullest extent possible. After a few minutes of laughing and joking, the question inevitably was asked.

"Daddy," Harmonic's daughter called.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"How did you and mommy fall in love?"

Crickets. That was all that could be heard for miles. Harmonic wasn't expecting to be asked this very question by anyone, though looking back, he probably should have been. He came to his senses after a moment and started explaining to the best of his ability.

"Well, mommy saved daddy a long time ago. Daddy was going through a bit of a hard time."

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you when you're a little bit older, but I want you to remember three words. Can you do that for me?"

"Okay."

"Trust, hope, and faith. That's why mommy and daddy love each other."

"Mommy," their son asked his mother, "do you think I'll ever have something like you and daddy?"

Atmospheric placed her hoof over her heart with an expression of calm joy.

"Yes. I do. It'll take some time, but if you really care, you'll find it."

"Mommy's right," Harmonic confirmed, "We didn't fall in love until we were in our mid-20s. You're only five right now. Just be a kid. Have fun and learn everything you can. If you want to find love, learn how. Read about it in books. Watch different types of romance movies. Watch couples in public from time to time and see how these things work. Think about what you want and how you can make yourself better. Learning will help you understand how to build better relationships. These are things you can do while you're growing up. By the time you're ready to be in a relationship, you'll know more than we did."

"Really?"

"That's how I see it."

"Right now, just focus on learning," Atmospheric advised Hard Core, "Learn in school and life. You can do anything you set your mind to as long as you keep learning and use what you learn."

"I will."

"I think you'll grow up to be like your daddy; brave and caring."

"What about me, mommy," melodic asked

"I don't know. Who do you think you'll grow up to be like?"

"I think you'll grow up to be like your mommy," Harmonic chimed in, "really smart and kind."

"Wow!"

Harmonic and Atmospheric looked each other in the eyes. The deep spiritual connection between them was so intense, you could almost witness it. Melodic and Hard Core started giggling. Their parents noticed this.

"Come on, you little boogers," Harmonic said, "Let's get some sun for a bit, huh?"

"Okay, daddy," Melodic and Hard Core replied simultaneously. Both children exited the house.

"That was really sweet," Atmospheric stated.

"Yeah. It actually went better than I expected."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't think they'd ask about me and you, honestly."

"It's kind of hard not to with the amount of affection we display."

"I guess so. I meant what I said, though. You kept me sane during my darkest hours, and I'll never forget that."

"I know you did."

"There's something serious I want to tell you, though."

"What is it?"

"If, for some reason, what we have doesn't last forever, I think it'll still turn out okay. What I told Hard Core about learning was from personal experience. You taught me how to cope with trauma and tragedy, and I took it to heart in every aspect of my existence."

"Do you think it'll fall apart?"

"I can't say. If it does though, I just want to make sure the kids aren't too upset."

"As long as they still see both of us, I think they'll be fine."

"I think you're right."

"I'll fight to the end to keep us all together."

"So will I."

The married couple gripped each other in a tight hug. It was decided between them to maintain hope for a decent future, regardless of how it turned out. Failure or success, death was on its way, one step at a time. All that was left was to fight for the best life possible.

"Come on. Let's go play with them for a bit."

Atmospheric nodded.

"Yeah."