Imagining the tools already in his hands Theron glanced at the piece of paper at the corner of the showcase. Its price read 1 grey krestal.
'Grey? Weren't krestal black in color?' wanting a clarification, Theron turned to Alicia.
"Mom, how much is one grey krestal?" he asked, after tugging at her long skirt.
"Mhm?" After hearing her son's question, Alicia focused on the leather tool case in front of them and its price.
"Little Teri, are you interested in this tool set?" she asked him back.
"Yes mom. So, is one grey krestal expensive? I only saw you having only black ones." he asked while adopting a slight crest fallen expression.
Instead of an answer, Theron received from Alicia a strong pinch to his cheeks while she also produced some silly sounds like "guju guju!".
"My little Teri is indeed a genius! You figured out the black krestal just by watching me buy a few things earlier!" she said a little incoherently, as her mouth was still only slightly open as if she was speaking to him in Motherese.
"Mom!" Theron voiced out in complain.
He was admittedly a little embarrassed inside for having Alicia act like that on him out in the open in front of so many people, but the main reason he called out was because he wanted her to stop her actions of motherly affection and focus on the question at hand.
Seeing her son troubled, Alicia could only reluctantly control herself. There was always time to show her love at home.
Unawares of what cuddling torture awaited him back home, Theron patiently waited for Alicia to answer his earlier question, believing to have safely escaped her clutches of motherly love.
"So, my little Teri, you asked about the grey krestal?" still gently smiling as always, she asked.
"Yes, mom!"
"Well, it's rather simple actually. One grey krestal, as the price of this tool case is, is worth the same as one hundred black krestal. Now for the difference in their value between them. You see, although there are a couple of reasons for the grey krestal's existence as another coin, the main reason is mostly for the convenience of the people. It's easier and more practical to carry ten grey krestal for example instead of one thousand black krestal.
For that convenience though, some, like the shopkeeper of this store for example, as the price on the paper suggests, prefer to make their deals with grey krestal instead of black. Even if someone gives him one hundred black krestal, he might not accept to sell the item." She starts to slowly explain.
She doesn't even worry if her son can even understand or not what she says, because she knows he more than can. Wanting for her brilliant son to learn as much as possible, she doesn't shy away in giving all the information she knows about the topic.
"But their value is the same, why would he not accept?" although Theron had a theory why the shopkeeper would choose not to sell, he still asked.
"Because of the convenience of carrying the grey krestal around have, over the black ones, it adds more value to them beyond their standard established one!"
"Oh, I see!" confirming his guess to be correct and having learned the corresponding value of the grey krestal to black ones, Theron now knew how much the tool case was worth in relation to other products, like the ones Alicia had bought earlier.
Although not quite as expensive as he originally thought the tool case to be, it was impossible for the leather coin pouch Alicia carried with her to hold one hundred black krestal. He could only hope for a grey krestal to be inside and if that was to be the case, for Alicia to also agree to buy it for him.
"My little Teri, mom can tell you really want this set of tools, but unfortunately I don't have that kind of money spare on me now, not after what we have bought today. Maybe the next time we will come again, or I could simply send your father to buy it."
Seeing her son with his eyes still glued on the tool case, almost bled Alicia's heart. She could see how much her son wanted it, and of course she wouldn't hesitate to buy it for him on any other day when she had the money.
Being the tool case, a set full of sharp and dangerous tools, it wouldn't matter on her decision to buy it. She knew how intelligent her son was and he had proved his judgment over many times before to be grounded and logical, so she was sure he would use them with the outmost caution.
But today, with the money she had brought with her, it was fated not to be able to buy it.
Theron was of course a little disappointed after hearing her answer, but he was not ungrateful. Alicia and Frank have already shown they were not holding back on their savings, buying him all the books he requested up until now.
Except for the daily food supplies, necessary clothing and the monthly bill for running water, which Theron still didn't know how much it cost but ought to be a considerable amount, there were also the expenses for procuring the mekron crystals, both for Frank's arm and for the cuboven.
Counting as well other miscellaneous expenses like the candles lighting their home at night, a three-member family such as them, with only Frank bringing in money as far as he was aware, it wouldn't surprise him if they were already tight in their everyday budget.
'Maybe I need to start considering procuring money myself to not continue to burden them.' he thought.
'But what can I even do as a barely five years old child?' he was puzzled; still staring hard at the store's showcase without moving.
To Alicia, this stillness only seemed as her son's reluctance and sadness for not being able to obtain the item he wanted.
If her heart before had almost bled, now it was gushing out a crimson stream!
She immediately crouched forwards, taking Theron in her tight embrace.
"Mom?!" Theron cried out in shock.
"I am sorry little Teri, for not being able to get it for you today! But I promise! I will buy it for you by the end of the week! So don't be sad, okay?"
Hearing Alicia telling him all that with her voice starting to break and tears forming in her clear brown eyes, Theron became infuriated with himself.
Here she was, his new mother. Breaking down in tears on her knees, thinking her son was sad for not getting what he wanted because she couldn't afford it. There was no excuse on his part, he had screwed up! No one should make a mother cry, especially theirs!
Even after telling himself that he would cherish this life and family and protect them, now he had hurt them himself!
"Mom, calm down! You don't have to feel that way and there is no need for you or dad to buy this for me. I don't really want it actually; I was simply interested in it." Theron said in his guilt, trying to calm his teary mother.
"Sniff, sniff. N-no, little Teri. Sniff, sniff. W-we will buy it for you!" With her eyes watery and nose slightly stuffy, she begins to calm down after hearing her son, but she is still insisting on buying it, thinking Theron only said those things for her sake.
"No mom! As I said, I only found it interesting, I don't want it."
"Sniff, sniff. Do you really mean that?" withdrawing her head a little back she fuzzily looked at her son in the eyes, their golden hue shined as she tried to discern from them if he was speaking the truth.
"Yes, mom. So, calm down and don't worry. Also, you should stand up... it's embarrassing."
Glancing around them she knew what her son meant; everyone close by was watching and commenting on them. Ignoring the stares and whispers though completely, Alicia took a few moments embracing her son in silence, before she calmed down enough to stand back up.
Theron was of course happy to see she had calmed down, but the guilt of causing her such pain was still there weighing on him. As he saw her standing up with her eyes a little puffy still, he engraved this memory of his mother's suffering close to heart, vowing to never let it happen again, either because of him or because of others.