Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Stranded In The Middle of Nowhere

Today, I was two and a half years old.

In this span of time, I learned to stand and walk. Then I climbed onto a chair, climbed onto a table and then sat and smiled by myself. It was a routine that I did every day to exercise my body muscles.

Besides, I also observed my mom's activities at home. She started washing dishes, then cleaned the house, tidied the bed and changed my diapers. It might seem boring, but it felt so peaceful.

Mom would often peek in whenever I made a sound in my room. She then came and stroked my head, and also asked if I was hungry and so on. Her attention made me calm. 

In a way, I wanted to ease her burden. Whenever I offered to help, Mom smiled and kissed my cheek. "When you grow up, I'll let you, sweetheart." 

Ah, I wanted to grow up fast. But, the only thing I could do was stand by her side while she cooked. Despite being nagged, I insisted. 

When mom was resting, I took the initiative to massage her feet. Mom laughed, then commented that my massage felt good to her. 

I knew it was just sweet words to cheer me up. 

For some reason, I kept thinking about my mother who had passed away. It felt like I wanted to repay my current mom's kindness so I wouldn't regret it the second time.

"Patience, my sweetheart." Mom kissed my forehead. "There must be a time."

Again, my chest was filled with a warmth that I could not explain. Her words instantly obliterated the anxiety that had arisen from the narrow corners of my mind. 

Was this the happiness that everyone had been feeling? This was something that made every cell in my body satisfied. Unlike the happiness of my previous life, which felt empty despite the many achievements I had made.

Every day since I was reborn, this exhilarating feeling kept growing and growing. To the point that I felt nothing but things that made me smile all the time. 

My mom was right. I didn't need to rush. When the time came, I would do my best for them.

A week later, in the morning, my mother took me outside. For the first time, I passed by a field of wheat that was ready to be harvested. I tried to stay calm as she carried me. 

However, what I saw was so refreshing. I unconsciously screamed like a child who had discovered something exciting. 

Mom explained every object or thing I pointed at. A flying animal that looked like a dragonfly, a horse that was bigger than an adult, and farmers working in the fields. Mom said their names and I tried to remember them.

When we arrived at the destination, I saw many adults queuing up with their children. Some of their children were carried like me. Other children were standing next to their parents. 

The ages of the children here were quite diverse. I could see it from their different body sizes.

I still wondered why my mother had brought me here. I got the answer after we had been queuing for a while. 

There was an old hut and we entered. An old man wearing a monocle sat waiting across the table. Mom was invited to sit on the chair in front of him. 

Then the old man touched my face as he pleased. I brushed away his wild hands, but mom looked at me instead.

"Take it easy, Damna. The apothecary is checking your condition." 

Mom, who was smiling brightly, forced me to be quiet and obey. Yet, the old man's fingers emitted a pungent bitter scent. I wanted to resist, but I couldn't go against mom's words.

After he finished staining my sweet face, he smiled at my mother. 

"Your son is healthy. Even though he was born on New Year's Eve, there are no signs of curses appearing on his body. This is something rare. It's a godsend."

Mom held me close, she sobbed for a moment. "Thank goodness," she said.

There was a silence that was broken. The doctor just smiled and I didn't understand why.

After regaining her composure, she said, "Thank you so much, Sir."

"No need to thank me. I'm happy to help the people in my mother's hometown. Oh yes, don't forget to give him this remedy." The doctor handed over a bowl filled with a blackish liquid. "To increase his resistance if the curse comes one day."

Mom took a bag of coins from her pocket. "How much is it?"

"Ah! Looks like it's your first time." The old man laughed. "No need to pay. I did it willingly." 

Mom looked embarrassed because it was true that she was meeting this old man for the first time. But what concerned me was why this so-called curse seemed so real. Didn't superstition get debunked in this day and age?

My baby brain struggled to find a reasonable explanation for this. However, it was kinda useless even if I managed to find one.

We came out of the hut and found a place to sit. Mom put me down along with a few other children. Then she immediately handed me a bowl filled with a black liquid and asked me to drink it.

"Ah, I forgot the water. Wait here for a while, sweetheart. Don't go anywhere." 

"Okay."

She went to ask the other adults for water. But was the medicine given by the apothecary really that bitter?

I sniffed the black bowl and found no suspicious odor.

Without thinking, I drank it immediately. After swallowing it in two gulps, my tongue automatically came out in response to the unexpected bitter taste. 

Wasn't medicine for children supposed to be sweet? This village was too outdated!

Then my glance was stolen by the other children who were fixing their eyes on me with astonishment. They also had their tongues out as if they had taken medicine. Even though their medicine was still in hand.

Did I do something cool somehow? Ah, I understood. For small children, medicine like this was impossible to take without water or something sweet.

"Cool," said the little black-haired girl.

I didn't know how to respond, but it felt wrong to ignore her. So I just said, "Really?"

The other kids looked at each other and then all smiled at me. 

"Cool!" They said in unison.

It was strange, but it felt quite nice to be praised by children.

Oh, yeah, this was my first time talking to a kid around my age. Although they were still stammering, I could understand what they were saying. I was quite embarrassed trying to get along with them while I was a grown man.

"Hey! How did you do that?" A loud voice immediately distracted me. "Can you teach me somehow?"

In front of me, there was a blonde-haired boy with a sweet face. He was taller than me. Probably a five-year-old kid. But, what made me unable to take my eyes off him was the emerald green color of his eyes. They sparkled as if there were jewels inside.

"Hey! Hey! Can you hear me?" This child gently shook my shoulder. 

And I came to my senses.

"Eh? What?" I asked.

His face pouted for a moment, then smiled. "Your trick. How did you take the remedy?" 

Hmm... How should I explain it? If I said I swallowed it without thinking, would she accept it? Besides, my speech was still slurred, maybe I should show her how.

So I demonstrated how to drink it. My fingers held the empty bowl back, then put it to the edge of my lips and poured it in. It was as if some liquid was coming in and I pretended to swallow it until my throat made a sound.

He watched closely and his face began to show signs that he understood. Of course, that was just my assumption. I hoped he really understood. 

He sat down right next to me. There was doubt in his eyes as he looked at the black liquid in the bowl. When he turned his head and our eyes met, he smiled and I smiled back. He gathered his courage and took a deep breath before drinking it.

In three gulps, he managed to swallow it. Without water. After putting down the bowl, he struck a victory pose as if he had won a game. But the look on his face was suddenly ugly. He covered his mouth and his legs trembled.

Ah, it looked like he was going to throw up soon. 

One of the adults came over immediately and offered him a cup of water. "Drink slowly, Aila."

Aila grabbed the cup and drank the water. The adult stroked the back of his head as he watched intently. 

Aila let out a long breath. The relief shown on his face made me smile. And once again, he looked at me while striking a victory pose.

"I didn't expect you to be able to swallow the medicine without water, Aila. My daughter is so awesome!"

Eh? A daughter? I thought she was a boy because of her short hair. 

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The blonde girl, Aila, blushed when her father praised her. Her reaction was adorable. I chuckled and then joined in on the praise. "Aila, great."

When she heard my words, she smiled widely and pulled her father closer. She wanted to introduce me, then realized that she still didn't know my name.

She came closer and then whispered, "What's your name?" 

"Damna," I replied.

She smiled and then returned to stand near her father.

"Father, Damna was teaching me to take my remedy." 

The man smiled and his big hand immediately stroked my head. "You're doing great, Damna. Oh, where are your parents?"

Well, speaking of the devil, my mom came running and said, "Damna, are you okay?"

Before I could answer, my mom and Aila's dad stared at each other and froze for a moment. 

"Eh? Sis Sonja?"

"Huh? Raul? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me, Raul," he laughed, "you're growing into a wonderful woman, Big Sis."

Suddenly, my mom threw a fist at Raul's stomach for no reason. It took me and Aila by surprise. Yet, Raul managed to block my mom's fist. 

Mom smiled, then stood on tiptoe and patted the shoulder of the man who was much taller than her. "You're becoming a great man now!"

The man blushed. A perfectly reasonable reaction for him. But not with my mom. Throwing punches at people you hadn't seen in a long time didn't make sense to me.

Mom seemed too excited. This would be a long conversation. However, she looked around and finally asked Raul to talk somewhere else. She was worried about disturbing the peace of the people queuing for treatment. 

In short, we left the place together with Raul and his daughter. 

As my mother was about to pick me up, I refused. "I want to walk."

Mom looked a little surprised but granted my request anyway. She took my hand and guided me to walk next to her. 

I tried to adjust my steps to the rough surface. Thankfully, my shoes were made of leather that was quite thick at the base. Slowly but surely, I could walk at their pace. Although I knew they were intentionally slowing down.

It was a coincidence that our house and Aila's house were still on the same path, and would be separated after crossing the bridge. That was what I heard from Aila's father. Along the way, they kept talking to each other.

Long story short, my mom and Raul were schoolmates. Raul regarded my mom as a strong sister. Mom often protected him from bad kids. Then they were separated because of Raul's parents' jobs. Well, this happened a lot. 

I wanted to ask them. Why didn't they use the internet or telephone to communicate with each other? But then I realized that there were no electricity poles in this village. 

I let out a long sigh. My life would be full of hardships. I was born in a place far from the progress of civilization.

"Are you okay, Damna?" Aila, who was beside me, asked.

"Yes. I'm fine."

As I looked at Aila, my foot slipped and my knee landed on a sharp rock. My skin tore and blood flowed out slowly. 

My mother panicked, but Aila's father asked his daughter to help me.

In my daze of astonishment, I didn't understand what he meant. It was an adult's job to help an injured child, right?

Yet, Aila became excited for no reason. She asked me to sit down and straighten my legs. She placed her right hand near the wound and then said something. 

It was a long, poetic-sounding sentence. 

"A prayer to the Lord of the universe, the Owner of the majesty, and the Restorer of life. Let me use your blessings to recover strength and life, Healing!"

That was impressive for a five-year-old to be able to say those things without stuttering. Anyway, it was time to ask these adults to provide some actual help. 

As I thought of that, Aila's hand shone with a faint light. The pain in my knee instantly disappeared without a trace. My eyes, which had been observing what was going on, continued to stare. 

What was that? Nanotechnology with voice commands? I didn't think this was possible!

To confirm whether I was dreaming, I smacked my cheeks hard until they turned red. 

"What are you doing, Damna?" Mom immediately restrained my hand. "Aila, please heal Damna's cheeks."

Aila smiled at my mom's request. She placed her hand on my cheek and said the same thing. 

The same word. 

The same phrase. 

The same beautiful recitation. 

Once again, a light from nowhere appeared on Aila's hand and the heat on my cheeks disappeared. 

I was speechless. It surprised me too much. 

In a village without electricity, internet, and advanced machinery, there was no way such technology existed.

There was only one plausible explanation. I was reborn in an era like medieval Europe, but not on Earth. I was in a different world. In a different universe.

Superstition, reincarnation, and magic. Everything finally made sense. 

Shortly, my tears fell and formed a river that swept away my hidden wish.

Mother. I won't be able to visit your grave... ever.

I didn't remember what happened afterwards. When my eyes opened, I was on my mom's back.

"Mama?"

"Are you awake, sweetheart?" 

"Yes. Sorry, I gave you trouble."

Mom laughed. "I panicked so much. I thought it was because of the remedy you took without water."

"O-of course not, Mama!" I denied.

"So is it true that you were shocked because you saw magic for the first time? It was Raul who said that."

"...Yes."

My mom laughed again. "I've never seen anyone faint when they see magic. You are so adorable, Damna."

Although not entirely true, what happened was still the same. An overwhelming feeling took over my consciousness. 

I hoped mom could forget about this incident as soon as possible. I was afraid this would be told to the neighbors and linger as a laughingstock in the village.

"Ah, welcome home." The voice came from Rosch. He was standing in front of the house while carrying something behind his back. 

Something? No. It was an animal similar to a grizzly bear. And he seemed to be carrying it with ease.

When Rosch turned to me, my instinct immediately forced me to hide behind mom's back. 

"Hehe, don't tell me you're afraid of this bear, Damna?" He laughed loudly. 

I wouldn't be surprised if in this world there was a man like Rosch able to carry a bear-like creature on his back and still be able to joke around. 

Seriously, how could he joke around with his face covered in blood?

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