Chapter 8: 8. Mother

" Wake up we are here!" Levana jolted awake and checked her surroundings frantically. Her left hand grasped the hilt of her knife that was still trapped onto the left side of her hip.

" Ah, don't worry, it is just me. You fell asleep on the way here. My name is Aparajita Bajaj by the way. I forgot to tell you before and you didn't ask. Come! Let me help you out." Aparajita said as she began pulling the startled Levana out of the backseat of the car.

" Wait, Aethra she-" Levana began.

" You can take your daughter out from the other side. You need to get out first. Take off your seat belt. No, never mind, I will help you." As she had said, she helped Levana unbuckle the seat belt and proceeded to practically yank Levana out of the car.

" Um... Where are we, Miss?" Levana asked as she looked around in confusion. They were in what looked to be a small car park or a large garage with one Lamborguine, a Jeep, a... monster truck and a... tractor? Not including the Camry, of course.

" This my garage. I told you that I will let you sleep at my house tonight. Look at you, you managed to sleep in a stranger's car. I will take a rest before you continue on your journey." The woman said with one hand on her hip, the other waving her index finger in the air.

Levana unstrapped Aethra from the seat belt and began carrying the still-sleeping girl. She then followed Aparajita Bajaj to an elevator that lead them into an equally large house. She was then brought to a room. There she spent the night on the queen-sized bed while hugging Aethra.

...

In the morning, Aethra opened her eyes. They sparkled as the celestial bodies within them moved this caused them to have a genuine twinkle. She tilted her head a little to see that Levana was hugging her. Patting Levana's arm, she tried to wake her up.

" Wake up, Levana!" She said as she contemplated on whether she should unleash the secret technique her mother had taught her. Fortunately, Levana began to stir immediately. Levana was a light sleeper it seemed. A testament to the fact that even in the Mansion of Learning, she could have been attacked in her sleep. Demigods were cruel like that.

" Hmm... Oh... Aethra?" Levana mumbled sleepily and cutely as she rubbed her eyes. Aethra took supereffective amounts of damage from the blast of cuteness and was stunned. She quickly snapped out of it and had a face of determination. Immediately, she began her counterattack and hugged Levana as she started to sit up and looked up at Levana's face while making puppy eyes.

However, Levana seemed to be immune to all mental damage due to her airheaded and oblivious nature. Instead, she sported a motherly smile and patted Aethra's head. Thinking that Aethra needed comforting. Thus, Aethra decided to up her game, coaxing a tear to form from her right eye and letting it slide down her head.

This only seemed to encourage Levana more as the clueless 19-year-old pulled Aethra's head into her chest as her smile slowly morphed into a sad smile. She was sad that she had separated the child from her parents even if she had not thought much of it before. However, she took solace in the fact that she had done so with good intentions.

As Aethra admitted her defeat, she struggled out of Levana's vice grip and sat at the edge of the bed sulking. Levana, however, seemed more confused than ever. Did children switch moods so quickly? In actuality, Aethra was just more intelligent and knowledgeable than Levana thinks. If this was an anime, Levana would be sitting there with a blank face with a giant question mark floating next to her head.

...

The drive to Imam Ali Hospital took a little over 6 hours, the kind lady, Aparajita, gave the "young single mother" a hug and drove off after dropping the "mother-daughter" duo in front of the hospital.

As usual, Levana was their pack mule carrying all their previous equipment in addition to a new duffle bag that contains a tent and another sleeping bag for Aethra. If it weren't for Levana's recent ascension into pseudo-divinity, she would have been unable to carry such a load.

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Levana walked straight to the receptionist and asked to see her mother, Naseeka Kaer. After some questioning about her relationship with her mother, the woman gave her the room number that her mother was in and gave her some directions. (A/N: Levana was the Roman goddess and protector of newborns, in mythology. I didn't really realise this until later on when I was researching gods. It also is of Latin origin meaning "to rise." Naseeka basically means sacrifice. I think. Pay attention to the names that I give characters.)

Levana stared at the room number for a second before she frowned. The number was 044, a number that really rubbed Levana the wrong way. Aethra who was next to her, gripped Levana's hand tighter as she stared silently at the door to the room.

Taking a small gulp, Levana opened the door and walked in with Aethra trailing behind her not minding all the straps from the many bags Levana was carrying. The moment she walked in, Levana laid her eyes on her extremely injured mother.

Both her mother's legs had been amputated, her arms in casts and the rest of her body in bandages. Even her face was not spared.

" A car accident they said... How the...*hic*" Levana's voice hitched as she hiccuped. Taking a breath, she sat down in the chair that was already there. Patting on her lap, she gestured for Aethra to sit. Sit she did. The emotionally intelligent girl understood that Levana needed comfort and did so by leaning back on Levana who proceeded to hug her.

" *Hic**Snifle* I-I didn't mean for this to happen... *Hic* I was just following my urges..." Tears flowed as Levana stared blankly at her mother's unmoving body. A body that was only alive because of life support.

" Aethra?" Levana called for the little girl who has been silent the entire time.

" Hmm?"

" You heard what the nurse asked before... What do you think?" The nurse had asked if she wanted to pull the plug. To let her mother rest. With the way she was now, it was doubtful whether she would even wake up again much less be capable of returning to regular life. Even the normally naive Levana, felt that she was dumb for asking a little girl about such a complex topic that she let the awkward silence last for nearly 5 minutes.

" I... Never mind-" However, she was cut off.

" What would your mama want you to do? If you ask her, what would she tell you to do?" Levana froze at this statement. She wouldn't want to be in this state, of course. Levana then stared at her shaking hands. She was now of divine nature... Could she heal her?

With such thoughts, the little divine power she had stirred. However, as they extended off her hand slightly as a golden waft of energy, the energy stopped only 2 centimetres away from her hand. After staring at the energy for a second, Levana retracted the energy and slowly rolled her hand into a fist. She then sighed.

She bit down on her lip causing golden ichor to be drawn as she stared at the fist. Her breathing got heavier for a few seconds before she calmed down.

" Let's... Let's go, Aethra." With those words said, she picked up all her things and left the room. Before leaving the hospital, she settled the medical bill and the arrangements required to cremate the body with whatever money her mother had in her bank by guessing their PIN codes.

Then, the duo left for their next destination.

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