Within the outskirts of a certain small town a young slender boy no more than four years of age was running towards a certain run down house that can only be described as a tattered shack.
The boy, panting as he run as if fleeing from something or someone. He was covered in sweat on his dirt covered face, no less than the mud and filth sticking on his worn-out tunic and pants with not just a few patches of cloth to hide the holes and tears here and there.
Carrying a small bottle seeming to be filled with some type of green liquid due to the herb like substance mixed within as he hurried inside after slamming the “door” open.
He cried out “Mother, I brought you medicine!” as he didn’t even take the time to relive his breathe, hurrying towards what appeared to be a bed made of grass and straw covered in only the minimal amount of cloth where an aged woman laid down onto.
The woman, clothed in a dress made from material no different from the one her son wore but in a better shape. Showing just how seldom she went of her makeshift bed.
The woman who until now has been sleeping silently as sweat run down her paled face comparable to a corpse slowly opened her eyes as she begins to have her regular coughing fit whilst turning her tired head towards her son, giving the warmest smile her exhausted self can muster.
*Cough*
*Cough*
*Cough*
“Velon, where have you run off too?” she muttered in a low voice tinge with worry.
As soon as the boy caught his mother’s coughing with his attentive ears, he presented the bottle in front of her with a quivering voice and shaking hands as he told her “Medicine! I brought you medicine! Get better Mother!” as he struggled to keep his tears from pouring out of his moist black eyes.
Hearing her son Velon showing such worry for her health, Margaret couldn’t help but extend her thin hands towards her anxious son’s head as she proceeded to pat his head in an attempt to ease him of his worries. Just as her hand was about to near her son’s head, she resumed the coughing fit that she so desperately held inside.
Seeing her Mother coughing continuously, the tears he tried to keep in started pouring out as he told her again as clearly as he could “Mother please drink this quickly!” while moving the lip of the bottle to her still coughing mouth.
With her son’s panic-stricken urging, she tried to calm her coughing down and forced herself to drink the medicine presented by her son.
Soon after she finished downing the medicine and her coughs stopped, she calmed her breathing and gazed at her son with a warm smile while voicing her gratitude for this caring child.
Velon who had tears pouring out of his eyes until now finally stopped and proceeded to wipe his tears and snot on his already dirt covered sleeves showed a smile filled with relief as his efforts in procuring the bottle of medicine was worth it.
-
Not long after, Velon and his mother could hear a series of footsteps passing by their tattered shack as an old man ordered his subordinate while pointing towards the alleyways “Find where that brat went to and take back the Potion he stole!”.
“Yes!” replied a young man with a shaking voice seemingly in fear of the bald man, as he run through the alleyways while passing through the tattered shack where Velon and his mother resides.
As the old man, with medium build and dense muscles despite looking to be no less than 60 years of age looked at the back of his subordinate who run down the alley per his orders. He sighed while rubbing his head devoid of hair as he muttered in relief “That brat sure is fast” after taking a brief glance at the tattered shack as he turned around intending to return to the shop he was supposed to be guarding.
Judging by how this bald man acted, it seems he already knows who and where the little thief went to but pretended to be oblivious to the whole thing. The man himself did not knew why he acted as such and risk getting a complaint from his client.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
He was a retired soldier who took up the job of being a guard for a small Potion Shop, for him to let a dirty child to get inside the shop, more so to steal a potion, albeit of low grade to get away. It surely isn’t something someone stubborn and uptight like him to normally do.
Maybe it was due to pity after seeing the desperate and teary eyed look he saw on the child’s dirt face. Remembering about the look that boy made back there, he couldn’t help himself but make another sigh as if in exhaustion while walking away.
-
When Velon heard those words, he couldn’t help but feel nervous while hoping those men would not find him. As Velon was trying his best to not make a sound while trying his best not to panic, his mother Margaret gave him a scrutinizing look as if saying “You’ve done it again?”.
She was worried for her son’s recklessness; at the same time, she feels guilty towards him.
“If only I wasn’t ill, then he wouldn’t be stealing medicine or food. If only my body could move like how it used to, then he wouldn’t be risking this much for me. I’m… such a useless mother”
While she was busy thinking about such things and trying to think of what could she do to compensate for her son’s misdeeds. She heard the sound of the footsteps and voices becoming faint and distant. She heaved a sigh of relief while thinking of what to say to convince Velon in halting such misdeeds for herself.
Sensing the scolding and worried look his mother is sending him, he gradually looked up at her with an apologetic look.
He could only say in a low voice “I’m sorry, Mother..” he knew what he did was wrong, such was taught to him by his mother. But he also knew that if he did not do anything then his mother’s health will likely get worse and possibly not ever wake up again.
Similar to the skinny old man that used to chat with him and it scared him when the old man suddenly stopped talking seemingly asleep only to find out the old man was dead.
He quite liked the old man as he was the only other person that ever talked to him besides his sickly mother. He was afraid that something similar will happen to his mother; to suddenly stop responding as if she fell asleep while they talk about what he did during the day, because that old man, just like his mother; they similarly always had a coughing fit.
Velon was always afraid that his Mother would end up like that old man, to never wake up again.
For Velon that was something he could not afford.
Seeing her son acting so meekly while apologizing to her, she could not make herself scold him any further for she understood that he was only doing this for her.
After warning him of how dangerous it is to steal from other people and receiving a nod of understanding, she gave a light smile as she chose to change the topic and asked him how his day was.
“My dear child, what did you do today to get yourself this dirty?”
Velon smiled at that question as if the previous conversation never even happened and responded cheerfully “I was chasing after a cat near the walls!” while holding his two arms forwards as doing a grabbing motion.
Velon kept enthusiastically telling stories to his mother
“… and then I- “
Margaret silently listened to her son happily tell her what he was doing the whole day as she gave a gentle look filled with love and a hint of worry on her eyes directed at him.
She didn’t know how long her body could last before she couldn’t take it anymore, her mind always filled with worry for her son once she can no longer be there to watch over him. She worried over not being able to see that smile filled with joy directed to her from her adorable child. She worried if her son’s radiant smile would disappear after she is gone.
She couldn’t help but think back to all this years that passed.
She has been having a reoccurring illness for more than half a decade caused by a certain tragedy that changed her and her family’s life, leaving her bedridden for majority of her past half decade. With her illness only getting more dire as time passed.
Due to the that incident, she was forced to mother this boy as much as she possibly could with her already ill-suited body. If not for the minimum support of the few neighbours who bothered to help her raise this child by giving them a few pieces of bread every now and then due to pity and her unexpected tenacity as she forced herself to raise and love this child that was supposed to be her curse and reminder of the horrifying tragedy she went through.
As her reminiscence draws to a close as she continued to listen to her son’s story telling of the day, intent on hearing of her son’s daily life in a joyful voice.
It wasn’t long until the dust fell and the light of the sun was soon gone for the day when Velon finally run out of stories to tell his mother of the happenings of the day.
His eyes slowly began to grow tired, something Margaret clearly saw as she told him to change clothes into his only other pair of tunic and pants.
As soon as Velon finished changing, he was reminded of his hunger by his growling belly due to narrating to his mother how the day went for no less than a few hours.
He proceeded to take out a piece of bread from atop a tree stump acting as their table and presenting the other half to his mother who still lie on the makeshift bed after tearing it apart along with a bowl of water. Velon tore the bread into small pieces to allow his mother to ease the hard bread with relative ease by dipping it on water to soften it up.
As they happily ate what little they could as the sun finally sets off.
After having finished with their small meal, Margaret urged him to come near her so they can both rest for the night.
“Goodnight dear” Margaret softly told her son who was already fast asleep just after laying down as if all his previous energy where just an illusion.