Arc 1 (Conception): (1) Just another day
(Edited by @Cheetachaser, @DocB, and @Kola)
Day-0,
Initially, my whole world was dark, and all I could see, feel, hear, touch, taste, and smell was nothing. All I could feel was that there was time passing, slowly-slowly, seeping, and taking away something precious from me. I wanted to stop, I wanted to shout, I wanted to cry, I wanted to be angry... it was as if all my emotions I ever see and know were attacking me.
Suddenly, I could hear some voices around me, and for some reason, I could understand what these voices were saying. I tried to sometime reply back, but after failing in that, I even shouted at 'voices.' But I could not get any reply. It was as if I was not there for them. So, I concentrated on the 'voices' to understand what was happening,
....
"How is my son?" (1st man)
"He will wake up soon, for now, he just needs rest." (2nd man)
"Thank you for saving my son." (1st woman and 1st man)
"Now, give us the fee. So, that we can leave." (2nd woman)
"Here." (1st man)
"Very well, if something happens, let me know." (2nd man)
The two leave the room, closing the door behind them.
-----
While listening to these voices, I did not realize that I now had the power to open my eye for some unknown reason. And all of a sudden, I could feel a body and a very aching and heavy-headed head. So, I did what naturally came to me; that is, I slowly opened my eyes and what I see is a woman and man with unkempt grey hair sitting beside my bed. Why was I on the bed? I do not know, and this man and woman wearing roughly woven cloths. It looks more like cylindrical cloth pieces that these people have put around, with space cut in horizontal opposite place for hands to come out. I could also see how haggard both looked as if they have not taken nap or moved from this place for a few days.
Upon seeing that, I opened my eyes, the woman did not say anything, but hugged me and started to cry. Her emotions were so much flared up that she did not realize I felt uncomfortable and was not aware of what was happening. Meanwhile, the man also did not say anything and was only looking at me with his expressive eyes, which were suddenly full of hope.
Initially, I wanted to stop them and ask what was happening but could not muster the power to prevent them, seeing how much this might mean to them and waited for them to calm themselves and say something. The first one to say anything was the woman.,
"How are you feeling, my child?" (1st woman)
But when I tried to speak, barely any sound was coming out of my mouth, and even that small sound needed all of my energy in this body. All I could feel in this body was pain and hunger.
Upon seeing this reaction, the man asks the woman to leave me for rest, as requested by one of the previous 'voices.'
"Rena, let Kola rest. He does not have any power to speak or talk. After all, It has been three days since he has last eaten anything. Bring him something to eat." (1st man)
The woman left the room, exclaiming after the sudden realization about my hunger.
"ahh! How can I forget? Rest my child. I will bring your favorite rice curry soup for you." (1st woman or Rena? or mother? or aunt?)
But these simple conversations by them have given me so many new things to think. What was the man calling the woman? Rena. What was my name? Kola? What was my relation to them? Their child? Are they my parents or relatives or someone who knows me? Why was I in bed for three days? Am I sick or had some accident?
I was now in a new world of suspense. Each word uttered by these two created some relation, shading light to some facts, but I have no idea whether it was true or false. During this struggle in my mind-space, the woman/Rena left the room with the man.
Now, I was left alone in the room with this new game of suspense playing in my mind. So, to relax from all the headache, I was having, I tried to see what was in this room? I moved my head with some effort to see this room in detail. This room was made of yellow clay walls, and other wood's like the roof, one window, and one door. Also, I was lying on the wooden bed, while the floor is also yellow clay. One side wall has one more cylindrical woven cloth hanging, similar to the man, from the wood embedded in the wall, and I was also wearing a similar-looking one.
But When I check myself after looking at the room, I show that apart from my body's pain, everything looked fine on the surface, with no visible wound on my body. But most pain I was feeling was in my head, and this heaviness feeling in my head was increasing with all the activity I was doing.
----
The door was soon opened, and Rena/mother/aunt came in with a wooden bowl filled with rice-curry soup. She helps me to a comfortable position and feeds me with a wooden spoon, the rice-curry soup. After seeing all the care with emotion, she was giving me, I know that this woman can never harm me, and her relation to me was if not mother-son, then very close to it. But I feel troubled by the fact why I could not remember such an important person in life.
After feeding me, she helps me to a sleeping position and tuck me into a sheet to rest. She left the room after a light kiss on my forehead and wishing me a good night.
----
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
That night, I dreamed that I am a boy who lives in a village, and my father is a farmer, and my mother is a housewife. My mother and father looked like the younger version of Rena and man, now. In this dream, I show how the boy or I, growing up and one day while going to a city with his father to sell our harvest, was attacked by bandits, and when I tried to stop the bandits from looting us. I was hit on the back of my head by one of the bandits, and the dream went dark.
I wake up while sweating from my whole body. I was not sure whether those were my memory or a reality created by my brain to make me feel easy in this new place, where I have not an apparent reason to stay or be. I could not help but think for long about was my mind creating a new reality to make me comfortable in this unknown situation, or were these memories my reality? I don't know. So after not reaching any conclusion for long, I decided to again try to sleep and soon was embraced by the Queen of the dreamy night, the sleep.
----
Day-1
I woke up in the morning from the noise of the opening of the door when Rena comes in with a towel and a wooden bucket of water to clean me. She washed me with a wet towel even when I tried to stop her, saying I am a big man. But her reply made me speechless. She said, "Why are you becoming shy from your mother? When I have been taking care of you since you were born. Only when you become strong enough to take care of your father and me, then will I say you are a big man. " and see laughed after looking at my tomato-red face from shame.
After cleaning today, I was feeling much better. Now, I could sit and walk in my room by myself. But Rena or mother has prohibited me from moving out. Soon, Rena came with breakfast, and to not let me feel left out, she also joined me for breakfast with me. When I asked about the man, she first scolded me for calling my father, 'the man' told me that my father, Pata has already left early in the morning to take care of the fields and might bring some wild meat for dinner to celebrate my recovery.
My mother/ Rena would come to my room from time to time and tell me stories about the village and many other things. I started to learn many new things about here. Like I learned that 'the man' is my father and is a farmer. We live in a small remote village of Merata, away from the nearest Gazina city. We are not very strong financially, and I am the only child to my parents. While my parents might look rough at first glance, but they were a lively pair of hard-working and loving parents to me.
Also, it was not like I was a prisoner in my room. When I started to feel good enough to move, by evening time and Rena was sure that I am walking well without a problem. She allowed me to move out of my room. After coming out of the room, I show how this whole house was made of yellow clay with many more rooms. There were many rooms in the house. When I asked about these miner things, Rena first cried little but then collected herself and told me all things slowly.
----
Rena has been observing Kola for the whole day. Initially, she was so much happy seeing her lovely child out of danger, open his beautiful eyes, and look at her again. She cried in happiness. This child was her everything. What could she do? She was not gifted by Gods with any other child after him. So, since the day he was born, all of her worlds were around this child. Her happiness, sorrow all started and ended with this child. She has showered all of her love on him unconditionally and would do everything for him.
But when the news of him being unconscious after an accident came, she was totally devastated. Her world crumbled that day like a sandcastle under the sea wave. when she show his condition, she ran to Haku, with while Pata followed her holding Kola in his arms for help. She was so lost that she could not even utter a single coherent word to let others know what has happened. She could only cry, remembering her unconscious child in blood.
As the place where Haku worked was close to Tuner and Manoj's place. They also came to check what all this noise was about and could only understand things when Pata reached there with bloodied and unconscious Kola. She would not even eat or drink water properly, since the day Kola's accident.
Maybe even Gods were also saddened to see her so destroyed from the love of her child that the boy who was so close to death that even Haku and others were nearly sure that Kola will die after some time and ask Pata-Rena to be ready for the worst to come. But the miracle happened, due to her persistent urges to do healing on her child daily for the third day, Haku came, and even when he was know it was hopeless to do anything about it. He was doing this just because he was regularly being paid the money for service and use heal on Kola and like the usual routine, he said words out of a well-practiced script to them that, 'He will wake up soon, for now, he just needs rest' and left. Who would have known that today Kola actually opened his eyes? maybe on Rena.
----
Initially, she was full of happiness, as Gods have listened to her prayers and returned her son. But, soon, she started realized and was sure that Kola was no longer the same as what he was before the accident. She told Pata what she was fearing might have happened, and so they asked everyone what to do, but no one was able to help. So, they decided to help Kola by telling him about things slowly. Even Tuner offered them to help with this.
----
In the evening, my father(Pata, as Rena told me) came home from farms after a daylong work looking tired. He brought rabbits for dinner, as Rena has told me earlier. Rena gave him a bucket, bowl, and a change of cloth, and left with rabbits to the kitchen. Then only I realized that there was no water source here. When I followed Rena to the kitchen, she said that boys are only allowed to come to eat in the kitchen and not while making food. So, I was left alone outside. Soon it was night, and the clear night sky filled with stars and two moons. For some reason, I had this feeling that two moons are wrong, and there should be one. But why? I do not know?
----
By the time Pata returned after a bath, Rena had called us in the kitchen for dinner. Dinner was a rabbit-meat curry with rice. I have to admit that Rena was a master cook after having dinner. But during the dinner, no one talked, and after dinner, Pata said to me that if I am feeling good enough to work by tomorrow morning, He will allow me to join him for work at farms.
"You are so heartless Pata. It has not been even one day that have I spent with my child, and you are taking him to work at farms." (Rena)
"It is ok, mother. I will come home early." (me)
"See, even for one day, your child does not want to leave you and spend some time with me. And you say I am heartless." (Pata)
It lightened the mood, and We all laughed together. Then everyone retired to there rooms. When I was in my bed, I could not help but think that this is how things are supposed to be in life, simple and happy. With these happy thoughts, I had a very satisfying sleep that day.
----
Day-2
Today, I was excited and woke up very early in the morning. When I came out of my room, I saw that Rena was bringing home two buckets of water. Then, I waited for Pata, and we both went together with a bucket and bowl to clean ourselves at well. Outside our house, I saw our two cows and two bulls fastened to the cowshed.
I could also see the drainage system of the village. It was an open canal made on the side of the houses, used to take wastewater outside the village. We soon reached the village center where the well and bathhouse are in front of the village Chief house. This is the first time I show building not made form the mud and wood, but bricks and stones, in this village. Three such buildings were facing three sides of the well, other than the bathhouse, which was on the well's fourth side. Pata told me that these three are the village chief's house, the Adventure guild office, and the Church.
At the well-bathhouse, there were more than ten men also cleaning themselves. Many asked me about my health. Even the village chief, Manoj, and Adventure guild staff of the village, Tuner, came to ask about my health. After small talk, we also pulled water from the well with a rope. We cleaned ourselves and left for home.