When she reawakened, her beating heart sounded vigorously followed by the stroke of her drawn breath. She'd open her eyes despite her body being strenuously groggy and unresponsive. Partially conscious, she'd dart her eyes left and right while getting a feel for her body.

"You're awake, Alma?" a familiar voice called out to her, gruff yet mellow.

Her sights veered towards the only person in the proximity, trying to recall what happened. All she remembered was an encounter with otherworldly beings, events that aren't sensible for the average mind.

"Alma...?"

As she carefully observed the man's face, her vision of him would clarify, his oval face decorated with green pea-like eyes and straight copper hair.

"Father...?"

"Yes? Alma...?"

He'd lean in, inspecting his catatonic daughter. Though as he did so, his daughter's eyes would widen, gritting her teeth as she clenched her hands beneath the sheets, turning them into fists.

"Stay away from me!" Alma shouted as her right fist flew across the air, striking him in the jaw, causing the man's body to stumble backward.

"Waaah!!" screamed Alma as she stood, performing a mad dash towards the exit.

"W-What's going here? Magnus!?" Said a stern man, who came rushing through from that very doorway.

"Alma!?"

The man catches her scurrying off, his well-built body easily withstanding the impact. "Let me go! Let me go!" She squealed.

"Where are you going, kiddo? It's dark and cold outside y' know?" Said the man, grinning amiably at the girl who kept pounding and flailing within his arms. "Your daughter is feisty as ever, isn't she Magnus? Har!" He laughed boisterously.

"He's going to eat me! The demon's going to get me! Let me through...!" She continued whimpering.

"Demon...?"

#Smack!

"I think... it's time for you to wake up!" said the man, after he gave her a convincing slap, knocking her senses.

"Ah...," The girl wept as her cheeks turned bright red, in the shape of a hefty palm. Realizing what she had done, she was at a loss for words while the pain surged and subsided at the back of her mind. She was already back home, back inside the comfort of their wooden cabin, though her fuzzy memories shook her still. "I'm... sorry," Alma pleaded softly, with only the sound of crackling fire filling in their momentary silence.

She'd hold her bandaged left arm, noticing its worn-out state. Exactly like how she'd remember it to be. Surely her father would know to use a clean cloth to cover wounds? If so, then it was the same appendages she received earlier today.

"So, are you going to tell us why you'd punch your father?" Her uncle asked her as they sat around the hearth.

"Very funny Troels..." scoffed Magnus almost immediately, placing his hand on his battered jaw.

"Hey! you've gotten more handsome, at least!" Troels jested. "So, don't worry about it, Alma!"

Alma bent her knees as she sat, clutching them, eyes fixated upon her thighs. Should I tell them? She thought to herself. Wouldn't they find the idea far fetched and laugh at it?

She felt her cautiousness was excessive, but the recent events had taught her to be worrisome to a fault.

"Well... how did you guys find me?" Alma replied with a question of her own, eyeing them skeptically, causing both men to exchange glances.

"We looked all over for you...," Troels answered. "Neele told us you ventured northeast looking for wild game, and that's where we found you, out cold by the Barr-,"

"Was I alone?" Alma promptly cut him off.

"No...," said Magnus. An answer which alleviates her restlessness.

"So, you saw her...?" Alma inquired her father, eyeing him sheepishly.

"Who?" Magnus responded deadpanning with his arms crossed, causing Alma to frown.

"Mother! of course!" Shouted Alma as she jumped, daggering her father's perfunctory body language.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Mother...? What...? She's your mother?" Troels suddenly spoke up gaping, before bursting into laughter as he rolled on the floor, changing the growing tension into awkwardness as the two squinted towards him shamefully.

"Uh....,"

"S-Sorry...," Troels implored, breaking his uncontrollable laughter with a made-up grunt as he regained his composure. "Ehm... Well, that was surprising!" said Troels. "I didn't know you like them, small... brother!" he commented snarkily with a cough. "Welp, I better get going now! See you both tomorrow!" He summarized, abruptly making his exit before anyone could question him.

Sigh. Sometimes Alma couldn't differentiate the immaturity between her uncle and herself, but knowing he bore no ill-intent on his actions, she'd always learn to appreciate it with a smile. Though, she wondered whether she could say the same for his stoic elder brother.

"Father... I-"

"If you want to see how our guest is doing, she's resting in your room," said Magnus, reading his daughter's thoughts like an open book. "But, before that... Why don't you explain yourself?" stressed Magnus, his eyes daggering her like knives.

"Ah..."

Alma sat on the rug from the sheer authority emanating from him, lowering her head timidly as she found the earthen floor requiring inspection. She didn't know where to start or what info she should confide with him.

"Well...?" He said pressingly.

"I was tracking this animal...,"

"And...?"

"Well... I got sidetracked..." continued Alma, lint picking to avoid his gaze. She knew he would be dissatisfied with such an irresponsible answer. So, how would she be able to explain it sensibly without sounding stupid?

"You know I forbade people to go north, right?" He emphasized. "And, that's including you."

"Why? I never understood the reason. If it's just because of the cold, It is getting warmer with each passing day, right?!" said Alma to her defense, while remaining curious.

Magnus shook his head, denying her logic. "This land is new to us. We're strangers here, and we've yet established ourselves. Exploring far north is a fool's errand, for it'll only grow colder the further you wander."

She couldn't defy his argumentations on the matter, he possessed more wisdom, and it was evident. "Right., She reluctantly agreed.

"Then... tell me what happened next?"

Alma then explained to her father, mostly from her understanding of her memories. From her reasons for drifting to the coast, her encounters with her mother lookalike, and the nightmare experience.

"So... you were consumed by the fog?" Father took her words very seriously, the strain on his troubled face, made it apparent of the gravity of her story. Though his concern mostly centered upon the fog and much less to Alma's presumed mother.

"Father...?"

As she called out to him, he seemed to be out of it, sweating profusely. "Alma.... what did you see?"

Alma struggled to describe its appearance, for she lacked the words. "A-A walking Mouth-man who had looked like you," She bluntly said, causing her father's eyebrows to raise briefly.

"I see... so that's how it is," He chuckled, rubbing his cheek. "So you fought it and won...?"

"No... I lost, it bit me." Alma admitted, contemplating over to her benumbed shoulder.

"I assume, the reason your left hand is numb is from the fight?"

"Well, actually, it's more like my entire upper left body that's numb," said Alma admitting with a rueful smile.

"It must have been quite a frightening experience." He replied, gripping tightly onto her arm which, Alma could not feel, presumed solely by his actions.

She felt he was overwhelmed, dropping onto his knees before her, holding her close. It was the first time she saw him behaving this way. The rumbling anger and disappointment within himself felt exhibited through his gaze.

"Father... I'm going to be alright, it was my fault, to begin with, I'm sorry." She tried to embrace him, but she was powerless to do so. "Besides, It was Mother who saved me! And now she's here with us, father! So there's no need for you to be hard on yourself."

"Alma....!" Hearing her statement, her father bellowed lightly, his voice in turmoil between a whisper and a shout. "Your mother passed away, in her cell...., There's no way she's here with us!"

"What...? No! You're wrong! She was with me, father! I was holding onto her. I was holding her hand and...,"

Trying to recall what had transpired, fragmented memories which she had buried deep within her would resurface, a turning point in her life, where the flesh would eventually fail man.

"Alma....."

Being called upon with such a disapproving tone only shriveled her confidence further, causing her to avert her gaze from reality, closing it. Alma was reluctant to hear his words, for she knew her words carried no weight, only raw emotion derived out of selfishness.

"That woman isn't your mother..."

"It's not fair," Snapped Alma, pushing her father away. "Why can't I have a complete family? Why can't I see my father and mother in one place?!"

Alma withheld herself, writhing in suppressed fury, while droplets of tears began dripping out her eye sockets.

#Ssshh

"There there... Alma, it'll be alright," Whispered a soothing voice bequeathing her ears while an arm wrapped around her intimately, a heartwarming sensation she knew all too well. She'd let her body sag, loosening her muscles to the solace. She knew it wasn't what it seemed, an embrace which cradled her like a cherished child, came from a woman who's akin to her mother.

Alma clenched Iris's robes, coddling herself in her smell. In her embrace, she'd feel her worries washing away. Perhaps she was clinging onto false hope, but she could feel her withheld affection, although she couldn't understand it, Iris had always felt sympathetic towards her in spirit.

"It's getting late, child... it is best to rest yourself..., I'll take care of it."

Assured by her words, Alma relinquishes her consciousness as she snuggled, Iris would then continue to talk with her father while she continued to brush Alma's hair. It didn't take long for Alma to be half-awake as she tried her best to lull her to sleep.

"Iris Lufenia... there's no need for you pamper my daughter,"

"Let's not talk about trifling things." She dismissed it casually. "Have you thought about my proposal Magnus?"

"Yes... I have," replied Magnus after a lengthy delay. "You want my help to track the Majarians,"

"A simple task, is it not? Especially for one such as yourself, renowned hunter-explorer..."

Magnus clacked his tongue bitterly in retort to Iris's praise. "Lay off the contemptuous flattery aside firstborn."

She shrugged airily without an answer.

"What is it do you seek to gain from us?" said Magnus, prodding her for answers.

"It is in my greatest interest to ensure our future...," Iris looked into him languidly. "So, would you like to play a part or be a bystander?"

"..."

***

How did it turn out this way? She had wondered to herself while rubbing her eyes in astonishment. Seeing food prepared on the table in the early morning was a sight for sore eyes, and it wasn't watery soup or fish!

Alma clasped her hands blissfully as she sat drooling over a loaf of bread accompanied by small berries of variant colors.

"Here goes!" said Alma holding the hard crust within her hands. "Ow!" Alma cried, being struck lightly on the head.

"Have you washed your face? and your hands?" A woman asked her, ladle in hand.

"A-Ah... I forgot! I'm sorry!" said Alma, scampering away in great haste. She'd head towards the back yard where a pail laid empty.

"Figures..."

Carrying it along with her, she'd bring it to a flowing stream where she'd rinse herself clean.

Brr! Alma shivered, friskily shaking her face and her wet hands, which conducted cold, although the sight of her trembling hands appeared a bit odd. Nevertheless, she'd dismiss the thought as soon as her stomach began to churn, she was famished! Let alone think straight.

In mere secs she was back on her table, sitting on her wooden chair, among her parents who had awaited her return. They'd thank for their food before Alma took an oversized bite onto the loaf presented to her.

It made a crunch like nuts, but the bread wasn't airy in the middle, it was substantial but wasn't tough to chew. Supplemented by a different mixture of sweet and sour, Alma can personally tailor her loaf with a myriad of flavorful combinations.

They had breakfast together in silence, except for Alma, who indulged in herself, creating munching noises in glee.

"Well, I am off," said her father breaking the muteness. "See you both in the evening." he continued, carrying a sizable rucksack filled with protruding tools such as pickaxes, and the like.

"W-Wait, father!"

"Ng...?" her father eyeballed her nonchalantly.

"Shouldn't I come with you...?" Alma asked perplexingly, confused by his actions. She knew she had disappointed him, which is why she'd like to make up for it. Though seeing him leave without her, does it mean he's furious with her?

"You should ask your mother," he stated, knowing his child's dilemma. But, those were his only words, before leaving with a slight smile.

"Huh...?"

"Take care..."

Alma looked up at the woman who uttered those words, who stood idly, holding her by the shoulders.

"Mother...?"

"Yes?" She replied, beaming at her, causing Alma's childish eyes to lit up to the realization

"From now on, I shall be your surrogate mother..."

She didn't truly understand the meaning behind those words, but the fact she was there was enough for her. To Alma, her presence was more than enough to mend the emptiness within her.