Keira woke up with a migraine. Where am I? She thought to herself. She felt a different bed than usual, heard unfamiliar voices, and was still dizzy from having woken up. The ceiling was made of stone and she saw a stand similar to the one at Sylvia's house. The walls were brown and looked similar to a Meoon hut. She got up to a sitting position and saw two creatures. A tall dude with a strongman build, and a small girl who smiled at the sight of her.

“You’re finally awake!” The girl exclaimed. She ran towards Keira to hug her but Keira panicked and blocked her with a palm to the cheeks. She quickly grabbed the blanket to cover half her face. The girl hit the floor on her back.

“S-Sorry,” Keira stammered.

“Anaia, I’ve taught you better on how to treat strangers better. You don’t suddenly leap to hug them,” the strongman scratched his head and sighed.

“Aw..." the girl - Anaia grabbed her lower back. "But isn’t she my cousin?” she asked to reassure. The strongman sighed again.

“Yes, but to her, we are strangers. You haven’t introduced yourself yet,” the strongman scolded Anaia. He turned to Keira and said, “I apologize for my daughter’s behavior, she just gets really excited at times, she means no harm. Nice to meet you, Keira. My name's Windham, I’m Sylvia’s brother, which makes you my niece. And this is my daughter, Anaia, which makes her your cousin. I hope you two can get along,” The strongman - Windham, bowed.

“Dad! You forgot the letter. The messenger told us to let her read it as soon as she woke up. Maybe it contains something important!” Anaia shouted.

“My bad,” Windham fetched a letter from one of their wooden drawers. “This was given to us by a Witch, she was a Warden, I believe. She was the one who provided us with the details on the attack that had happened at the village in Etherclipse Bay. I still can’t believe that my sister is dead… but it looks like this is important.”

Windham hands the letter to Keira and she slowly retrieves the letter. She opened and it read:

“Keira, I hope you’re not in too much of a shock to read this but after I helped the Meoons rebuild their village, I carried you here to Celestia Raeon. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it but this is the center region of the entire continent. I looked through Sylvia and Draver’s stuff and had asked many Meoons regarding their background, and it led me to Windham.

I imprisoned the original sin - supposedly, your mother - using a precious memory. I don’t know if I can ever do something like it again. I’m letting you know this so that you’re aware of what has happened. There’s a chance you forgot some events when the attack took place. But you need to know the truth. It’s going to be a long journey accepting the truth. No matter how attached you may have been to Isolfar, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s the cause of the chaos in this world. I hope you come to terms with that. Till next time, my dearest friend.

- Asher”

Keira’s arms were shaking after she had read the letter. Oh, right, she thought, my mother slaughtered my mother in front of me. Concern was printed all over Windham and Anaia’s face as Keira continued shaking. The moment she stopped, there was a two-second delay before she let out a guttural scream. It sounded like the loudest cry for help. Anaia hugged her but Keira was just nonchalant to her surroundings.

"Keira, calm down," Windham tapped her shoulders. Keira sat still, gripping the letter in her hand.

What did I do to deserve this? She thought before passing out again.

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“It’s been a week since you’ve been awake! I’m so glad,” Anaia proclaimed, enthusiastic to spend time with Keira again. “You know, when you first went here, we couldn’t believe it. We all heard the news from 16 years ago that aunt Sylvia’s daughter was gone. Everyone believed she was dead and yet here you are! It’s because of things like this that I believe miracles exist. I was having a bad day until the Witch suddenly came to our house and told us that I have a cousin! How wonderful was that? It means, I have somebody to talk to, finally! But I already have some creatures I talk to, there’s big Sister Elysia, who isn’t my actual big sister but she plays that role, there’s also Frydrick but he’s too much a lot of the time, and there’s my dad but he spends a lot of time working. So, I’m really glad you’re here!”

“I see,” Keira replied with cold eyes. She forced her mouth to form a smile but they just wouldn’t move. They drank soup as they were talking. It was only the two of them in the room. Anaia was apparently tasked with accompanying Keira. Poor Keira. I don't know what happened to her but she must be suffering a lot, Anaia thought. She beamed a smile and held her hand before saying:

“You don’t have to force yourself to smile. I don’t totally understand you but as long as you’ve got ears to listen, I can keep talking!” Anaia insisted. “Though, I heard that a therapist may come here later for a private counseling session so I hope you don’t mind someone else doing the talking.”

Keira took a sip from her bowl. “Thank you.”

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Hours passed and it was time for Keira’s therapy session. A creature with a small stature and round glasses, who wore a silver polo and gray pants entered the house. He offered a handshake to Anaia and said something. Keira couldn't quite hear it. Anaia turned to her and gave her a thumbs up before going out. He then proceeded to sit down on a chair opposite Keira.

“Hello there, Ms. Keira. I am a private counselor from the Azurehaven Summit. You may call me Kenon. I am also a Meoon, possessing the ability of sense enhancement. I specialize in dealing with trauma patients such as you. Now, with my introduction as your guide, will you introduce yourself to me?” Kenon asked politely. Keira was uncertain how to respond.

“Hello, Mr. Kenon, I am Keira. I’m from Etherclipse Bay,” Keira thought for a moment on what to add. That’s it? Surely, there’s something else I can tell him. Kenon immediately noticed the nervousness from Keira’s face.

“It’s alright, Keira, you don’t have to force yourself. You’re doing better than expected! Most patients I had were struggling to even say ‘Hello,’ or ‘Hi,” Kenon attempted to cheer her up.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Does that mean I’m actually not traumatized?” Keira asked with the tone of an uncertain child.

“Not at all! Now, I need to point out that what you are doing right now is invalidating your own feelings. We must avoid that,” Kenon assured her. “But more importantly, I need you to be able to answer the simple questions: ‘Who are you?’ and ‘What do you want?’ That will give us a great deal of information for your recovery.”

“I’m Keira and I…” What do I want? She thought deeply. I think I told my mother that I want to travel the world or something. But is that what I really want? Do I want anything? I should just say something so he doesn’t think I’m weird. Or maybe… “I want to travel the world.”

“Ms. Keira, I must tell you that I have a lot of experience with patients such as you. Being exposed to their body languages easily told me that you are hesitant about your answer. And I must also tell you that that is alright,” Kenon smiled. “You don’t have to have answers now because that’s what we’re going to be working on for the next days, weeks, months, or years if that would be the case. For now, I believe that you have a great deal of self-reflection to do. Thank you for your time, see you next time.”

Kenon stood up and bowed his head. Keira did the same but was visibly shaking.”Tha…” she muffled, unable to say the entire word.

“It’ll take time, Miss. You’re doing well.”

Who I am and what do I want? Those are questions I never really stopped to ask myself. Why am I having a hard time figuring out such a simple question? Maybe I should ask Anaia and Uncle Windham about it. Keira thought to herself. She ground her teeth out of frustration. Maybe, I need to sleep for a bit. I have to ask Anaia about that. She seems to know a lot about herself.

Keira woke up and she noticed the sunset shining through the window. Anaia got back home from her combat training. She looked rather thrilled. Is now the right time to ask the question? She seems tired, Keira thought. Maybe another time…

“Man! Combat training is the worst! It’s like being forced to do this and that for some reason. I know dad just wants me to be capable but it’s so tiring,” Anaia grunted and laid down. Huh? This is the first time I ever heard her complain about something, Keira thought. Maybe this is the perfect time to strike a conversation.

“Is it that tiring?” Keira asked, nervous of Anaia’s reply.

“Yeah! Like punching, dodging, getting punched, kicking, holding someone’s arm and all that. And ever since joining, I haven’t won any fights! On the other hand, Frydrick seems like he’s doing an effortless job. It makes me look weak, I don’t want it!” Anaia complained. Keira giggled a little bit and her cousin’s frown immediately turned into a smile. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you giggle. How was the therapy session?”

Keira blushed, “I, yeah…” She mildly gulped. “It went pretty well. Though, on the topic of your combat training. If you don’t want to do it, what is it that you want to do?”

“That’s an interesting question. In the far far future, I see myself being a mother! You see, I think that the moment that my mom died when she gave birth to me, I was destined to become the mother she never was. I like to think about the ‘what ifs’ and then making them happen!" Anaia's eyes lit up. "I told my dad once about it, she said I’d make a wonderful mother but he’s the first one to scare off my suitors. Seriously, I haven’t had a boyfriend yet because of him! Me? Single? I’m pretty sure I’d fall in love with myself if I were a male,” Anaia declared with confidence. She chuckled a little before continuing. “But I love my dad for everything he’s done for me and he’s honestly kind of right. I’m way too young for this. Right now, I believe that I’m still on that journey to find what it is that I want to do for myself."

That’s a lot to absorb, Keira thought. She was speechless and couldn’t really come up with a proper reply. “Thank you very much,” she bowed her head.

“No need to be so formal, Kei! I’m always here for you,” her cousin disclosed with a warm smile. Keira blushed again. Kei, huh? That sounds like a cute nickname. "How about you, though? Do you know what you want to do?"

"I think I told my mother a long time ago that I wanted to travel the world. I was always just inside the mansion with her for my entire life. I was curious about the lives of other creatures outside," Keira said. "But weirdly enough, I hesitated when I said that to Kenon a while ago. I'm not sure if that's really what I want."

"You don't have to look it at it as singular thing," Anaia held her hand. "In the future, I'm sure you'll find many things that you would like to pursue. For now, you have to focus on living. We're so young!"

“Good evening, ladies!” A loud man entered the household. Windham looked buffed as ever.

“Dad! You’re home early!” Anaia screamed before rushing to hug her father.

“I took an early leave. I rarely catch you two awake. Plus, I’m avoiding the moonlight for now. It feels good to be a cat but I can get too big and could barely fit inside my house,” Windham said before wandering his eyes towards Keira.

“Good evening, Uncle Windham,” Keira bowed her head.

“Looks like that therapist is doing a great job, huh? You’re already talking more than usual,” Windham chuckled.

“Dad, quit teasing her! We may never get to hear her again, you know?” Anaia demanded.

“I don’t mind,” Keira muttered with a smile. Anaia smiled back at her and then made an ‘Aha!’ expression on her face.

“Say, Kei, why don’t you ask Dad what you asked me a while ago. Maybe, he could give a better answer than mine,” Anaia suggested. Windham looked curious as he’s cooking their dinner.

“Right,” Keira took a deep breath. “Uncle, how would you answer the question, ‘Who are you and what do you want?’”

Windham stopped what he was doing and turned towards the ladies. “That’s an easy question. I’m Windham, I want to serve my village, and most importantly, I want to be the best father for my daughter.”

“You don’t have anything else that you want?” Keira asked. Windham shook his head.

“I got everything I could ever want. As long as I can see my daughter’s smile, hear my daughter’s laugh, and see my daughter grow, it’s already enough. Even if Marinea is gone now, I’ll uphold our promise of giving our daughter the best life she could ever have,” Windham said with fatherly eyes.

That’s kind of like how mom talked to me about me, Keira thought. Maybe they’re not so different after all- She shook his head as if forcing her headache to wane out. She's a... she... murd- STOP! Calm down... Keira...

“Is everything alright, Kei?” Anaia asked with concern. Keira nodded, holding her right hand to her head.

“Dinner’s about to be served, so don’t be too worried. You’ll be able to re energize soon enough!” Windham declared.

Later that night, Keira was rolling all over her bed. “Sweetie,” “My Keira,” “I love you,” “You will always have me,” “And I will always have you.” A scream let out from Keira. Anaia and Windham rushed to her aid. “What’s wrong?” Anaia asked worriedly. Keira was trembling and couldn’t say a word. Windham was greatly concerned about what had happened. Anaia hugged Keira and they went back to sleep. Mother.