Mom has to cover Vodkis’s mouth to shut her up. They’re keeping their voices down at a level I can’t hear, but I can see them laughing about something.
“Kado, are you okay?” Luffa, my second oldest sister, says while helping me up.
“I’m fine. Lady Vodkis didn’t hurt me or anything,” I say.
Luffa gets on her toes to bring my ear closer to her mouth so she can whisper, “Do you know her?”
“What do you mean?” I say, matching the volume of her voice.
“She seemed like she knows you personally.”
“Same,” Okchoy, my oldest sister, jumps in. “I thought she was going to kiss you.”
“Huh?!” I say. My sisters shush me at the same time. “What?” I say, going back to a quiet voice.
“I head the same idea. She was ecstatic to see you, it seemed,” Luffa says.
“This is my first time seeing Vodkis in person, guys.” They hum at one another like they’re debating whether I’m telling the truth. “I’m serious.”
“Yeah,” they both say.
“What do you mean, yeah?”
“Calm down, little brother,” Okchoy says. Luffa agrees too by nodding her head and smiling. “Why are you so on edge?”
“Well, that’s Lady Vodkis. One of the heroes from Gararvis. You know what Mom said about the generation before us.”
“I remember. Their suffering ended twenty years ago, yet the trauma of it isn’t gone.”
“We are so lucky to have a family that didn’t go through that,” Luffa says, peaking over her shoulder to look at the cherub, mom, and Vodkis. “Maybe she saw someone she knew back then. I’ve seen a lot of people get mistaken for that. It’s like we’re a living phantom of their memories.”
“No one we’ve come across has mistaken us as someone they know, right?” I say.
“Nope,” Okchoy says.
“None,” Luffa says. Maybe I’m the oddball here. I can’t remember what Lady Vodkis was calling me, nor do I want to ask what it is. The best move I can think of is not to trigger a dark memory. Her generation needs to continue in peace.
“I think it’s best if I don’t linger around. My presence seemed to upset her,” I say.
“Where are you gonna go?” My stomach growls out of the blue. It gives me a sweet idea of how to fix it.
“Something to satisfy my stomach.”
“I’m coming with you. Are you joining us, Okchoy?” Okchoy looks back at the others. Mom stops focusing on Lady Vodkis and the cherub to look at us. She waves away as if she knows what we are talking about. “That’s our cue.” Luffa takes to the sky but stops to wave to us to join her.
“Where are we going?” Okchoy says me.
“Rota and Tota’s bakery,” I say as I float up to be with Luffa.
Okchoy speeds past us, yelling, “Last one there has to do today’s chores!”
Luffa and I take off, but the thought of Lady Vodkis’s joyful crying face makes me turn around to see her. She double-takes before noticing me. I don’t want to leave her in what might be a sad state she’s going through, so I wave her goodbye, hoping it’ll make her happy and clear things up. She steps away from the cherub speaking to her, to wave back to me with a slowly growing smile. Something about her smile draws me in to not gaze away or move. Out of all the smiles I have seen from the women in my life, close and far, hers is the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen. Mom moving into view right behind Lady Vodkis, breaks my gaze. Lady Vodkis isn’t distracted by Mom trying to get her attention.
“This is strange,” I whisper to myself. I fly away as I give Lady Vodkis one more goodbye wave.
Why did I feel suddenly infatuated?
----------------------------------------
“Yahoo! That was some good food,” Luffa cheers with her mouth stuffed with Rota and Tota’s new Krodeaflower Buns.
“If I had more money of the Melonian’s krymoni, I’d buy all of it,” Okchoy says.
“Oof, right?” Their appetite for sweets never ceases to amaze me.
“You guys have a problem,” I say. They gasp in denial and yell over each other, saying, I’m wrong. “I bet you can’t go a week without something sweet.”
“You’re on!” They both say.
“What do we get if we win, Luffa says.
“You get—” A loud commotion outside catches my attention. A female melonian worker runs into the middle of the street with a knife around a little girl’s neck. The girl cries out to her parents to come save her.
“All of you stay away from me!” The melonian says as she uses the knife to deter anyone from approaching. “I’ll kill this kid if anyone makes a move!”
“Oh my gosh,” Luffa gasps. “Is anyone going to do something?” No one is making any moves to get close with that knife swinging around. Not even the armed watchmen want to take charge.
“If no one is brave enough, I’ll do it.” I take one step before Okchoy yanks me to her.
“Are you stupid? Mom will kill us if something bad happens to you,” Okchoy says.
“No one is doing anything. I can save the girl.”
“Okchoy is right,” Luffa says. “You’re not going anywhere.” She puts her hand over my chest while Okchoy locks her hands on my shoulders. I can feel their verve steadily increase. They’re getting themselves ready to react on the spot if I disobey. My sisters are in the same advanced dynamism class as me, so this might be challenging if I decide to go against them. The more I hear the little girl call for help, the more I’m inclined to do it.
“Don’t you do it,” Luffa says. Right when I’m about to move, Lady Vodkis drops behind the melonian and grabs hold of her wrist. The landing causes the melonian to fling the little girl into the air. Luffa’s hand slightly moves off my chest when she checks what’s happening. I push her out of the way and fly over as quickly as possible to catch the girl before she falls. Lady Vodkis snaps the melonian wrist, causing her to drop the knife, then catches the girl before I can.
“I got you,” Lady Vodkis says, cradling the girl.
“My hand!” The Melonian says.
“Ugh, shut up. You’re upsetting her.” I tap the melonian’s forehead to knock them out. “Wow, that didn’t seem like a real punch.”
“Just enough power to cause a blackout. No need to break the skull,” I say. The parents finally emerge from the crowd to pick up their child.
“Thank you,” the father says. He bows his head to Lady Vodkis, nods it to me, then walks off with his family.
“So,” Lady Vodkis mumbles. She walks around the unconscious melonian to stand closer to me. Her cherub appears out of nowhere to take the melonian out of the street. “Um... so... that was weird, huh?” Even the slightest grin she’s doing is alluring. Why am I suddenly feeling so attracted to her? She’s double my age, yet I can’t ignore her beauty or presence.
“It... was. This was my first time seeing one go crazy like that.”
“Wow? Really?”
“Mhmm. All the Melonians here are obedient and friendly. I wonder what her deal was?”
“Don’t worry,” she says, tapping my arm with her fist. “Nion will find out for me.”
“Nion?”
“My cherub.” I’m surprised she has a personal angel. Their existence is a rare sight. Lady Vodkis must be super special to own one. “Here comes your sisters.”
“You are lucky mom is not here to chew you out,” Okchoy says.
“I’ll see you later,” Lady Vodkis says when I turn halfway to face Okchoy’s fury.
“Instead of later, let’s do it now,” I say. I bring Lady Vodkis into my arms and fly away from my sisters.
“Where are you going?!” Okchoy says. I look at Lady Vodkis to help me find an excuse.
“Uhhh, my house! I need to discuss something with your brother in private!” Lady Vodkis says.
“Are they following me, Lady Vodkis?” I say.
“Nope. It worked.”
“They wanted me to not help the little girl. I can’t believe them.” She locks her arm around my neck to stabilize herself.
“Why?”
“My mom is overprotective of me. My sisters feel the same way, so they follow her orders.”
“You should obey them.” I scoff at that stupid recommendation. She lets out a contagious giggle.
“Not you too.”
“What? It’s good that someone wants you to be okay. I want you to be okay too.” Her statement surprises me. We just met. I’m a stranger, yet she wants me to be safe.
“I sometimes feel too sheltered.”
“Go right.”
“What?”
“My house is over there.” I bank a slight right and dip low. “Why do you feel sheltered?”
“Well, first, look at me. I’m... different from my sisters. White hair, orange eyes that are not like my mom’s. It’s weird.”
“You’re special like me.” I slow down so I can focus on her. She combs my hair with her fingers. “Our hair is the same perfect color. Our eyes are vibrant with a rich deep color.”
“Are... we related, Lady Vodkis?”
“No,” she laughs, putting her other hand on my bare chest. “Please, just call me Vodkis.”
“Why? You’re a hero. It’s your title.”
“It doesn’t suit you calling me that.” I’m confused. Why doesn’t it make sense for me to not give her the proper title? All of the heroes around Purum have it. Each tribe knows them.
“Why are you letting me do this? This feels wrong.”
“Because... uhh... well... Just don’t call me that, okay?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Whoa, she’s serious. Her smile is gone. It’s almost a frown, and she’s turning red. Am I making her mad?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset, Vodkis,” I say. For some reason, my statement makes her redder. She looks away and covers her mouth with her hand.
“We’re here.” Far in the distance, I can see a house.
“That tiny house?” The more I get close, the bigger the house gets. “No, that’s a mansion?”
“Mhmm. This is my property.” Her land is massive. There’s a huge garden, tree-bearing fruits, colorful flowers that make a spiral design, and a massive open backyard field. “Gosh, it’s been over decades since I’ve been here?” I land on her porch. The first floor is visible through the paneglass. Her living room and kitchen are on this side of the house. To the left, the house is separated by a low stone wall.
“How long did it take to make this?” I say, peering through the window.
“A week.”
“A week? Wow!”
“Come on in.” She steps in to hold the door for me. I slip off my shoes by the side of the door before entering. “Oh! Let me do that as well.” She takes off her shoes by using her feet. “You’re well mannered.”
“Thank you.” I bow my head to her.
“No need for that,” she says, pushing me back up.
“I can’t call you a lady nor bow my head. What gives?”
“It’s a complicated long story. Just speak to me like we’ve been together for a long time.”
“But... this is my first time meeting you.” She bites down on her index knuckle and wanders into the kitchen. “I can try if you want.”
“Nevermind. You’re right. You don’t know me anymore. That was a stupid request.”
“Huh?”
“Uh...” When I walk into the kitchen, she leaves it. “Are you hungry? I’ll go fetch us some fruit from outside.” Her hastiness has me worried. It’s kind of creeping me out.
“No, thank you. I’m going to head home.”
“Zazy, wait!” She slaps her hand over her mouth.
“That’s not my name.” The tears in her eyes glimmer from the sunlight illuminating the room. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she says which sounds like a weep. When I come closer to her, she backs away into a wall, so I stop getting near her. “I’m good.”
“With all due respect, you’re not. Something about me bothers you severely. You keep calling me a different name and want me to refer to you what sounds like a close friend. Why is that?”
“I don’t know if I can tell you.” Out of nowhere, I get this sudden emotional feeling of worry and concern all at once. I try to resist it by turning my back to her. “I’m sorry.”
“Damnit,” I say only moving my lips. The want to not care isn’t strong enough in me. Whatever she’s going through, I want to help fix it, so embrace her without warning. I don’t know what to say, but hugging prevents her from weeping. She presses me tighter in her body. “Can I tell you something?”
“Yes?”
“This is my first time meeting you, yet I feel... how do I say this without being weird?”
“I don’t think whatever you’re going to say can get weirder.”
I guess there’s no sugar-coating this.
“Something about you is causing me to have these surges of infatuation,” I say.
“Really?”
“Yes, I’ve never had this with any girl before. It’s sudden, especially when you smile, I find you...” I’m finding it hard to find the perfect word to express what I’m thinking. My words come out as mumbling letters. It doesn’t stop until I see her smile that I can get the words to properly form. “I don’t know what’s going on. I think my mom will know if I ask her.”
“I know what it is.”
“What is it?” Out of complete nowhere, she kisses me with her soft lips. I don’t have the time to close my eyes, so I witness the whole event. Her eyes stay closed even when she backs away from my face. She tucks her face into my neck, tickling her nose on me. It feels good, but it gets better when I hold her again. We purr loudly, making the room echo with our voices. “What is wrong with me? Why does this feel natural? I’m purring on a woman I just met.”
“You must feel extra weirded out since I’m a hero of Courage.”
“It strangely doesn’t.” She lifts her head to look up at me. “Do you know why that is, Vodkis?” I can see some hesitation. She begins to speak but holds in her words to think of something else to bring out. “Please. Whatever is the case, I’ll understand.”
“Where do I begin?” She nervously laughs.
“How about, Zazy. Do I remind you of that person?”
“You,” she sighs, “are him.” I don’t follow what she means, but I nod my head to show I’m trying to understand.
“Okay, so I looked like him?”
“No, you are him. You are the regeneration of my deceased beloved boyfriend who died in the siege of Garavis.” I’m lost for words, but I try my best to keep my face not seeming confused. I relax my face and keep eye contact. “You don’t believe me.”
“I do.”
“Don’t lie. You’re going to upset me.”
“Vodkis, I do.” She suddenly looks down at my arms that are holding her waist. I play off my unconscious reaction as an attentive gesture and massage the curvature of her waist. “Look at what I’m doing.”
“Yes,” she says after letting out a light snicker. “I see.”
“This should be proof of my belief. I only heard about you a little growing up. Now you’re here. I can’t keep my hands off you. I believe you. It’s just... that was a lot of info to take in.”
“Sorry about that. I didn’t think I would be having this conversation today. I just recently found out.”
“Recently?”
“There’s so much to explain.” I walk away to take a stroll through the room, thinking about everything that’s happened today. Visiting the cemetery, meeting Vodkis, and now she’s saying I’m Zazy. I have an itch that this was planned.
“What happened to me?”
“I was weak. I barely survive fighting the soldiers. I was scared and called out for you. You flew to me, then King Melon wounded you.” She comes over to me to touch my chest. “I’m so sorry.” Her face starts to scrunch up to begin crying. “I’m sorry I got you killed.” I embrace her so she can have a strong rock to let the sorrow out on.
“It’s not your fault, Vodkis.”
Vodkis weeps without any control. This is the loudest I have ever heard someone cry. It’s filled with such force, that it makes my ears rattle. What can I say to stop such pain? Is there any form of reason to cease twenty years of loss? I end up remaining silent but give her back rubs until the moment she is exhausted.
“New body. Same soul. Yet you kept the same message,” Vodkis says, out of breath.
“I guess I meant it.”
“Yeah.” I can see her about to cry again, so I cup my hands around her face.
“Don’t cry. I’m afraid you might pass out.” She calms down by breathing slowly through her nose.
“I’m okay. I need to sit down.” Instead of walking over to the couch right next to us, she floats over to lay on it. I find it silly that she decided that. It’s not a waste of energy, but not the type of norm I’m used to seeing.
“Hey,” I say, floating over her. “Should I get you some water?”
“No,” she says, sitting up and moving into the corner of the couch, near the armrest. “I’m good. Thank you, though.” I sit down in the middle, where a square cushion separates us.
“You must’ve suffered a long time after my death. Is that right?”
“Till this day. I can’t get over it no matter how hard I try.”
“Umm, well, that should stop now since I’m back, right?” My words make some tears come out, but she chuckles through it.
“Zazy...”
“Yes?”
“Can you hold me?” I hover in her arms. She cries decades of her pain out. I can’t imagine what emotional distress she’s been through, but hearing her wail makes me tear up. Through the lamenting, she thanks me for being alive and praises my father for preserving my soul to reunite with her.
“I’m sorry you had to go through this, and I hope you can finally move on out of it.”
“With you... I can finally move on.” Her crying gets softer. I’m trying all I can to maintain her emotions, but I think I can do better. I need to put her mind on something else.
“So, Zazy. What kind of a name is that?” Suddenly, she stops crying altogether. The drop in noise makes my ears resonate with an ambient ringing sound. She clears her face with the hem of her dress.
“It was your nickname I gave you when we were kids. Your full name is Zazarel.”
“Wait. My middle name is—”
“Is a combination of the two!” I’m surprised Mom gave me that name. Now I’m curious where my first name comes from.
“What about Kado?”
“I don’t know where that came from. You’ll have to ask your mother.” I’ll definitely do that once I’m back home. It’s shocking to know that Vodkis is the one to reveal such a huge secret about me. This might be the reason why my mom and my sisters are a bit protective. Protect me until I meet Vodkis. But the more I think about it, why this late?
“Vodkis,” I say, crisscrossing my legs on the couch.
“Yes?”
“Where were you all my life?” She stares at me, frozen. I have to touch her knee to make her start moving again. “Are you okay?”
“I,” she pauses to glance at something behind the couch, then holds her stomach. “I was afraid to come back home. I believed if I stayed away, I could forget you or move on. For twenty-two years I tried.” She looks off to her right and says, “Until Nion brought me back without warning.”
“I’m sorry my death haunted you for so long.” I scoot in closer and put her legs on top of my thighs so we can be close. She brings herself into my lap and then cups my right cheek as she looks deep into my eyes. I watch her eyes dance around as they examine me. I want to do something that’ll show her my sympathy for the struggles she went through but I’m unsure what to do. Does she need a hug? What am I supposed to do in a situation like this? I can’t just sit here all silent and awkwardly stare into those wonderful eyes of hers.
“Zazarel,” she whispers like she’s beckoning for me to approach her.
“It’s Kado,” I gently say with a chuckle and lean closer. She shakes her head, denying my current name. I brush it off by rolling my eyes, then suddenly, someone outside touchdowns down the pavement on the back patio. “Who’s that?”
“Nion?”
“May I come in?” Nion says.
“You may.” Nion walks in but heads straight to the kitchen. Over her shoulders are netted sacks full of fresh food. I sniff the aroma floating in the air. Vodkis doesn’t seem interested in the food nor bothered by Nion being here. “What are we having?” Vodkis says with her eyes on me.
“You and Kado will be having some chimera pie with a side of dragon turtle milk.”
“Wait. Um... I can’t stay,” I say. “I have to be back home before my mother or sisters get worried. Plus, I got to train.” Vodkis smiles at Nion and giggles. “It’s true. I still have a curfew I must follow.”
“Nion...”
“You don’t need to worry, Kado. Your family is fine with you staying here for a few hours or overnight.”
“Overnight?” I shout.
“Kado,” Vodkis says, cupping my hands together. “It will make me extremely happy if you stayed the night.”
“Well, if they say it is fine, and you really want me here, I’ll stay.”
“Thank you so much,” she says, giving me a full-body hug. “I got lots of land for us to get lost in. Wait! I know what we can do. Why don’t you show me what you’ve been training on.”
“Sure! Maybe we can spar afterward.”
“Spar?”
“Uhh, if you like to.”
“You know what. Fine, but I must warn you. I am way too strong for you. You won’t last ten seconds with me.”
“Really?” I scoff in a short laugh. “Show me.” I’m so excited that I fly out of the house to a nearby open field in her backyard. She takes her sweet time over to where I am by walking. “Come on, Vodkis! Are you nervous or something?” I take the time to do a quick stretch to prevent pulling anything. Once she makes it, I get in my fighting stance. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” She doesn’t get in a combat stance. Her body is completely relaxed. “Are you going to the first swing?” I don’t know what to do. She’s not readying herself for an attack, and it’s throwing me off. To add more confusion, she’s lightly laughing.
“Are you going to, you know, defend herself from me?”
“Oh.” She finally gets into a stance, but it doesn’t look strong. Her arms are up, but they’re not flexed. “Come at me.”
“Alright!” I take off in a low flight towards her, aiming to land a kick across her stomach. In a quick movement, she appears to the side of me. I kick an afterimage of herself, then she performs a back suplex on me. My upper back hits the ground hard enough to sink me in it.
“I win.”
“But I’m not defeated.” I try to get up, but her sheer power keeps me pinned under her hand. I’m not going to let myself loose in one swoop, so I expel all the power I have. Slowly, I rise from the ground.
“Hey... what are you doing?”
“I did not yield.” I fly to break away and then charge her foot.
“Zazarel, stop!” Nion forces me to stop out of nowhere by putting her hand on my forehead. My entire body stops in an instant like I slammed into an invisible force. The wind behind my travel reaches us, making their dresses sway. Once her hand moves off, I can move again.
“What’s wrong?”
“Your eyes.” Vodkis carefully wanders over to me with her arms forward like she’s about to hug me. I don’t know what’s going on, so I kind of open my arms to hold her, but her hands go to my face. She checks my eyes and rubs her fingers down my fangs. “Oh, crap. I didn’t mean to enrage you.”
“Um, that’s normal.”
“Is it?” She asks Nion.
“After twenty years, the conversion Spargarians go through is nothing more than a boost to their base power,” Nion informs her. “You’ve done this too many times when I trained you.”
“I did? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because the same reason you are doing right now. Freaking out.”
“So,” Vodkis says, stretching out the word as she turns to me. “Are you feeling alright, Kado?”
“I’m fine,” I say.
“Then why aren’t you back to normal?”
“Well,” I laugh, feeling shy. “I wanna try to beat you, so I’m keeping my verve up.”
“Kado,” Nion says in my head. “Could you please take yourself out of that? Vodkis isn’t comfortable seeing you like this. It’s still a traumatic event that causes her fright.” I power down by expending enough verve to look normal. Once again, Vodkis examines me. She pinches my arm, pokes my cheeks, and examines my fangs. “You’re good.”
“I’m hearing back into the kitchen,” Nion says. She thanks me with a head nod as she heads back to the house.
“Well,” I say, taking a look at the divot my body made in the ground. “Sparring is a no-go.”
“I’m sorry,” Vodkis whispers when she hugs me from the side. “It scares me when I see you like that.”
“We’re all capable of it.”
“But every time you turned into that, you were fighting people.” Now I have a clear picture of the trauma she went through. She’s so not going to like me and the things I do. She may hate the new version of me.
“This could be a problem.” I bring her off of me so she can look me in the face. “I fight competitors for sport, Vodkis.”
“You hurt people for sport? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Calm down. It’s a popular practice, Vodkis. Maybe tomorrow, I could show you what it’s like.”
“I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you’ve become.”
“Then I don’t think it will work out between us.”
“Don’t say that,” she whimpers, clutching my arm into her breasts. “It will.”
“What makes you so sure of that? I’m not what I was. What if I’m worse for you now?”
“I’ll take my second chance with you.” She gives me a long gentle kiss on the side of my cheek. “I don’t care if you think you are a bad choice for me. You are back in my life again, and I will love you no matter what I dislike about you.”
My face suddenly moves towards her face to reach down to kiss her without me thinking. And the strange part about it is that I’m not surprised by what I’m doing. This feels natural and right to give her. Plus, her lips are moving at a rate greater than mine. She pulls away after ten seconds. Her beautiful eyes open up to me, and a cute smile slowly appears.
“I don’t know where that came from,” I say in a soft voice. “But, it felt—”
“Natural, like I was always the one.”
“It’s weird.”
“You’ll get used to it, my love.”
“My love? Oh gosh.” I blush, but when she laughs, it gets worse.
“I love you.”
“This is going to be an interesting life.”
“You nervous?”
“A little,” I say, pinching the air. “I’m more concerned about you not liking me.”
“Don’t worry about it. You do you.” She tugs on my hand to lead me back to the house. “Come on. Let’s see what Nion is doing.”
What a crazy day it has been. I’ve learned I’m a regeneration of a man in my past life. Vodkis, one of the heroes living in Courage, is my eternal lover. I’m only eighteen, and I suddenly have a girlfriend now who’s over twice my age. My sisters are not going to believe what I tell them once I’m home.