In the heart of the small town of Greenview, stood the home for the elderly, an old and dilapidated building affectionately known as "the asylum." Despite its name, it was not a depressing place, but a cozy refuge where widowed grandparents spent their days in the company of their peers, sharing stories and endless laughter.

One of the most beloved residents was María, an elderly woman with a kind face and sparkling eyes. Although her hair was already silver, her spirit remained young and vibrant. María was the village's expert in healing magic, well... A modest village's expert had modest knowledge compared to the great healers of the main city.

On a sunny afternoon, María was in the asylum's garden, surrounded by her fellow residents. As she organized her meager and cheap healing herbs, she listened attentively to her friends' anecdotes, laughing heartily at their antics.

"Do you remember when old Tomás confused salt with barf bone powder and made the whole village taste weird for weeks?" said Elías, an elderly man with a pointed nose and merry eyes, prompting a wave of laughter.

"Oh yes!" exclaimed Lucía, shaking her head and struggling to contain her laughter. "My poor husband almost choked, he took a big spoonful of his soup. He coughed for hours, the poor man remembered it until his last days!"

"What about the time we tried to bake a cake for Sofía's birthday?" Jaime interjected, a bald old man with a mischievous smile. "We forgot about the oven while gossiping and ended up charring the entire kitchen."

The group burst into laughter, recalling the hilarious scene of the border guards arriving to find a handful of cake remnants and soot-covered elders.

"Oh, dear!" said María, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "You certainly know how to brighten an old woman's day."

Camaraderie and good humor were a constant at the asylum, a refuge from the worries that lurked in the shadows.

♢♢♢♢

In the world of Mana, magic was a complex and mathematical science, governed by natural laws that few understood well. People possessed mana but despite aging increasing the amount, it was ultimately only a small innate quantity of magic, which they could optimize and channel through "batteries", magic crystals that acted as temporary amplifiers.

Monsters, on the other hand, evolved by consuming the magical energy of crystals or other monsters. The further away from human settlements, the stronger and more dangerous these beings became. The four cities and their villages depended on magic barriers fueled by one of the four mana deposits captured by humanity to stay safe, but the supply was limited and the population was growing relentlessly.

Greenview was one of the smallest villages, located on the outskirts of the main city's barrier. Its protection depended on more modest devices and the periodic supply of "batteries" sent from the urban center. However, disturbing rumors circulated among the locals: it was said that Greenview would soon lose the right to its barrier due to its small size and meager commercial importance.

Although most residents had chosen to stay in Greenview until the end, refusing to become a burden to their children in the city, María harbored a secret.

Her grandson, Marcus, her only remaining relative after the purge, who also lived in the main city, was unaware of his grandmother's situation. Two years ago, Marcus had been unjustly imprisoned. He depended on the support from the small amount his grandmother collected with her healings and María knew he would be released this year, so she preferred to keep the situation in the village quiet so as not to worry him.

It was a shame that the modern liquid-based healing magic had taken almost all her niche of work.

♢♢♢♢

The elders chattered away the afternoon in their rickety chairs.

As the sun began to set, a tiny shadow slipped furtively among the bushes of the garden. María was the first to notice it, her still keen eyesight catching the movement. She stood up, squinting to peer among the branches.

"What's wrong, dear?" Lucía inquired, following her friend's gaze.

At that moment, a creature emerged from its hiding place, provoking muffled exclamations of surprise and fear. It was a goblin, one of the weakest and most common magical creatures near human settlements. However, its presence within the limits of Greenview was cause for alarm.

The small being, with greenish skin and pointed ears, looked at them with its large yellow eyes, clearly frightened. Goblins were considered humanity's number one enemy, highly reproductive creatures that lurked in the shadows of the forest, ready to attack any unfortunate soul who ventured outside the protective barriers.

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"A goblin!" exclaimed Jaime, struggling to his feet. "We must scare it away before it brings more of its kind through the gap it found in the barrier!"

The elders began throwing stones and sticks at the goblin, which screeched and ran in circles, trying to escape the projectiles. María watched the scene with a heavy heart, unable to join in the aggression against the defenseless creature. It was an adult female, her body thin and wiry, carrying a tiny baby in her arms.

"Back, beast!" Jaime roared, waving a thick staff at the creature.

The goblin backed away, hissing and baring her sharp fangs. Her yellow eyes shone with a mixture of fear and ferocity as she tried to protect her little one.

"Throw whatever you have!" Elías ordered, picking up stones from the ground. "We can't let it escape!"

A rain of projectiles began to fall on the goblin, who cowered, covering herself with her thin arms. The baby let out a shrill squeal of terror.

María watched the scene with growing anguish, her heart clenching at the sight of the mother trying to defend her child. Despite being a creature considered an enemy of humanity, she could not help but feel empathy for the maternal bond.

"Stop, please!" she pleaded, but her words were lost in the commotion of shouts and the sound of stones hitting the ground.

The goblin, cornered and injured, cast her pleading gaze towards María, as if sensing the compassion in the old woman's eyes. For a brief moment, their eyes met, and María felt a pang of pain in her chest.

"Stop!" she shouted, placing herself between the goblin and her companions. "It's just a mother protecting her baby!"

"Get out of here, María!" Elías bellowed. "Those creatures are dangerous and won't hesitate to attack us!"

But María remained firm, extending her arms to prevent her asylum fellows from advancing.

The other elders watched the scene in disbelief, unable to understand María's compassion towards one of the creatures that had caused so much harm to humanity.

Finally, the creature turned and fled, disappearing into the trees of the forest surrounding the asylum. The elders lamented the threat of a larger attack.

But María was too beloved as a healer for them to reproach her…

♢♢♢♢

María's mind was plagued with images of the injured goblin, desperately protecting her baby. She retired to her room, immersed in a profound internal debate.

As night fell, María's restlessness grew. She could not stop thinking about the creature and her baby, alone and injured in the forest. She knew the dangers that lurked beyond the village limits, from ferocious predators to the threat of other, more violent goblins.

"What if they are badly hurt? What if they can't find shelter or food?" The thoughts spun endlessly in her mind, tearing at her compassionate heart.

On one hand, she understood her fellow residents' fears. Goblins were seen as a plague, destructive creatures that did not hesitate to attack humans who ventured outside the protective barriers. But on the other hand, she could not ignore the suffering of a mother and her defenseless child.

She remembered her own grandson, unjustly imprisoned in the city. If something like that had happened to her when he was a baby, wouldn't she have wished for someone to lend them a hand in their darkest hour?

♢♢♢♢

With her heart pounding, María made a decision. Stealthily, she slipped out of her room, carrying a blanket and some leftover food. She made her way through the dark hallways of the asylum, avoiding drawing attention from the others, and finally stepped out into the garden.

The night was cold and silent, only interrupted by the occasional howl of an animal in the distance. María shuddered, but did not let herself be intimidated. Taking a deep breath, she ventured into the forest, following the path the goblin had fled along.

Every shadow seemed a threat, every crunch of a branch made her startled. But María's determination was unbreakable. She had to find the mother and her baby, she had to help them.

After a few minutes, which seemed like an eternity, her eyes caught a glimpse of green among the trees. With her heart hammering in her chest, she approached stealthily, fearing she had been discovered by a dangerous creature.

But what she found left her breathless.

There, lying on a bed of dry leaves, lay the goblin, motionless and with glassy eyes. By her side, the little baby whimpered softly, huddled against its mother's lifeless body.

María stifled a gasp, bringing a hand to her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized the tragedy that had occurred. The poor creature had managed to escape from the asylum, only to succumb to her injuries in the darkness of the forest. She had not acted in time...

With a heavy heart, María slowly approached the little goblin, who looked at her with huge, frightened eyes. She set the leftovers on the ground and spread out the blanket, creating a small shelter.

"Come here, little one," she whispered in a trembling voice. "You'll be safe with me."

The goblin eyed her distrustfully, but hunger and cold seemed to overcome its fear. Slowly, it crawled towards María, emitting soft squeals, then eating all the scraps with agility unbecoming of a baby.

María wrapped the little being in the blanket, cradling it against her chest. Her eyes rested on the motionless figure of the mother goblin, and her heart filled with sadness and determination.

"Don't worry, little one," she whispered, gently stroking the goblin's head. "I'll take care of you. No one else will hurt you."

As she made her way back to the asylum, holding the creature protectively against her chest, María heard noises behind her...