Chapter 4: Surprise

The child was almost there.

Several weeks had passed since I was told the news of the future birth of a baby brother or sister but my daily life didn't change that much. My mother only began to take the toll of being pregnant after six months.

As a result, it became up to me and my dad to handle the domestic labor in the house so that she could properly rest and avoid harming the baby. I decided to put it upon myself to do most of the work as my dad was already working as a city guard.

Even if performing different tasks was challenging for a child's body, I didn't really mind.

I was sure that it will not become any better after the birth of the child.

Farewell peaceful time and quiet nights.

Fortunately, Gaya often came to help us.

“Gaya, you don’t have to do that.” I said as she was helping me again clean the floor.

“No, I want to help. You’re my friend after all.”

I didn’t really see that coming. Sure, we spent a large amount of time together, but I wasn’t sure if she liked me as she rarely ever spoke.

“Thank you, Gaya.” I replied in a sincere tone.

Afterward, we continued to do the remaining housework such as cleaning the windows, washing the dishes and watering the plants in our large and mysterious garden.

Occasionally, I was getting a few glances coming from Gaya, as if she was trying to tell me something, but was too embarrassed to do so. It was beginning to annoy me, so I took it upon myself to take the first step.

“Is there something you want to say to me? Don’t be shy, we are friends after all.”

She immediately answered.

“U-Um… i-if it’s alright with you. Do you mind if I talk to you later, is that alright?” She asked with a slightly red face.

“Talk to me? You can’t do that now?”

“N-No.”

She then turned to look at my father who was asleep on the couch. He came back from work earlier and wanted to have a short nap before his next shift, but he was mercilessly kicked out of the bedroom by my mother due to his loud snoring. Even now, his snoring continued to seep through the ceiling into their bedroom, tormenting my poor, restless mother.

“I want us to be alone.”

“Alright. When we finish here, we can go to the garden.”

“Y-Yes, that’s fine.” She replied with a smile.

She wanted to talk to me alone.

Could this be… a confession? I suddenly thought

I had this weird sense of ‘déjà vu’. I quickly shook my head to chase this idea from my head.

I didn’t want to remember that day. Besides, she was too young for that… probably…

After completing the last of the house chores, we went to the garden. Her beautiful face was tensed while her fingers twitched from nervousness.

Seeing her nervous appearance made me blank for a moment.

What will I do if she confesses?

Two words floated in my mind to attack my consciousness.

Child abuse!!!

Well, not really as technically I was a child, but I wasn't really far from it either.

Due to the tense atmosphere, I couldn't bring myself to look at her in the eyes. It felt like time was passing by very slowly. Gaya checked if we were really alone before slowly putting her hands on her head.

Her hands were shaking.

“I have something to show you.”

She carefully removed the woolly hat that she always wore, showing her beautiful black hair. I didn’t understand at first until I saw two cat-like ears sticking out from the top of her head.

“I’m from a beast tribe, Sillath.”

The sudden news sent me into a state of shock and confusion, so much that I couldn’t give an immediate answer. But it wasn’t the news that my only friend was hiding her identity this whole time that shocked me.

There were other species besides dwarves, elves and humans!?!

Why didn't anyone tell me about this sooner?

I was cursing in my mind when Gaya asked with worry in her tone. 

“Do you hate me now?” 

She had probably noticed the surprised look on my face.

“Eh?”

Her question instantly brought me back to reality. I looked back at her and noticed small tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

“No, no, no, no…” I quickly said, trying to reassure her.

“What are you talking about? I’m just surprised because I didn’t know that beast tribes even existed.” I laughed in the hopes of cheering her up.

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“Y-You didn’t know?”

She began to wipe the tears below her eyes.

“No. Nobody told me before. So you’re from a cat tribe or something?”

“What’s a cat?” she asked.

I forgot there weren’t any cats in this world.

“No, never mind.”

“I’m from the Kurohyou tribe.”

Weird name…

Was that like a cat tribe?

Maybe a big cat or another kind of giant feline as it seemed that every animal on this planet was huge. At least, according to my dad, there weren’t any monsters like I first imagined. No monsters except for the deviants and even those deviants were born from normal animals

“Ok. Well, I’m not sure why you were worried, but it doesn’t bother me at all.”

Suddenly, she covered the small distance between us and wrapped her arms around me, like a snake coiling around its prey. Her change of attitude was so brutal that I didn’t know how to properly react. I simply stood at my spot as she hugged me. As she did, I noticed her ears beginning to move from side-to-side wildly.

Seeing this, my hands began to twitch, as I struggled to control myself from touching them.

I must not caress them… I must not caress them…I must not caress them…

I fought the urge to take advantage of this situation to touch the intriguing ears before being released from her embrace.

“Why were you worried about that?” I finally asked.

She seemed to hesitate.

“S-Since it’s you, I can tell you, but… please keep this a secret.”

I quickly nodded.

“Truthfully, I’m actually an orphan, but not really. In fact, I’m not so sure myself. I came from a beast tribe that tends to travel a lot. We didn't spend too much time in one place. I don’t clearly remember how since I was very young at the time, but one day I lost my parents and the rest of the members of my tribe.” She said in a depressed tone.

“Even after walking for days, I still couldn’t find them. However, by a stroke of luck, the mayor along with Aten found and saved me. I had no home to go back to, no family to welcome me, so I was offered to stay in this town and make it my new home.”

I couldn’t help but feel bad for her.

Her life must’ve been hard and hopeless.

Each word she uttered gave me only a hint of the suffering and despair that she must’ve felt her entire life.

I also knew the feeling of despair, but probably not as much as her. Not knowing if you had been abandoned or if your parents were dead was a huge burden for a small kid like her. 

“Nearly everyone is nice with me and I’m eternally grateful for it.” She continued with a wry smile on her pretty face.

“But everyone knows that I'm different from them. I'm not a human after all. That’s why I’ve hidden my ears, tail and barely spoke a word to anyone. I never realized before, but I became so lonely.”

Then she looked directly at me. Her electric blue eyes seemed to sparkle and gave me a warm feeling.

“Ever since you became my friend, I was finally able to enjoy my life with someone once again. And for that I will always be grateful to you, but…”

She paused. I began to look back, in a matter of a few minutes; she had spoken more to me now than the entirety of the year we met.

“What?” I asked.

“I want you to make me a promise. I want you to promise me that you will stay by my side!”

She paused once again.

After realizing what she had said, she suddenly became red from head to toe, but she still held her gaze on me. It was a powerful gaze, born from her strong-will and determination.

“I don’t know what the future will bring us, but I can promise you that we will remain friends. Even if we're far from each other, we will remain friends. Besides, I don't plan to go anywhere in the near future.” I smiled at her.

This time she didn’t hold back her tears.

Years of frustration and sorrow began to flow down her cheeks like an endless river as she hugged me once again.

—————————————————————

“SILLATH!!!”

I turned my head towards the voice calling my name.

In the distance, I saw a familiar figure coming my way.

It was my neighbor, Amanda Finley.

“Sorry to call you out like this, but I have something to show you.”

“What is it?” I replied.

“In fact, it’s a surprise for your mother. I prepared it in secret so that you could give it to her after the birth of your baby brother or sister. It will happen in a few days, won’t it?”

“Yes, but are you sure? You should probably give it to her yourself.”

“No, she will be happier if it came from you. Come on, we must hurry!”

She seemed to be in a rush because without waiting for an answer, she left. I shrugged my shoulders and hurriedly followed behind her. 

However, we weren’t heading in the direction of her house.

“Where are we going? Your house is the other way.”

“I know, silly. It’s not in my house.”

We continued to walk for a couple of minutes until we finally arrived at the forest near the town.

“What is it that you have to hide it in the forest?” I looked around, but was only met with the cold winds shaking the leaves on the trees.

“You will see.” She replied.

“It’s an animal, isn’t it? I’m not sure if mother will like it with the baby around.”

“It’s not an animal, but it’s a surprise.”

After delving deeper into the forest, she stopped and pointed at a tree with her index finger.

“It’s behind that tree over there.”

I slowly approached the tree and walked around it, but I didn't find her present.

"What the..." 

Years of peace made my senses duller.

I realized too late that something was off.

I turned around to look back at her as fast as possible, but before I could see her, I heard her voice beside my ear.

“Surprise!”

*BANG*

I was hit behind the head and quickly lost consciousness.