Another 4 months had passed since my reincarnation, and I was about 7 months old.
Winter was approaching, and along with that, unexpected but pleasant news came my way as well.
It was a Friday evening, as usual I was with Maia in her room waiting for dinner while she was playing with me.
It seemed like she had really gotten affectionate to me, which is something I could also relate, since she was intentionally spending more time with me instead of playing with her friends, and telling mom to let her take care of me so often to the point where it became a norm.
Assuming that you’d be born in an average family with an older sibling or siblings, and both parents around, I think that it’s a 50/50 you need to win the moment your born, when it comes to both of them.
One one hand your parents could be gentle, but stern when needed to discipline you, still love each other as much as they love you and your supposed siblings, never argue with each other in front of you, and guide you towards a better future.
As for the older sibling or siblings in this scenario, they could play with you when you’re young, teach you valuable things that you’d need in life, protect you whenever it’s needed and just like your parents, guide you towards a better path.
On the other hand, your parents could regret having you and your siblings, resulting in resentment towards you and mistreatment towards you and themselves. They might be alcoholics that can barely afford to feed you, or addicts that intoxicate themselves and are unable to properly provide for you, and inevitably resulting in a harder life.
And just like you could end up with bad parents, the same goes for your siblings. Being constantly bullied as a form of relieving their built up stress and resentment towards your parents, neglecting you because they’ve never felt love, so they have no idea how to show you any, and even if deep down they might love you, it could very well never be shown, or become a feeling that’ll be caged inside their heart and never released.
Or of course, you could end up as being a only child or being the elder one yourself, but the analogy was to empathize my current situation, because simply put, I have won both those 50/50’s this time.
In my previous life I had no siblings, and seemingly great parents, but they turned out to be criminals, and murderers that were merely putting on a facade and acted as if they did nothing wrong.
I never particularly liked playing the hero that simply goes around and purges all that is evil because it’s the correct thing to do, but I had done it once.
I had spent my previous life building up resentment towards myself and the world itself for the way I was born, but maybe looking back, perhaps I always knew my parents weren’t the way they seemed, so I instinctively sealed any pleasant emotion that might come out from my heart and would be derived from them.
The only time I ever played the role of a hero was when I found out about my parent’s true colors, and though it might’ve also had been for revenge, I ended up executing them myself for their sins, and then also died because of their very actions which had caused resentment towards me from others.
I don’t blame that old man, in fact I am grateful to him, because bluntly speaking, I probably wouldn’t had lasted longer on my own even if he didn’t kill me, so he did me a great favor by letting me be reborn right away and start anew.
“They sure are taking a while tonight for dinner…”
Maia sighed as she was on the floor with me while I played with some toys I had found around.
Though it wasn’t as if I could agree or reply to her, I have been testing out wherever I was able to speak or not yet pretty much every day so I gave it a shot in that moment.
“Ba-ba..ba”
is that really the most I can say?! You gotta be kidding me…
I guess Maia found it cute, since she started giggling, then took me by my arms, and lifted them upwards to support me, and so I was able to more or less stand up with her holding me.
“Im sure it won’t be long until you can say your first word, you’re my little brother after all! I said my first word at only 10 months, so I’m sure you’ll do it even sooner than me”
Her smile was so bright and sweet that it was almost dangerous, and it had made me loose all the focus I had on my legs trying to stay up with her support, which made them go limp.
Fortunately though she was of course holding me tight enough for me to not fall, and it didn’t take me too long before I had regained focus on my legs.
“You’re also able to stand up with just a little bit of my support, you’re incredible!”
ahhh she’s way too sweet… I don’t think I deserve a older sister as great as her…
We kept playing for about 20 more minutes, until dad slammed open the door, lookin as excited as a merchant discovering a new mine, and had the biggest grin on his face.
“Maia, Cael, come downstairs immediately! We have great news!”
Maia’s expression quickly went from scared from the sudden appearance, to annoyed by it, to shocked then excited.
“Daddy, do you mean what I think you mean?!”
huh? How does she understand?
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! It’s as you think it is Maia.”
Maia then quickly grabbed me in her arms, and all 3 of us ran downstairs towards the kitchen table, where mom was sitting on a chair while rubbing her belly with a gentle expression. It was at that moment that I had finally caught up to what they might be talking about, but I waited for the confirmation.
“Mommy! Is it true??”
“Seems like your dad was very quick on letting you know haha”
“Then it means!”
“Yes, I am indeed pregnant again. Maia you’re going to become once again an older sister, and Cael you’ll become an older brother.”
me? An older brother? For real?
I couldn’t believe it at that point, even though I knew it was true. Maia and dad were celebrating together after handing me over to mom, but I was still trying to process that thought.
I’m… going to be an older brother…
I was so happy that I couldn’t even fathom it in my head. It was a strange feeling. Becoming an older brother was something I had thought of and wanted in my previous life, and now it was actually going to happen.
I was completely overwhelmed by it, and soon enough I was crying. But instead of being worried, as if understanding why, mom held me tighter while both Maia and dad followed up and we were all simply hugging each other.
2 more months passed by, and it was now mid December.
I never personally liked cold weather nor winter itself, but this time it was different, because it was the 17th or December, and Maia’s 8th birthday.
It was around 7 am when I woke up, earlier than usual, but that was to be expected. Since I still slept in the same bed with mom and dad, I’d usually naturally wake up when mom gets out of bed, since I usually didn’t even feel dad getting up, and today she had woken up earlier than usual to prepare.
“Oh? Did my baby also wake up?”
She noticed I was awake while getting out of the bed, then took me in her arms to change my clothes.
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“Today is a very special day you know? Maia is turning 8 years old”
it would’ve been almost impossible for me to not know when dad has been talking about this for the past month… I guess there’s always one individual that’s more excited than the rest..
I was honestly both happy and impressed by how much dad cared about it. Both him and mom always treated both me and Maia equally, without any favoritism, which only made me like them even more.
that reminded me, where’s dad?
I looked around while mom was dressing me up, and she must’ve had caught up on what I was thinking.
“Your dad left earlier to the nearby town to get Maia’s gift, he should be back in a few hours”
gift huh? I wonder what she’ll get… maybe another book? Or is she gonna get a sword or something? Though I’d imagine Maia as using a bow more than a sw-
My own thoughts had been cut short when I looked outside the window, and seen the pile of snow outside.
there’s no way… right? that man actually left before sunrise with that much snow outside just for a birthday gift… I’ll remember to never underestimate dad..
“Oh, that haha you don’t need to worry sweetie. Your dad can handle a bit of snow just fine”
She probably noticed my unbelieving expression as I looked outside the window, and her reply was in a ridiculously calm and confident tone, which made it hard to even think of doubting her words honestly, so I just stopped thinking about it.
After she changed my clothes, and took me in her arms we went to the kitchen where she sat me down on a chair, and started taking some things on the kitchen counter, which seemed to be ingredients to bake something, but I guess it was to be expected.
“Be careful to not fall sweetie, mommy cannot hold you right now, and we don’t want Maia to wake up just yet”
Though I wasn’t able to walk yet, my bones were finally strong enough for me to sit on my own, so she probably wouldn’t need to worry about that, but I still appreciated it.
“I’m gonna make a cake for Maia, and then gonna make breakfast so if you’re hungry you have to wait a bit, bare with me though alright?”
“mmm..”
Was the closest I could get to a sound of approval, but it seemed like she understood since she didn’t waste a single additional second to start.
In my previous life I had an interest in cooking to a certain degree, and even learnt how to cook after Hana’s death, but desserts or anything that had a dough was where I drew a line. I couldn’t deal with doughs or making any kind of desserts, so this was actually pretty interesting for me.
It’s not like I had no idea how they were made, but what made it interesting for me was that this world’s technological level seemed to be the classic medieval era, so I was curious to see how she’ll do it.
She started off with putting flower in a bowl and mixing in 2 egg yolks and 3 egg whites, which was already way too advanced compared to what a cake in this age should look like, or so it is compared to my previous world.
She then took out a white powder and put it in, but it was too little and too white to be sugar, so it was definitely baking powder and followed it with baking soda.
it seems like this world’s medieval era is more advanced than my previous world’s, which shouldn’t be impossible or anything so it might be.
I was excited. I never really thought about it but mom had always cooked relatively modern food, so maybe the relative advancement of society in this world was faster and greater than my previous world’s, except for technology.
thinking about it… how come a lumberjack can finance our entire living alone, and still always have spare money?
It was definitely getting weirder, but nonetheless I had decided to not think about it, and just focus on my own excitement towards what was folding in front of me, and for the special day.
After finishing the batter, she put it in a round shaped mold, but before lifting it up she turned around to what was our oven.
It looked fairly similar to a chimney oven , but built with stone.
She then pointed her finger towards its inside, and a small flame had appeared on her finger, which she then released in the back of the oven where she already had some wood prepared, lighting it up immediately.
oooh, so mom can use fire magic? This is the first time I’ve ever seen her use any magic at all, though I imagined she’d use healing magic or something but I guess fire also kinda fits her?
Thinking about all the times mom showed that she was the boss of the house made it easier to visualize her being able to use fire magic to be fair.
She then put put in a metal panel which seemed to be what sealed the direct heat of the fire from whatever she’d be baking, then put on the cake and closed it with another metal panel.
“Alright, that’s done.. Now I gotta start making breakfast for Maia, she should probably wake up soon, hang on a bit longer sweetie”
It was to be expected, after all it was still morning. Maia usually just eats some toast with jam for breakfast, pretty sure strawberry jam is her favorite, but we actually ran out a few days prior, and considering the fact that it was now winter, it would’ve been probably impossible to get any fresh ones. Or so I thought…
you gotta be joking… right?
Mom had just pulled out a entire container filled with fresh strawberries from the fridge.
that shouldn’t even be possible… it’s December you know?
This definitely added to my questions on wherever we were really an average family or not, but I brushed it off again, since it wasn’t a negative thing anyways.
“I’ll make some quick fresh strawberry jam, and then also make something for you and me to eat, so bare with me”
at that point I was honestly just hungry, so I simply waited patiently.
About half an hour later, Maia had finally woken up, and had came downstairs. Mom then grabbed me in her arms and approached her.
“Happy birthday my sweet baby girl! You’re finally turning 8 today!!”
Mom was definitely excited, and she didn’t slack off when it came to showing it, since she hugged her right away while still holding me.
“Awh, thanks mommy, and you too Cael”
I then extended my arms towards her and without a word she casually picked me up instead, which was something very casual at this point. I genuinely enjoyed being with my sister.
we sat at the table to eat breakfast, and Maia had put me on a seat next to hers and was willingly feeding me some scrambled eggs, while also enjoying her own food.
“Where’s daddy though?”
“He should come back soon actually, he went to buy your present at the nearby town”
“Huh?!”
Maia was understandably confused, because her thought process was the same as mine.
“It’s full of snow outside?! He could’ve had just bought it another day! What if he gets sick?”
“Awh, don’t worry sweet heart, your daddy might not seem like it, but he’s actually pretty tough haha, you’ll see once he comes home”
And surely enough, not even 10 minutes had passed, and he did indeed come back completely fine, and with a few things with him.
“Daddy! Are you alright?!”
“Of course I am, it might not seem like it but I’m pretty tough you know? And I couldn’t have risked not getting your present in time, what kind of father would that make me?”
He was hugging Maia while saying that, then let go as mom had also put on a plate for him at the table and he also started eating.
After we all had finally finished eating breakfast, dad decided that it was time to give Maia her present, so he opened the backpack he had earlier with him and took out 3 books.
“I heard you wanted to learn more about magic, archery and history so I got you these 3 and a bow you can train with, happy birthday My baby girl!”
Maia’s eyes lighted up as she excitedly took the books and the bow.
“Thank you so much daddy! This is all I wanted!”
I heard that in this world adulthood is reached at 16, but didn’t expect a 8 years old kid to be this excited about a bow…
Well, that was my mistake honestly I should’ve had expected it.
Afterwards, since dad wasn’t particularly good, or rather… had no knowledge of archery besides how it generally works. he took Maia to our neighbor’s house which happened to be where his best friend and family live.
His best friend had came over pretty often, around 2 times a week, while dad went to his house around 3 times a week. Those 2 were together pretty much 5 out of 7 and it was clear how much they trusted each other.
His name was Aldric Ravenscroft, and coincidentally he happened to be a former archer for the royal household until a few years ago. Maia had asked dad once why he quit, and he said it was because that’s roughly when he met his wife, and decided to quit his possibly dangerous job and focus on his time with her, which I personally found admirable.
Dad and Maia came back at around 6pm, which was also when mom had finished cooking dinner, and as if she expected this to happen, when dad and Maia came back alongside Aldric and his wife Lyanna she didn’t batch an eye, and had already prepared enough food for everyone.
as expected of mom… she knew dad would’ve had invited them over and made plenty of food in advance
The rest of our dinner went as you’d expect. We all had a great time and enjoyed our food, and when it was finally time for dessert, mom had brought up the cake she made earlier that day, with a few candles on it.
It seemed like dining a happy birthday song wasn’t really a tradition in this world, but the thing overall went pretty similarly, since after bringing up the cake to the table, Maia blew out the candles as you’d expect, and everyone cheered on her while saying happy birthday.
it was pretty much the same but without the song, which did make it a bit stale to be fair.
maybe I should introduce the idea of a birthday song when I’m older…
But as everyone was congratulating her, I started feeling a huge weight on me, and it didn’t take long to realize what it was. Guilt.
Even though I was just a baby, I still felt guilty about not being able to congratulate her.
“Ha-ha-iii”
I tried to do it, but failed.
“Ha-py-bit”
I tried again.
“Ha-pi”
And failed once more.
say it. Everyone else already said it. They’re watching you try to say it.
“Haa-pwi”
I want to tell her. I want to be able to congratulate her, I want to tell you happy birthday…
“Maia..”
“…..”
The room had gone quiet. Everyone was staring at me with shock, but also with ridiculously large grins, but none of them broke that silence.
did i just…?
I then turned to face Maia, as if asking for confirmation, and surely, I got it. Tears were going down on her face, but she was smiling, and clearly happy, and she stayed that way as she rushed over towards mom who was holding me and held me instead.
“You said my name! Your first ever word was my name!!”
Everyone else then also started talking, and the silence was broken.
“And here I wanted my boy’s first word to be dada haha”
“Isolde is pregnant, maybe you’ll have better luck with your next one”
Aldric tapped dad on his shoulder as he jokily comforted him.
“I guess this was Cael’s present for you”
Mom chuckled before continuing.
“What do you think about it, Maia?”
She didn’t answer right away, but after a few moments of silence, and while holding me tight and looking at me instead of mom, she replied.
“I thought dad’s present was the best, but that doesn’t come close to it.. Thank you Cael, for giving me your first word as a present. This was really the best present ever!”
We all had a great laugh afterwards, and kept on having a good time for the rest of the night.