"You really miss a lot you know? When you're too busy acting like a sleeping beauty, the world has changed so much, you might not be able to catch up soon enough. Did you see my clothes?" Glory turned around gracefully to show her dress. "My mom just bought it from another village. That's really hard to do these days as you know—wait! You must not know about our country's rule change, right? You don't even know that your own father has died!”

"Glory! Enough!" Adriel who stood beside Meyara shouted. His grip on the girl's shoulder tightened without him noticing until Meyara winced a little in pain.

"What? I can't even show off my own stuff?” The blonde girl snorted. "Took me a week to get it because it has to be delivered by a courier that can cross the border."

"Illegally," said Adriel bluntly. "If you don't want me to tell on you, you better shut up."

After saying that, Adriel turned to Meyara who was still having trouble walking on her own. She used a wooden stick and reluctantly let the boy accompany and guide her.

Wait, Adriel was not a child, he had turned sixteen, and had grown into a fine young man with a much taller build and broad shoulders. Meyara was still surprised that she could recognize him when she woke up from her long sleep.

But all of that only made Meyara's pride even more tarnished. Adriel, and even Glory had grown a lot, physically, mentally, and obviously their magic abilities had also improved. But here she was, struggling to realize that the reality she had always believed in had changed drastically. She couldn't even catch up because her magic was nowhere to be found.

"You can tell on me all you want," Glory spoke again when the other teens thought she had given up on upsetting Meyara. "It's not going to make a big difference to me. I'm already one of the best teenage mages in this village, everyone will believe everything I say. What do you think will happen if I say that the almighty Meyara who can no longer do magic has attacked me?”

Adriel groaned hearing that. “Glory, really? I never thought you were that low!”

"Enough!" Meyara gripped Adriel's hand tightly. She gulped, shaking off the pride that told her to leave immediately without receiving help from anyone. "Take me home. That's enough for today.”

"But we only took half of our usual trip."

"That's fine. You can take me again tomorrow for all I care. Just … I need to see my mom."

Hearing that, Adriel had no choice but to agree to the girl's request. He nodded wordlessly, and started guiding Meyara to take the opposite path to the one they were about to take. But not before glaring at Glory.

It was quite a difficult journey. Adriel could really feel that Meyara was leaning almost all of her weight on him. The girl must have lost a lot of energy even after just walking for a few minutes. Her body started to shiver a bit so Adriel was afraid that she might pass out at any moment.

When they finally arrived at the Meyara family's house, Adriel was almost too late to prevent Meyara's body from falling in front of the entrance.

"Oh, you two are back already?" Brenna greeted them confusedly but she still smiled brightly. “You’re right on time. I just finished making chicken soup.”

Before she could direct Adriel and Meyara to the dining table, her daughter had fallen into her arms. She was caught off guard, but her body had moved on autopilot to wrap Meyara's body in a loving embrace.

"What happened, dear?" she asked gently. Her fingers ran through her daughter's hair, one of many ways to show affection. “Are you tired? Don't push yourself, honey. I told you, you can take all the time you need.”

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Meyara didn't say anything. She was just standing there, in her mother's warm embrace. Not caring at all with Adriel who was still standing behind them. Watching them with sad and worried eyes.

Adriel could not help but feel uneasy. These last weeks have not been easy for him and Meyara. The girl he loved the most had not yet risen from her slump, he could even say Meyara was at the lowest point in her life. The girl's spirit never returned, several times Adriel had to intervene to prevent Meyara from committing suicide. All of that made him not want to leave her side at all.

But Meyara didn’t think of him as her closest friend. He wasn't part of the girl's family either. He had no reason to stay with the girl all the time.

“Mom,” Meyara spoke for the first time since she came home. She didn't move an inch from her position in her mother's arms. "I'm tired and exhausted. I've never felt this weak before, I feel like I'm going crazy."

"Don't say that, honey," Brenna whispered. It was clear how she was trying to be strong, but her trembling voice gave her away. “You just need to rest. Here, let me take you to your room.”

"No, I want to see Father."

“Meyara ….”

"Alone."

"Okay. I'll take you to meet him."

She glanced at Adriel before turning around. Slowly guided Meyara to their house. Adriel just stood where he was. Torn between following behind or just going home. He also had things to take care of at home, his father nagging him nonstop to leave Meyara and move on with his life. Understandably, his father had many reasons for saying that.

Because Adriel had not been functioning as a good human since Meyara woke up. He couldn't take his eyes off her for even a second without something bad happening. But maybe when Meyara was with her mother he could take a short break.

"Meyara, stop!"

Oh, he concluded too soon.

Wasting no time, he ran into Meyara's house. Switch to one corner without the slightest hesitation. He knew the house like his own. The simple structure of wood and stone doesn't have much space. In a second he was beside Brenna, who was crouching down holding her daughter's hand.

“I know what I said was cruel, that you don't know my burden because you weren't born as a mage, but is there really a need to make me helpless? So I know what it's like to be in your shoes? I got it! I'm just a cocky brat!”

“Meyara, your father never wanted this either. Stop blaming him or yourself!”

Adriel watched with wide eyes how Meyara tore her own skin with the shard of the urn which Adriel recognized as the urn of Meyara's father's ashes. His suspicions were proven correct when he saw ashes strewn across the ground. The gray color almost blends with the ground.

The young man closed his eyes tightly. He took a deep breath before speaking in a cold tone. “Have you lost your mind? What are you thinking about?"

Both Meyara and her mother froze before turning to him. Brenna mouthed some words which were difficult to understand, while Meyara glared at him.

"What did you say?" she asked in disbelief.

“I said what I said. Haven't you finished bothering everyone yet? Not enough with me, now you are going to torture your own mother?” Adriel crossed his arms. He kept a straight face, not a single emotion that he showed except for the sharp glare he threw at her. “I try to make you understand that it’s not the end of the world, that you can always start over whenever you’re ready. But you never listen, and I've had enough! I don’t think anyone can knock some sense into your hard head!”

"Adriel …." Brenna shook her head in worry. "You know Meyara has been through a lot."

"I know! She just woke up from the longest slumber, with no traces of spirit magic in her body. And just found out that her father died of the same plague that hit her. She can't even do anything on her own, and has to swallow her pride to accept someone else’s help! Did I miss something?”

Brenna wanted to reply, but Adriel quickly continued his words. "Oh, right! On top of that, she doesn't have a single friend except me. Me! Who cares about her so much, I might even kill myself if it means she can get everything she had back. But, no. The world doesn't work that way and Meyara has to accept it whether she likes it or not!"

Adriel ended his tirade with a ragged breath. His chest felt tight hearing his own words, but he had to do this for the good of Meyara.

With a heavy heart, he left Meyara who was still frozen in her mother's arms, while Brenna tried to stop the blood flowing from the girl's hands.

For the last time, the young man spoke again before going through the front door. "I stop here. You can do whatever you want. Kill yourself, I don't care. I'll try to attend your funeral. You were my teacher after all."

Adriel's figure then disappeared, leaving behind his sharp words that stabbed into Meyara's heart.

***