Ch 17 - Memories

"Hey."

"You coming?", Aster Anderson asked while waving her hands in front of his face.

Aster had a beautiful face and a slim body. She wore a white shirt with a black jacket and dark. blue jeans. Her sexy figure was a pleasure to look at and all the guys working in the lab once had a crush on her. She looked especially cute today with her hair tied back and smile on her face.

"Why are you so lost today? What are you thinking about? Are you nervous about our research presentation?", Aster asked with a worried look on her face.

Harrington Slits came back to himself and looked at her face for a while before sighing. He also had a crush on her and generally, he would feel butterflies in his stomach just looking at her. However, today he was not in a good mood at all. He wasn't even able to smile back.

"It's nothing like that. I have the habit of reading books to calm myself down before any important events. That's how I am normally able to keep my cool. But from today onwards, I have to discard this hobby of mine. I am totally feeling unease at the moment.", Harrington replied

"Why? What happened, Harry?! Ohh.. Is it regarding that?"

Aster and Harrington knew each other from childhood and had a very good bond. Only recently Harrington had been offshore for a while while working on a project. When he came back and saw her after years again, he was mesmerized. He had developed a crush on her but couldn't bring himself to confess though.

They knew each other very well and could sense if the other person was feeling somewhat off.

"Yes, it is. Sigh. I can't talk with you without thinking about it. Whenever I see you, I remember it and it's putting me off."

Aster showed a saddened look. She too understood his feelings.

"It's over. Now is not the time to focus on that. You have to forget about it. Come, let's give this presentation our best shot.", Aster gave a short smile.

Harrington had to give back a forced smile while thinking, 'I should give it a read one last time to calm myself down'

Aster had just reached the stage where the presentation was going to be conducted. The Hall was huge and there were thousands of people in the audience.

Harrington opened his smartphone and opened a book. He was just about give it a small read when he felt an intense vibration.

He hurriedly looked for Aster but when he saw her face, he was horrified. Her face was unrecognizable and was being totally distorted by some weird supernatural force. He could hardly figure out where her eyes and mouth were on her her distorted face. This scene was directly out of one of the horror movies he had seen.

His eyes passed through the audience and he felt despair growing in his heart with what he saw. All of the thousand faces were totally distorted in a similar way. Someone had eyes below their nose, Some had three eyes, some had mouth on their forehead and eyes below them.

"W-Whaa-Whatt is happ-pening??!", Harrington was terrified. He couldn't help but let out a shriek.

The person who was supposed to be Aster suddenly started walking towards him and he took 2 steps back and fell on his back due to losing control. The ground was still intensely vibrating. It was as if the whole world was falling apart.

"Harry, why?"

"Why Yi Yue? Wasn't it supposed to be me? ANSWER ME!"

Another two persons came forward,

"Why did you leave us? Do you hate your parents? WHY?"

Listening to his, Harrington shook very violently as suddenly the whole world started forming cracks. The cracks passed through people and they were sliced in half. Even his "parents" and "Aster" were cut in half. It was a gory scene. Beyond the cracks, he could see nothing. It was like an abyss which was gazing at him making him feel shudder at the deepest level. there was in front of him broke apart.

...

Haru just woke up from the Dream. He was sweating very badly.

"What was that dream? Why would I recall that now all of a sudden?"

He felt something wet on his face. He realized he was crying. His whole demeanor was shook and there was lingering fear in his heart. No one would believe this was a Rank 5 expert if they saw him like this.

Haru tried to calm himself down since he was not able to understand the contents of the dream however hard he tried. This was a completely new piece of memory for him which he didn't even knew existed a moment before. But it suddenly showed up in this dream. He inspected his room and found everything was in place. He had even placed investigation gu worms. He checked and ensured that no one else had come near him.

Afterwards he cultivated for a bit before inspecting his memories. Although, his time in Gu world was not really easy, he had been living well till now and didn't face many dangers. He couldn't make sense why he was feeling so fearful at the moment since what He saw now should only be a dream, although a bit uncanny.

After all, he was a traveller from Earth. It was understandable to have nightmares when stuck in a completely different world where he would never meet his parents and loved ones again and where he will have to constantly struggle for survival.

He then started recalling his previous life. He was a science professor back then. He was studying medical to achieve his life long goal. Unfortunately, he reincarnated into Gu World before that goal could be completed.

He couldn't help but recall that particular day.

...

Harrington had just come back home after playing his basketball match in school. However, his team had lost and he was in a really bad mood.

"Haru, you're back. Come wash your hands and eat. Guess what I have made for you. It's your favorite dish.", His mom was standing in the hall.

She took his bag and jacket and took them to clean. She had some wrinkles on her face. However, anyone seeing her smile would feel serene. It was filled with pure motherly love.

Haru found his bad mood alleviate a bit but he was still annoyed. He didn't like called being Haru. It sounded a bit too childish for his tastes.

"No, I don't want to eat anything right now. Don't disturb me for a while."

Saying so, he rushed to his room and the shut the door close.

"Haru, I need to go out for some grocery shopping and it will take a while. Make sure to eat it before it gets cold."

"Yeah go now. I will manage."

Hour later, Harrington was playing a game. He had yet to leave his room and eat anything. However, he was venting his frustrations on the game.

Suddenly, he received a call from an unknown number. His inattention for second made him lose his life in the game.

"Fuck. Who is it calling at this time?!"

He picked up the phone and received the call.

The person on the other side spoke, "Hello, is this Harrington Slits?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"What's your relationship with Leena Slits?", the person on the other side asked with a serious voice.

"She's my mother. Why are you asking?", he felt a bit of unease.

"Harrington, I am Sander, a cop from Xavier Police Department. I am saddened to inform that your mother has been in a car accident. She has been admitted to Xavier Hospital."

Harrington lost his grip on the phone as it fell on the floor. He rushed to the hospital and found his mother was on the verge of coma.

Doctor saw him and told him that they were unable to save her.

"Your mother has faced severe damages in her nervous system. It is impossible with current technology to save her life. Even though she's been partially awake, she won't be able to recognise anyone. For past half an hour, she's only uttering one word : 'Haru'. See if you can help her."

When he heard this, he couldn't stop the tears falling from his eyes. Even at the brink of life and death, all she thought was about him. He hated for not talking properly with her.

He rushed towards his mother's bed. She was just staring at the ceiling but

"Mom, can you hear me? ...I am here."

"Haru"

"Yes yes, your Haru is here. Don't worry, everything will go well. You will get back to normal soon."

However, his mother's eyes were serene. It was as if her last wish to see him had been fulfilled. She had a smile on her face while she slowly closed her eyes.

"Please go out. The patient is losing heartbeats.", the doctors rushed in and provided immediate medical treatment.

Haru was crying really hard the whole time. He was unable to come to terms with what had happened. His father was a business magnate and would stay away from home for a long period of time. Hence, Haru was very close to his mother since would normally spend time with her only at home. She was his only emotional support as he grew up.

Doctors came out an hour later and he came to know that his mother had survived but went into deep coma. The possibility of her waking up was very low.

Haru felt his heart crumbling. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to see his mother smile again.

Haru came back home that night and saw his favourite dish on the table. His eyes were wet as he thought about how his mom made it for him and it was probably the last dish he was going to get to eat from his mother's hand.

He had not eaten anything the whole day and spent time running here and there. At the end of the day, eating this dish made him feel really warm and comfortable.

"Mom..."

Determination flashed past his eyes as he had a certain thought.

"I, Haru, will save you. Please wait for me. I will study medical and develop technology which far surpasses today's generation. I will help you recover! From today, I shall be called Haru."

Later on, He entered the field of medicine and made many advancements. He was famously known by everyone as "Professor Haru".