Chapter 6 The familiar, unfamiliar world

All I can remember was the cabin burning in the ground while monsters are hissing and screaming everywhere. My head was spinning like a bowling ball being thrown, I can feel the ground moving and rumbling. Slowly opening my eyes I saw a man wearing an old cape hood that looks a lot like my dad's, he was riding a horse, and realizing where I was I tried to force my body to lay on the wooden and old carriage.

"So…? Your awake kid…" The man mumbled complete emotionless his eyes gazed at me, I can see my reflection in his brown eyes.

"Where…am I…?" touching my forehead I felt something tightly in it.

"Don't force yourself…and stop scratching your bandage…" He continued to stare on the road.

"Where's my family…?" I quickly looked at the windows and saw nothing but a forest but this time, a huge lake was in front of us.

"Don't worry their safe…well, most of them…" The horse clanked and the carriage stopped in front of the shore.

"We're here kid…get out…" The man hopped out on the horse and opened the door.

"What do you mean most of them!?" The man just stared at me, he then scratched his white beard and told me just get out of the carriage.

"Where are we anyway…?!" grabbing his robe he turned around.

"Loch…" He then lifts his arm and pointed to a brown, small, and wooden hut right beside the lake. I couldn't see it clearly but as soon as the man lifted his lamp I can see my mom and my sister all covered with blood. I quickly ran to them ignoring the water that is touching my shoes and just ran up to them.

"Mom…! Oh, thank goodness…you're okay…!" I didn't care about the blood covering her hat and clothes I just grasp her firmly.

"…Well, yeah…You don't have to worry it's not my blood though…" I looked at her and saw a smile, then she patted my head like always.

"…Before we took off we defeated almost half of them, after that we burned the place in the ground…" looking to my left I saw my sister seating on a wooden and squeaky chair.

"…You alright…?!" My sister lifted her left but I couldn't see an arm.

"I'm fine…It's just an arm…" My sister's voice gritted.

"You lost your left! How can you be fine with that…!?" Mom stood up and patted my shoulder.

"…Your sister is fine just, give some time to rest…" I forgot to tell her!

"Mom…The monster flesh…I-I think I lost it right after I lost my…" My head still hurts…

"Don't worry I already have it and your father is getting the medicine he needs so… don't worry about a thing you did a good job…" Mom took her hat off and sat on the porch again.

"How did you get it, mom…?" She then looked at me.

"Before we teleported here, I asked Cain to help out because my magic was too weak already to carry 5 persons…So before we got here I took the finger and carried your injured sister and two unconscious people…" I sat beside mom again.

"So that guy helped us…?" Looking at the man who was chopping wood in the middle of the night. "You told me his name was Cain…? Like the one who murdered his…? You know…?"

"Yeah…" Mom nodded.

"But…? Isn't that? From thousands of years ago…? Isn't he supposed to be dead…?" He continued to chop the wood and gathered them.

"Its curse stuff, you won't understand…Right after he killed his brother, the creator's punishment was…Cain will wander in this world…" Mom stretched and patted my back.

"That's enough of that…! It's rude to talk about people…" mom rambled my hair.

"I was just curious…" I mumbled. After our little talk mom told me to go inside and check out Sam and Dad, Danielle was with me and told me what happened right after I disappeared when I fetched mom.

"Wait so, that's why Sam's been asleep because of that…?" I stood at the foot of the bed looking at Sam's pale face. I never thought her eyes could do such things.

"…Mana manipulation huh…?" Danielle nodded at me. She was surprised too after seeing Sam's eyes glowed blue and helped mom teleport from country to country, gathering that tremendous amount of mana requires years of training and yet Sam only did that for one day, the eyes are really mysterious…

Sam tossed and turned and grit her teeth, she was crying in her sleep, and then she was screaming "Stop" at the top of her lungs. She was sweating like an open water dispenser, both of us rushed to her to check what the heck is bothering her in her sleep.

"Don't…Just let her be like that…" Dad all suddenly woke up, touching my sister's arm before she could hold Sam's hand.

"Dad…Are you sure you should be up with your situation…?" My sister replied.

"Why you should talk? Your left arm is missing…You're the one who should rest…" But sis stood her ground and argued with dad. Looking at Sam's disturbed and folding expression like a child having bad dreams made me worried and curious, what is she dreaming about? I have a hunch that Uncle Lim is behind all of this…

"STOP…! Please…! I-I…" Sam burst like a jack in a box. Flabbergasted my sister rushed at her and hugged Sam and told her everything is okay.

"What did you see Ms…Wells…?" Dad sat in his bed and crossed his arms.

"I…I…S-Saw…Myself…lock in a room and a lot of people…No…Not people, monsters…are screaming and laughing, they were holding spears with human heads on top of it…I-I was tied up on a huge stone all stretched out…And…" Sam stopped talking, I saw her hand shaking as she took her blanket to cover her back.

"And…?" Dad replied.

"Your brother…took my eyes…and ate it…" She looks down with trembling eyes.

"Tsk…That idiot…" Dad clenched his fist. Danielle told me to fetch Sam a glass of water but, before I could open the door Cain was in front of me holding a tray filled with different fruits and a glass of water.

"Here…" He handed me the tray, turned around, and went towards the front door. I saw mom coming in and greeted Cain but, the old man didn't reply and just walked straight.

"Why are you standing like a post there…? Give that to Sam…!" Mom pushed me inside and both of us went in.

"Kamaya you okay…?" Mom sat on the bed and leaned on dad's shoulder.

"I'm good…Thanks for everything…" Dad kissed mom on the forehead, my sister stared at them with frown faces and fake barfs.

"Ehem…" My sister blurted and using her head pointing at Sam who is hugging her tightly.

Mom stood up and took the water from the tray and told sis to step aside. Danielle stood up from the bed as mom poured the water on Sam's head.

"Wha-What…!? Are you doing mom…!?" Mom stared at me and told me to shush. She lifted her hand and flickered her fingers one by one. The water from Sam's head began entering her cheeks and skin, Sam smiled and sniff her nose.

"Sometimes washing your face with water can be refreshing when a person is under stress…" After a lot of talk with Sam and trying to calm her down, I put the tray filled with fruits on the side of the bed and went out.

"…Dang…" I sat on a chair on the porch. I can hear the howling and billowing of different animals in the forest in the pitch-black forest in front of the hut. Cain was walking in the front hold two dead chickens, the blood was still dripping down from their throats.

"For dinner…?" My stomach started to rumble, Cain stared at me.

"No...Your dinner is ready and is already set on the dining table inside…" Cain replied again with his emotionless and cold tone.

"Then for whom is the chicken for…?" Cain sighed. And ask me if I really want to know, I nodded in agreement and the both of us went to the wooden half-bridge not far from the hut, Cain then whistled. The lake was hard to see because it was all black, even holding the lamp high I can't see the lake.

"…Here…" The lake began to bubble like a Jacuzzi. A long-necked billowing creature splashed right in our eyes. I tried running but Cain held me.

"Shush…Kid you'll startle him…" Its eyes were glowing green as it chewed the chicken like it was just a piece of bubble gum.

"What the heck is that creature, old man…!?" I tried not to scream but, out of my sheer fear of being eaten I blurted out.

"Loch ness monster, duh…! Haven't you heard from this creature in your life…?" Cain tossed the second chicken. The water splashed on my face as it chewed happily.

"I-I…thought that thing was just a myth…!" I tried to wiggle my way out but it was useless.

"I thought so too…But here we are…" The monster snarled before going back into the water.

"How did you manage to get that pet…?" I sat on the wooden wriggly bridge in shock.

"That's not my pet…I'm just their protector, caretaker perhaps…" I can't believe this, Cain sighed.

"How do I explain this…Uhm…After killing my brother and the Creator giving me the curse of a wanderer in the earth I was given another task to protect the creatures that he made that are not yet open for human eyes such as that creature…" Cain sat on the bridge too.

"…Oh…" both of us went silent, the waters from the deep dark lake became cool and steady.

"Aren't you tired? Being always like this…?" Cain smiled.

"I am tired and frustrated at times but, this is the consequence for killing my brother…I never think straight when I did that thing…So, I'm okay doing this… Do I deserve this? Yes…and I think the God who put me here is teaching me a huge lesson to learn…" I stared down.

"Look kid…the world can be a cruel place to be and sometimes it can take a part of you, it can challenge you in a way that can ruin your life…but don't let it flatten you… challenges are unavoidable but, solutions are inevitable…."

I thought the world I knew was a piece of cake and easy to eat, but as I grew older, this cake became bigger. And I can't no longer devour it. The world became bigger as I grew up, I felt lost and selfish at some point… As I face my challenges in life, this familiar world is becoming unfamiliar day by day… "Don't let this world step on you…Push hard and fight tougher…" Cain stood up, told me that we need to get back and eat dinner.