Memories of the Past

"Hey, Aiken! Let's go to the child park"

"You know we can't Thea. Leaving the house is forbidden."

"Aww... you are no fun."

Thea pouted. With her childish face, she was cute enough to stun Aiken. A few seconds later he scratched his cheek. With a little blush, he averted his eyes from her.

"Maybe just this one time we can go. But just this once!"

"Yay! Thank you, Aiken! Let's go, let's go!"

"Will go from the backyard. There is a hole we can get out from."

"Wow! You already know a way out! You are so clever!"

Thea's eyes shined with admiration. She was five years old this year. Just a couple of months younger than Aiken. They sneak out of their way from the backyard of their house. House of the Rextert Family was actually a large mansion. They sneak out of the hole at the wooden fences.

The child park they were headed to is quite close to their home. Just a street away. When they arrived Thea let out a scream of joy.

"It's amazing! There are so many children here! Is this heaven?!"

"You sound like lolicon, Thea."

"What's that? It sounds strange."

"Uncle said that it's a disgusting animal who eats children."

"Waaa! It's scary, scary! I don't wanna be eaten by lolicon! *cough*cough*"

Suddenly Thea started to cough. Aiken was extremely worried when he saw her coughing. He immediately runs to her. His childish face was filled with worry.

"Hey, are you okay? Are you sick? Should we go home?"

"Geez, I'm okay. You are worrying so much, even more than Mama."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! After all, you can't do without Thea. So Thea will always be with you!"

"Seems like I will have to take care of for the rest of my life."

Aiken smiled with a blush. Seeing him blushing Thea's cheeks turn crimson too. Both of them laughed and played together.

A single drop of tear fell on the ground. Many others followed closely behind. A child with red hair was on his knees, crying silently. Before him, stood a grave decorated with many flowers of various colors.

He clenched his tiny fists. His eyes were already swollen from crying. His red hair had lost its usual shine and his skin was paler than normal too.

"Aiken..."

He didn't turn and looked at the source of the voice. He knew the owner of the voice. He knew her for all of his life. His first love.

"Thea... can you... leave me alone..."

"No! You are already like this for a day. I can't leave you alone anymore."

"..."

Thea hugged him. Patted his head slowly. He cried on her shoulder.

"Let out all of your pain. Cry as hard as you want. I am here for you."

She looked at the gravestone. There lied the big brother of Aiken. Died because of the mysterious family disease. Curse of the Rextert Family.

When he lost his brother Aiken was seven years old. He learned the curse of his family that day and fell into despair.

Learning that no matter what you do you will end up dead because of an inexplicable disease, just like the rest of the family was a severe blow to his mentality. But it wasn't the worst yet.

"Move out of my way! I have to see Thea."

"You have to calm down, Aiken. You can't achieve anything with this rashness."

"But father, this Thea. I can't lose her! Not her too!"

It was already three years since his brother has died. In these years many of his cousins and uncles died. They said the curse was getting worse. And now this time Thea was fallen sick.

"Go in. But don't push her too much. She is... doesn't have much time left."

Aiken didn't respond but go inside the room. This was the room Thea was staying in. Her parents died last year because of the curse.

"Thea..."

"Aiken... is that you? I'm sorry... I can't see."

"I'm sorry. I can't save you."

Aiken was in a lot of pain. He didn't want to lose someone else but he was losing the one he loved most.

"Don't... be sad... Aiken. It's just... the fate."

"I hate this fate. I promise you, one day I will change this twisted fate and save our family!"

"I... just... want... you to... be... hap..p..y..."

"Thea? Thea, Thea, Thea, Thea!"

That day was the final blow. With the death of his first love, Aiken completely closed his heart to the outside. He dedicated himself to finding a way to save his family. To find a way to lift the curse. In the eyes of the other family members, this was nothing but a meaningless struggle. They tried it for decades and yet no one found anything useful.

Aiken desperately tried everything he could. He made a trip across the country with the slight hope of finding a cure. He went to Izolis, Maifield, Jumsall, and many more cities to research. He soon returned to where his family was. To Daxhoull. But right after returning, he was even more devastated.

"I'm sorry, son. Your mother... she is gone."

His mother died while he was out on his fruitless trip. By being unable to say even a goodbye or hug her one last time he despaired. He almost lost everything. His family members are already down to nine people. He used to remember dozens of family members in their big mansion. But now he can't remember their faces, he can't remember how much they struggled. He fell into the pit of despair.

"Your eyes look lifeless."

"...huh?"

When he was thirteen he met a girl. She had expressions he couldn't understand on her face. She was apparently at the same age as him. She had pale skin and silver hair. Her eyes were yellow but something about them brought chills to his spine.

"Why do you look so lifeless?"

"I... lost almost everything... And I have no way to protect the rest."

He didn't know how but somehow his thoughts spilled from his mouth. No matter how much he wanted to shut up he couldn't. He answered every question of the silver-haired girl.

"It's so sad. You have suffered so much. I hope you will find a way to protect what you have left. But don't worry, even if you can't, I will take care of them."

She whispered this to his ear. Her words made him scared beyond his imagination. Still, he couldn't talk back. It was like his body was frozen. While she was walking away from him she stopped in her tracks. She turned back and smiled at him.

"By the way, my name is Luna. Luna Edgar. Make sure you remember it, Aiken Rextert."

Unfortunately, this wasn't the last time he saw her. After several years she once again appeared before him. But this time her words were different. They didn't bring fear, they brought hope.

"There is something weird happening in the forest. They say it's something supernatural. Maybe, you should go and take look at it. Don't you think so too, Aiken?"

That night Aiken met with Oscar and Lydia. That night his life completely changed. After a few months, Oscar found a cure for his family when only five people remained.