EPISODE 7
I woke up to the sound of crying.X
The wails pierced through the thick haze clouding my mind, dragging me toward consciousness. My limbs felt heavy, my body sluggish as if weighed down by something unseen. It took me a moment to gather myself, to shake off the remnants of a darkness that had clung to me like a second skin. Slowly, I opened my eyes..
The ceiling above me was unfamiliar
It wasn’t the wooden beams of my room. It wasn’t the vast night sky I had last seen before my life had been ripped away from me. The patterns of woven straw and fabric above me were strange, different, yet..more comforting in a way I couldn’t explain.
The scent in the air was foreign, thick with earth, wood, and something else. Something primal, something that smelled close to a domesticated animal field. But there was no aggression in it. Still, my body remained tense, alert, ready for any potential danger.
The crying grew louder
I turned my head just in time to see the entrance flap of the tent lift. An elderly woman stepped inside, cradling a small, swaddled child in her arms. Her hair was white as snow, her face lined with deep wrinkles that spoke of age and wisdom. Despite her tired expression, there was a warmth in her gaze as she gently bounced the child, whispering soft comforts.
“Are you hungry? All right, all right, let’s see your mother okay? She said amiably.
But the child continued to cry, his tiny fists waving in the air as though searching for something. She could only sigh helplessly, cooing the child as she walks closer to my direction. Then, as if sensing my awareness, the woman looked up. A gentle smile spread across her lips.!
“Ah, you’re awake,” she said kindly. “Perfect timing, here, hold him.”
Without hesitation, she stepped forward and placed the child in my arms
I stiffened, caught off guard. My body reacted instinctively, cradling the small bundle even before I fully comprehended. what was happening. The child’s cries faltered for a brief moment, hiccups breaking the sound. His warmth seeped into my skin, unfamiliar yet oddly soothing
Strong lungs, this one. A true
The old woman chuckled, shaking her head. This one has been crying non–stop. Strong lungs, the making.”
e warrior in
I barely registered her words. My thoughts were in chaos. Where was I? Who was this woman? And why…? Why did my body feel so strange??
I was supposed to be dead.”
I could still remember it so vividly. The searing pain as sharp fangs tore into my flesh, my body crushed beneath the weight of snarling wolves. The blood. The agony. The helplessness as my consciousness faded. I had died. I was certain of
And yet, here I was, alive. Holding a crying child.
I must have looked utterly lost because the old woman let out another amused chuckle.
“Why are you laughing?” I asked, my voice hoarse and unused, as if I hadn’t spoken in a long time.
She nodded toward the child in my arms. “Because he stopped crying the moment you held him. He seemed to have recognized his guardian immediately.”
My heart skipped a beat.
I lowered my gaze, truly looking at the child for the first time. His tiny face was flushed, his little fists curled against the fabric wrapped around him. But his breathing had calmed, his small chest rising and falling rhythmically.
A strange sense of relief radiated from him, as if he had found what he had been searching for.
I swallowed hard. “What do you mean?
The old woman–smiled softly. “You should recognize him. He is your son.”
The world tilted.
My son.
No. That couldn’t be. My baby had been stolen from me before I had the chance to hold him. I had seen his small, fragile body only for seconds before that small helpless body was devoured by the wild wolves. He was only able to cry a bit, not even feeling any warmth, before he eventually stopped.
And yet… as I stared at the child in my arms, something inside me trembled.!!
This was that child, the one I cried my heart out for. The one I had thought was lost forever. The one I had died with in grief.
271%
Tears blurred my vision. My hands shook as I cradled him closer, my fingers brushing against his soft skin. A broken sob escaped my lips as I clung to him, feeling the weight of him in my arms, the weight of something I had believed was lost forever:
you
The old woman placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, my child. Just cry it all out. I’m here to watch over
I sniffled, my mind still reeling. I was not able to hide anything in my heart. I wouldn’t have asked any questions that could reveal the strangeness in me, yet, there was not much to say. Anyways, the old woman looks kind. Just by hearing her voice was enough to make me lower my guard S
“How… how is this possible?” I asked, after a long time of thinking. “How am I here?”
The woman’s expression softened, eyes twinkling with an emotion I couldn’t quite place. “I found you in the thickets near our encampment. Barely alive.
you.”
She then shook her head as if disagreeing with her own words. “It’s not me, it’s the Moon Goddess who guided me to
My breath hitched. “What do you mean?”
“My child, your fate was changed.” She smiled knowingly. “You have been reborn.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Reborn
The word echoed in my mind, wrapping around me like an unseen force. It didn’t make sense. It shouldn’t make sense. And yet… deep in my heart, something whispered that it was true
I tightened my hold on the child, pressing a trembling kiss to his forehead. His warmth anchored me, grounding me in this impossible reality. My mind whirled with questions, but my heart… My heart clung to the only thing that mattered
He was here. My baby Alive.
