Morning came. Mom slept in her bedroom with a doctor by her side. I call him a doctor, but the only medicine in this world was herbal, so nothing like modern medicine existed here. He still knew much more than I did.
Mom regained consciousness. While she looked pale and tired, she could at least talk.
“Yes, all is well,” the doctor grunted. “It’s quite a wound, but fortunately the claws didn’t reach her bones or internal organs. And it’s been stitched up perfectly. I suppose someone here is well-versed in medicine.”
I decided to let the comment slip by. The only ones present at the scene yesterday were me, Marie, Mom, Rose, and Rhia. Mom had been passed out, and Rose and Rhia weren’t here anymore. Only Marie and I knew what happened. When no one chimed in, the doctor continued.
“I have to say, I am curious who here knew how to stitch a wound. It’s not uncommon within the world of medicine, but there aren’t many doctors with the knowledge because any books on the subject are expensive. Ah, well, it’s for the best. Let her rest and give her plenty of food. I’ll be off now.”
“Thank you,” Dad said, bowing his head to the elderly doctor. Marie and I imitated the bow. After seeing him off downstairs, we came back up to the bedroom.
Mom laid in bed. She looked exhausted, but she smiled softly. I’m sure it was difficult for her to even stay awake.
Next to her, Marie stared down at her feet sadly. She lifted her head and turned to Mom.
“Um…Mom!” She took a breath. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault you…it’s my fault—”
She was on the verge of tears. I understood how she felt. Mom had suffered the injury while protecting her. Of course, it wasn’t really Marie’s fault in the slightest. Marie still felt guilty, though, because that’s the kind of person she was.
Mom, still with a kind smile, reached out to stroke Marie’s hair. “It’s okay, Marie. It’s not your fault. Thanks to you standing up and fighting for us, we were able to buy a little time. So, don’t blame yourself, Marie. You didn’t do anything wrong. You were courageous and tried to protect us. You should be proud of that.”
Her gentle words brought tears to my eyes. I saw Marie quickly wipe her own tears away, then she bit her lip and straightened her face. I could tell that she didn’t want to show any more weakness. Mom was already injured and suffering, and Marie wasn’t going to add any more worry. Though young, she always cared about others’ feelings.
Sensing that the conversation had ended, Dad broke the silence.
“Why don’t you rest now, Emma? We’ll be here watching over you.”
“I’m sorry…for causing you such trouble,” Mom said.
“It’s no trouble at all. I’m just glad you and the kids are safe. So glad.”
“You’re right. Though, I don’t remember much. Is everyone safe now?”
“Don’t worry. There are no goblins left around here.”
“Ah, thank goodness…” Mom trailed off. “I’m sorry…sleepy…”
Her eyes shut and her breathing grew soft. Dad pulled the blanket up over her. With that, we left her bedroom and went down to the first floor living room.
“I want to ask you two something,” Dad said. “Sit down.”
Here we go. I wasn’t surprised. I knew this was coming. I still needed to brace myself.
The nightmare was all over when Dad and the others returned. They had found the goblin den in the nearby forest and killed two goblins there. Then they noticed that the number of tracks on the ground were too numerous to have come from only two goblins. They immediately made way for the village where they found a few injured villagers, but no dead. After that, they searched the surrounding area, tracking goblin footprints while stopping to repair damaged houses. They made their way back here and found mom injured. She became the priority and a doctor was summoned. It was only now that Dad found a chance to talk to us.
I’m sure he had plenty of questions. I’d have no shortage of them if I were him.
We sat around the coffee table. Dad was across from Marie and me. “Tell me, what happened?” he said.
I wasn’t sure what to say. There were other witnesses, so I couldn’t lie. All I could do was speak the truth as unbelievable as it was.
I recounted the goblin attack. I relayed how Marie tried to stop it, and how Mom covered for her. I described how I defeated the goblin using the mana I’d been researching. Lastly, I explained how I handled the clean-up and saving Mom.
Dad closed his eyes. He was absorbing everything I said. When I finished, a pristine silence took hold.
He slowly opened his eyes. “You really expect me to believe all that?”
“I’m not lying,” I said. “It’s all true. I explained everything…everything I can.”
It was the best I could do. I knew it sounded crazy, but it was the truth. I had worried all night about what to say, but in the end, I concluded that there was no point in trying to fool him. With so many witnesses, this was my only option. I knew all of this would happen from the moment I did it. I saved Mom and Marie, so it had been worth it.
The silence deepened. Dad wrinkled his brow and then sighed.
“The villagers told me the same thing. It matches what you told me just now, Shion. I also heard about how you directed everyone to take care of Mom. But what I don’t understand…is how you were able to do these things. How do you have knowledge of medicine?”
Ah, I thought, you see Dad, in my former life, I lived to the age of thirty in a country called Japan. It’s a developed country with technology and ample knowledge I could pick up just in my daily life.
Yeah, right. That angle would only trouble Dad further. The best I could do was a vague response.
“I don’t know, Dad. I just knew what to do.”
Dad sighed again and held his head in both hands. Marie and I didn’t dare look away.
“I remember Marie telling us that she could see orbs of light floating off the pond,” he said. “You touched them when you made them come off the bucket. I didn’t understand what you were getting at then, but you’re telling me that all that has to do with this ‘mana’ thing?”
“Yes, but how did you realize that?”
“You’d never said anything strange before then, or behaved irrationally in any way,” Dad said. “It was almost to the point of being un-childlike. So, I’ve been asking myself: why was there just this one strange thing you were doing and were saying that didn’t make sense? That’s how. I’ve long been questioning that.”
“So, you believe me?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I want to believe you. You’re my son. Everything happened as you explained it to me. It’s a lot to swallow, though. As for how you saved Mom, let’s leave that aside for now. The bigger issue is how you defeated the goblin. A seven-year-old boy slayed a monster that usually takes a full team of adults to narrowly take down. I also want to know about your research on this ‘mana’ thing. You always seemed mature for your age, but I could’ve never guessed it was all leading to something like this.”
I saw the confusion on Dad’s face. It must’ve been difficult to believe I’d really done all these things. Especially about using mana, a power he couldn’t begin to understand. One impossible thing after another had happened, and he was left at a total loss.