Gharel, the legend of a warrior - Chapter 1 - Part 1: "Gharel Tolakar goes into action"

Under the moonlight, Gharel holds his breath, while his eyes reflect despair due to what he is witnessing. In front of him, there is a gigantic humanoid-shaped monster about 4, no, 6 meters tall, staring at him with its intimidating crimson eyes.

As the seconds pass, the anguish in Gharel increases more and more, as he never imagined that monsters existed, unless it was some horror story, but that is not the case.

The situation is too complicated for Gharel, and the only thing he can do is to stay still. And even if he wanted to move, he knows very well that he would die at the slightest movement he made, since the hands, no, that's not an adequate description, rather they are huge very sharp claws that would probably cut all the trees around the place if they were shaken by the monster, who, in addition, has large pointed bones that protrude in much of his body, especially in the shoulders. In any case, Gharel knew there was no escape from the first moment he saw it.

However, and although he is in an adverse situation, Gharel knows very well that he cannot die yet, as he still has many things to do. So he tries to calm down and take a deep breath, to then try to find a solution.

But, from one moment to the next, that monster, which is holding a corpse with its right claw, looks up at the starry sky, which puzzles Gharel. And before he can draw any conclusion, the unexpected happens.

"So you are able to see me, brat," says the monster while staring at him.

Now, Gharel has to make the most important decision of his life. The one that will change everything.

35 hours before

Dashing through several trees and bushes at a great speed, Gharel was heading towards the lowest part of a sloping terrain. As he kept running, his black hair swayed from place to place, and the wind that impacted his face moved his bangs to the side, making his blue eyes and fair complexion visible. He was going fast, as five hours ago dawn started and he knew he was running late to be able to get to "a certain place" on time.

Once Gharel finished going through all the trees and bushes, he reached an avenue, where he continued running, but in the direction to his left. And after passing four houses on his right, he came to another avenue that crossed the previous one, so he continued his run to the right. On his way, he passed a park and several houses, and after passing ten more houses, he finally arrived at his destination.

In front of Gharel, who was exhausted due to the running he had done, was a two-story house, although instead of saying "house", it is better to call it Courier Mollepata, which is the only courier service establishment in town.

Once Gharel caught his breath, he entered the establishment and with a smile said, "Good morning, Mrs. Yuria."

Inside the establishment was a lady with a dark complexion and long dark hair, which reached a little below her shoulders, and she was standing behind a piece of reception furniture. She was the owner of Courier Mollepata, which bears the same name as the town, and the day before she had told Gharel to pick up as early as possible a document that was going to arrive from the city of Mittel, capital of Mittelwelt, the country where they live. For that reason, when she saw that Gharel was late, she was a bit worried and said: "Good morning, Gharel. You're a little late today. What happened?"

"Ah, well, it's just that..." he averted his gaze "I overslept..." He blushed slightly.

At that moment, Yuria showed a small smile and said, "I see." Then she asked. "Did your grandfather make you train late again?"

"The same as usual. But it's okay, since I feel like I'm getting stronger every day!" he said with a smile.

"So it seems." She changed her gaze to a heartwarming expression. "But you know, Gharel, you're still too young, so try not to overdo it, okay?" She smiled tenderly.

Gharel just remained silent and listened to her, as he could feel warmth in her words.

Then Yuria turned around and, as she walked towards a shelf to look for the document she was going to give to Gharel, she said, "Enjoy everything you can and don't regret anything." When she reached toward the shelf, she knelt down and began looking in the bottom drawer for some manila envelopes. "You never know what might happen tomorrow. Besides, you're one of the few young people still left in town." As she knelt, she turned her eyes to Gharel and flashed him a heartwarming smile. "So, please stay a little longer with us, okay?"

When he heard that, Gharel blushed slightly and fell silent once again.

To Yuria, Gharel was like a second son, since, after all, she has known him since he was eight years old. She met him one afternoon when he was playing with her son in a park where many children used to gather. And from then on, Gharel began to visit her frequently so that he could play with her son. That's how Yuria took a liking to him, and that's why she gave him that advice. And when she said "stay longer", it was because there was currently a great war going on in the world that began 17 years ago, and due to the wear and tear of the war, many young people who had just turned 16 years old began to enlist in the army. Of course, military service was not mandatory, but even so, the vast majority of the town's youth felt the need to support their nation. And for some reason, Yuria felt that Gharel also wanted to do the same.

"Here it is!" said Yuria as she pulled a manila envelope off the shelf.

Then Yuria walked over to Gharel and handed him the manila envelope while, with a smile, she said, "Here you go. Be careful when carrying it."

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Yuria," he said with a smile. "I will come to visit you another day. Take care."

Just as Gharel was about to leave, Yuria said, "Wait, Gharel. I still have something important to tell you.

"Huh?"

"I recently received a letter from Yaku. He told me he's coming tomorrow."

At that instant, Gharel looked quite surprised, but it was because of how excited he was. His heart seemed like a party, as it was pounding knowing that Yaku, Yuria's son whom he considers as a brother, was coming back after three years. In all that time, Gharel was always worried about him, since, like many young men who turned 16, he had also joined the army.

"Are you serious!" he exclaimed with joy.

"Yes," she said with a smile, "that's why I asked you to come early today because I'm going to close the establishment in a moment to go about organizing a proper welcome for Yaku from now on."

"Great! I'm really looking forward to seeing him. I haven't heard from him in three years and I have so many questions to ask him," he said excitedly.

"I can imagine. That's why I want to invite you and your grandfather to a family lunch tomorrow. After all, you're part of my family, and you're like a younger brother to Yaku."

"Thank you! And yes, I'll definitely be here tomorrow! Although I don't know if my grandpa will be able to come, but I'll give it a try."

"I understand. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. Be careful, Gharel."

"I will. Thanks for everything, Mrs. Yuria. Take care!" He said goodbye with a smile.

Once Gharel left the establishment, he started walking slowly, when he suddenly brought up a necklace he was wearing, as on it was a charm that had a picture showing four children, including him. At that moment, he began to feel nostalgic as he looked at the photo, and thought, "It's been a long time since we last met. I hope everyone is well."

Suddenly, Gharel heard a voice coming from behind him.

"Good morning, Gharel."

"Huh?" He looked back as he turned around.

"Hello." He raised his right hand in greeting.

The person standing in front of Gharel was a man with a light complexion, brown eyes and short brown hair. He also wore a doctor's jacket and carried a briefcase in his left hand.

Upon seeing him, Gharel was a little embarrassed and said, "Ah, good morning, Dr. Sihui. Sorry for not recognizing you."

"No worries. But you seem to be a little distracted. Did something happen?" he asked worriedly.

"Ah, no, it's nothing bad," he said as he waved both hands in an attempt to give an explanation. "What happened is that a moment ago I was at Courier Mollepata to pick up a document that came to my grandfather. And before I left, Mrs. Yuria told me that Yaku will arrive tomorrow. That's why I was a bit pensive, as I was remembering the last time I saw him."

"Wow, that's really good news!" he said with a smile. "I'm glad to hear that Yaku will be back safe and sound."

"Yes, I'm counting the hours to see him!"

Seeing Gharel excited, Dr. Sihui felt more relieved and then said, "Well, then it looks like everything is fine."

"Yes, don't worry. Everything is fine," he said with a smile. "Rather, I apologize for worrying you."

"Don't worry, you don't have to," he replied kindly. "Good, then I'll see you later at the hospital. Go home with care." He said goodbye with a smile.

"Thank you, Dr. Sihui."

Once Dr. Sihui retired, Gharel looked up at the sky and with a smile said, "Well, it looks like today will be a good day."

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