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."
Next chapter
The story is kind of interesting. I liked it. I hope to read the next part.
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