Another week passed. Tahir had finished memorizing all the plants and information in the books he'd found under his mother's bed. Gin and Rin hadn't memorized everything, but they did finish the first book and were well into the second. They'd found the information on the plants and herbs interesting.
During breakfast that morning, Tahir went to the back door to receive another package from one of the orphans. He happened to look at the plants in the yard, and he noticed that a few of the plants used for staunching wounds and fever remedies were already present in the yard. When he thought about it, it made sense. His grandmother would probably grow the herbs needed the most in the back yard so she wouldn't need to constantly find a supply. As long as he lived in the house, he'd been so busy helping his mother and making sure there was something to eat as often as possible, he never bothered to notice the plants in the yard before. However, even if he paid attention, he wouldn't have recognized them until recently.
He handed a couple of vegetable buns to the kid at the door and went back inside. After adding the coins he received to his savings, Tahir went to go check on his mother. She was sitting up in her bed and looking at the wall as though she was focused on something in the far distance rather than the wall 5 feet in front of her. Tahir approached his mother and asked, "Is everything alright? Do you feel pain?"
Adria looked at her son whom she just noticed as he began speaking. "No. Nothing's wrong outside of the ordinary. I was just imagining how my life would have turned out if I'd followed mother into running the herb shop. But then I realized that I wouldn't have you, and I realized I probably wouldn't have had a truly happy moment in my life. Our life is tough. I'm hanging on to my life by a thread. But I'm proud of the man you've become."
Tahir immediately faced away from his mother to hide his embarrassed expression. "I'm not that great," he said.
Adria smiled again at her son's back saying, "But you're great enough as you are. And don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."
Tahir walked out of the room, but before he passed through the doorway, he looked his mother in the eye and said, "I won't."
He went back to studying his books in the back room. Once Tahir memorized the herbs in the 2 books he'd taken from the box, he looked through the various books he received from the orphans in the past and discovered a few more books on medicine. So, he decided to memorize that information as well. After studying a while longer, he went to the backyard again. He noticed a small shed in the corner that he'd never bothered to open before. He walked towards the shed and pried open the door. When he opened the shed, he noticed a set of farming tools. It was nothing extensive, just a hoe, a shovel, and a small hand spade. There was also a wooden table on the wall opposite the tools. He ran his hand along the top of the table to get rid of some of the dust. However, he'd caught a larger splinter of wood that punctured his index finger. He let out a frustrated sound and pulled the splinter out of his hand which was immediately followed by some blood. He wiped his hand on his shirt grazing the rusted iron ring with his blood in the process. He didn't notice at the time that the ring immediately began to lose its rusty appearance and patterns started to emerge from the surface of the ring.
The ring's transformation occurred subtly. So, Tahir didn't notice the change while he continued to clean the shed and verify if the 3 gardening tools he had were usable. Fortunately, he determined he could work with these tools for now. Why did he do this? Of course, it's so he can transform the backyard into a garden. The herbs there could earn money, and he would never miss out on such an easy opportunity to earn money.
Tahir first went through the yard and used the small hand shovel to carefully dig up all the valuable plants and move them to various pottery containers he'd gathered over the years from the orphans. The process was time consuming, but he oddly felt a small sense of accomplishment for every herb he was able to save. He'd even found some various seeds on the soil all over the yard from when the plants seeded in the past. He decided to collect those and see if they were salvageable when he determined what each seed would grow, if they were still viable at all. He continued this work until it was time to prepare the evening meal for his family and, of course, the parentless children in the neighborhood. As he was setting his current work aside to head towards the kitchen, he heard a voice. "Interesting. So, this is what's become of the Kali family, a young boy and his dying mother living in poverty. If the ancestor knew the current state of his progeny, he'd surely spit up blood."
"Who…?" Tahir immediately looked around the yard, but he couldn't find anyone nearby.
He heard a chuckle before the voice started to speak to him again. "Don't look around, I'm speaking to you in your mind."
Tahir continued to survey his surroundings despite being told otherwise. He was sure someone was playing a cruel joke on him to make him believe he lost his mind. He couldn't find any clues no matter how much he tried to notice any type of presence hiding itself. He gave up looking and turned around to go towards the house. However, after he walked through the door, he ended up somewhere other than his home.
Tahir immediately turned around to retreat through the open doorway. However, the doorway disappeared after he walked through it.
As he looked around in total confusion, his first thought was about his mother, hoping he could find a way back to her. She'd die of starvation without his help. However, before he could start to collect any of his other thoughts, a middle-aged man in a black robe approached him from the side. Tahir immediately jumped to the side to create space between him and this stranger.
When the middle-aged man saw Tahir jump away, he chuckled. He then introduced himself. "I mean you no harm young man. If I did, you'd already be on your way to your next life. However, it's your fortune to have unlocked that key hanging from your neck as I can guarantee that your life will improve immensely should you remain vigilant while seizing the great opportunity right in front of you."
Tahir noticed this person's voice was the same voice that was speaking into his mind in the herb garden. He continued to glance around for an opportunity to escape. Finding nothing, he turned back towards the middle-aged man in front of him and asked, "Where is this? Who are you? What do you want from me?" He then remembered his mother again and ran up to the middle-aged man and grabbed the front of his clothes. "Never mind all that. Send me back. My mother is alone, and she needs me. I don't know what you want, but you have to send me back. I can't leave her alone."
The man raised one eyebrow as he looked at Tahir's hands grabbing his clothes. Tahir almost let go when he noticed this, but he held on trying to keep up a brave front. The man smiled in appreciation at Tahir while speaking, "I know all about your mother young man. While I may not know everything going on in your life. I do know enough to know that all the answers you seek lie in here, even the cure to your mother's illness. You should follow me."
Tahir was confused. "What do you mean by the answers I seek? The only answer I seek right now is how to get back home."
The middle-aged man ignored Tahir and kept walking forward. With Tahir facing his back as he walked forward, he replied. "Again, you should follow me. I saw your efforts in the garden at your house. I see you have some familiarity with medicinal herbs. That will provide you a decent start. Nothing in comparison to all you'll need to learn in the future, but a start nonetheless." He stopped as he noticed Tahir had yet to move. Looking back, he sighed. "I promise once we finish our talk, I'll send you back home. Your mother is currently sleeping, and she is safe for the time being. As long as you have the key, I can monitor the area around you. When you transport here, I can still monitor the place where you entered the realms. It's a safety feature. After all, it would be quite bothersome if one were ambushed leaving this place. If she wakes up, I'll send you back." He then continued to walk forward.
With no other choice, Tahir began to follow the middle-aged man while taking the first detailed look at his surroundings.