"Ha, mate, your fortitude must be pretty lousy since you ended up becoming a lich," laughed Old Eddie as he slung his arm over my shoulder like we were buddies. The only response I gave was a smile. Looking back, although our belief and faith in our faction were broken, we both chose different paths.
"Then didn't you want revenge for what they did?" I asked, curious about why he did not take revenge.
"Revenge? What for, my cultivation has been crippled, and I am still chased by them. What revenge can I take? Even if I do, how much more bloodshed and hundreds of thousands of innocent lives am I supposed to take before I could even kill one corrupt official, much less a minister or advisor or even the king and emperor? It is much better to use these old bones and help others as karma for the many innocent lives that I have taken," replied Old Eddie as he wallows in sorrow for the mistakes he had made when he was younger.
"Helping those in need as retribution?" I whispered under my breath. Putting the hood over my head again, I looked at the children below singing and laughing about their day.
"Paradise on earth," these words came to me as I watched the little ones play around despite their poor living conditions, as if ignorant about their poor life and that what happiness to them was not about the materialistic but about the bonds of they had with each one another that they could ignore their worries and live a life of freedom.
Dong
Dong
Dong...
The bells on the clock tower rang ten times as Old Eddie got out of his sober state and climbed down the roof, getting the little ones ready for sleep.
Some obediently went to sleep while others pleaded with Old Eddie for a little more time to play around, especially when they had new friendly guests around to play with them. Unfortunately for them, Old Eddie refused and rambled about the importance of sleep. As one by one they fell asleep, I decided to jump down to where they were.
When I spotted Samantha helping Old Eddie with the more mischievous and rebellious ones to sleep, seeing the smile on her face as she softly sang a song for the little boys and girls to sleep made me think back to the caretakers that tirelessly worked and planned activities for the young ones making sure that they had a good time and at the same time not to neglect their studies.
Now that I think about it, I never really appreciated them as much as I did for the others because of the broad smile on their faces and their never complaining attitude towards the mess the children make. But now that I saw with my own eyes how tiring it is to get those energetic little monkeys to sleep made me realise how hard their jobs were and how underappreciated they were.
To make life easier for Old Eddie and Samantha, I decided to cast a sleeping spell on the children so that they would be able to sleep soundly and dream big dreams till the crack of dawn, when they will be energised and well-rested for tomorrow's adventure.
"Heh, I guess one of the perks of using dark magic is putting little these monkeys to sleep easily. Thanks, mate," Old Eddie said to me. At the same time, Samantha got up from her position and nervously stared at me. Sensing the tension in the air, Old Eddie looked at me, then turned and looked at Samantha before something clicked in his brain.
"Mate, since you are a lich and don't need sleep, could you cast a sleeping spell in me and help me watch the night?" said Old Eddie as he got in his sleeping position and was ready to sleep.
Casting the sleeping spell on him, I walked toward Samantha, slowly thinking of what to say. After all, she was just looking out for me, and I lashed out at her. But what should I say? Should I say thank you for worrying about me? No, how could I start my apology with a thank you? Maybe I apologise for lashing out at you? Would it be too formal and insincere?
As I thought and moved closer to her, I unknowingly was right in front of her, having only three steps from one another. There's no time. Let's just say I'm sorry to keep it short and straightforward.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry."
Both Samantha and I bowed and said at the same time. Looking back up, I saw that we were equally stunned at our response as we smiled at each other before chuckling at one another's response. Calming down from laughter, we got serious as I apologised first, "I am sorry for lashing out at you like that. I know that you were just protecting me from the horrors of the new world, but I understand what you mean now. But I am not strong enough to do what you ask of me". After saying those words, I took one look at Samantha before turning around and guarding this place as Old Eddie asked, taking his story as payment for it.
Hearing my response, Samantha's eyes fell lifeless as surging with the burning passion of fighting spirit and said, "Even if you give up on yourself, I will not give up on you, and instead, I will help convince you to be the man you once was, no to be a man that you are meant to be".
Something she said rattled deep with me as if I heard a faint heart beating inside me. Before turning around and smiling at her, "I hope you hold up your promise". Turning back, I muttered, "A lich that helps people. Now that is an odd combination".
Sitting at the entrance of the alley, I observed the quietness of the street with faint sounds of laughter, footsteps and stories being told. Smiling to myself, while the immortals fight, the mortals remain ignorant. What a fitting place indeed. For this night was a peaceful one with no drunkard wandering carelessly into the darkness.