My mom hurriedly brought me water when she saw me having a coughing fit. During the few minutes I spent trying to calm my mother down, my father was able to think of an answer to my question.
Still, he kept his silence until Mumma left the room. When I asked, "How do I wake Sis Hin up, Papa?"
He didn't have time to choose or prepare his words carefully but in a serious voice, he began answering my question.
"Little Tiff, the town that you spent all your life in is like a blade of grass and the world is as big as our backyard."
"Only as big as our backyard?" I interrupted.
"Um, well, it might be even smaller Tiff. A town is a huge place, right?" He replied while scratching his head.
I nodded my head awkwardly and gestured for him to continue.
After that, he continued to speak his mind, answering me in such a way that even in the face of ultimate despair, I would have something to cling to,
"There are many wondrous herbs, countless magical plants growing up in unknown places that could even revive the dead, much less work on someone in suspended sleep like that little girl.
If you can find them, then naturally, reviving that girl is as easy as getting a tan in the desert. Other than that, I've heard of some medical experts and herbalists being present in the capital that can treat life-threatening wounds and illnesses.
Of course, you need to pay an exorbitant sum to be able to invite them here and it's not even guaranteed that it'll work. Truthfully, I've never seen a medical condition like that.
If instead of an illness, that's a curse, then the priests of the church of Goddess Gaia might help, but being able to reach a place that has her church is another difficult matter.
From what I've heard from my clients, only the faraway Sexal Kingdom might have a church of Goddess Gaia.
Other than these three choices, which require you to go to places or find people, there's another one that'll almost guarantee that you'll be able to save her as long as she's breathing."
After finishing his words, he nodded his head lightly to compliment himself on his speech and spoke again with a bit of mysteriousness and encouragement in his voice.
I realized what he was hinting at and asked him 'curiously', "What's that, Papa?"
It was as if he was just waiting for me to ask that. He crossed his arms above his chest and dramatically said in a strange inspirational way,
"Naturally, it's to become strong enough to save her. What do you think? Once you are powerful, even if you're not strong as the King, you can ask him for help to save your friend."
Human imagination is a very powerful tool, much stronger than anything else we possess. That imagination was enough to give birth to something in me that I never thought I would be able to enjoy again… it was hope.
Even if I thought of everything that he said as mere words to comfort me, it was at least better to try my luck doing something than rot within that cell-like self-confinement room.
For the next half an hour, I kept asking him questions regarding that path to power that he was trying to guide me onto.
It's something that people generally don't push their girls for, especially in small towns like us, but for a desperate father, it was probably better to see a power-hungry or a battle-maniac daughter than to see her dead inside every day.
Therefore, all of my questions were answered to the best of his ability.
Gradually, as the night developed, my foundational understanding of that illusory and magical path of acquiring power grew.