"Hiraeth... Let's eat this!"
Hiraeth looked at the fruit in his hand. It was white, sparkling like rice, but that was not rice. Hiraeth didn't want to eat it as he realized that it was a Timira trigger. But Hiraeth was baffled, why couldn't he stop the hand feeding him? Even he swallowed it, he knew well that the fruit would have a bad impact, but why did he keep consuming it? And even more puzzling was why didn't his body follow his instructions?
"Hiraeth... how does it taste? Do you feel something?"
"No, mom. Nothing happens."
That was a lie! His chest was in pain as if it was gripped strongly after eating it. But, wait, who was answering? It was clear that he didn't give any answer, then who was that?
"Then you have to sleep. Get well soon."
"Alright, mom."
Again, that was not him who answered the question.
Hiraeth laid down, his body covered by a blanket until it reached his shoulders. He felt a kiss on his forehead, until finally he was left alone. After being alone, the small body was groaning in pain.
The tiny body curled up on the bed, screaming silently, because he didn't want to worry anyone. No, now he realized, everything that was taking place was the past of Hiraeth, he looked on and felt the pain that was felt by the real Hiraeth in his past.
"Aghhh..." he groaned in pain, even more hurt than when he absorbed all of Timira when he was on the battlefield.
"Hiraeth, Wake up!"
"Mom?"
Hiraeth opened his eyes, all he experienced was a dream, a dream about the past of the body he had been occupying. Hiraeth or known as Evan didn't expect that the past of the body he was occupying this time was very full of twists and turns. He knew it, there was no intention of the mother to hurt her son, she even tried to find a solution to her child's illness. While the child tried to endure all the pain because of pity for his mother.
"Are you okay? is there something wrong?" Irish asked, it was obvious that she was worried about her son's condition who was screaming out loud in his sleep.
"Yes, mom. I'm okay."
"You know, one thing that is the same with yourself before you lose your memories?" Irish asked "It's the same that you always say okay in all conditions, even when you're in pain." Irish answered by herself the question she asked.
"What do you mean, mom?" Hiraeth tried to hook his mother to tell what he just saw in his dream.
"Ever since you were a child, you've been sick so much, even when the winter came you would feel a great pain in your body, but you always said that you were okay. even..."
Irish suddenly came to a standstill, tears welling up as she recalled the events of two years ago. At that time, she was told by an old woman that she had to find the timira crystal. The crystal was formed from a dense collection of Timira. The old woman said that the stone could absorb the disease in her child's chest.
As a mother who had been struggling to find a cure for her child even for years she undertook, but nothing worked, it was definitely leading her to try the cure mentioned by the old woman. She didn't want to pass every single chance.
Miraculously the woman offered it to her, saying that she had one of the Timira crystals. Irish accepted it in pleasure, then gave it to her son. Irish didn't expect too much of the crystal stone, but she didn't expect that it would have a bad effect on her son.
After a few moments her son drank the Timira crystal, or rather moments after leaving him to sleep, she heard the sound of a muffled moan. She went to her son's room right away, and she was so shocked, she found her son writhing in pain.
Before she could touch him, the body of her son was no longer squirming. Hiraeth was faint. At least that was what she thought for a moment, but it was not as simple as she imagined. A week passed, her son didn't wake up, even after the seasons changed, her son remained sleeping.
Irish did everything to protect her sleeping son, until she saw a doctor, she was forced to sell her precious jewels as she had no money. The only thing left by her husband. But she had no regrets because her son was still breathing every day, it was because of the help of the doctor, even the doctor said that he couldn't ensure that Hiraeth would wake up.
Irish kept persisting, it was not a problem if her son was still asleep, she would strive to seek medical expenses. The doctor was concerned as he couldn't do much, Timira in the body of her son was too sturdy, while he just had a little healing power. It takes a high level of healing power to defeat timira that was in Hiraeth's body.
Then miraculously, after sleeping for two years or more specifically 28 months and fourteen days, Hiraeth woke up without giving any sign beforehand.
It was surely that Irish was pleased to see that her son woke up, but she also felt guilty for making her son in pain and slept for a long time.
"Mom?" Hiraeth awakened Irish from her reverie.
"Yes? I'm sorry, darling." She said in guilty of making her son wait too long. "Since a long time ago, you always make an effort to be strong. It's okay if you complain and cry once. I will hold you tight. Whether it's yesterday, today or tomorrow."
Hiraeth was stunned to hear the sincere remark of Irish. In his previous life, he never felt this kind of feeling. A warmth and being loved by family. The feeling he almost never felt, which it led him to lull in love and affection given by others, that ended up by betrayal in the battlefield.
"May I act like a child?"
"You always look like a child in my eyes, son." She said sincerely. "Now, back to sleep, there is still a lot of time." She continued while lying down Hiraeth's body.
"All right, mom. Good night."
Good night too."
Hiraeth noticed Irish who was out of the room, then without realizing it he rubbed the corner of his eye.