A sudden knock interrupted my attempt to sleep. Recognizing the pattern of the knock, I knew who was on the other side of the door. Despite my reluctance, the knock persisted, growing louder with each passing moment. I buried my head under the pillow, hoping to block out the sound and drift off to sleep. However, my efforts were in vain as the knock continued to reverberate through the room.
With a sigh of resignation, I pushed myself up from the bed and made my way to the door. As my hand reached for the handle, memories flooded my mind, taking me back to a time when I had been distant and indifferent towards my younger sister. She was only two years old when I began isolating myself from the world. Despite my protests, she would constantly barge into my room, blissfully unaware of the emotional turmoil I was going through.
I vividly recalled her tilting her head in confusion when I asked her to leave my room. "Why should I go away? I like spending time with my big bwothew," she had innocently retorted. Her demeanor and words made it evident that she couldn't fathom why I was always cooped up in my room.
At that time, I found myself unsure of how to handle the situation. Ultimately, swayed by my sister's relentless persistence, I came to the realization that there was nothing wrong with letting her into my room. After all, she was only a toddler. Unlike the gazes of others, her innocent gaze was free of any judgment. In fact, her eyes were filled with pure joy, which didn't intimidate me at all.
It had been a couple of years since then, and my little sister had turned four. I couldn't help but ponder if, as she grew older, she would continue to look at me with the same kind, innocent eyes. Would she continue to call me her big brother, even though I had been nothing but a dismal excuse for one? Could she still view me as her elder sibling?
But then again, dwelling on hypothetical situations was futile. The future was uncertain, and there was no point in worrying about it. With a shake of my head, I pushed aside those musings and turned the doorknob, causing the door to emit a creaking sound as I opened it.
The moment I fully opened the door, a girl appeared before me. She had silver hair styled in twin tails and adorned with ribbons, and her eyes were a bright shade of scarlet. She possessed pointed ears like my mother, but they were not as sharp, likely due to her being a half-blood or some other reason.
As we were both half-human and half-elf, her appearance was quite reminiscent of elves, with her pointed ears being a defining characteristic. As far as I knew, this feature was unique to elves. However, the same couldn't be said for me. Despite being a half-breed, I didn't possess any physical traits of an elf. Although I had a considerably large mana pool, my appearance was akin to that of a regular human.
"Brother!"
"Ughh!!!"
Lost in my thoughts as I gazed at her pointed ears, the girl suddenly charged towards me like a bull, catching me off guard and almost causing me to vomit up the food I had just eaten. It had become her recent hobby to launch herself at me headfirst like a bull as soon as she caught a glimpse of me. I was worried that one day she might accidentally injure me or worse, kill me if she kept it up.
"Hee-hee!" the mischievous little devil giggled as she settled herself on top of my stomach. "I got you!"
"Tessia..." I managed to say, struggling to catch my breath. "Please, don't do that. You might end up hurting yourself if you keep doing it."
"But I love doing it!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining so brightly that I could practically feel their intensity.
Feeling the weight of the girl on my stomach, I let out a sigh and requested, "Can you please get off of me? You're quite heavy." I tried to shift her weight off my stomach, but she was surprisingly strong for a little girl.
"Boo! I'm not heavyyyy!" she protested, puffing up her cheeks in a comical manner that made me want to poke them. "It's just because you're not strong enough to make me get off, that's all." she continued, sticking her tongue out at me. She was surprisingly good at rubbing salt in the wound.
"Well then, I might have to unleash the tickle monster and tickle you to death!" I warned playfully, edging my hands closer to her ticklish spots like her armpits and stomach. Tessia's eyes widened in alarm, and she quickly jumped off my stomach, shrieking, "Kyaaah! The tickle monster is coming to get me! Help!"
Her presence really had a way of filling the dull and dark room with light. As she got off, I stood up, nursing the pain in my side, and let out a sigh. It seemed like she really got me good this time.
I glanced at her, and her wide smile made me unable to resist her. It was evident that she was pleased that I would play along with her. Looking at her expression, I couldn't help but smile too.
"Get ready, here I come!" I declared, and darted towards her, extending my hands to tickle her.
She let out another scream and attempted to flee, but her efforts were in vain as I quickly caught up to her. With a firm grip on her sides, I tickled her with all my might, causing her to squirm and wriggle in my arms.
As I tickled her sides, she let out a weird, high-pitched laugh that sounded almost like a mix of giggling and snorting. But despite her strange laugh, I continued tickling her, determined to get the best of her.
"Fu fu fu fu fu Ge he he he he he! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!"
Her laughter was infectious, and I couldn't help but feel giddy myself as I continued tickling her sides. However, after a few more seconds, she finally begged me to stop.
"S-Stop! P-Please, I give up! I can't take it anymore! Ha ha ha!" she gasped for breath.
"I can't understand what you're saying, silly! The tickle monster doesn't speak words, remember? So how can you stop the tickle monster from tickling you?" I teased as I continued tickling her sides.
"Thennn, I'll give the tickle monster anything he want! So pwease stop, I'm gonna pee my pants!" she giggled between her uncontrollable laughter.
"But all I wanted was to tickle you!" I said, still tickling her sides as she wriggled and giggled uncontrollably.
"I'm already tickled to death!" she whined, trying to catch her breath between giggles.
I continued tickling her, despite her plea to stop. Her laughter was so contagious that I couldn't help but laugh too. After a few more seconds, I finally let her go, and she collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
"Phew...thank you for sparing me, tickle monster," she said between breaths. "I was this close to peeing my pants..." she showed how close it was by making a small gap with her index finger and thumb.
"Oh, I'm so glad you didn't pee yourself then," I said, relieved. I didn't want her to make a mess in my room, after all. "Hey, by the way, why did you come here? You didn't just come here to get tickled, did you?"
"Oh, right!" she exclaimed as she sat up, then clapped her hands together. "Papa said he can't come home tonight because there are monsters outside the village, so he has to keep watch all night. Mama also said she'll be late because she has work to do. I can't sleep without them both here, so I begged Mama to let me sleep with you. She said it was okay, but only if you said yes..." she whispered the last part, but I still heard her.
"That's why I brought a book for you to read me bedtime stories!" she said, proudly holding up a book with a bright red cover. It didn't have a title or anything on it.
I was going to say yes right away, but then I suddenly felt a shiver down my spine. It was a strange feeling that I couldn't quite describe, like a sense that something was about to happen.
Noticing my silence, my little sister asked, "Is it not okay?"
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and looked at her.
"Well, I don't mind if you sleep here," I said, patting her head. "But just don't kick me while you sleep, okay?"
"I won't kick you, big brother," she promised, looking up at me with her big, bright scarlet eyes. "I'll be a good girl and sleep quietly."
I couldn't resist her cute expression and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Okay then, it's settled. Let's get ready for bed."
As we prepared for bed, I couldn't shake off the ominous feeling that something was amiss. But my sister seemed completely oblivious to it and was fully immersed in the story I was reading to her. Surprisingly, it was a really good story. It was about a king who wished for everything he touched to turn into gold, and his wish came true. But as the story progressed, he began to regret his wish as he realized the consequences of it. The thing he thought was a blessing turned out to be a curse in disguise.
As I finished the story, I closed the book, which had around eighty to a hundred pages. I looked over at my sister and saw that she had already dozed off, her small hand still clutching onto my pajama. It was a peaceful sight, and I couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked.
I blew out the candle lights and lay down beside her. As we lay there in the darkness, I couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that something was going to happen. But my sister's warm and steady breathing beside me began to calm me down, and I started to feel more at ease.
Before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep, my sister's warm body pressed against mine. Despite the unease I had felt earlier, I now felt at peace, knowing that she was safe and sound beside me.
Little did I know, however, that my sister and I were about to experience something that would forever leave a scar on our hearts.