"Well, sister, what's your name. "
Although uncomfortable, he still looked into her eyes and asked her.
" Name? "
The little girl reiterated with a confused expression on her face.
' So adorable '
Looking at her plump cheeks, Ray was barely capable of stopping his desire to pull them.
"You know, name, this is what your family calls you."
Even after having explained it, Ray realized that she still seemed confused.
" My name is Ray, what is your "
Adding gestures to his speech, he tried to explain it one more time, hoping that she would understand.
" My name "
Finally, after having so much trouble explaining to her, Ray was pleased to know that she finally understood.
" Yes, that's right, your name that's what I am asking. "
" I don't remember "
" What..! "
" How do you forget your name "
Ray had a blurred expression on his face, he went through all this trouble to explain her just to know that she didn't even remember her name and frankly, he couldn't even able to blame her for it.
"Huh... all right, so miss what you're doing here. "
"You know it's not safe to sneak in here if you get caught you might be facing severe punishment"
Hearing Ray say this the little girl was even more confused then before.
" Punishment..? "
Looking at her confused expression alone, Ray could see that she did not understand anything.
" Ugh.. really what was I thinking, talking about punishment to somebody who hardly remembers her name "
He decided to try to get as much information as possible out of her.
"So miss, you remember where you live. "
" Live..? "
As always, the little girl didn't understand a shit about what Ray said
" House.... Home a place where you spend your time with your family "
Ray was back with his strangely funny but effective gestures.
" Do you know where your home is "
Realising what Ray was asking about she answered.
" Humm...that way "
She said pointing a certain way.
' Hold on, doesn't that lead way to the forest. '
Looking in the direction she was pointing towards, Ray I got goosebumps.
He turned around and looked at her feet all of a sudden.
' ok , they are alright "
Seeing that her feet were straight, he sighed at relief.
' Wait something is not right '
But he suddenly realized that even though they were straight, they looked pale and nearly transparent.
' Mama was right, I shouldn't roam by the forest. '
"okay miss have a great day, I'll take my leave"
Ray rose while making a few steps, he shook his hand as a sign of goodwill.
' run for your life Ray '
" Aaaaaaaaaa..... Ghoooooooooost.... "
"Mamma... Sister Rina... help there is a ghost..... "
Ray started chasing in the direction of the lake. He continued to run for a while, but even then he was not able to reach the lake.
" Ahuh... Huh... I... I thought the lake was quite near but why does it seems so far away "
He got really tired and couldn't run any more.
So he quickly ducked behind a tree
" Ahuh.. Aahuh... "
He turned around to see if the girl was still on his tail.
" Huh.. it's good that she disappeared "
* Pull * * Pull *
All of a sudden, Ray felt someone pull his shirt.
"Mister, why did you run off all of a sudden."
' Wait, Don't tell me '
Ray was hesitant to look back, he knew what was coming.
" Lady, you see, the things is, that... "
Turning around Ray while quickly trying to distance himself from her.
Ray wanted to move away from her, but to his surprise, the girl held onto his hand and he was unable to free himself.
"Mister, will you play with me"
" I remember my sister once told me that playing was fun. "
" But since I've never had any friends, I'm not sure how it's like to play. "
" Mister can you be my friend "
" please "
Watching her eyes filled with tears of solitude and her face imploring Ray's love for pity.
Ray was hesitating his mind was telling him to run for his life but his heart was telling him not to break that girl's heart.
" I... "
' Should I really be friends with her '
' After all, she's just a spirit '
' Yes, there's nothing wrong with making friends with a spirit '
(What are you talking about, dummy for what you know, she might kill you. )
' But she looks sad '
( What do you know, and what if she was acting from the start to make you let your guard down. )
(You have no idea what she actually looks like, what if this apperance is just a fake she created )
(For all you know, she can be an ugly ghost hunting for young kids )
(And have you ever considered how sad your mother will be if something happens to you)
His mind was so busy that he didn't realize it was somebody else speaking in his mind.
' I, that's right I shouldn't trust a spirit '
" Sorry sister, you see I have some work to do and if I do not return, my mother will kill me. "
" How about we play some other time "
Making a random excuse, he was on the verge of turning around and leaving when he heard her say.
" liar "
* weep..! * * weep..! *
" You guys are all liars. "
" Each and every one of you "
Tears were streaming through her eyes.
Her words struck him so hard, almost like somebody stabbed his heart with a knife.
* weep..!* * weep..! *
" you are going to leaving me just like them "
But more than anything, her words stirred memories that were sealed deep in his mind.
' mama ... don't leave me .... please.... '
Looking at flashes of memories, Ray was confused. He couldn't figure out what these memories were, but honestly, right now, he wasn't really worried about them.
He stepped up quickly and firmly hugged the little girl.
" leave me alone "
" I get it you don't like me "
"after all, who would want something as ugly as me"
The girl tried to push him away, but unlike before her hands had no strength in them.
"That's not true, you're not ugly."
"You're the most adorable girl I've seen so far"
Saying that he held her even more firmly and started caressing her hairs
" Liar, human, you don't different from them. "
" You're saying this because you think I'm going to harm you. "
Ray was able to see that the girl had suffered much before, to the point that she developed trust issues.
" No, I am not lying "
" Everything about you is beautiful, your hair, your face, the ribbons you wear, your dress, but the most beautiful ones are your eyes. "
" Although they are somewhat intimidating at first, but they are really very beautiful. "
"They are so pure and brilliant that even the purest rubies could not compare to them. "
" Leave me alone human "
She tried to push him again and this time more forcefully, but Ray clung to her and didn't give up.
" No, I won't "
" I will never leave you "
"I don't trust you, you're exactly like her."
He loosened his firm grip and soon enough she came out of his hold.
Looking at her tear stained face, there was only one thing that Ray could think of to comfort her.
He went forward and gently holding her face kissed her on the lips.
* smooch..! *
" Would you trust me now "
Instead of hearing her reply, Ray suddenly felt extremely weak as if the entire blood in his body was drained and even his mana core become empty.
(Hehe...hehehe.... Kid You're pretty dumb, you know that. )
* * *
"I must say it was a good idea to use wind magic to cover up the tracks."
" But too bad you don't know that the sloppy use of magic also leaves some elemental traces behind "
"Master my beloved master, wait for me to find you."
Following the tracks of wind magic, Valerina finally reached a tree.
" He seems to have taken a break here. "
She said she was looking at some traces by a tree.
"Looks like he's headed for the lake."
"I should be close"
She again started following behind the tracks of wind magic.
After following the tracks for a couple hundred yards, she noticed something unusual.
" What the track "
All of a sudden, she couldn't find traces of the wind element.
" He couldn't have just learned hiding elemental traces all of a sudden"
" No, there is no way he could do that "
"The most probable one was the rain, but since it hasn't started raining, it was very unlikely "
She started analysing each and every reason that could have caused the disappearance of tracks.
All of a sudden a thick mist began to appear in the vicinity and before she could realize she was trapped in a cage of haze.
Just by looking at the surrounding her eyes were trembling with fear.
" Why, why is the mist appearing outside the forest "
"No, I must notify the mistress as quickly as possible"
Raising her hand, she attempted to activate the ring present at her finger.
" No, why is it not working? "
" please..... please work, I don't have time "
Realising that the ring was not working her face become even more grim. She then removed the ring from her finger and immediately smashed it to bits.
In addition to being a communication device, the ring also kept a record of its possessor's health and whether the person was alive or not.
Shattering the ring would warn her mother that something bad had happened to her.
"Goddess please keep my master safe."
* * *
* Pull..! * * Pull..! *
' Wait, don't tell me '
" Mister would you lend me some power stones "
" Pretty please "