"Come on, you can do it!"
"Just a little more!"
A little girl with shell-pink hair and eyes could be seen walking unsteadily towards a little boy.
The little boy's blood-red eyes shone with pride and worry as he continuously cheered for the little girl.
Beside him was a woman in her 50s with grayish hair, wearing a soft smile on her face.
Tap…. Tap….
"Two more steps! You can do it Dahlia!"
The little boy, Regis, prevented himself from helping her prematurely.
He knew that such an action would only render her efforts from the past few days futile.
Tap…
'Just a little more… All I need is to take one more step…'
Dahlia's eyes flashed with determination.
She could feel her knees close to buckling as her legs trembled.
Nevertheless, she took that one step.
Tap…
"Ah!"
Dahlia let out a yelp as her legs gave out.
However, she soon found herself in someone's arms.
"You did it! I'm so proud of you." Regis's voice gently sounded in the room.
Aunt Amabel nodded, also with a smile on her face. "Being able to walk after only a few days is really good. If I'm not wrong, then you will be able to take the primer tomorrow night."
"Really?" Dahlia asked with teary eyes.
It had only been a few days since Regis and her stayed with Aunt Amabel.
Dahlia made sure to eat the plate of nutritious meals Aunt Amabel prepared for her without leaving even a single bit of crumb.
Dahlia couldn't help but think of the many times she could already feel nauseous but still finished her food.
She also did her best to absorb all the nutrients in the medicine bath even if it was very hot and painful.
After all, she made a promise to herself that she wouldn't allow for this opportunity to go to waste.
The opportunity brought upon by Regis's blood and tears
And so, that was what she did.
However, the idea of being able to move freely still seemed so far and foreign to her.
After all, she had spent a few years of her life lying down helplessly.
'If it weren't for Regis, then I would have…'
She would have died back then.
And if it weren't for him, then she wouldn't even be able to dream of moving again.
At this moment, Aunt Amabel turned to Regis and spoke, "Kid, I still wasn't able to find out about the cause for Dahlia's weakness."
Aunt Amabel found it weird.
She had observed Dahlia for a long time, she didn't have any illness and even seemed very healthy.
The only problem was her weakness.
'Dahlia told me that it started some time after her parent's death…'
"It's fine, Aunt Amabel."
Her thoughts were cut off by Regis's voice.
She saw him shake his head gently, "I don't think it's necessary anymore."
"But-"
"Dahlia will soon be cured, and that's our priority right now." Regis continued as he caressed Dahlia's head.
Aunt Amabel gave it a thought and nodded.
'He's right, we're sure that Dahlia doesn't have any illnesses… and since the only problem is her weak life force. Then the Aura Primer should be the solution.'
Aura was an energy that came from stimulating one's life force, meaning that it was essentially connected to one's life.
The path of aura allowed an individual to become a warrior, a swordsman, a spearman and other professions which focused on strengthening their body.
This was the reason why Aunt Amabel was sure that the Aura Primer would be able to cure Dahlia.
"You should rest for a while, Dahlia. I'll be helping Aunt Amabel with the chores first."
Hearing Regis's soft voice, Dahlia nodded with a weak expression on her face.
"Just call for us if you ever need anything okay?" Aunt Amabel said before exiting the room with Regis.
However, the two of them saw Dahlia already sleeping soundly on the chair.
Regis smiled and draped a blanket over her.
The two then exited the room quietly, afraid of waking her up.
"I'll clean the backyard first."
"Okay, I have something to do so I'll be leaving for a while."
Regis waved her goodbye before proceeding to the backyard.
Throughout the few days that they stayed here, this has become his routine.
Even though he paid Aunt Amabel, he still took it upon himself to help with the house chores.
'Speaking of money… I'm all broke again.'
Regis couldn't help but lament at the fact that he only had 2 gold coins and some silver and copper coins left.
Although a gold coin was sufficient for buying medicines and ingredients for Dahlia's nutritional meals, Regis gave another 2 gold coins to Aunt Amabel.
This was to make sure that she would not skimp on money and that she would buy those of high quality.
As a result, Dahlia was able to quickly regain control of her body even without taking the primer yet.
'It's all worth it. It's all worth it…'
While chanting words in his mind in order to comfort himself, Regis sweeped in an orderly manner.
After he finished sweeping the backyard, he then went inside the house and sweeped again.
He also cleaned the table and other surfaces with a wet towel.
After that, he went and washed the glasses, plates, spoons, and forks in a basin.
It didn't even take him an hour to make the interior of the house speckless.
'Hmmm, I've still got a lot of time left…'
Regis thought as he saw the sun up in the sky.
'Come to think of it… I've also changed a little bit.'
Walking in front of a mirror, Regis could clearly see his healthy self.
His previously sunken eyes and cheeks were now filled with flesh.
The bones in his body weren't visible anymore as he put on quite a bit of weight.
After all, it wasn't just Dahlia who was eating nutritious meals.
'I hope that this will last forever.'
To have a roof over their heads without smelling the trash outside.
To be able to live in a real house.
To be able to eat food that wasn't spoiled.
To be able to have a parent figure like Aunt Amabel.
Regis started to treat Aunt Amabel as family in the few days that they had been living together.
She cooked for them and made them feel secure.
After all, at the end of the day, no matter how mature they had been as people living in the slums, Regis and Dahlia were still children.
'Finally, all those dark times are gone...'
Regis thought with relief in his heart.