Life had become so monotonous. Wake up, do morning chores, tend to the farm, run for gathering, eat lonely meals… sleep and repeat. 

But what could she do? Her life didn't hold the spark anymore. Her husband passed away and took her hopes and dreams away with him. 

It's been bleak ever since. Not that it hadn't been before her marriage, but she thought fate would allow her a bright future if not the past. But it seems fate decided to make her an empty husk. She didn't even know why she was living.

The dense verdant forest loomed over Thalia. Her hands moved on a bush, quickly plucking the berries. 

The times that she would sink into a dull daze increased day after day, like right now. Her hands were moving on their own, giving away the years of experience of gathering.

"Ahh!"

A shrill scream flinched Thalia out of her daze. She looked around, but the dense forest didn't allow her much sight. She hastily moved toward the source, through the bushes and the shrubs, and the crowd of towering trees.

Thalia gasped at what she saw in the distance. A three-meter-tall Gray Minotaur was chasing a woman who held a little child. He occasionally swung his bone ax, grazing the woman's back, and splattering blood on the ground. Rather than chasing, the Minotaur seemed to be toying with her.

Thalia needed to do something, quickly. She gnashed her teeth and dashed toward the pair. The terrain significantly slowed her down, but she persisted. She must save the mother and the child no matter what. She would not let another victim fall to the cruelty of the Gray Minotaurs. 

But her resolve didn't matter to the Minotaur. He had already come into the striking distance. His huge ax towered over the helpless woman's back.

Thalia's stomach churned. A chill passed through her being. No! She wouldn't allow that! She stretched her right hand and hurled a ball of dust at his face. It was the only feasible magic she could muster in the nick of the moment. 

The Minotaur groaned as he had to squeeze his eyes shut by the sudden assault of the dust. Alas, the momentum of the Ax wasn't going to slow down after being swung, blinded sight or not. The Ax sank into the woman's nape. Her shoulder slumped. Her child fell out of her arms. 

"No!" Thalia screamed helplessly. Will that repeat once again? She wouldn't allow that. There was still a chance. With her own Ax in her hand, and the Minotaur occupied in rubbing his eyes, she hacked at his stomach. It sank quite deep. The Minotaur groaned in pain and backed away. But Thalia wasn't going to stop.

She hacked his stomach, his thighs, his arms, again and again. His blood splattered everywhere. The Minotaur had enough. He roared and shrugged Thalia away from him with his Ax. Fortunately, she was quick to defend, but it sent her tumbling back. Before she could get up and fight, the Minotaur ran away.

"Mama!" Thalia heard the child's cry.

She hastily stood up and neared the injured woman. The woman was lying on her stomach. A pool of blood flowed down her nape, and from several gashes on her body, onto the ground, drenching the little child's feet and hands as he desperately tried to wake his mother up.

Thalia had a bad premonition. She quickly adjusted the woman's shoulder into its normal position and held the wound in a hasty attempt to prevent her blood from leaking more than what already had. Then she shouted for her comrades, "Eryx! Xanthe! Kassandra! Help over here!" Her desperation leaked through her trembling voice.

"Hang in there. Help is arriving," she said to the woman. The woman was breathing. They still had hope. 

"Do not admit defeat. Look at your child. He needs you!" Thalia's voice cracked. It was now starting to betray her. She didn't like it. She must remain strong. This time, it won't happen again…

But as each moment passed, Thalia felt the woman's life draining away. Her breathing was weakening.

"Mama!" The child screamed. His mother seemed to respond to his call. Her left hand twitched. A groan escaped her mouth.

"P-please… protect my child…" Thalia could barely hear her whisper but could make out what she wanted to convey.

"Yes! Your child is alright. Don't worry. Rather, focus on yourself. Don't let go of your hope…" The woman ceased any response. 

Thalia's stomach sank. Tears trickled down her cheeks. She felt utter helplessness for the third time–First when her parents passed away, second when her husband succumbed to the Minotaur's brutal assault.

Why? Why would fate play the same games again and again? How badly did it want to break her? She could break down at any moment.

But then, she realized. There was a child. She looked at him. He was blankly staring at his mother's corpse, his emotions nowhere to be found.

It wasn't the time to break down. It was the time to stand up for the little one.

…

"Thalia? Where are you?" A male voice accompanied hurried footsteps.

"Here!"

Eryx tore through the lush vegetation and could glimpse bright red color through the bushes. His vigilance soared. He clenched his ax. He had rushed here as fast as he could. Was he late?

Ahead, in the pool of blood, he saw Thalia holding someone's shoulder. He scanned his surroundings before approaching them. "What was it?"

"Gray Minotaur…"

"Damn it! Again?" He gritted his teeth. "Where's he?"

"Ran away." Thalia pointed in a direction.

Another woman, Kassandra, approached the fallen woman. She was good at mending wounds. When she saw the gashes on her body and the amount of blood splattered on the ground, she understood there was no way left to save her. Worse, she didn't need saving. Life had already left her.

Thalia approached the child. He had the same bovine features like her tribe: hooves, bovine ears and tail, and two cute budding horns on the forehead.

The child was silent. He didn't even cry. His big, round eyes were vacant. She knelt and took him in her embrace. His silence gnawed at her heart. The boy was probably traumatized.

Thalia cursed her own weakness. If only she was stronger, she could have saved the woman. Her weakness had already cost her enough lives. But, today, she must be strong, for she had given her word to a dying mother.

Orange hue spread everywhere. The forest had started casting its darkness. Eryx and the others tried searching for the traces of the Gray Minotaur. They concluded that it had run far away. Someone took the woman's dead body and they departed the scene.

…

The world had become bland. Colorless. Gray. One moment it was warm and cozy, and the next, it became cold and distant. The child couldn't believe that the world could change so much in an instant. There was this sinking feeling inside his gut. With his face drained out of blood and legs heavy like metal he followed Thalia.

All of a sudden he realized that he was all alone in this hostile world. An uneasy, restless feeling crept throughout his body. His movements stiffened, his vigilance soared.

But a warm hand squeezed his own. He looked up at the lady who's hand he was holding. Her eyes seemed exceptionally kind. Her presence seemed reassuring. So he calmed down.

"What is your name, child?" Thalia asked.

"...Aeron."

"That's a nice name. Strong like you."

Then they continued walking silently. Thalia couldn't fathom what Aeron was going through. But she could understand that he needed unwavering support, just like she had wanted once.

…

When they reached their village, they reported the situation to their village chief. They had a proper burial ceremony according to the Vintaur tribe's customs for Aeron's mother. 

The entire time, Aeron didn't show any expressions. He was like a bystander. This worried Thalia.

When it was over, the village chief suggested that Thalia keep the boy with herself till he recovers from his loss. He had already asked the boy if he had any other family members to return to, but the boy kept silent and didn't seem to be in the condition to answer. So he decided to let the boy take his time. 

On the other hand, they could inquire about the boy and his family in the surrounding villages. Surely, he could not be from afar.

Thalia brought Aeron to her home. Her home was not very special, just made out of bricks and clay. It was big enough to accommodate a small family. It was small enough not to make Thalia uncomfortable with its emptiness. Emptiness, though, she did not lack.

It was already late in the evening. The procedure took them long enough. Now, Thalia needed to address the pressing issue.

She knelt before the boy and looked into his dead eyes. Countless emotions muddled her thoughts. She caressed his cheek and gently hugged him. "It's alright to cry, child. Let it all out. You are not alone. I'm here for as long as you want."

The boy didn't respond. His spirit seemed to have numbed. Another empty husk? Thalia couldn't hold her tears. A 5 year old didn't deserve this… this cruelty, where he had to witness his mother's brutal death.

Fate had brought two similar people together. Surely, it must have planned something.