1 – The Vacant Wish of My Childhood
“Grandmother…?”
In the middle of the raucous noise,
To me, from whom the thin blanket I clung to and my sweet sleep were snatched away,
Winter had stolen even my last remaining family.
The extinguished fire.
The dwindling logs.
The haunting howls of wolves echoing from afar.
Whether it was dawn or night, in that obscure moment, I was alone.
In the year I turned ten, I lost everything.
“…”
Strangely enough, there were no tears.
I merely exhausted my strength, trying to lift my fallen grandmother with my small hands.
“Ughh…”
But a child, of course, had no real strength.
Especially one who’d grown up without parents and had starved for several days.
All I could do was to lay down her frail, probably frozen body upright,
And cover it with the blanket that had been stolen from me.
However, the harsh winter winds didn’t even grant a moment’s respite.
They would whip away the blanket whenever I put it on,
Laughing at me each time as they flung the blanket against the wall.
The window had long shattered, its fragments scattered on the floor.
So, I, the young child, eventually transferred to the storage room where there was a door to close, holding onto the blanket with my trembling hands.
And I wrapped myself up in that ominous dust-filled place.
It was too cold to fall back asleep,
And too cold to cry.
I only thought about not dying like my grandmother,
That was all I can think of.
***
Even when the morning came, the sun did not rise.
Instead, the snow was falling more heavily.
Accompanying the slightly weakened wind.
After somberly massaging my stiff arms and legs, I slowly began to move.
I picked up the worn leather bag grandmother used to carry and randomly started to pack clothes.
The potatoes, carrots, and onions, as hard as stones, were also thrown in.
There was not a single thing of proper substance.
Nothing to my name.
Winter had not only taken everything from me, but it had also left me frozen solid.
For someone too young to make decent decisions.
Thus, I was robbed of my house and evicted.
Perhaps that day I was destined to die aimlessly wandering.
It was someone collapsed in front of the door who prevented that.
Lying on her back, several arrows embedded –
A human being with horns and tail.
“…?”
I couldn’t utter a word.
Even the breath I drew between the ragged cloth on my mouth was painful and hot,
there was no moment to spit something out of my mouth.
Instead.
“Uuugh!!”
I screamed as I mustered up all my strength to drag the woman inside.
Thanks to her consciousness and effort to somehow get up – different from my grandmother,
I was able to bring her into the house, which was no different from the outside.
Fortunately, the sun was slightly shining, and the wind was gradually weakening.
The little bit of sunlight entering was slightly illuminating her.
And her skin that was as cold as my grandmother’s, brutally frozen.
“So cold…!”
I couldn’t tell if it’s my hand that’s cold, or if she’s cold.
There’s one thing that gave a bewildered me, unable to properly feel, a purpose.
“So… cold…”
Squirming with eyes closed, a life shivering yet still living — unlike grandmother, who was already dead.
Immediately, I started gathering the broken window frames and shoved them into the stove.
And then grabbing a black stone—
“Ah!”
I dropped it.
My hand that quickly turned red was a testament to how cold that thing was.
But still.
“Ugh, ugh…”
With a faint groan seeping out of me, I smashed the stone forcefully.
Sometimes slamming it against my fingers, and shrieking in pain…
Along with the reddish-hot skin, I kneeled in front of the stove.
Fervently praying for a flame to burst forth.
“Aha!”
A spark jumped up with a flash of light.
But the minuscule thing wasn’t enough to withstand the fierce winter wind.
“Rise… up.”
But then, a grave yet warm voice coming from behind me,
And as it touched the stove, a red flame quickly swallowed the logs I had thrown in.
“Woah…!”
I instinctively closed my eyes against the intense light.
That’s why I hadn’t noticed the squirming red hand reaching out.
“Come here.”
Swaddled by the existence behind me that dispelled the chilliness, I could only feel the warmth the fire was emitting.
And most importantly, the gentle touch.
When I turned around, I could see a beautiful woman-embracing me who had somehow managed to get her injured body upright,
Whether to ward off the cold, or to endure the pain of the arrow embedded in her back.
I quietly observed the red-gowned lady that was ever so slightly wincing and shivering.
“Do we…have bandages in this house, human child?”
One could assume the warmth was settling in,
Or perhaps it was because I took a liking to the woman who treated me with a much gentler and warmer smile than my grandmother.
Without asking anything, I quickly rummaged through my drawer and handed her an old bandage.
“It’s hard to expect anything better than this…”
As she said that, she gingerly touched her back and let out a soft groan, her body tensing up visibly.
Her face displayed undeniable pain.
Therefore, I cautiously moved behind her and gripped the arrow.
“Do I just need to pull it out?”
“Can, can I – ah…?!”
With that, I swiftly pulled it out.
As a trickle of blood seeped out, I pressed it down with a piece of cloth.
“I’ll pull out the rest and bandage you up. Please hand them to me.”
Treating a wound was not difficult, even for a child like me.
My grandmother was old, and I was young.
Therefore, wounds were an inevitable part of life.
“Skil, skilfully – oh, ah, ah..”
After pulling out the second arrow, I carelessly dropped the strangely heavy items to the ground.
There was a dull sound of metal hitting the ground.
Upon closer examination, they were something odd, made of iron from tip to tail.
However, before I could show further interest in them, the red-haired woman grabbed them and quickly melted them –
“Those disgusting Knights.”
And promptly threw them into the blazing red fire.
The house became even warmer.
The previous chill was hardly noticeable now.
Slowly, the house which was losing its blue hue, was filled with an orange light.
With the flickering red stove as a center, warmth filled the house diligently.
The sense of warmth slowed down my hands, which were wrapping the bandages.
One by one, strength drained from my fingers, and my eyes were slowly closing.
“You can rest now. I’ll take care of the rest.”
But it was not just my body that was melting.
Tears that had frozen a moment ago began to flow down my face.
My frozen heart began to stir once more.
“…Grandmother.”
I knew the meaning of the fierce screams that failed to reach the stranger.
I realized, while cleaning up the wrecked house, that the murmuring voice of grandmother was missing.
It was only then that I could sense the loss of my entire family.
Therefore, I cried.
I wept sorrowfully, comfortably nestled in the arms of the unfamiliar woman.
But somehow, no chills came to me.
Instead, a tender touch that was enough to make me faint, held me steadfastly close.
***
“You’re awake. I’ve been waiting for you to open your eyes.”
She gently supported me, who was struggling to regain consciousness, groping through the haze.
The woman with twinkling amber eyes gave a bitterly sweet smile.
Why did I feel an unknown, unseen maternal vibe?
Was it because she protected my frail body from the winter and kept our house warm?
Or was it because she comforted me during my tears and stayed beside me during my sleep?
“I owe you a great debt.
How should I repay you for saving a life that was on the brink of extinction?”
Grinning slightly, she masked her vibrant, radiant lips that appeared redder than an apple.
Her eyes were a little intimidating, but she was still extremely beautiful.
The thought of wanting to be by her side filled my head, enough to make my heart flutter.
Maybe it was because of that one reason –
The hope that I might not have to spend the winter alone,
That I held on tightly to the hand she extended, with both of mine.
“What about granting you a wish?”
She kindly offered a sentence to me.
The favor granted by the red lady who soothed me nicely without pushing me away harshly or scaring me, all the while smiling.
“Anything will do.
How about a new home?
Filled with gold, silver, and jewels–”
“…Family…”
I didn’t miss that.
Gripping the extended hand more tightly,
Drawing in the warmth contained in the slender yet somewhat large hand through my skin –
I stared straight into the torn black thing inside the yellow eyes and spoke.
I had been slowly realizing that this was not a human,
Even though I saw with my own eyes the brightly glowing black horns and swaying red tail.
But my loneliness was even more pressing,
Because I did not want to endure a solitude that is colder and more painful than the freezing winter,
I made a single wish to her.
“Please, become my family.”
“Fa…mily?”
To her, who upon hearing this was seemingly surprised, or perhaps confused, looking at me,
I clung onto even more and nodded my head.
“They said grandmother did not abandon me because we are family.
So – So – “
After listening to my rambling words for a moment, she caught it with a gentle smile on her face,
And she gave me a tight hug.
“I can’t help it. Even a lean wish for a dragon is a wish.
So, I will become your family.
I wonder if that’s clever or desperate…”
While gently patting my unknowing back,
The red-haired woman whispered into my ear.
“My true name is Drakea Rosalia.
From now on, should I call myself your…mother.
Heh, really. To become a human mother overnight.”
As she nodded and presented a warm smile, I gave my rather plain name in reply,
Far from being as long or as fancy as hers.
“My name is Russell.”
“Yes, Russel. From now on, I will be your… family and, your mother –
But, I’m really not sure what I should do for you.
After all, I’ve never been a mother before.”
She revealed a slightly awkward expression, and I hugged her tightly around her neck.
The pleasant scent of burning wood filled my nose.
“Ugh, you’re such a child.”
“I don’t know what a mother is either. I never had one.”
“…but humans, both females, and males, have children, don’t they?”
Faced with that question, I hesitated for a moment, but in the end, I opened my mouth in front of her who was sternly watching me.
“My grandma said that my mother and father had run away.
That they were not humans.
They abandoned their own family.”
“Not a human – Ah, it probably doesn’t mean that.
Now I seem to see why you wanted me to be your family.”
Nodding, she stroked me a little more and I held onto her again.
Unlike my grandmother who refused to hug me because she found it disgusting,
‘Mother’ was tender.
“It’s a wonder how you managed to endure living in such a house when you were young.
But it’s okay now.
Your mother is here.”
Enough to chase away the cold winter.
