2 – ‘Mother’ is Warm (1)
“Is everything ready?”
From Noble mtl dot com
Standing in front of the shaky house, on a land covered thickly with snow,
I buried my last ‘family’ under the snow.
“…Goodbye, grandma.”
Though I probably shouldn’t have let go, I bid my last farewell.
Because now, there was someone waiting for me, and my grandmother had always wanted me to leave.
…had she said she was fed up?
“Yes, I’m done.”
“…You’re very mature for a child.
Aren’t you sad?”
“Because I cried a lot.”
The ‘mother’, wearing a bright face, was extremely beautiful.
Of course, she had sharp horns and a tail,
And even now, she is kindling fire in her hands, melting the snow around her.
But it was still good.
It was good that she smiled that way, and reached out her hand to embrace me.
Because it was warm.
“Crying alone doesn’t heal your wounds.
That, I know very well…”
To the ‘mother’, putting her hand on my cold cheek with somewhat a sad face,
I was a little greedy.
“Can you hold me a little longer?”
Whenever I’d say this to my grandmother, she’d send me away, annoyed.
But ‘mother’ was a little different.
At my request to be held, she hesitated for a while,
Whether it was because she was slightly chilled from the winter wind, with her red face, she thought for a while –
“Okay. Come here.”
She slightly opened her arms, creating space for me to come in.
Cozy, warm, and comforting.
“Being with mom… feels really good.
I’m not cold at all when I’m with her.”
“hehehe, so it seems.
It seems that I am doing a good job as a mother, at least for now.”
The mother, who was stroking my head momentarily, soon spread her wings from behind her back.
Her hand, that had brushed off the cold, still held me tight.
“Be sure to hold on. It will be troublesome if you lose the mother you’ve just gotten.”
“I will hold on tightly, so ‘mother’, you need to hold on well too, right?”
When grandmother made the request, she barely held back a chuckle.
Hearing that, she gripped me a little tighter.
“Clench.”
Thanks to this, my breath hitched –
But in the sudden jolt, any discomfort in my body vanished.
“It would be better if you kept your eyes shut.
If you’re scared, shake… heavily.”
But I already had my eyes wide open.
The sight of my small house shrinking,
The clouds floating high in the sky seemed closer,
And the mountains that didn’t seem to exist on the ground suddenly multiplied.
I could see all these things.
While soaking in the warmth from ‘mother’, I shook my head around.
To take in the fleeting landscapes.
“Hah? Even though I said to close your eyes.
Is the sky not scary? Rus… Rus…”
“It’s Russell! And it’s so… so…”
“Cold?”
“Amazing!”
The passing winds blew rather warmly for some reason,
Nestled in mother’s embrace made the coldness disappear as if it was nowhere to be found.
And above all, the sight I’ve never seen was right in front of me.
‘mother’ crossed the barrier of the mountains, too densely white and high for grandmother and I to venture,
With a tremendous flapping wing.
“What a strange human child.
Everyone shivers and crouches at the sight of me.”
“Why would mom be scary?”
The eyes may have been a bit frightening,
But the horns and tail were different from me.
Still, I was happy.
Much bigger and warmer than grandmother.
That was enough for me to be happy.
“Truly, such a strange child.”
Maybe the fact that she was smiling at me was also because she was a ‘mother’.
Since my grandmother never smiled at me.
***
“Alright, come down slowly. If you fly around for too long, your legs-“
“Woah?”
Thump.
My face was buried in a snowbank.
“Russel?!”
My face was terribly cold and stinging.
I tried to compose myself and stand, but I was about to be buried further into the snow pile,
The hands that would melt the snow on contact were ‘mother’s’.
My lovely, kind ‘mother.’
“Sigh, really. I wonder if it feels that good to be buried in a snow pile.”
It’s not that I like the snow.
I hate the winter.
But I liked the ‘mother’ right in front of me.
“hehehe.”
“You really are a strange child.
You even wish for truly unique things.
Anyway, take my hand.
I’ll show you where we will live from now on.”
The fact that she would often stroke my hair,
Hold my hand tightly,
And that her voice was gentle, I loved all of it.
Having a ‘mother’ was such a good thing.
“A cave?”
She was far from ordinary, of course.
She led me into emptiness as if it was filled with nothing at all, except for the overflowing darkness. There, my ‘mother’ kindled a fire to illuminate our path.
It sprung forth from her hand.
“Huh? Mother, isn’t it hot?”
“Of course. It’s real fire, so be careful.”
The flickering red flame was unmistakably the same colour as last night’s furnace.
The glow that chased away the darkness was less yellow and more red.
Just like the color of my ‘mother’s’ hair.
But the blaze did not provide much light, and the path ahead was still dark.
Nothing but a barren stone floor beneath our feet.
That started to make me a little anxious.
‘Mother’ had said she was a dragon.
So… Maybe…
“It’s not just a cave.
And it’s not that I, a dragon, particularly like cold stone floors.
It’s more like a passageway meant to trick those who are hunting me.”
I’m not sure if she read my thoughts, or perhaps my face was clearly reflecting my unease.
Shining her yellow eyes onto me, she looked down momentarily, then spoke with a teasing smile.
But one of her words stirred unease.
“Hunt…you?”
“Yes. There are foolhardy ones amongst humans who would dare try to catch a dragon.
There are such people in the world who worship me at their whim, are jealous, or hate me… There are a lot, a lot of them out there.”
‘Mother’ frowning slightly, her face conveying complex thoughts, didn’t seem too pleased.
Despite being humanoid, the sight of her gritting her teeth and snorting was somehow otherworldly.
… Having horns made calling her a human a bit of a stretch.
“…Well, anyway.
I don’t think we need to worry about that right now.
After all, those knights won’t be able to chase me for a while.
“During this time, shall we consider how to fulfill the ‘son’s’ wish?”
As I slowly cleared away the darkness and moved forward, the surroundings brightened for some unknown reason.
To the point where the red light I was holding in my hand was faint.
When the “mother” flicked her large hand to extinguish the fire, I was standing on a prairie illuminated by bright weather.
Even though I was definitely inside a cave.
“Uh, um, uh?”
“I’m welcoming you to my house.
I didn’t know that the first visitor to my nest would be a human…”
Even without fire, even though the “mother” wasn’t hugging me,
Despite it being winter.
This place was not cold at all.
The breeze that occasionally blew felt like something from the fall or… perhaps spring.
Surprisingly, there was a very large house in the distance.
A house so grand that it could not be compared to the place I used to live.
“The house is huge!”
“It’s not just a house.
It’s a mansion.
Very large, sophisticated, and grandiose.
Created by my artistic sense, which is beyond human comprehension –
…well, would an young one like you be able to understand this?”
Blue roofs over a white house.
Transparent windows that I once saw in a city visit.
Even the walls and metal bars surrounding the house.
“This… Mansion? The mansion is really cool, mom!”
“Saying it’s simply cool might be an understatement…
Huhuh, at least it feels as if it is as sufficient as the feelings you’re experiencing.”
Without loosening the hand that was still holding me,
‘Mom’ paused for a moment on the stone-made path.
“Let’s see. Where should I mark?”
“Mark?”
“This cave is not a place where just anyone can enter.
Of course, now you will become my ‘son’, so it will be a little different.
Hmm… Yes. This place might be good.”
She gently brushed my long bangs with her fingers,
“Ouch?!”
She pressed something extremely hot against my forehead.
A crackling sound suddenly burst out, accompanied by the smell of burning wood…
“You endure it well.”
When I realized that what fell was my ‘mother’s’ hand,
I shed tears, but I managed to force back my crying.
“Mm…”
“Yes, does it hurt a lot?
Come here. I’ll hug you for a moment.”
And as I was embraced by her soft arms and chest, I felt strangely happy.
Her comforting hand on my back made me laugh.
“Really, it hasn’t been a few days since we met.
Why have I become so fond of her already?”
Instead of answering, I nodded, and looked ahead with ‘mother’ as she slowly stepped on the rocky ground.
Slightly leaning my slightly hot head on her broad shoulder.
“See over there? That’s the reason I did something that might hurt you a little.”
As our house got closer, I noticed piles of stones scattered randomly along the road.
Curious about those things that didn’t seem particularly special –
[::Reveal your identity::]
They rolled and merged on their own, eventually becoming something massive.
Standing on two feet, blocking the path with large hands.
“This is a golem,” she said.
“I made this using the rocks that were lying around before we left home. It turned out pretty good, I must say.”
‘Mother’ showed me things I had never seen before as if it were the most natural thing,
And she explained them to me.
One by one, patiently…
Without even asking.
“Dracea Rosaria.
Since you brought your ‘son’ and returned to the mansion after a long time, open the path.”
[::Welcome home::]
While walking beyond the torn path, it silently stared at me before returning to a pile of stones.
Hard to believe it had just moved.
Staring at it intently, something touched the top of my head.
Startled, I turned my head, and yellow eyes flickered.
Slightly frightening.
“Is this the first time you’re seeing something like this?”
“Yes…”
My grandmother would get angry if I asked.
My grandmother would grab my arm and pull me if I watched.
But my ‘mother’…
“You’ll see things like this often from now on, so feel free to ask if you’re curious.”
My mother was incredibly warm.
