Bab 33: Memories (1)

"Mom, what's that thing?" Nicolas asked his mom who was collecting firewood, his voice filled with curiosity.

"Huh? Oh, that… it's the mark of god." His mother answered, patting his head. "We all worship the god in order to receive his protection." She continued.

Nicolas' eyes sparkled, he was attracted to the mark for some unknown reason. He felt attached to it, almost as if he was very familiar with the mark.

"Now, now… go play with Mikey, Nicolas. I will be back after some time." His mother departed to the forest, leaving Nicolas alone. From afar, she turned back and waved her hand at him. "I will be back soon! If you're hungry, eat some bread!" She shouted.

"Alright, Mommy! I will be waiting!" Nicolas was used to this. He would spend most of his time with his pet dog Mikey. His dad left them when he was only 6. His mom would work day and night to make ends meet.

Nicolas slowly walked to Mikey's dog house. He knocked at the wall and said, "Mikey, come out! I am here!" Just as he said those words, a barking sound came from inside. Soon after, a cute dog with white fur came out.

Nicolas patted him, feeling his soft and fluffy fur brush past his skin. It was a pleasurable feeling to both of them. They had an unbreakable bond of understanding between them. Nicolas found Mikey when he was just a puppy. Mikey's mom died fighting the wolves, but Mikey somehow managed to escape from the wolves. When Nicolas found him lying flat in front of his house, he decided to take him in. Since then, Nicolas and Mikey became best friends. Nicolas was happy that he finally had a friend while Mikey received the love of a family.

"Come and play with me!" Nicolas walked away, gesturing at Mikey to follow him. "Woof!" Mikey nodded and ran towards him. "So, what should we play today?" Nicolas pondered for a moment before he came up with an idea.

"Wanna go to the forest?" He suggested. Mike instantly shook his head, not wanting to go back to the forest ever again. He was like this because of his childhood trauma. He could never gather enough courage to head back to the forest. Moreover, he didn't want to lose Nicolas.

"Aw… alright, no need to be afraid, we're not going anywhere." Nicolas assured him, looking at Mikey's frightened face.

"Woof!" Mikey jumped and ran away from him. Nicolas looked puzzled, he shouted from behind, "Where are you going?" Mikey didn't make a sound. He came back running to Nicolas with a twig in his mouth. He dropped the twig near Nicolas' feet, telling him to pick it up.

"Oh, you want me to throw it for you?" Nicolas asked. Mikey excitedly nodded. "Sure!" Nicolas threw the twig as far as he could. Mikey immediately took off, trying to catch the twig mid-air, but it was not possible with his current abilities. The twig soon landed onto the ground, and a moment later, Mikey arrived and picked it up in his mouth, running back to Nicolas once again.

Nicolas picked the twig up again and said, "So you wanna play this game, huh? Alright, just make sure to not harm yourself while running." With that, he threw the twig with full power. Mikey ran towards it, unable to catch it mid-air. Nicolas started having fun playing this game with Mikey. He laughed and kept throwing the twig as Mikey tried to catch it mid-air.

Soon, the sun went behind the mountains. A shadowy figure emerged from the woods, Nico almost instantly recognising her. "Mommy!" He shouted, running towards her.

"Oh dear, I am back!" She hugged him tightly, giving Nicolas a feeling of warmth and affection. "Did you have fun today?" She asked, caressing his head.

"Yup! Mikey and I are brothers! We will never get bored as long as we're together!" Nicolas answered cheerfully. He really considered Mikey as his brother who always took care of him.

"But did you feed him today?" Nicolas' mom asked him, raising an eyebrow. She knew that her son always forgot to feed Mikey, but she still asked him.

"Uh- that…" Nico was caught off-guard. He scratched the back of his head, looking down at the ground.

"Gosh, you need to feed Mikey for him to stay healthy!" His mother scolded him a little before taking him inside the house with her. She put the bag she brought back on the table and opened it, taking all the items out of it. There were two packs of bread, some butter, 3 bottles of milk and a little pouch.

She took the bread and the other food items to the kitchen and then came back, taking the pouch upstairs. Nico looked at her, curious about what the pouch held.

He sat on a chair, putting both his hands on the table. "Momma! I am hungry!" He shouted, his voice reaching upstairs.

"Wait a moment, I will make you something to eat!" His mother shouted from upstairs. She emptied the contents inside the small pouch in a drawer and locked it. She walked downstairs, entering the kitchen.

After half an hour, she came out of the kitchen with a big wooden bowl in her hands. Gently placing it on the table, she went back to the kitchen to bring two bowls and spoons. She put a bowl in front of Nicolas while the other one in front of herself. After serving the soup, she woke Nicolas up. "Wake up, the food's ready!" She shook his body, stirring him up from his slumber.

"Uh… what happened, mom?" Nicolas looked at his mom with a blurry vision. He looked down, seeing his favourite soup served in a bowl. "Ah! You're the best, mom!" He excitedly shouted before devouring the entire bowl full of soup.

"Want more?" His mom asked with a slight chuckle, only receiving a nod from Nicolas. She poured more soup into his bowl.

Half an hour later, there was a knock at the door. The silent sound of distant dripping in the distance. "Why isn't Mikey Barking?" Nicolas inquired of his mother. She got up and walked over slowly to the door, opening it and finding…

(Author: here's today's chap guys! Support the book by sending power stones! We need to go up in the rankings! Ty for support, leave a review if you like it!)