Capítulo 36: Birthday Is Approaching

Things were progressing perfectly. My ability to craft medicines got better. I memorized all the runes. I became a wonderful gardener for Briar's herbs, flowers, and everything else. I was able to heal with medicine or treat wounds when someone was injured.

I have learned so much over these last several years. So much had happened. Arthur had met a woman that he wanted to marry, and my parents approved. Catherine had blossomed into a beautiful young woman that was now fourteen years old and already ten times prettier than me. And I myself was about to turn eighteen.

Dad's store was flourishing and earning more money than any of the shops run by humans in all of the region. We could only compare our success to that of the shops run by wolves, that was how great he had been doing.

Mom had done well, learning to take care of flowers along with everything else that she did around the house. She had gotten inspired when I told her about all the things that Briar grew around his place. Mom had even added a floral shop to Dad's general store. She sold specialized flowers and some crafts and other things that she used her flowers to make.

Not everything was perfect and good, though. Mr. Boberre had been back repeatedly. He came by about two or three times a year just to 'check' on us and make sure that we weren't running away. Every time that he came, I felt like he paid way too much attention to me. I was happy when Briar was at the house with us. He would protect me from Mr. Boberre, I knew that he would.

Oh, and some of the details for my secret and Briar's secret had been shared and discovered. I had figured out, more or less, that I was right about him being a werewolf. For one thing, Dad had told me that Briar hadn't aged a day since he came to the village, and he hadn't aged a day in the nearly five years since I had met him. He looked the same now as he did when I met him. Even though I had changed, Catherine, Arthur, Mom, Dad, all of us had visibly changed, all while Briar stayed the same.

He hadn't told me yet that I was right but, whenever I brought it up, he didn't deny it and he didn't deflect it as much as he used to. I think that was as much of a confirmation as I was likely to get for the time being. Though, there had been a time when he told me that he would answer my question fully when I turned eighteen and came of age. That day was fast approaching.

Now, about my secret. I guess I had slipped up way too many times. Even when Briar asked me direct questions, he would catch me off guard and I would answer something that I shouldn't have.

Once, after I mistakenly called Catherine 'Charlotte', Briar asked me who Charlotte actually was.

"Oh, she was my sister." I told him honestly.

"Was your sister? Did your parents have another child named Charlotte and she died while young?" He tilted his head in confusion, never having heard of that fact.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I mimicked his confusion and played it back to him.

"How old was your sister Charlotte when she died?" He asked me, truly curious.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I only have one sister. Her name is Catherine."

"But just now, you clearly said that Charlotte was your sister." He crossed his arms and leveled a firm stare at me.

"No, I couldn't have said that. I only have Catherine as my sister." I tried to smile at him, but it probably looked like a grimace.

"Uh huh. So, Charlotte doesn't exist then. Just like that book you read on herbs and medicinal plants." He was clearly suspicious of me. He knew that something was off about me.

Over time, I must have let other things slide and he picked up on them. He would come out with a random question, and I would be so shocked that I would just answer it without thinking. I needed to work on that. Even he told me that I needed to work on my poker face.

By the time that I was sixteen he had told me that my poker face was perfect, and I was doing wonderfully well when it came to hiding my true emotions. I didn't know why that was truly important for me to learn, but Briar seemed to think that it was vital to my survival.

One day, when I had just turned seventeen, Briar was sitting near me at his place and looked like he was thinking hard. I knew his thinking face well and was curious about what was on his mind. I could have asked, and he would have told me. He had become like an uncle to me. He was a lot like Uncle Vinny had been, kind and helpful, only this time I didn't have to worry about ruining my uncle's life. Briar was still doing just the same as he had been before.

"Addie, was your name Adelaide before?" I nearly answered him, I almost didn't catch myself in time.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I kept all the thoughts from appearing on my face as I returned his look.

"In your previous life. That was your name, wasn't it? You were Adelaide, your sister was Charlotte, your mother was Lydia, and there was someone in your life named Vinny. I don't think he was your father, though. And correct me if I am wrong, but you couldn't walk in that life, right?"

"W..w..what are you getting at, Briar?" The sweat was pouring down my back. My internal self was screaming in fear with her knees shaking, but nothing showed on my face and my body was perfectly still.

"You were reborn here, weren't you? That isn't unheard of. It's not an everyday thing, but it happens. However, I feel like you were from a different world than this one. Most reborn people stay in this world but you're not from here, are you? When did you remember it? The earlier the age the better."

"I..I..I don't-."

"Don't lie, please don't lie about it." He was pleading with me.

I didn't tell him everything, but I told him enough to indirectly confirm that he was right. It was just what he had done with me before.

"Are you ever going to tell me the whole truth?" He looked at me with curious eyes.

"When you tell me the whole truth about you." I grinned at him, telling him that my information came at the cost of his.

"Fair enough." He returned my grin. "When you turn eighteen then." We shook on it, sealing the deal between us.

That was why I was happy that my birthday was just a week away. In just one week I would turn eighteen and I would get the confirmation that I had been seeking for almost five years. Even though I knew I was right, I still wanted to hear him say it out loud.

Only one week left.

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