The Unbidden: A New World (1) (Short Parts)

Part 45

"I guess even a talented man such as you has no way to capture a fine specimen such as me," She teased.

She spun around, Her pink gown flowing around Her like a smooth river. She looked at me with a bright smile. I wasn't sure how to process what She was aiming for.

In the end, I was left blushing as I lost that particular battle. We continued to travel for several more days, enjoying the peaceful times. A few times I had to kill kobold, goblins, and sometimes wolves. They assumed that our lack of armor and weaponry was enough to overpower us.

A few days later during the evening when Jayde had fallen asleep, and while Thea and I sat around the fire sitting opposite of each other, I decided to ask Her some questions about my past life.

"Thea?" I asked, peering through the flames.

"Yes?" She replied, shifting her position.

"Can you tell me about my father?" I asked, poking the fire with another stick.

Thea tilted Her head a bit.

"What do you wish to know?" She bit into a piece of bread, and her face contorted a little at the unsavory taste.

"How did his life pan out after my death?" I looked solemnly at the flickering flames.

She took a moment before responding. It was as though She was searching through Her vast memory.

"Your father found out about your death within a day of its occurrence. He recently recovered from his addictions for the second time when the news came. There was an instant relapse and for six years after he wallowed in the loss."

"... Did he ever recover?" I felt a twisting in my stomach.

I didn't hate my father, I merely wished he got back onto his feet and continued to live. He worked hard every day for me while I was young, but he wasn't able to provide enough.

I was forced to move out and find work. For a while, I tried to support him, but his drug addiction kept him at rock bottom. I focused on trying to keep a decent life for myself, despite how much it didn't work out, but I thought about him a lot.

"Unfortunately, he did not. The drugs he used and the immense amount of grief he felt caused his heart strings to snap and his body was unable to sustain anymore," She spoke in a soft tone barely audible over the crackling of the fire.

The twisting in my stomach turned into heartache.

In the end, he couldn't take it, I thought.

I felt my throat tighten up. I blinked rapidly and felt myself lose some composure. Before I really understood what was happening, tears were streaming down my face and it became harder to breathe. I knew my father struggled, but the fact that he died because of my death hit hard.

The tears came down and my nose ran uncontrollably. The fire became a muddled blur as the sadness poured out of me. I had never felt anything like it before. My body shuddered with convulsions and all the memories came flooding to me. I began to recall back to my tenth birthday.

My father and I were the only ones around in our dilapidated house. A large cake that I was almost certain he spent more than he could afford sat on the table in front of me. We sang happy birthday and I blew out my candles. My wish had been that he got a break from the daily struggles, to enjoy life a little. I wished life gave him something more than hardships with no return.

I hadn't even noticed Thea moving to sit next to me. She pulled my head into Her chest tightly making it even harder to breath. Despite that, I felt a sense of comfort and relief. There was something about having Her hold me like eased the pain. I cried for several minutes before I regained enough composure. Thea's arms released my head when I pulled back. Her eyes had a soft blue glow to them and I could tell even in the dim light She empathized with my sorrowful feelings.

"I am truly sorry for your loss," She whispered.

"I know I'm in another universe ... and I know that he was going to die eventually, but it hurts so much," I sobbed.

Thea wrapped her arms around my body and pulled me close. Maybe it was the lack of maternal experience throughout my life, but I never wanted to leave Her arms. I spent several more minutes like that as I calmed down completely.

She smells so good, as always, I thought.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, pulling away for the final time.

"Thank you," I wiped away the remnants of tears.

"Of course. 'Tis only natural that I comfort you," She replied, caressing the side of my face.

More and more memories came back to me. There was the time when he took me to see a movie that had just come out even though his work called him in. The time when he tucked me in to sleep, I remembered his bloodshot and sunken eyes from working so much.

If anyone were to ask me what I thought a true man was, I would tell them my father, despite his downfalls. He succumbed to a weakness, but he tried again and again to fight it. Not much could've been said of others in a similar predicament.

I went to sleep under the stars that night. No wagon; no pillow. Just the warm ground and the clothes on my back. I awoke the next morning to Thea's gentle breathing beside me. At some point during the night, She must've come to lay next to me. A very long moment passed as I appreciated Her. God.

Why is it that I can't feel negative toward you? I pondered.

I ate breakfast and woke her and Jayde up to eat before we headed out.