Chapter 29 - mother

As it would soon turn out, this wasn't the first time in a while that my family had seen me. Unbeknownst to me, my mother had been in the village our team had stopped at for work purposes. I never really paid much mind to what it was my parents did. I was so busy focusing on who I am and who I want to be that I never bothered to ask what my parents did or even what their power was. I would belatedly find out that my mother worked as a healer, as she was one of the few healers with powers strong enough to bring to life the half-dead.

It was when she had been in the village that she heard the news. People in the surrounding area were running around in urgency. They were yelling at anyone that would listen that something terrible had happened.

"Quick! People have been attacked! Get as many healers as you can!!"

The village that was otherwise inhabited by ghosts, with barely anything notable happening, was overwhelmed with the anomalous event. It was rare for anyone to be attacked, and even more rare for a group of people to have been attacked. The quiet that unsettled me when I first woke up in the infirmary was not because of the isolated area, nor due to the small population. If anything, these factors made for a friendly neighbourhood where everyone would come together to enjoy each other's company. Instead, it was our arrival that prompted this change. Seeing our wounded bodies, rumours began to spread with each becoming worse than the last, until people no longer felt safe enough to leave their homes.

While they sheltered themselves from the dangerous outside world, my mother and the other came rushing to the infirmary to provide as much support as they could. Their main focus was Hank and Leslie given that they were in dire need of medical aid. While most worked on them, my mother recognised me instantly and could not bear to see me left alone while in unconscious. Out of motherly love she had told the others that she would tend to me herself, afterall she knew the ins and outs of my physical health. No one objected, not that they could have when she was their superior. While they were busy tending to the rest, my mother and I were left forgotten in a room far away from other signs of life.

She stared at my unconscious body for a while, holding back tears. Vastly different from her current behaviour towards me, she looked down at me with a tenderness that could not be mistaken for anything less than the love she had for me. Tenderly, she brushed her hand over my face, feeling ever rise and dip of my features that had become more prominent from stress. Though it had not been too long since we saw one another, a growing man is one person by day and another by night. I took had changed, not enough to be unrecognisable but enough to bring tears to her eyes.

Slowly, as if afraid to hurt me any further, my mother lowered her hands until they found their place on my chest. For a brief moment she felt it rise and fall with each breath and caught herself trying to breathe at the same pace. The urgency that was present upon our arrival had now subsided because within these four walls was not a patient and healer but a mother and son who had yet to catch up. As though she knew that I was now safe in my mother's arms she worked at a leisurely pace, savouring the little time we had with one another before we had to go back to our respective lives.

When she felt that the time was right, she began trying to heal me. With her palm still on my chest, she was passing her mana into me so that it could roam around and identify where the problem was. The main issue here however, was that it did not help me. None of the healers could because instead of allowing them the freedom to roam my body and tend to any internal injuries, my body acted as a magnet that would pull their mana from them.

As if my hunger could not be satiated even after passing out from taking too much, it continued. My mind was asleep but the greed within me was always awake and alert. Not knowing when to give up, my mother pressed her palms harder onto me, as if force alone is enough to overcome all difficulties. She continued to maintain contact until her arms fell onto my chest and her face was right next to mine. In that moment, I had truly become unrecognisable.

Pulling away from me, she sat on the floor staring up at me. Her mind was running around trying to find answers to what exactly had happened and more importantly, how she could help me when nothing was working. She realised quickly that there was nothing to be done to help me and only time would do the job. For the former, there were no answers. How would you explain that someone you had known for their entire life had hidden their true self from you all of this time? How would you explain that your son who was once so sweet is now a danger to anyone and everyone?

Quietly, she picked herself up and left the room. Not wanting anyone else to find out her son's ability, she headed to the head of the facility.

"I have done all that I can. He should wake up shortly as there are no serious injuries."

"That is wonderful news! I will ask for one of the nurses to -"

"No! ... Apologies I had no intentions to shout. I just think it would be best if he is left alone for the time being. Waking up to unfamiliar faces may frighten him especially considering the frightening attack they would have had to deal with."

"Oh. That is true. Thank you for letting me know, after all you would know best what helps him and what does not."

"Right. I would know best..."

At that my mother was deep in thought, wondering how much she truly knew about her son. In a daze she left the village and went back home, seeking solace in her family that was full of the familiarity that her unconscious son lacked.