Chapter 21

The boy put the white puppy in between his parents' tombs.

He stared at it with a saddened expression while caressing it softly, careful not to wake him up.

"I'm sorry to do this to you," He whispered, almost as if he's guilty of uttering a word. "You came up to me and comforted me and I took you in. But in the end, I'd abandon you when all you did was stay by my side without a single doubt. That blind man over there might take notice of you too, but I'll pray that anyone who picks you up is someone capable of taking care of you. I hope you'll live a long life."

He stopped caressing the puppy when a croaking voice slowly came flowing in.

"No matter how tough the going gets, you can always pray. That will give you hope, my dear."

Hearing that 'my dear' reminded him of how Olia Isema often addresses him. What he heard that time was truly soft and gentle and tender. Like a warm pillow cushioning his weary head after a rough day.

It wasn't anything like how the old woman said it.

Uriel thought about it and this confirmed his speculations about the old woman knowing about him even before his memory loss. She was trying to remind him of someone all this time by repeatedly using familiar words in a familiar tone of someone else.

He glanced at the right tomb where Cecille's name was engraved.

It was probably his mother all along – the words, the name, and the warmth. It was pure and tender, after all.

He closed his eyes and among the darkness he saw, he created a box sealed with locks.

The keys right now are missing, but some pieces from inside are spilling out like evaporating gases.

There were also factors coming from outside that are like rare stones intended to wound open that box.

The old woman and her house, the mysterious forest and Sinclair, and the tombstones scattered among the great war's corpses.

Somewhere in the darkness he's seeing are answers he's been seeking all along.

The past he had forgotten, the memories he cherished, and how he perceived the world before.

It's all just in there, looming between the smallest cracks that are entrance ways towards a bigger picture.

Thinking about it, the first thing he remembered was that he murdered someone.

He thought that itself might have triggered a traumatic scenery causing the loss of memories. The curse inflicted to him with the touch of somebody's dying blood.

"No matter how tough the going gets, you can always pray," The soft, mellifluous, and lady-like voice continued. "Because that will give you hope and will make you love your life again."

Uriel let out a gasp when the darkness remained even when he already opened his eyes. The difference in light never changed and the blackness around him was enough to suffocate him.

He held his throat and neck, but couldn't see what was happening inside to somehow relieve it.

The word 'curse' was constantly repeated with a hostile and rough voice.

It felt like he was getting punished for something he did.

Was it the murder?

He couldn't ask even if he wanted to.

Uriel thought that something similar to what happened to him last time at the bathroom is the same situation right now. Thinking that someone might notice his suffering since he's outdoors, he was a bit relieved to have that hope.

Someone might just give a hand and help him.

But that choking experience happened for a few more minutes until it turned into an hour and then into a few more hours. He wanted to cry, but no tears were spilling out.

It came to a point that he just wanted to die right there and think the whole life he had was unfortunate and miserable.

He was okay with that.

Soon, a weak bark was heard from somewhere distant. It cried again and again, Uriel pictured in that accursed mind of his how the white puppy is crying for his suffering.

"Ah, don't cry like that," He thought, knowing fully well his words won't reach the little, innocent creature.

"Don't despair. Don't share my pain again like you did last time. Because if you do, I'll feel guiltier than I am right now. I might not be able to bear living with that anymore."

He tried closing his eyes once again and the next time he opened it, the whole world's scenery returned to him.