208 Zack’s Past
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Zack recalled the past, when he was just a small child that barely learned how to walk and talk, at the mere age of two, after the big war against the demons that had attempted to invade the jungle, his parents had died that day, and Nepheline told him the news directly, because she thought it was the right thing to do…
“Your parents… Died bravely while fighting to protect you, Zack… So… You should- Ah! Wait! Zack!”
“No… No… No!”
Zack’s eyes back then were filled with sorrow and despair, as he cried while running away into the wilderness… Running further and further, and because Nepheline was weakened and filled with wounds after the fight against the demons invading the jungle, she was incapable of chasing him down, even less when she had run almost completely out of mana.
But there was something else, as Zack’s emotions exploded, his mana manifested, generating green winds that helped him at running away, that helped him at escaping as fast as possible… This only ended making his chase even harder for Nepheline…
Shade and Nepheline tried to look for him, but when they finally found him, he was sleeping peacefully beneath a tree, above a bed made of leaves.
They sensed the presence of someone, as they looked at a gray wolf looking at them from behind.
“Ninhursag?” asked Nepheline. “L-Let me bring him back…”
…..
“No… He wants some time alone.” Said Ninhursag. “Leave him to me.”
“What? But…!” muttered Nepheline.
“I know of his situation better than anybody…” said Ninhursag.
“…”
“Fine…” said Shade. “Take good care of him, we’ll come to see him daily as well…”
“Thanks…” said Ninhursag.
“But Shade, he’s a baby…” said Nepheline.
“Ninhursag… We have to trust her. She knows what’s best for the boy…” sighed Shade. “Maybe what he needs is a bit of solitude in the jungles to learn to be stronger mentally… The lose of parents is something that can greatly impact a person’s life… Ninhursag will protect and guide him. Let’s trust her.”
“Sigh… Okay…” said Nepheline, as she looked at Ninhursag.
“I trust you, so make sure to take care of the boy, okay?” asked Nepheline.
“Yes… I will…” said Ninhursag.
And every night since then, Ninhursag would sit atop the trees in the form of a owl, and watch over the boy’s sleep, and in the day, she would watch him in the form of squirrels, rats, and small birds…
“Huh? What was that…?”
Zack would sometimes feel as if someone was watching over him, but he would only find different animals that simply were part of the background of a jungle.
“Ukiii!”
And sometimes, a weird, red-colored monkey would sometimes throw some fruits at him casually and then run away.
“Eh? The red monkey! He’s very dumb, he always drops the fruits he carries…”
There were other times, when Zack was chased by predators of all kinds, and he would think he was a goner…
“G-Get away from me!”
“Groar!”
The giant panthers of the forest were deadly and always would try to catch easy prey… seeing a defenseless child was an easy meal for them, and every time they would see him, they would try to attack.
“WOOF!”
…Only for a mysterious gray wolf would always emerge.
The gray wolf was beautiful and had an ash gray fur that shone brightly beneath the sunlight.
SLASH!
With its sharp claws, the wolf would attack the threats and slash the enemies into pieces, sometimes eating the prey and sharing it with him, and other times mysteriously disappearing after getting done with its job.
“The Ash Wolf…”
Zack ended calling his guardian, the cool and fluffy wolf, Ash Wolf, and had become somewhat of a heroic figure for him, sometimes, the wolf would approach him and give him meat, and other times, when it would get too cold, the wolf would let the boy sleep at his side, using his fluffy fur to warm him while coiling around him.
These memories… all these memories that Zack had, all those wondrous animals he met, they were Ninhursag all along.
Since the moment he learned this, he felt an enormous feeling of gratitude towards her, alongside appreciation, and even familial love… He felt grateful, and wanted to thank her, and perhaps, on his need to have a maternal figure that wasn’t somebody’s mother, to ask her to become his mother.
After all… she always took care of him and cared for him, perhaps even now as he explored the wilderness, she might be observing him…
“Ninhursag… Will you stay with me?” he cried. “I-I want you to stay at my side…”
The little Zack that was often prideful and arrogant, and often also a bit of a meanie, was now showing the delicate side of a child that he still was to Ninhursag…
Ninhursag smiled warmly and motherly at him, as she hugged him.
“Of course… I should had… taken you into consideration…” she sighed. “I was stupid for not realizing I had a son I need to take care of.”
“S-Son?” asked Zack, his eyes shone brightly as if they were to stars in the middle of the night sky.
“You’re my son… After all, right?” she asked.
Zack’s eyes continued flowing with tears as he nodded faintly and then smiled, showing his bright white teeth.
“Right… Mama…” he said.
A bond between two unrelate people that went through the same suffering… While Ninhursag had nobody that would take care of her in such years… Zack did have someone, her.
Ninhursag decided to be the figure that she lacked as she grew up more, the figure that Zack missed the most, a mother.
She wanted to see this child grow healthy, to be happy… and to not become someone like her, tormented by her depression, by her sorrow, and by her self-loathing.
She wanted to bring him happiness and love, so he would grow mentally stable and… So he could enjoy all the things she lacked.
“Let’s survive together, okay? Wherever we go… We’ll go together… I am not separating from you anymore.” She said, as she held Zack’s little hand.
“Let’s go back to the village.” She said.
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