Husband, Wanted - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The wind was bitter. The hook-shaped air scraped my skin.

I clenched my teeth and gave myself the most chilling expression I could.

But despite my efforts, the child rubbed his eyes as if sleepy with a round hand wrapped in bright yellow mittens.

“Yaawn.”

My heart pounded wildly as I watched him look so calm that he didn’t even feel a sense of crisis.

The child’s breath flew like a blade and pierced my chest.

I was not breathing properly, so I opened my mouth and gasped loudly.

My arms holding my child, or even my whole body, began to tremble as if there had been an earthquake.

I was obviously fine until I came down the forest…… I thought it was okay…… Was it an illusion?

Even in the chilly weather, a cold sweat was dripping down.

The child closed his eyes, as if sleepy, and then opened it.

I looked at the child and turned my gaze away. Then, I put the child down and calmly turned around and walked away.

“…….”

The feel of the soft cloth wrapped around the child lingered on my fingertips for a long time.

I walked blindly without looking back even though my weak legs were bent.

I didn’t even have time to decide which way was to return to the hut.

All senses felt unreal, as if walking in water.

That moment.

“Uwaanngg!”

The sound of the child’s cries hit my head like a thunderbolt.

It felt like my heart was sinking.

I closed my eyes to ignore it, but my legs stood still.

I couldn’t stop the ominous thoughts from creeping up in my head.

Come to think of it, the stone floor on which I put the child must have been cold, so what if he caught a cold?

If something went wrong if the temple found the child late…….

“…….”

I moved the leg that had stopped.

Incomparably faster than the speed with which I had escaped, I returned to the temple.

As I climbed the steps, I saw a priest in a thick, white coat embracing and soothing the child.

It was obviously fortunate, but for some reason, my impatience grew worse.

“Wait, please, please wait!”

The old man with deep wrinkles on his face looked at me and naturally held out the child without any questioning.

I hugged the child as if snatching it.

The child who had been crying as I left the street stopped crying as soon as he was held in my arms.

But large teardrops from his large eyes ran down his cheeks as white and soft as milk, drop by drop.

Then he whined from time to time as if blaming me.

I could not see the child, but neither did I make eye contact with the old man.

Just like a person who stole something, I flicked my eyes anxiously.

“That, I, this is all…… For some reason, that, he’s not my child, ah…… I was the one who gave birth, but I can’t remember……Therefore…….”

“It’s a cold day, would you like to come inside and drink honey tea?”

“No! It’s okay. I don’t like honey very much…….yes.”

I don’t know with what spirit I walked back to the hut.

I was afraid I would miss the child, so I hugged him with both arms.

My heart still felt unusually fast, and hiccups broke out from my mouth.

Mildred, who was in the kitchen, glanced back as I pushed through the hut door.

“Where have you been since morning?”

“I, I… … I want to go home.”

“Huh?”

“My body is fine now, and I miss my mom and dad…… The child…… When I get home, my mom will take care of everything. I’ll go home. Thank you for taking care of me.”

I went up to my room and carefully laid the child down on the bed.

My hands were still trembling slightly.

Mildred followed me up and put a blanket over my shoulder.

As the warmth enveloped my body, my head, which had been shaking in confusion, calmed down for a moment.

“I know this is shameless, but money…… Can you lend me a little bit? I need to buy a boarding pass back to the mansion, but you know I don’t have anything. I can pay it back tenfold as soon as I get home. Really. Shall I use a promissory note?”

“Why are you shaking so much like this? Sit down for a while. I will lend you the price of your boarding pass.”

Mildred pulled my wrist and sat me in an armchair and brought a steaming tea.

Mildred’s hand-picked and dried chamomile leaves swam slowly over the hot water.

As the sweet scent rushed into my nostrils, the chill went down.

“Are you leaving today?”

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about leaving for a long time.”

“But so suddenly…… Well, if you want to do that, I won’t stop you…… But you can’t go with just the money to buy a boarding pass. I’ll get you some cloth diapers, clothes, and some dried food for you to eat on board.”

“…… thank you.”

“Oh, and.”

Mildred pulled a small folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to me.

I didn’t even know what it was, and I took it.

“I was going to give it to you right away, but the Miss isn’t strong enough, so I thought you would be confused, so I put it off, but now I’m giving it to you…….”

“What is this?”

Perhaps it had been wrinkled without mercy, the paper was full of small wrinkles.

I opened it up without a doubt and asked.

“The Miss was holding it when you were lying in front of the hut. But the content is not usual…….”

[Don’t trust anyone, Liana.

Never, never, never trust anyone.

Don’t trust anyone, nobody.

Don’t trust anyone.

Don’t trust anyone.

Don’t trust anyone.

Don’t trust anyone.

Don’t trust anyone.

Don’t trust anyone.

Don’t trust anyone.

Don’t trust anyone.

Don’t trust anyone.

Liana, please, please, pl……]

Ink that spread like smudged filled the entire surface of the paper.

In the obsessive repetition of the same words, it was clearly my handwriting.

Even though the back part was torn, it was easy to predict that there must have been a written saying, ‘please don’t trust anyone.’

I wrinkled my eyes and looked at the scrambled writing.

“What is this…….”

The warning to the present me was clear.

My handwriting that told me to trust no one was uprooted and stuck in my heart.

What happened to me in the past?

Confused, I shook my head.

No matter how hard I tried, nothing came to mind.

My most recent memory is the moment when I fell asleep with the dream of studying abroad.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I hope that your memories will be found quickly and things will be resolved.”

Mildred’s consolation floated in the air, then scattered without a trace.

I couldn’t orient myself as if I had been thrown onto an endless sea of ​​sand.

Afraid that someone would steal the note, I folded it up and put it deep inside my arms.

“…… I want to go.”

In my heart, I wanted to leave immediately on the day I was handed the note, but unfortunately, the ship heading for the capital had already left, so I had to stay in this hut for another day.

The next day.

Mildred and Robin took me to the port.

“Take this. I wrote down how to change diapers, how to give first aid when a baby is sick, and how to make baby food. I explained everything in words once, but seeing it in writing is more memorable in your mind.”

Mildred held a notebook the size of her palm in my hand.

“Thank you.”

I nodded my head to say my goodbye and got on board.

Instead of seeing my parents see me off in tears as I stood on the ship, I saw the faces of Mildred and Robin filled with worry.

The small ship among the giant sailing ships had only one sail.

It was also in a yellowish color as if it had been around for a long time.

Not long after, the sound of the ship’s horn resounded all around.

I wrapped my arms around the child’s ears and entered the cabin.

I took a seat in an empty spot of the long wooden seats.

There was no cushion to protect the buttocks and back, but it was not very uncomfortable.

“What makes you laugh so much?”

When I slightly touched the child’s plump white cheeks with my index finger, the child frowned as if it itches and laughed.