The Arks - Chapter 377
“Yes, that’s correct. But this child… Was a mistake… We didn’t plan for him…”
“Miracles can happen anytime, right? Bryan is our miracle for us. I wholly welcome Bryan into this world. I don’t regret or resent him in any way. And you try your best to stay alive, alright?”
“I will. For our family’s sake. I will try my best,” answered the weak mother, laying her head on her husband’s shoulder.
The current Bryan tried to reach out to comfort his parents. But he stopped midway, realizing that was just an illusion of the past. It had already happened, there was no way he could change anything. He could only watch. And he feared the worse would come.
“I’m sorry, this is all I have for this fragment. The next one is a bit heavy, so brace yourself,” said the voice, as Bryan’s vision distorted once more.
“You can’t leave us, Mama! You promise to bring us all to the beach again” cried a voice, sounding from a girl.
“Yea, what about Bryan? He’s not even a year old yet… And he has no Mama…”
“Mama…” cried two voices, as the scene began to fully emerge around Bryan.
“Why did Mama have to go…” sobbed the little girl, hugging her brother.
The two children clung to their father’s legs. He was cradling baby Bryan, who was fast asleep. He extended out an arm to pat his two children’s heads. A tear ran down from his cheeks and onto baby Bryan, who squirmed as it started raining all of a sudden.
The family took cover by a tree near the grave they were standing at.
“Let’s go home… Bryan will catch a cold if we stay here…” instructed the father, with a solemn look on his face.
The kids must have spent a few hours there, crying. Their eyes were red and their noses were blocked. The two nodded and followed their father back home. Bryan was standing by another grave. And when the family left, he decided to pay a visit to his mother’s grave.
“She died surrounded with all her family members. Including you. You were the last one to be carried by her. She succumbed to her illness when the first flower bloomed for spring. Looks like the area is mourning for her. It was sunny just before she died,” explained the voice.
“Any clue what was her illness? And if we have the cure in present time?” asked Bryan, nearly choking up.
He was surprised, he was getting sad for someone he could not remember from his past. Was it because that it was his mother? Or that the whole memory felt so sad? He couldn’t even remember her, so why was he getting emotional? He didn’t deserve to either.
“It’s something called ‘Green Sickness’. It’s where she didn’t have enough red blood cells to go around her body. She was in the middle of the disease when she had you, that’s why she passed out for two weeks before she chose to keep you.”
“You were a miracle to be birthed by such a weak-bodied human. That fascinates me, a dying body could still give life to another. What odd potential a human body has. And people called Mages weird.”
As Bryan stood before the gravestone, he could not help but feel guilty. Etched on the grave was the words-
‘Sarah Caenis Atalanta Irvine. Born 1370, Died 1405. A loving mother of three will forever be in skies, looking after them from above.’
To think that, she was only 30 years of age when she died. Bryan was going to reach that age soon. And if he continues this line of work, he might end up having an early grave as well. Bryan shook his head, not wanting to ponder on those thoughts.
The area started pouring after the family left. Bryan found himself surrounded by gravestones. Dark clouds loomed over him, as his heart sank. It wasn’t shocking, since the mother had stated multiple times that she was dying from an incurable illness. However, Bryan’s heart ached nonetheless.
After all, she was his mother. Had fate been kinder, Bryan hoped to talk to her at least one time. He felt guilty for all those years thinking that his family abandoned him. It wasn’t his fault, it wasn’t anyone. But he still felt sad that he didn’t get to know her in person.
But now, his goals had changed. He wanted to find out how did he get his powers. From as far as he could see, none of his family members displayed any form of Magecraft.
“I’m ready for the next memory. I want to know how I was able to get powers when my family is all humans….” asked Bryan, looking away from the gravestone.