The Dreams Of A Goddess - Chapter 0.4

So they did. They had thought about Yume and her circumstances before asking their families to visit Yume in her courtyard for they had a guess that Yume was a sheltered girl that was curious of many things.

They departed from their houses and snuck into Yume’s courtyard that looked quite empty after having spies to spot the appearance of a small girl and plot out the location of where she lived. They were excited to meet her and were slowly approaching her courtyard.

…

On the other hand, Yume was punished by her father who found out she snuck outside to roam the streets and see the souvenirs. Yume was flogged twenty times before her body could not take anymore and was restricted to her own courtyard to heal her wounds. Yume was devastated because she did not think that her own father would actually try the tactic of lecturing and hitting their own child.

Yume had her pride hurt but she wanted the week to end and let her wounds heal with time. Yume had already forgotten about the boys but when they showed up, she wanted to move around and stop lying on the bed.

“How was your punishment?” Su Lin Feng looked at the severity of Yume’s limping while she tried to sit in a chair and pour the tea out of courtesy.

“I am fine, Su Lin Feng. Don’t worry about me,” she spoke absentmindedly as she continued to eye the pot of tea in her hands as it filled up five cups before she had given them out.

Chang Su, Bai Ran and Ju Ren Lei looked very concerned with Yume’s condition despite knowing her for a few minutes just last week. They learned that girls should be cherished and doted upon because their mothers usually guided them in courtship even though the children saw their mothers as strong headed women and equal to their fathers.

However, they always knew if they doubted their mothers, they would only get a scolding like, “How could you? A daughter will be the apple of their parent’s eyes. Don’t mind me, but not every family are like ours. Don’t try to argue anymore or you’ll skip dinner.”

So they could only apply their concerns with Yume. The four boys would always keep an eye on Yume while she treated them as guests and did her duty as a host. Yume had already attracted the four boys in a single day as she braved her way to ignore the pain that kept biting her arse. Yume and the four boys hit it off quickly after Yume did her duties as a host and joined them in a long conversation.

The group spoke of many broad subjects that Yume was fairly interested in though she could not participate in those conversations but prod about them because she did not have enough knowledge. However, she was learning.

The four boys long departed when the sun was not apparent in the sky. Yume crawled out into her courtyard and laid near the pond, looking at the stars shining brightly in the night.

She thought of the moments that she shared with the four boys that she met at the hangout just a week ago and felt how much they bonded in one day. Even though she was not fairly well in talking because she was learning new things, she had enjoyed the time that she spent with the boys.

Day after day, Yume was constantly assaulted by the appearances of the four boys but she didn’t mind it. More like, Yume was glad that she did not have to rely on her father to be disappointed about. She could express more with Su Lin Feng, Bai Ran, Chang Su, and Ju Ren Lei and continuously improved in talking with them.

Days became months. Months became years. And then 20 years passed and she celebrated her birthday with her group. Her father never visited her but it was okay for her. Yume still had Su Lin Feng, Bai Ran, Chang Su, and Ju Ren Lei that visited her every day. They gave her books, souvenirs and even paintings that they thought Yume would want to see. For Bai Ran, as the God of Fortune, he made systems and bestowed souls a chance for them to find happiness. Ju Ren Lei loved making wine so on certain occasions such as celebrating, he would bring out his best wine for the group to drink as a festivity but that only started when they turned 19. Chang Su loved music so he became a hopeless romantic trying to pursue every girl he could take a shot at. He was loved by many but girls didn’t want to hover over Chang Su since he hung out with Su Lin Feng, Bai Ran, and Ju Ren Lei. And as for Su Lin Feng, he hoped, mostly for Yume, to live a longer life.

Over the twenty years of friendship in her courtyard, the boys could see the girl slowly becoming weaker and weaker. Her physical body looked like it couldn’t handle Yume’s strength. It was slowly deteriorating her health and the four boys worried over her. They had read medical researches to help her situation but Yume would always smile and never say anything when they brought up her health. And staying by Yume’s side and sometimes having sleepovers in her courtyard, they realized that Yume’s father never showed up and her courtyard was always empty.

It was just Yume and her personal maid doing all the chores in her own courtyard. The way Yume carried herself made them decide to make themselves at home whenever they wanted. Because, every day, whether or not they were there, Yume would always have a portion of food available for them. It was not like they came irregularly but it became a habit to stick at her courtyard for most the time whenever they had enough at home.

One day, when the group decided to take Yume out and see the creation that they had made for her in her garden that she planted the first day the group sworn friendship and forever being bound to each other.

However, what greeted them was the sight of a sickly girl, all skin and bones lying down on her bed with sunken eyes.

“Yume,” Ju Ren Lei was very concerned as one touch could easily break her.

Chang Su looked at Yume’s body and took her pulse, and what he expected was very shocking. He pulled back in surprise that what Yume was not a sickness but a power struggle. Yume’s body could not hold in the power that she was born with and realizing that she had bracelet chains that cut off her power from activating, Chang Su could see that Yume was holding onto a sliver of life.

Su Ling Fen also scanned her lifespan with his powers as the God of Longevity. He saw Yume with a halo over her head and realized one thing: the halo she had only belong to the one and only Goddess of Wishes. The halo that was granted or forced onto her.

Bai Ran also did the same and used his powers to see the condition and how long Yume could live for. Apparently, he found something that shocked him. Yume was supposed to die when she was born. Bai Ran could only guess that Yume was not what she portrayed herself as. Yume told them that she was just a noble’s daughter but the amount of energy causing a ruckus in her body was not possible.

Also, with the way that Yume always stayed silent whenever they wanted to help her condition improved, they noticed that Yume had already given up hope. The hope that they thought she held all along was something that she threw away since young.