It's been more than six months, and at this point I feel capable of taking my first steps. The problem is that my parents made a huge fuss when I started crawling, about a month ago. Now, if I start trying to walk, I can only imagine their reaction. It's better to wait a little longer before starting to walk properly.
In these few months, I've begun to understand a few words. I learned that my mother's name is Emma and my father's name is Frank. I've also learned basic expressions, which hasn't been too difficult. For now, I'm understanding that winter will arrive in about three months, and that's why my parents are in a difficult situation, as the winter is severe and affects the entire region. Right now, they're still storing food for when winter arrives. For my part, I'm mentally making a list of things I'd like to improve in the house to make my parents' lives easier. For now, the list is long and keeps growing.
My mother has recovered and looks better every day. My father, on the other hand, continues to work hard every day, sometimes with some help from my mother, who recently started working after the mandatory rest she had to take. I've also noticed that my father's skin tone is improving, apparently returning to its Caucasian colour, although it's a little sunburned from working outdoors.
So far, everything has been fine. Sometimes I try to crawl to the front door, but I'm usually stopped for fear of hurting myself or something happening to me. There are times when I've managed to get out of the house for a few minutes; the wonderful scenery outside is absolutely beautiful.
Today is one of the days I managed to escape my mother's arms by crawling to the door. It's started to get quite cold, and as soon as I put a hand outside the house, I felt a cold gust of wind hit my face. While it's not an uncomfortable sensation, it's not entirely pleasant either. Before they could catch me and drag me back into the house, I managed to stand up with the help of the door frame.
"Ohhhhhh! Frank! Frank! Look, Sam can now stand up on his own. He's learning things very quickly!" my mother shouted from the kitchen as she finished preparing breakfast.
"My baby is a genius. In the first two months he learned to crawl, and after four, he learned to stand. It won't be long before he starts running." He sighed. "We'll have to take even greater care to keep him safe," my father responded from the pasture side of the house. Lately, he's been working harder to protect the farm animals and the few remaining crops.
At that moment, I thought, "They'll be even more surprised when they see me walk. I already feel it's time, and I'll do it." I imagined their surprised faces as I prepared to take my first steps.
Leaning against the wall, I began walking toward the far edge of the pastures. What I could see from where I was were a few houses, like ours. They're small and they're also farms. They're all at least a thousand meters apart, and each farm is barely 900 square meters in size. The forest seems to border all of them.
As I looked out over the landscape, I felt myself being lifted up. It was my father who placed me on his shoulder, trying to explain to me where we were and that the most populated part was in the centre of the city. This caught my attention, as I thought we were much further away from the nearest town. There were no connecting roads, and I couldn't see any buildings in the distance.
My mother called us, saying that dinner was ready, so we went in. Recently, my mother started feeding me creamed soups and some kind of soup, which, by the way, tastes really bad.
They were very similar to the creams my mother used to make back home. They were ugly, sometimes gray, as if she were experimenting on me. Although I understood, in neither of my lives have I been from a wealthy family. I've always had to fight and strive for what I've wanted and longed for.
After eating, my mother took me down from the high chair she had reserved for me and placed me on the wooden floor, where I always pretended to play so as not to attract too much attention from my parents.
To entertain myself, I sometimes tried to recall earth theories I'd studied in college, or reminisced about the martial arts training I'd attended. It was during those training sessions that I learned how to do breathing exercises. Even though I can endure them for longer periods of time, the heat and pain in the centre of my body still persist. I don't know if this sensation is a problem, or if it's just because I'm still too small to handle the incoming energy.
The days pass quickly, and I feel my body growing. Sometimes my bones ache, and the meditation time for the heat to arrive also increases each time. I can now meditate for almost half an hour before the pain starts.
I've found a way to learn some words more quickly. When I point to something I want, my parents pronounce the object as they politely hand it to me. They've said I'm very intelligent for my age, which isn't unusual. In my previous life, I studied up to university and still remember most things, which puts me in a better position than other children my age.
Sometimes at night, like tonight, I wonder how my mother is doing on earth. Anna was already elderly, and the void she must have felt after my death must have been hard to overcome. I'm glad she was able to save something for the future of both of us; that and the insurance money should last her a long time—I sigh.
I hope you can enjoy and follow your life, just as I'm trying to lead this new life. In this new opportunity, I'll try to do everything in my power to be better and grow into someone of renown, no matter how difficult or what obstacles I have to overcome. That will be my goal in this life, and I will do everything to achieve it.
It's already gotten so cold that a single gust passing through the holes in the walls makes me shiver. My mother and father have begun to cut back on their workdays as winter is in full swing. Although they don't expect it to last long, they worry about the animals. Some animals that look like cows have already died; these were meant to be sold, but they couldn't withstand the brutal winter. The remaining crops have frozen and also died. At least Aur, the horse, is safe and well. Without him, going to sell or looking for Grandma Thea would require almost a day's walk, and it would be too late for emergencies.
Just as the punishing cold was finally easing, my mother started to get sick. We can't go get Grandma Thea yet; at this point, it would be a one-way trip for both my father and Aur. My mother's illness is very similar to the flu that commonly occurs in our country, but my father only knows a few things about how to treat my mother's fever, which is getting worse.
Today I lay against her, feverish as she was. My father was at her side, but he didn't know what to do. I had the idea of taking some snow, putting it on a rag, and covering her forehead with it, which I proceeded to do, but I knew my father wouldn't let me go easily.
My father was terrified when I tried to leave the house and even tried to scream, but he was aware of my mother's situation, so he refrained from making a sound. He still darted to try to catch me. I was a couple of steps faster. As I left, I scooped up some snow with my tiny hands and placed it on my shirt. I ran inside since it was freezing. When I returned to my mother's bedside, I placed some snow on a cloth on her forehead. Her previously tense expression was beginning to relax.
As the days passed, when the snow began to decrease, my father went in search of Grandma Thea. It took him almost a whole day to go and return to Grandma. When they arrived, Grandma began to cast spells that made my mother glow. The breeze or energy felt from Grandma's spells was very different from my mother's; it was like tasting a new flavour. My mother's clicking sounds could barely be called bland, whereas Grandma's spells felt like the flavour filled my mouth, and without being directed at me, they made me feel better.
After Grandma finished casting spells on my mother, she turned to my father, and said,
-"Putting snow on her was a great idea, I congratulate you. It saved Emma. If you hadn't, the fever would have killed her days ago, causing her to have seizures, or perhaps she would have become stupid."
"Thank you for your congratulations, but they shouldn't be directed at me. It was little Sam who came up with that idea. At first, I thought it would hurt him and wanted to take it away, but since it was the only thing that relaxed Emma, I decided to let it go and trust him." My father said with a bow and immediately turned to look at me, surprise visible in his eyes as he smiled, which made him look somewhat sinister.
"Well done, little devil. You've saved your mother. It seems you may have some talent. I hope I can watch you grow and develop your gifts, at least the good ones," Grandma said, while my face turned red. I related the last sentence to the large gas I passed when she welcomed me.
After treating my mother, Grandma left. Our house had nothing to offer a person like her. She could have claimed almost three weeks' pay for visiting my mother, but she reduced it to five copper coins, which was barely more than a week's pay.
My mother tried to sit up in bed, but my father stopped her almost immediately. Apparently, the magic that heals my mother, despite using Grandma's energy, doesn't completely restore my mother's spirits. It seems to only combat the illness, but full recovery depends on the patient.
After a while, my mother was as good as new. The winter cold had subsided, and the layer of snow outside was already disappearing. The harsh winter lasted a little over a month and a half, but that was enough to give almost the entire population headaches.
The work of restoring the crops, animals, and some damage to the house took some time. My mother, with her magic, was able to clean everything up very quickly, but apparently her magic wasn't strong enough to do anything more than clean or do some basic chores. Meanwhile, my father took care of the paddocks and plowing the old roots in the fields.
My first birthday was approaching, which, on Earth's calendar, would be mid-February. My parents had tried to make a special meal, but to my taste, it was still pretty bland. Mom's cream soups had a very peculiar taste, and it seemed not even my father liked them.
After that, my father gave me a hand-carved horse figurine. The strange thing was that the horse seemed to have a horn. Dad's work was very detailed; he had done an excellent job and it looked very polished. This detail surprised me, and I really liked it. Even though the house doesn't have many resources, they always find a way to express their love.
After I turned one, my father had organized the room where the tools were for me, so I would now have privacy and a place to do my things.
One night, while sitting in the lotus position on a blanket that had been laid out for me, I began to meditate as I had frequently done, but this time there was a big change. After 40 minutes, there was still no pain or heat in my body. When more than 50 minutes had passed, or so I think, something like a lentil began to form in my body. It was very small and almost transparent white; I wouldn't have been able to see it if I hadn't been working frequently in meditation. When the whitish mini-lentil finished forming, I felt my whole body begin to sweat, my eyes began to blur, and I felt so tired that I just wanted to sleep. I tried to stay awake, but the harder I tried, the harder it became; the last thing I could see were the leaves and slats of the room's ceiling.