<The Year 2022>
In the background of the green hills, an area used for cemeteries, a woman with waist-length brown hair was running while carrying a bouquet of roses. The white coat she wore made her look like a swan. Beautiful, but not so beautiful as to be able to make the flowers green with envy.
Bump!
"Oh, I'm sorry." Odette accidentally bumped into someone, causing the bouquet of roses she was carrying to fall to the ground. Because she was in such a hurry, she didn't pay attention to who she bumped into.
Today was the anniversary of her mother's death. At first, she planned to visit her mother's grave but was told that one of her patients had run away. She then went down the hill, got into the car, and raced the vehicle like the devil.
Many times she almost hit other motorists and pedestrians. Her nefarious behavior in driving had really put the grim reaper in a dilemma. It was not her time to be brought to the underworld yet, but her driving was alarming.
After a few kilometers, the car turned into a narrow plantation road and stopped right in front of a rickety wooden bridge.
"Mia!" Odette was surprised to see the girl she was looking for was standing in the middle of the bridge.
Immediately, she opened the door and got out of the car. She stood there in silence, watching Mia silently staring at the river below with tears in her eyes as if they would never end.
"Mia!" she called but got no response. Odette stayed where she was. She was sad to see Mia's condition. The lash of injustice had made the girl suffer greatly.
She wanted to approach Mia, but she gave up when she saw the condition of the bridge. She had no choice but to persuade Mia to leave the bridge from where she was standing now.
"Mia, I know–"
"You don't know anything. You never lose a child," Mia muttered without taking her eyes off the river.
Mia was a victim of child trafficking crimes. She became an orphan when she was five years old. After the death of her parents, she was raised by her uncle and aunt. That's when her bad luck began.
Mia was not treated well by her aunt. She dropped out of school and was told to take care of the house. If she made the slightest mistake, she would be beaten or starved. The peak of her aunt's evil was when the child was 12 years old, she married Mia off, ah, more like, selling her off to a fifty-year-old man.
For the second time, Mia was crushed by the lash of injustice. It's like moving from one hell to another. In her husband's magnificent house, she was treated as a maid by her husband and her in-laws. Every day she received beatings, slaps, and curses. She forgot how to smile, she forgot what 'happiness' was.
Two years passed, she was 14 years old, and her abuser - who called himself her husband - demanded a child from her. In that house, no one cared about her life. Nobody cared whether the pregnancy would kill her or not. Nobody gave a damn.
In the end, Mia became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy at the age of 15. She had hated her son. However, when she heard the little baby cry, her heart melted. When she saw her baby laughing, her heart was filled with warmth.
After all these years, she was finally able to smile. She felt she had a companion and her gloomy world feels a little brighter.
However, as if she hadn't been destroyed enough, fate had again crushed her to the last pieces.
After two years of nursing and she weaned her son, Mia was kicked out of the home and separated from her son. She was just thrown away like trash. She almost died trying to take her son away with her.
Odette glanced sadly, concerned about Mia's condition. A gust of wind gently moved her brown hair. With the same sad look, she turned to look at the current of the river below, or rather at a leaf that had fallen by the current and disappeared.
"I... I don't know what it's like to lose a child, but I know what it's like to lose someone you love. My father died while I was still in the womb. In this world, I only have a mother, but two years ago, she left me."
Mia finally looked away from the river and saw the 27-year-old psychologist who was already looking at her too.
"I don't know what it's like to lose a child, but I know how it feels to miss a mother. Maybe your child is missing you right now. He's waiting for you to come and get him. My mom said the reason God chose women to be mothers, is because women are very tough. You are a very strong woman. Please don't give up. You're now free from that hell. You have to get your son out of there."
Mia looked down sadly. Will God help her get her son back? How? Apart from her love for her son, she had nothing and no one.
As if understanding what Mia was thinking, Odette reassured the young woman that she was with Mia. It's not just Odette, but many people were behind Mia and support her, so she didn't have to worry.
Odette also explained how opportunities were open to Mia because the law was on her side.
Mia's husband and his entire family have been reported to the police. They would all be charged with child trafficking crimes, child endangerment, and attempted murder.
"Don't think that you are alone. Live and be happy with your child. Teach your children to be good human beings. Imagine the time when you can play with him, watch him grow, you prepare breakfast and lunch for him before going to school. I'm sure when he grows up, he will be a successful man and make his mother so happy that she will forget how to cry. Do you want to miss all those moments?"
Mia glanced at Odette with trembling eyes, as there was a ray of hope. Her tears were flowing again. However, this time it was not tears of sadness but tears of suppressed emotion.
Well, yes, she could imagine all the beautiful moments that Odette said.
She ...
She wanted to live.
Odette smiled as she extended her hand for Mia to reach. The young woman wiped her tears and smiled back at the doctor. She had given up her intention to commit suicide.
However, when she lifted her leg, suddenly the beam of the bridge broke.
"Ahhhh..!"
"Mia!"
Seeing Mia fall, Odette, without thinking at all, immediately ran, hoping to reach Mia.
However, suddenly the bridge collapsed.
SPLASH!
Odette fell from a height of five meters. She sank slowly and felt the current hit her body. However, oddly enough, she was not dragged away. She kept sinking deeper and deeper.
BUBBLE BUBBLE
Bubbles rose to the surface. She was starting to run out of breath. Odette desperately tried to save her life but in vain.
She felt her body being pulled. She thought she might be being pulled by a crocodile, the river predator.
'Mother ....'
On the verge of realizing whether it was an illusion or reality, Odette saw the area around her turning red.
Was that blood? Was this really the end of her life?
The red around her grew darker. At a glance, she saw a dazzling light before everything turned dark, and she lost her perception of her surroundings.
The screams of thousands of people broke the silence of the night as the two armies charged at each other.This was a war where human lives fell like dry leaves in autumn.The number of troops in black was far fewer, but they were able to fight back the troops in red. In the middle of the crowd, a man with long grey hair from the black camp seemed to dominate.He stepped into the crowd of red troops and slashed at his opponents like a frenzied threshing machine. He was Arion D. Panther, the king of Panthera, the demon slayer.Time went on, and victims continued to fall from both sides. Corpses and body parts strewed about. The rancid smell of spilt blood wafted when the wind blew.STABSTABSLASHRion had just overthrown three soldiers in a row. But after the attack, he suddenly fell silent. Of course, the opportunity was immediately taken advantage of by the enemy.An archer from the enemy's side took aim at him. However, before he could shoot an arr
Rion fell to his knees with both hands resting on the ground. A few seconds after the needle struck his shoulder, he felt stuffy, he felt stuffy. His heart was pounding, and his body temperature rose drastically as if a fire was burning him from within.By the second, his condition was getting worse, as he started to sweat, his ears were ringing, and his vision was blurry.Ten meters from him, from behind a tree, a purple-eyed girl was watching."Yeah!! It worked!" She smiled triumphantly. "I'm sorry Big Brother, it would feel a little bad, but all of this is for my future and the future of the Panthera Kingdom.""Princess Anwen?""Huh?" The girl's eyes and mouth widened when she heard a voice from behind. She pressed her lips when she saw the king's wild dog appear behind her. "Tri-Trishy? You? Hi, how are you? Hehe."Anwen smiled awkwardly and started to get nervous when Trish looked at her appearance in a Panthera soldier's uniform. He saw a vial and a small needle-thrower device s
Odette woke up from her stupor and found herself in a river in the forest.She was quite surprised that she was still alive and her limbs were still intact. She didn't suffer any serious injuries but only a few abrasions.She was relieved. At first, she thought that she had been eaten by a crocodile but apparently not. Pfew…Then what did she see when she almost lost consciousness? The surrounding water was red and shining?She inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. What she saw was definitely just a hallucination. The girl straightened her clothes, then stood up and looked around. In front of her was a river, and behind her were trees.Where was she?Aish, she must have been stranded very far away. She knew for sure that there were no forests around her town.After Odette was silent for a while and regained her composure, she felt better. She decided to leave the place. If she drifted all the way here, then she could definitely find her way back to where she came from."Arrgh!"Odette
Odette had given up hope to fight back! Tears started to leak out from the corner of her eyes as she lost hope that she would get out of there as a virgin. Who cared if the man was handsome or not? This was against her will! She started crying.Rion, who was already preparing to carry out the final execution, suddenly froze when he saw tears flowing from the corners of the women's two eyes. He immediately pictured Rose's eyes crying when he looked at her from behind the bars of the cell.Rion was stunned. He quickly pushed himself away from her and stepped back, as if he had just received a no-parking warning from Rose. With staggered steps, he continued to walk backward until he accidentally fell into the estuary behind him.GULP GULP GULP.The cold sensation of the estuary extinguished the fire within him and removed all the aphrodisiac effects he was feeling.Meanwhile, Odette had taken a seat on the ground. She panted very hard. Her whole body was shaking and she felt numb. She wa
Odette entered the thicket as she chose the route she had previously decided. In her opinion, it was better than going up the slope following Rion.Which fool would follow the one who nearly harmed him?The girl walked through the tall bushes that obscured the view almost like a show curtain. She used the branch in her hands and swatted it against the vines that blocked the way.Odette really hoped to find a way out of the forest, but the more she walked, the darker and darker the surroundings became.For a moment, she stopped and looked around. For some reason, the place felt unsafe, and the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up when she felt a gust of wind pass by.The gust of wind was as warm as... someone's breath behind her ear.Something went wrong.Odette turned her head back stiffly and instantly froze. Her heart felt like it had just fallen into her stomach when she saw the face of a big bear plastered clearly and distinctly in front of her face.ROAAAAAARRR!The bi
Night fell and stars spattered the sky. It looked so beautiful. However, there was a more amazing sight.Hundreds of red roses grew on the land that lay wide. A gust of wind gently swayed the petals of the flowers. A sweet fragrance perfumed the air while the golden coloured moonlight gently shone on the flower and made its beauty shine even more.Surely anyone who saw this thought that the roses were not from the earth but from the garden of heaven.Among the flowers, Rion stood and stared at one of the rose petals that was there. A petal that was still a bud and had not yet opened. Maybe when the sun rose tomorrow, then the bud would open?Rion's hand moved slowly and touched the flower petals gently and carefully.Rion smiled, but his eyes stared sadly. His hazel eyes were a mist of sadness.From a distance, two servants and a soldier looked at their king who was in the middle of the rose garden.Call them servant A, servant B and the soldier."Even though it has been six years, th
Slowly Odette began to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was a silhouette of a person's shadow until a few seconds later, it became clear."Huh?" Odette was surprised to find the face of a purple-eyed girl so close to hers."You finally woke up," said Anwen with a sweet smile."Wh-who are you?" Odette immediately got up. The hunching Anwen looked at the face of Odette, who looked like she was about to wake up. She thus stood up straight.Odette's eyes wandered, and she found herself in a very strange place again. She was in a golden room. On the walls, there were decorative paintings, that if one looked closely, they all looked like… roses?Odette's blue eyes shifted to the grey-haired girl standing next to her, then to the two women standing behind the girl. The clothes worn by the two women reminded Odette of the maid outfits she had seen in the colossal dramas her mother always watched.Where was she now? And who were these pe
The wind blew the long grey hair of the man who was stood with the pointed sword aimed at Odette. His cold hazel eyes glanced at Trish who was standing behind him, then drew back his sword. And without a word , he just walked past Odette. The surprised Odette turned her head and continued to see the back of the man, who continued to move away. "Are you okay?" "Huh?" Odette turned back to the front and found a brown-haired man bent over while giving a helping hand. Handsome. Those were the first words that crossed Odette's mind when she saw Trish's face. After three seconds of fascination, Odette finally nodded and took Trish's hand to stand up. As soon as she stood up, Anwen jumped from the window that Odette had previously passed. "Miss Ody, what are you doing here?" asked Anwen as she stood by Odette. "Ody? So your name is Ody. Nice name. I'm Trish," Trish introduced himself as he reached out for a handshake, but Odette just smiled wryly and stepped back slowly, which made Tr