1 Aerin Aster Grimbea

(POV: Albert Andreas Grimbea)

I believe there is only one type of person that has found the meaning of life:

The dead one.

That is because they died from what they thought gave their life meaning.

And as for those that have committed suicide, they came to the conclusion that this absurdity called life simply had no deeper meaning and no reward beyond living under the sun of another day.

Like me.

There is a moment, or several, in a man's life in which he contemplates suicide, and today, on the very day I decided to take my own life I ask myself the same question: "Is it worth doing it?"

To which, I imperatively, and categorically answer: "Yes, it is worth taking my life."

"Yes" to every time I ask myself.

"Yes" even though my survival instincts search desperately for an excuse to prolong this existence of mine.

YES

Nothing is worse for a man than losing purpose and I have lost mine. Living the same day for the sake of living.

The thought of ending up like those loud old hags and those senile "preaching" men terrifies me.

Becoming a walking, living corpse -no different from a revenant- is the one thing I can't stand.

I contributed all I had to the world, and thus left my mark. From now on if I continued to live, I would take from the world, and I would be remembered as a drag on society, not unlike a rotten sack of potatoes that no longer has any use.

I stepped on the stool.

Dressed up in my best clothes.

And tightened the rope around my neck.

The ritual is almost ov-

KRABLAM!

Holy shit!

My feet stumbled on the edge of the stool while I tried to keep a sense of balance no different than a juggler, trying to make things come together until I finally manage to keep the stool still once again.

The "boom" came from outside my house. Who the hell would want to cause an explosion so far out into the woods?

I opened the door, letting the noon light temporarily blind me in all it's glory, just to find. . . a baby.

There was a baby in a basket, outside my house.

What kind of sick joke is this?

Mmm, this baby is hugging something. It seems to be something rather big as it stuck out a meter from the basket. A rod maybe? It is wrapped in what looks to be some kind of silky cloth.

Looking beyond the baby just to find another anomaly. A crater formed on the ground in front of my house, no, a crater does seems not to describe it as it is. A perfectly smooth depression on the earth seems like it would do it more justice, like if someone used a perfect sphere to take it out from the ground. No burn marks around it too. This was no normal explosion.

*Sigh.

Well, I can't leave this boy here and pretend nothing happened. Maybe that rod-like thing will contain something that will tell me about him.

I then unwrap the silky cloth, only to find that what is inside

". . .is a fucking sword"

What is someone supposed to do in this situation? It is clearly dangerous to leave an infant hugging a sword, so I try to pull the wrapped sword away from the baby and. . .

"UWAAAAAAA!!"

"Oh shit!" I moved back as soon as the child started crying, but the strangest thing happened then. As soon as I stopped pulling, the baby stopped wailing.

Ok, let's try it again. I pulled the sword again and-

"UWAAAAAAA!!"

What the. . .?

I remove my hand only for the baby to stop once again. Hmm, unusual, it would have made sense if it was a pacifier. . .but a sword?

I took the baby inside the house and put him on the table, with the sword that is.

Slowly unwrapping the baby child from its cloth, it seems that unless I try to pry him from that sword, he won't cry.

I said "him" didn't I? Well shit, there is a lack of "thing" for him to be called "a him."

SOMEBODY DROPPED A FUCKING BABY GIRL ON MY DOORSTEP!

"What am I supposed to do with you?"

I said while looking at the child, not really hoping to get an answer, of course, but the next thing that happened. . . She looked at me in with her obsidian eyes and the cutest smile was born from that little one while she flailed her chubby arms in my direction hoping to. . .I don't really know what she was hoping to get. A hug? How the hell are you supposed to grab something like this?

Won't it break?

Such fears flooded my mind as I wrapped my hands around that little mass of happiness, but even as I did that, another thing caught my attention. On my fingertips, an astringent sensation could be felt. I turned the baby to the side to find the source.

Scales

The child had scale-like skin just above her buttocks. I have never seen a human like that.

"A mule, huh."

What kinda half-breed is she? A lamia? A rakuni, maybe?

"Ok, maybe, maybe someone knows something about you around here? There has to be right?"

The baby girl looked at me absentmindedly, almost like she was saying "what the hell is wrong with this old man".

I took the girl with me to the town of Cazareth, asking every vendor, merchant and random passerby I could have gotten my hands on. An entire day passed by until I slumped in front of the Town's canteen.

Everything seemed to pass around me like a dream. Would I have to go to the orphanage?

Just as I thought that, I felt. . .I felt. I don't know what I felt. Remorse? Sadness? Happiness? my mind was a cluster-

"What are you doing here Mister Albert?"

I raised my head to see who was calling me. Standing before was a silver-haired woman with a suit and pointy ears. I knew her, a merchant that came to Cazareth on occasions.

"Miss Lina, how do you do? Have you come to trade today?"

"How do I do?" she started giggling "Old man, I've been standing in front of you for the last five minutes"

". . .why would you ever do that?"

She was taken aback, furrowing her brows while maintaining her same charming smile. "It's just, I haven't seen you show so many emotions." She laughed again and continued, "You should see yourself in a mirror. I've never seen anyone make so many expressions in so little time. . .it was quite amusing actually."

My eyes widened and my mouth was left agape. "Surely you jest"

"I never joke." She pointed at the child in my arms "My incredible female intuition is telling me that 'that' might have to do with it"

I flattened my lips and continued "As perceptive as ever" I took a moment to sigh and looked to the sky "Some sicko left this baby girl on my doorstep. I don't even know what to do with her."

She tilted her head "Then why don't you keep her?"

"Huh?"

She smirked and giggled, "What's with the stupid face? Come on Albert, If you wanted to REALLY get rid of her, you would have done so long ago."

I grabbed the baby and placed her against the evening sun creating a heavenly aura around her head. As if. . .as if she were an. . .

". . .angel"

The baby girl and I looked at one another other

I don't know how long we stared.

But I do know one thing

That day

Not only did I not die

But I began to live again

". . .Aerin"

She grabbed my thumb that I was pressed against her small body and surrounded it with her tiny hand.

"Aerin Aster Grimbea"