75 Quint Rauss [1]
Quint Rauss was only able to open his eyes a slight as he felt a pair of hands groped beneath his body then lifted him carefully off from the floor. He struggled reflexively when that someone brought him onto their shoulder although he knew this someone wouldn't mean him any harm. That someone hissed and pet his shoulder to calm him down. Quint Rauss finally calmed down. That someone then walked while carrying him like a sack.
"How is he ?" A voice of a woman was heard. It was so low that Quint Rauss could only hear it vaguely.
"He is still too emotional and too occupied with his past," a voice of a man, one who carried him answered the woman's question.
"It's been a year," the woman sighed in regret,
"He is too small," the man replied,"And his mental is too broken. I'm afraid he is useless since he won't be able to cultivate."
"He will be five two months from now. At that time we could do a procedure to him. Maybe it can save him," the woman said. It was obvious that she was still eager to keep the boy.
The man nodded. "Hopefully.."
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Quint Rauss watched in fear when a male paramedic turned on.a shaver then started to shave his hair.
"Mother.. what they doing ?" he asked, still with a rough English. His mother patted his legs, tried to calm him down.
"It's okay, Baby.. you will be fine," she said with a smiling face to comfort.
"But why he bald me ?" Quint asked still in panic. He shook his head, try to prevent the paramedic to run the shaver. Another paramedic held his held tight so Quint could no longer move.
"They will cure you, my boy.." the woman said, still with smiling face.
"But.. I not sick, Mother.. Not sick!" Quint still tried to refuse.
"You will be okay, Sweetie," the woman said in gentle voice but the boy still struggled to get away. A paramedic strained him with a leather belt to stop his move. "Don't harm him," the woman said to the paramedic, though still gentle but had an ordering tone in it.
"Yes, Madam," the paramedic replied her.
"Mother.. I promise I be good," Quint Rauss started to sob," I be good.. Please, let me go.." he pleaded.
His mother closed her eyes and turned her back. "Bring him away," she said as another order to the two paramedics.
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A boy opened his eyes heavily. He was still so sleepy. In his blurry sight he could see a man stood on the corner of the room, in front of the door. The boy blinked his eyes a couple of time. Now, as his sight became clearer, he still didn't recognize the man. But the man smiled in relieve to see him opened his eyes.
"Boy, you're awake," the man said. He then opened the door and pushed his head out of the door to talked to someone outside. "Let madam know, the boy is awake."
Less than a minute later, there are rush steps heading toward the room.
"Quinny..." A woman called as she walked quickly into the room. The boy could only saw her in daze. The woman approached him with a wide smile and cupped his face with both hands, "Quinny.. you're awake !"
Behind the woman also walked a man in uniform and two girls. There were a relieved yet trace of worry on their faces.
The boy still saw her with blank look. "Who.. ?" he asked.
The woman's face was slightly shocked, but then she kept it calm again, nodding her head a couple of time while murmured, "Right.. right..." She then hugged the boy tight for a second before took him an arm apart.
"Quinny.. Quint.. is you," she spoke in a very gentle tone.
"Me ?" The boy asked in confused. The woman nodded.
"Right, You are Quint Rauss. Don't you remember anything ?" The woman asked. The boy shook his head slowly. The woman sighed then hugged him again.
"You had an accident. The doctor said you suffer a brain damage and would loss your memory," The woman said. She then cried. The man softly pet her back to comfort her. He then looked toward the boy with a thin smile.
"We are your family, Boy. I am your father. She is your mother," the man said. The two girls approached the man. The man rounded his other hand on their shoulders. "These are your sisters, Mila and Penny," he continued.
The boy could only looked at the man before shifting his gaze to the woman who was still crying, and to the two girls. He didn't recognize them at all. He also didn't recognize him self. But somehow, there was a warmth and happiness surge inside his heart as he knew that he had family. As if that word was something that he missed and searched all along, and he finally found it. The boy widened his smile as he brought back his gaze to the man. "Father..."
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It was almost eight months after the boy released from the hospital. He was playing happily in the backyard of his home with his two sisters and their puppy. The woman who he recognized as his mother watched them while leaning on the french door that connecting to the backyard.
"Quinny.." the woman called him. Quint turned his head to his mother. Knowing his mother was signaling him to come closer, he stood up and walked toward her.
"Yes, Mother," he replied obediently.
"I think it's about time you start your practice again," his mother said.
"Practice ?" Quint asked in confused.
"Yes. Beside your father, you are the only man in the house. Don't you think you need to practice martial art to protect us the girls ?" His mother explained and asked in the same time.
Quint looked toward his mother for a second then nodded solemnly. "Yes, Mother. You are right," he said. "I will practice hard to protect you," he continued.
His mother kissed his forehead lovingly. "Good boy." While still disheveling his hair, his mother called someone via an intercom, "Please come to the kitchen. He is ready."
Around a minute later, a man came into the kitchen. "Yes, Ma'am," the man said with solemn tone. Quint recognized this man. He was the man he saw when he first opened his eyes. Later on he knew him as his father's adjutant that somehow assigned to guard their home.
"Quint want to practice martial art," the woman informed him.
The man looked at Quint with indifferent expression. "Okay. Let's go then, Boy," he said then stretched his hand to reach Quint's shoulder.
Quint obeyed the man and followed. They walked crossing the front yard to a small side house on the left of the main house. The man unlocked and opened the door. With his hand, he pushed the boy to enter the house.
While walking, the boy wonder his gaze around the house. It was clean and had a little to none personal things. But the house definitely was lived by someone. Maybe this man lived there. However, the man kept leaded Quint to go deeper into the kitchen.
In the kitchen the man stopped. He cleaved apart a rug under the kitchen sink. He slipped his finger in between the parquet and pulled it up. Under the pulled parquet there was a hole, big enough for the man to go in. And the man went into the hole. Apparently, there was a stair to go under.
"Come," The man said to Quint, waving to him to follow him went under. Quint stared at him for the whole minute, but he eventually went near the hole and even put his leg onto the stair. In the dark, the man smiled faintly before continued stepping down the stair.
When Quint finally stepped his feet on the basement ground, at first there was only darkness. But soon the man switched on the light and immediately the room was bright. Quint wondered his gaze in awe. The place was so wide. It was even wider than thee side house. Some area might be under his house. More over, the place was full with martial art equipments.
Still in awe, Quint walked toward the center of the room that was carpeted with a thin foam mattress. The mattress was not soft, but very comfortable under his feet. Was this the man's private dojo ? His father must be very trust him to let him built a basement this big.
Before Quint could confirm his thought to the man, suddenly a hand grabbed his waist and slammed him onto the mattress. After that, in a split second the same hand choked his neck, so tight that he barely could. breathe..
