6 Chapter 6.

"Taking care of a child must be hard..." - Amelia was already finishing with her laundry, as she was addressed by other women by the river. Elia, who was squatting next to her, only sighed and looked at her friend with apparent envy in her gaze.

"Em, I wouldn't say that." - The golden-haired woman replied with a bright smile. - "She is only seven months old and can't even stand yet."

The elder woman nodded, but continued - "I meant, are you getting enough sleep, rest and have time to do your chores? I remember that when my kid was that tiny, he would be such a handful baby!" - She shook her head and continued to beat out the dirt from her clothes.

Amelia thought about her life for a moment and replied, - "Well, she does cry once every night and it was a little difficult at first. Moreover, Mirta is constantly trying to move, so I always worry about her safety. I even made a 'safe corner' for her in the living room. She has her toys and pillows around her and I can keep an eye out for my angel almost all the time."

Others looked at her with a desire to know more details. The village was small, so everyone was up for any news there was. Regrettably, the mother of the topic was packing as if she already had nothing to share.

"Is that it?" - They asked with hope lingering in their eyes.

"Yes?" - Amelia picked up her busked and tilted her head in confusion. Wasn't what she had told them enough?

"No random stomachaches, no cries for attention or dirtying too many sheets?" - Another woman tried a different approach.

"Not that I can think of..." - Amelia trailed off. - "Just like any baby, she does her stuff, but I wouldn't call it 'too many'. Her belly is fine and, as you already know, she's a very energetic toddler."

She put all of her wet and clean laundries into the basket, dried herself with a towel and headed home. Her little angel was there, sleeping; however, she might wake up very soon and she had to be there since Kelm is out on the fields working.

"But what about-"

"Give up." - Elia sighed and patted the shoulder of the woman next to her. - "She was lucky enough to get the treasure of a child. Just be happy for her."

"Yeah." - All of them nodded. It was indeed a miracle. Amelia had almost given up on having her own children, but at last, God blessed her with his grace.

"I'm still curious though..." - Someone lamented.

"And jealous too." - Another one added and others brock into laughter. Needless to say, they were too, a bit.

***

Amelia returned to her empty house and walked through the unlocked doors. Before she left for the river, she decided to ventilate her house and kept the entrance open. Mirta was asleep and even if she woke up, she was on the large bed with cushions on the floor. Nothing should've had happened.

She ventured through the silent house and placed her basket in the corner of the living room.

"It sure feels great being able to do the laundry again." - During those five months, she had to ask Kelm to do it, but he was hopeless and the garments would be half-dirty most of the time. Sometimes, Elia would help him, but she had to attend to her family's needs as well and couldn't do that all the time.

"Two months have had passed and I'm still so happy about going outside. I'm so silly." - She commented to herself and walked to the bedroom where her treasure was supposed to be resting.

Autumn was already halfway through its reign and it was getting chiller day by day. Everyone had to take out their warm bedding and clothes and Amelia was no exception. During the Summer, she would leave Mirta sleeping without them, but now she would make sure that her child wouldn't get chill or catch a cold with wrapping a blanket around her.

She walked in expecting to see her child in bed; however, to her horror, she wasn't there. The sheets were in disarray and the pillows scattered around. She ran up to them, searched, looked under the bed and in the cradle. She understood that Mirta wouldn't be able to get inside, but her body moved on its own accord.

Just as her emotions were about to get the better of off her, she forced herself to calm down and let her mind to cool. Amelia went into the kitchen, drank a glass of water and washed her burning face.

"That's better." - She nodded to herself and began analysing the situation.

"Mirta most probably left by herself since there is no one to come to this rural village and kidnap her. She develops fast, so it is possible." - Her body was turning cold by every other second she spent thinking and her eyes instantly darted in the direction of the opened door. - "She is outside."

Hushing every bit of panic in her heart, she walked out and headed into the backyard hoping that her daughter didn't go out of the gates or ventured into the forest.

***

Mirta laid down, intangled by all of the sheets around her and was thinking how to entertain herself.

Her Mother went to do the laundry, Father was in the fields and she woke up earlier than usual because she was full of energy.

Her Mana-core was shining brightly inside of her and was still showing the magical spectacles, but she was getting used to those supernatural entertainments she was given and found them a bit dull. As if sensing her emotions, Mana-core would always come up with something new, but even that didn't keep Mirta mesmerized for long.

Her Mana-core became crazily active after that day of her first party and the growth of the body speed up even more. Mirta knew that, as she was able to feel it from her Mind-space, tried to control the process but had to stop the struggles. The Mana wouldn't listen to her and Mirta braced herself for the upcoming pain of teeth and muscle's growth.

Surprisingly, none of that had happened. Mana would mend everything during the whole the process and after one and a half months, Mirta is a proud girl who has five teeth and can walk! She secretly practised when Mother would leave her alone and she even began to speak. Well, 'talk' is a bit of a stretch, as her pronunciation is so off, that it is hardly comprehensible. Nevertheless, no one knew about her achievements yet. The sneaky girl was planning to start walking in a month and speaking in two, as for now, she will reveal her ability to crawl.

The golden-haired girl sent a lounging gaze into the opened window.

'I want to go out.' - She rambled and sighed - 'But Mom will return soon, so I can't. She will get worried again.'

Still, as soon as she was almost willing to give up on the idea, a beautiful butterfly passed close to the window frames and all of the reasonable thoughts were chased out of her small head by the desire to see it again.

She began to struggle out of her fabric prison and managed to kick it off of the bed. Hastily standing up on her tiny feet, she walked to the edge and peeked down.

"I het hah pacess(I hate high places)!" - Displeased by the hight and her small stature, she proceeded on her path to the outside and after overcoming the fence of the pillows, rushed out of the unlocked front door into the backyard.

When she reached there, she was greeted by the usual seen; nevertheless, it wasn't any less stunning. The two poles for the laundry were now empty and didn't cover the sight of the forest near which the house was built. The leaves have long ago turned amber and new, green birds with long yellow beaks arrived from somewhere, creating an impression of a colourful child's painting. The soft grasses under her bare feet were still as fresh as before and the soil was still keeping its warmth. If one was to look up, they would see an azure vastness of the skies decorated by the jewels of pearl-like clouds.

Mirta breathed in the fresh and chill air with great enjoyment and looked around the lot, but no butterflies were around.

'It flew away.' - She puffed her cheeks in irritation as if the insect owed her something.

She laid down on the ground and closed her eyes. The melodic songs of the birds and the warm raise of the sun soon managed to pacify the girl and she became more and more sluggish as time passed by.

Suddenly, she felt something on her nose and cracked open the heavy eyelids. As she focused on the disturbance, her orbs bulged out. A black, humongous butterfly was resting on her face, nonchalantly flapping its wings with mystical patterns.

The child froze and dared not to move an inch, trying her best to keep the creature in place for just a bit longer.

However, it abruptly swang its wings and flew away, leaving the flabbergasted girl with a gaping mouth.

'It was beautiful.' - Her heart was racing and the Mana-core reacted to her excitement, by sending a warm wave through her body. However, soon her heart was frantically beating for another reason.

Her crying mother ran into the yard, approached the panicking run-away girl and hugged her tightly. She didn't yell, nor did she speak. Mother was just trembling and her silent tears streamed down her cheeks and handed on Mirta's back.

Guilt was slowly overcoming her as she felt her mother standing up and walking back into the house, still tightly grasping the toddler.

"Sowi..." - Mirta accidentally whispered. Amelia paused for a moment, confused, but soon disregarded the sudden sound and moved on with her daily duties.