Ch 4 Stranger

Dark room again?

The weak body was walking in any direction. The body seemed to unconsciously walk on despite being weary. There was no sign of light, but there was the sound of water droplets. It seemed that the body was looking for the sound.

"Mother... My chest hurts... please mother..." it was dim, but the crying sound was so heartbreaking, and the body knew it well.

"Mother..."

The voice was heard again, until it appeared a curled up body in the middle of darkness with a beam of light covering it. The body was shivering, the sob was heard along with a low pleading sentence, without saying what exactly he wanted.

"Hey..." the voice bounced inside the dark room, the weak body that had walked for some distance, approaching the curled up body. Perhaps they could share warmth?

The weak body was silent as he realized that he knew the voice. That was his. "Hey you..." Once again the weak body called out, the same voice sounded out again from his mouth.

The curled up body moved, then stood up in the middle of the light. "Mr. Evan!" call the body while turning slowly.

"Do you know me?" the weak body asked in the middle of the darkness. He was Evan, the most powerful witch, who had been betrayed by the person he trusted the most.

"Mr. Evan!" Once more, the body in the middle of the light was calling.

Evan who was in the midst of darkness was surprised when the body under the light turned completely to face him. Silver-white hair, pale skin, and red eyes that he had seen previously in the mirror. But that was not the only thing that surprised him.

"You're... Hiraeth?" Evan asked, trying to communicate while approaching him.

"Mr. Evan. Save me... it... hurts!"

Evan's eyes could not move away from the chest of the body that he thought was Hiraeth. The chest was hollow. it was black as it kept burning by the black fire. No, that was not fire, that was black magic. Suddenly, Evan touched his chest, it hurt. When he looked at his own chest, it was also hollow and burned.

"Mr ..." The voice was calling, when he turned, half of the body that was under the light had been devoured, just leaving his head and the right body.

"Mr., Mother does not like potatoes ... mother likes wheat bread, not potato bread...."

The boy kept talking as his body was devoured by the darkness that was like a flame. But strangely, at the same time, the pain in his chest reduced as the body was devoured. When Evan looked at his chest, the hole in his left chest was shrinking until it finally disappeared perfectly together with the voice. "Thank you, Mr. Evan!"

Evan lifted his head, but he saw no one under the same light.

"Hiraeth?"

Evan was calling, but nobody responded to him except the small light which only illuminated one body. The light moved now, widened slowly. Until finally the light touched Evan.

Evan closed his eyes as the light was too strong, then he peeped slowly and found himself standing on the water again. Just like in his previous dream.

A drop of water fell from his hair, touching the calm water surface. Evan was noticing the water forming small waves, the effect of the falling water droplet.

"That is white!" Evan said.

He looked at the reflection in the water. White hair, pale skin, and red eyes that he saw beforehand, now returned, but this time as his own reflection in the water. Evan crouched down, trying to touch the face that was in the water. Yet he had no time to touch, all of a sudden a hand came out of the water then pulled Evan's hand strongly.

Evan was drowning!

***

"Arghhh ..."

Evan opened his eyes after he was led into the dark water. When he opened his eyes, what he saw was an old house and old furniture. "I dreamed the same thing as the first time I woke up?"

Evan exhaled his breath, trying to calm himself down, especially for the heart that was currently beating fast.

"So far I don't know why I woke up in this body? Why not another body? Then why was the child in my dream on fire? No, it's not fire, it's Timira (darkness). But why was he devoured by Timira? I'm sure it must have something to do with the reason I woke up in this body."

Evan still hadn't found the answer to the same question every time he woke up. And it had been going on for two weeks. During that time he just spent time lying down, eating and sleeping. He felt like a pig.

"Is this really my second life?" Muttered Evan. "That bastard Disher, is he still alive? What year is this, anyway? I must get my revenge on that traitor!" Evan gritted his teeth. "But what if he kills me again? let alone this body is so weak! I could even die if I was pushed a little."

Evan kept grumbling, he asked then he answered the question himself, sometimes he denied the question that he had answered. This kept going on until it was heard the door opened.

'Is that Disher the bastard who wants to kill me?"'

"Hiraeth, aren't you sleeping? Do you feel pain?" It was the voice of the same woman he heard beforehand as he woke up for the first time.

"No. I was just having a nightmare," Evan replied carelessly.

The woman approached, then pulled the blanket up to the limit of the neck of Evan. "Close your eyes, Hiraeth." Go back to sleep so you can do some activities tomorrow."

"Mother, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course. But promise me you'll sleep after I answer your question?" Hiraeth nodded in response.

"Mother, who am I?"

The woman he called his mother during these two weeks just smiled, then she replied. "You are Hiraeth. You want to be strong like your idol. Evan Evescent."

"So, I'm not Evan Evescent?"

"No, dear. You're my son. Now keep your words."

Evan nodded, then he closed his eyes as he had promised to sleep after the woman answered his question.

'Well, that's right. Now that I'm Hiraeth, that Disher bastard won't recognize me. I'll make sure to punish him.