Chapter 17

"This is camellia tea, good for anxiety …" Howl said while putting a cup of hot tea on the table.

Anna seems still shocked by what just happened. She was still silent, hugging himself with a blanket. The atmosphere was quiet for a while, no sound whatsoever but a calmness.

"You don't want to ask me why I did such a stupid thing?" asked Anna—daring to start a conversation.

"I'm not curious." Howl replied.

Anna smiles smalley at Howl's answer, which sounds indifferent but strangely does not feel irritated by Howl's flat tone.

"I have trauma. My mother died before my eyes because of me. That's why I can't cross the road because it's going to happen again." Anna said.

"I'm an orphan. Ever since I was born I didn't have a father and when I was nine, my mother died." Anna said—her voice sounded buzzing.

"I know …"

"You know what? How do you know? I never told anyone about it. Is it because you're a god?" Anna asked.

"It's because of the cat. Mom died trying to save you when you wanted to help the cat, right?"

Anna stands still staring at Howl with both eyes filled with tears. Maybe Howl seemed so relaxed when he said that, but for Anna it was a thing that really made her tears fall no longer. Anna was crying with her tights.

Howl panicked to see Anna crying. He was the one who said a fact that he saw firsthand what happened at that time. It's just that, when the accident happened, Howl could only stand still and watch from a distance.

"Aren't you a god, why didn't you help my mother …!! You're a god! You can prevent my mother from dying, if you help her then I won't be an orphan!!" Anna said in tears like a child whining at her mother.

Howl can only breathe when a 32-year-old woman cries like a 9-year-old. Nor did he give a defense of what had happened to Anna's mother. Howl tries to remain silent—waiting until Anna becomes calmer.

Almost 30 minutes Anna cried. Both eyes cause, even he's finished a box of tissues. How troublesome for this one human being. If it wasn't for a request, she probably wouldn't be wasting time with this strange woman.

"Sorry … I think I'm mentally challenged. Why are you so emotional?" Anna said with a breath that was still stifled by the rest of her crying.

"It's okay. Howl said while giving Anna back a box of tissues, "Human beings are given sense and feeling to be a balance of life."

"One you should know. I'm just a guardian deity. I'm just in charge of protecting, not preventing death." Howl said.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Anna—confused.

"Do you know, when humans are born into the world they have an agreement with the creator?" Howl asked—his low tone instantly made the atmosphere so intense.

"I don't know."

"The covenant contains two fates. Do you know in constant and variable terms?" Howl asked.

"Yeah, I know."

"I'm a variable. I can help humans change their destiny, but it's all up to humans themselves. But your mother's death is an unchangeable fate. That is a constant decree."

Howl tries to explain in an easy way so Anna can understand the meaning of his words.

"So whatever happened that day, it was your mother's destiny to die. Even if that day you didn't help the cat, your mother would still be dead at that hour, minute and second. That is why the covenant existed before man was born. Therefore, don't blame yourself for your mother's death. You've misunderstood …," Howl said.

"Then when you stop time is it a variable?" Anna asked.

"I told you. You have a long life, even if you didn't come to help you. That accident was inevitable. You're gonna get hit by that truck and lie in the hospital. You're gonna be in a coma for six months and your legs are paralyzed. It took you a long time to get back to normal. And the driver who hit you, his life will be ruined. He has to compensate for the enormous amount, his economy will be ruined as well as his family, eventually he chooses to kill himself." Howl revealed.

Anna is silent with a very surprised face at Howl's words that sound absurd but feel like a reality. It really freaked Anna out.

"One little thing I do can change a person's life. But one small thing that humans do can ruin other people's lives. That does sound cruel. But that's what it's like." Howl said.

Anna realized one thing from Howl's words. His carelessness almost ruined the lives of others as well as his. Anna returned to tears in silence, feeling sorry for her chest pain.

"I'm not saying this to blame you or to drop you mentally. I'm just saying that you realize that life is like a tree root. They're connected to each other. And also one thing you need to know, I came because of a request so strong that it made it appear to you right away." Howl said.

Slowly, Anna stopped crying and began to look at her with both eyes blushing and full of tears.

"A black cat you helped on the day of your mother's death," Howl said.

Anna fell silent again, trying to trace her memory on the day of the accident 23 years ago. In his memory, he runs fearlessly to help a black cat lying on a zebra cross and a black cat he meets at Howl's house when he disappears for two days.

"Is it possible that the black cat …?"

"Yeah, that cat. They're still waiting for you for this second. They told me to protect you," Howl replied.

Anna was silent again, speechless of a coincidence she had never imagined. How a cat can help his life. It feels like a miracle. Anna shed tears, but her tears this time were not sadness but gratitude.

"Not only that black cat, many cats you've ever helped. They still remember you, Anna." Howl said.