01

Bai Long had a single thought while staring at them, I'm going to kill you all.

His eyes were filled with hatred yet he couldn't move an inch with all sorts of weapons stabbed right through him.

He burned into his memories the looks of these faces. Even to his last breath, he wouldn't forget the face of these devious bastards.

Bai Long mustered every last of his energy for one desperate attempt, he held his sword tight and slash to the nearest bastard.

Yet something else came at him first. He was a second too late. Bai Long could felt his life slipping away from his body and as he closed his eyes, all he had left was regret.

Asran Zathra opened his eyes with a single thought, I'm alive?

He was confused.

The annoying sound of an alarm made the man dressed in a hospital gown to frown. His eyes gazed down upon his body. He wasn't happy seeing the numerous tubes punctured over both of his bony arms.

Yet the frown on his face disappeared as he sighed. Slowly his head rested upon the comfy pillow of the hospital.

His dark brown eyes took a glance at his sides and saw a sign.

"Alexandra Hospital..."

Asran was far from getting the gist out of his current situation yet his mind was preoccupied with things that happened just a few minutes ago.

Minutes that felt ages.

Yet those calm eyes were disturbed by the sound of the sliding door open.

"Morning son, I brought you flowers today. It's daisies, I don't know whether you like flowers or not but at least it would make the room livelier. Don't you..."

She fell short from finishing her words as her eyes opened wide seeing the person on the bed who was wide awake. For her, it was a surprise that she hadn't expect.

The doctors told her that her son had no chance of recovery from his vegetative state yet she held on.

She continued to talk alone with her son in the hope of a response. It was a rather unorthodox way of treating him yet it was the only hope she had for her son recovery and finally, it paid off.

Her trembling hands reached out to the emaciated face of Asran. Tears fell down like a waterfall from her cheeks.

"Mother?"

His voice was coarse and harsh yet a single word from Asran made the woman leaped on the bed hugging the man in hospital gown dearly.

Asran flinched a bit as his body was too weak even for a hug from his lovely mother.

A memory resurfaced from the long-forgotten part of his brain. An image of his mother who was much younger than she was now. He noticed the grey hairs of this woman enough to tell him the passing age of her life.

'What's this?' Thought Asran as he felt something trailing down his cheeks.

'Tears?' He was baffled since It's been a long time since the man known as Asran cry.

Yet this warmth he felt spreading over all of his body was enough to tell him that all of this was real and he was back. Back to the arms of his mother.

"You came back to me my son," said Asran's mother.

She cried tears of joy as she felt the warmth of this son of hers. She hugged him with no intention of letting him go.

"Yes mother, I'm back," he replied.

His frail-looking arms hugged his petite mother as he too enjoyed this moment.

A moment between mother and son, a moment he had yearned for the past millennium.

---

Night covered the skies, Asran peered out from the ward window and slightly smiled just from the comfort of being at home.

It had been a long time since he felt this kind of comfort.

He gazed at his mother who was resting her head on his lap, sleeping like a baby.

For him who had learned countless things, just from sight alone he knew that his mother had gone through a life full of hardships.

Her hands were coarse like sandpaper. Eyes sunken as if not been sleeping for days. Wrinkles covered her face, a sign of aging. It pains his heart seeing his mother like this.

"How long had I been gone?" Said Asran.

He felt terrible yet what could he have done. He thought he could never come back and lives off as a new person. But life was full of twists and turns, in a blink of an eye here he was.

"Ugh," pain spread all over his body.

'This body is far too weak, even compared to my previous do-over state,' he stared at his body for a little longer before the door to his ward opens once more.

"Sorry Mrs. Lima, it's time for Mr.Asran night check-up."

The nurse walked over to the side of the bed, prepping to do a check-up. But her whole body froze seeing the patient.

He was supposed to be in a vegetative state yet he was propping his body up staring at the sight of this nurse.

Both of them shared a moment, staring at one another eyes. It was rather awkward for the nurse yet she couldn't pull her eyes away from those clear pristine eyes.

Eyes that were far from different from the sickly body of his. As if it was radiating like two suns, captivating and beautiful.

Asran broke the silence.

"Do you know what year is it?"

---

Two days later, both mother and son stood in front of the hospital entrance.

"Mother, is everything all right?"

Lima hid away the receipt quickly into her back pocket. She flashed a smile simply not to worry her son.

"It's fine son, the important thing is you're healthy again."

A mother will always be a mother. Asran knew the numbers on that receipt might not be few, staying in a hospital is not cheap.

After all, he did been admitted for a whole ten years.

---

"Welcome home son."

The door creaks a bit, the hinge might be rusty.

Asran stepped inside the apartment. A one-bedroom apartment, it was small but enough for two people.

It was quite shabby, not fit for a family like theirs according to his memories.

But for the last two days, his mother Lima did gave him a few input regarding their current situation.

His condition deteriorated and needed the best treatment thus he was flown to Singapore. A decision made by his parents, yet for some unknown reason he was missing a father and also two brothers of his.

If his memory serves him right, his family was supposed to be rich and as a matter of fact, rich that doesn't equate with this type of home.

He had a lot of questions yet he kept his mouth shut. That was for another time.

"Sorry son, it's not much but it's still home."

Lima comforted her son, who was rather uncustomed by the new environment.

"Need some help?" Asked Lima.

"I'm fine mother, just need a little bit of training walking around with these weak legs of mine," replied Asran.

"Ok son but be careful, I don't want you slipping and getting hurt again," Lima gave a kiss to Asran's forehead.

For the first time over ten years, she finally felt happy from the bottom of her heart.

She ran off to the kitchen.

"I'll be making lunch, so in the meantime go watch TV or something," said Lima. She ran off to the kitchen, excited to cook up a feast for her son.

Asran reached out to the remote control. But before he could even hold it, the door was knocked.

"Asran, can you get the door for me," she spoke with bliss in her voice reminiscing the time when they were a family.

The son didn't dawdle around and walked slowly to the door. The person on the other side of the door kept knocking.

It was rather irritating to the ears of Asran. Yet for the sake of his mother, he kept his patience.

His hand grabbed on the doorknob and at the same time, his mother realized something was amiss.

She had forgotten that her trouble-free days were in the past and not in the present.

She shouted at her son.

"Asran, don't open the door."

But it was too late.

The door was open wide revealing a bunch of people grouping in front of the entrance.

They certainly don't look nice.

Asran frowned and the person standing in front of him spoke to him with a mocking smile on his face.

"So you must be the son."