Family X Pig Dinner.

It's hard being a kid, I have to admit, it's been a few weeks since I started this training to learn how to use the most basic level of aura, I thought we were going to start fighting with wooden swords or something, but Oliver only taught me one method of meditation, he told me that before any kind of aura training I needed to learn to feel the aura in my body through it, but somehow my patience wears out too fast from standing still, maybe it's because my body is getting tired. developing or something like that, these situations made me take a few escapes out of the house, it was incredibly interesting to explore the outside world, the first few times I did that I ended up getting a lot of scolding from my parents, but after a few more times they ended up getting used to it, maybe they thought I needed to be a kid, or they were just fed up with it. I used to go to an area close to a forest, it was a calm place, it made me relax, when I felt frustrated or anxious I usually stay there, I started that when a few days ago I asked Oliver for help because I wasn't getting results, he told me about it explained that both the mind and body needed to be in balance, I still tried after that suggestion but so far I haven't had any results, the most frustrating part is that maybe I know the cause of it.

This has been bothering me for some time now, I've lived almost four years in this world, in that time I've definitely gotten closer to the people who are my parents here, but I don't feel the same feeling they have for me, it's like something is holding me back , making me feel like a stranger among them, it reminded me of what I felt when I lived with my former father's family, and this thought constantly bothered me, day and night they took care of me, gave me affection and attention, and lived worried about my current situation, I just wish I could understand my feelings better.

The days went on, I had no progress.

- Damn it. - I was a little grumpy.

- Easy there champ. - Oliver was watching me through the door.

- There's no need to rush, everyone finds their balance, but for that you need to have a full stomach, so let's eat, your mother made her favorite. - I ended up easing my expression as he carried me on his shoulder, he walked around like he was a drunk dancing.

- Careful honey.

Mary was just finishing setting the table, since I've been here I've eaten a lot of things with totally new flavors, but what I liked most was some kind of pasta, it was quite thick and heavy, but the sauce in it reminded me of the taste of tomato sauce from my old world, it was nice to have something I liked to remember. Finishing eating I thought about what to do, I was very tired from training.

- Can I play outside?

- Don't go too far, and don't stay out too long, okay? - That was the phrase I heard every time I asked to leave. - Be careful, I love you. - I nodded and left the table trying not to stare back at her.

As I walked by the creek, I kept thinking that they must suffer a lot because of me, why can't I say a single "I love you" to them? I was lost in these thoughts for a while and when I noticed, I was lost in the middle of the woods, how wonderful. I tried to rush back, but I was in such a hurry that I didn't notice where I was stepping, I ended up falling straight down a ravine on account of loose earth, the ravine itself wasn't big, but neither was I. I ended up hurting my arm - Oh great, this is definitely not my day. - I wouldn't be able to climb it with my arm like that, luckily I can still see the river, as I was all dirty with earth, first I went to clean myself up a little.

Standing at the water's edge, I took a moment to analyze my reflection, I've never been vain and didn't think much about my appearance, looking at the me of now I still have a little bit to get used to, I had a slight notion of how I would be in the future, it turned out that I have the same black hair as Mary, currently it is up to my neck since I rarely cut it, maybe I was too enchanted with her hair, and I wanted mine to look like this, unfortunately I didn't inherit her green eyes, nor Oliver's gray eyes, strangely I was born with violet eyes, but I really don't understand how they got that color.

I cleaned myself up as much as I could and was ready to go look for my way back, but out of nowhere I hear something.

- Help!

The scream came from deeper in the woods, I tried to ignore it as I was thinking it was my head playing with me as the day was exhausting, but the scream repeated five more times after that. I was a little reluctant, but I ended up going to check it out, and when I got to its origin, I ended up being surprised, there was a kind of wild boar, it was blue with some red details, maybe they were injured, but that thing was practically my size, he had two upward curved fangs the size of Oliver's arm sticking out of his mouth, that was hideous, but the important thing is that in the tree he was staring at, up there on one of the branches, there was a person, a girl actually , crying outrageously, she was probably scared to death of that monstrous animal, I don't blame her, I decided to help her already thinking about the scolding I was going to get when I got home.

In my last trainings, I decided to do basic exercises, so my physique was in shape, so I ended up working something out, I took a handful of stones and started throwing them at the nearby trees as I moved through them, I also threw some from the wild boar to leave him irritated, we stayed in this tag for a while until he got tired and left. I was out of breath, so just in case I waited a while to make sure it was safe to leave, I went to check on the girl, she was still crying, maybe she didn't even realize that the danger had passed.

- Hey girl, it's okay, the bug is gone! - My voice cracked a little from lack of breath.

- Who are you? - She looked startled.

- I scared him from here, you can come down from there. – I ignored the question as I was a little impatient.

- I am unable. Her expression was already forming a crying grimace.

Oh give me some time.

- So jump, I'll catch you!

- No! - And we kept repeating that about five times until I got fed up. - So stay there, I'm leaving!

- Wait! - She got a little desperate. - I-I'll come down, but promise me you'll get me!

- I promise. – What a nuisance.

Then she jumped, but she used too much momentum and ended up landing on top of my head.

We both roll back.

- Oh, oh, oh, don't you know how to be careful? - I got pissed right away.

- You promised! - She punched me on my injured arm. - There!

I was ready to unload all my mana on this girl, but I ended up noticing her face, she was still scared.

- Okay, okay, I'm sorry, okay? - I waited for her to calm down, so we were recovering a little, until I noticed that the sun was already setting, that was not good. - Hey, we need to go now.

- Where do you want to take me? - She was very cautious with me. - To my house, maybe my parents can help you.

- It's OK. – She got sulky, I don't think she liked being helped very much, so we started walking along the river path. - What were you doing there? - I brought up the subject.

- I was hunting that animal. – I tried to hide my mocking face by remembering that she was being hunted.

- Looks more like he was hunting you. - I tried to look calm, I got another punch, - Will you stop hitting me? - She was silent with that sullen expression.

It was already dark, I noticed that we were going a little too slowly, and then I noticed that she had hurt her leg, so I decided we'd better camp there, I lit a fire with the 'Jet of Fire' near the riverside, in case we needed to erase it with speed.

- Do you know how to use magic? - She must have been impressed, based on her expression. - Just this one.

I sat down due to fatigue from using mana

- You're weak. - I heard the tone of mockery in her voice.

- It wasn't me who got stuck in the tree. - I replied, then she frowned. - I do not like you. - I tried to make the ugliest face possible to answer.

- Okay, I don't like you either. – After that she eased up a bit – But, thank you.

She hid her face, she must have been embarrassed, at that moment I took a better look at her, she couldn't have been much older than me, her skin was a little pale, maybe it was because of the situation, but what caught my attention was the long hair the same color as mine, that aside, red eyes.

- What is your name? - She continued the conversation.

- Riley and you?

- Ruby. - Well, the name even suited her.

- Let's rest, I'll watch, and then we leave early. – I was a little tired, but I could stand to at least keep watch.

- I'll stay up with you! - She must have tried to look strong.

- It's okay, we need you to be okay to walk tomorrow.

- O-okay – She soon fell asleep after yawning.

I start to think at home, what I was going to say to the two of them about what had happened, I imagine the scolding I'm going to take, but then there's the scene of Oliver making fun of me for being with a girl, imagining the scene gave me the feeling of longing, strangely, I wanted to see them.

The day finally dawned, we got up calmly, apparently we are better.

- How it feels? - I asked Ruby while holding some fruit that I picked, only the ones that Oliver had told me were edible.

- I'm ready to go. - She seemed much more determined.

- So let's go.

We continued upstream for a while, Ruby and I exchanged a few words, in the end she had run away from home because of a fight she had with her parents, which doesn't explain her wanting to catch the boar, but I tried to guess why.

- We are children, we still have a lot of time to get strong, but that's not a reason to leave the house, they must be worried about you.

- Sorry. - She acknowledged the mistake.

Bingo, I was right.

- It's not to me that you have to apologize.

She agreed just by nodding her head.

- But what about your parents? - She wasted no time. - They must be worried too.

I concealed an awkward smile.

- I got lost.

She shot me a fierce look.

- You're worse than me! It's a stupid boy! - Oh how that girl irritated me easily.

- If I hadn't gotten lost, you would have already turned that pig's dinner! - I shouted.

- And on top of that it took almost an hour to get down from that tree! - She showed me her tongue. - Riley is an idiot! Idiot!

I glared at her for a bit but gave the arm a twist again.

- Come on, walking feast, I miss my parents. – That came out automatically.

She nodded in agreement

- I miss my parents too.

With a few minutes of walking we heard a noise, so we hid in a bush, then we waited to see what was making that noise. From among the trees, some creatures appeared, they looked like skinny dwarfs, they were green and long-eared.

- Goblins?

I looked to the side, Ruby was terrified, I don't blame her, I was too, those things felt very unpleasant, we stayed quiet, maybe they would go away quickly. It took half a second, one of them appeared very close, Ruby took a few steps back, stepping on a stick, it doesn't take a genius to know, they had heard.

- Run, go! - I pushed her towards the river. - I hold them!

In a blink of an eye we were surrounded, I grabbed a branch close to the ground, we had no way out.

- Ruby, stay close to me, if we need I'll use magic to hold them.

- But you will get weak! - She shouted while showing me a worried expression, she had noticed last night then.

- I can handle it! - Meanwhile, from among the goblins a big goblin appeared, he was scary, this time I was definitely shaking with fear.

I didn't have time to think, he came up, I grabbed Ruby with my arm and we dodged the attack, in retreat I tried to hit him with the branch, as expected, useless. He did the movement again and again, he didn't look very mobile as he followed this pattern, so I thought of something.

- Ruby, I'll distract you, when you run away by the river. "She was just a scared little girl, I needed to protect her.

- No. she yelled, leaving a ringing in my ear. - I-I'll protect you too. - I admit that I was a little happy, I never had friends my age to share the moments of my life, I imagined that was the feeling.

- It is fine. – Maybe my plan would work better with two people, so I explained to her while we dodged the big guy's attacks, I imagined that the globins weren't going to stay still forever so we needed to be quick, after listening she ran to the riverside.

- Here ugly, potato face! - the big one must not be a big fan of potatoes, he ran straight to her.

She dodged to the side, as soon as he stopped to turn around, I shot the 'Fire Jet' in his eyes to blind him for a moment, with all the momentum I could throw my body at him, he fell into the river with some force, but he almost took me with him, luckily Ruby caught me.

- Got you!

- Thanks crybaby. – I gave her a smile.

- You idiot - She punched me when she let out a smile.

But it was too early to celebrate, we were still having problems, the golbins were surrounding us, and the big one was already getting up, a feeling of despair was growing, I knew I wasn't going to be able to do anything, I didn't have the strength for that, but anyway suddenly something happened, the environment became heavy, almost terrifying, followed by a scream.

- Riley! - the origin came from behind, with the little strength I had left I slowly turned my head, to my surprise and my terror I recognized what it was, it was my parents.

They weren't happy at all, they faced me with a very serious face, because of the environment the goblins ran towards me and Ruby, they certainly wanted to get out of there soon. But at the same moment they caught fire, they were consumed by a bright red fire, I knew those flames.

- Mommy? - Without a doubt, that magic was hers.

- Don't you dare touch him. - Her voice was cold, but furious, but the big man was not intimidated, as soon as he left the river he came straight to us.

At that moment my father walked past me and Ruby and gave me a look like "you're in a lot of trouble" I felt my soul leaving the body, I certainly wouldn't last this day.

- Come. - He said to the big goblin, as he walked towards his opponent.

He was wearing a breastplate with shoulder pads, it was thin and silvery, and he held a kind of spear, it was the size of his body, white, but the points had a different shape. When the big one advanced, he didn't land a single blow, he was too slow. It was full of cuts on the body, I had to admit that Oliver was very good, he fought with concentration, performing blows that I didn't even understand, after a series of these blows, the big guy fell, my father turned and walked towards us, and the big one with no movements, was finished.

Suddenly his body disappeared and reappeared in front of me, it took me a few seconds to understand what happened. A goblin that had been hiding lunged at me in a desperate attempt to catch us, but Oliver protected us, when I looked down, there was a knife through his body, blood streaming, my mind turned off, and I found myself recovering a old memory of my past life.

I was hospitalized because of the accident, I got up to do my needs, and by chance I ended up listening to the doctors who were taking care of me talking.

- The investigation pointed out that the car was redirected before the crash, they tried to save the children who were in the car, a pity that one was lost, but at least they managed to save the other.

That's when I understood why that feeling, my old parents had really sacrificed themselves to give me a chance, and I wasted that, I didn't want to have lost them, that probably surfaced when I was reborn, it made me afraid, afraid of loving those people, and being too weak, having to lose them to be saved again, that was not repeating in that moment, I got a second chance, a chance to live, to enjoy what they left for me, I loved them, I will always remember them fondly, and I can say with absolute certainty, I love Mary and Oliver, I love them like my parents, so I will protect them.

When I came to my senses for the first time, I screamed with all my feeling in despair.

- FATHER!