Chapter 7

In the darkness

“It is warm."

“It is good; I really don’t want to wake up, but I don't think I can sleep anymore than this."

In the darkness the warmth is all over my body; a comfort holds me.

Slowly my eyes open, letting the light greet me.

It is blurry; I can't see properly.

"I need to rub my eyes."

"Hu..."

"Hu…"

"I hear something"; it is getting close

The wind passes softly.

With wind, a soft touch covers my whole body; I'm still unable to see. Having a hard time deciphering what has just transpired.

"My weight gets lifted from the cradle, I suppose."

"You awoke." The voice is sweet as honey.

"Is she my mother?" Her voice is so sweet.

I desperately wanted to reach her, but this baby's body wouldn't allow it. I tried to babble, to make any sound at all, but even that was too much for this fragile frame.

"Oh my, look how cute you are." Her voice praises again

"I still can't see."

Noticing the unusual blinking

"You have a sleep crust in your eyes; let Mama clear it for you." She said

She keeps lowering me down slowly until I am back in the cradle.

Rustle...

"There is a lot of rustling happening."

"I am curious to see my new family."

"In my last life, I had no one. As for my parents from my first life, I remember what happened, and so did they, but their faces have completely blurred out in my memory."

"Stay still." The voice pulled me out from my thoughts

A warm liquid, oddly solid in its weight, rubbed across my eyes, clearing away the crust of sleep.

The blur faded, registering my very first vision in this life.

In the blinding light

A shade blocked it out; her long hair was as dark as night, but her face shone brighter than the moon. Her eyes were warm, putting me at an unexpected ease.

In that moment, my instincts, my soul, and every fiber of my being told me only one thing.

"She is my mother."

"She is more beautiful than the blue lightning I saw at my ending moment of that life."

"Yawn."

I yawned as exhaustion pulled me back under, dragging me right back into the dark standard of sleep I had barely escaped.

""Are you sleepy? Sleep, Mama's got you." Her gentle words instantly silenced my lingering struggle.

"I am glad to die in the last life, not to get saved by that woman." The last of my thoughts crumble as I get back in the embrace of darkness.

Unknown to me, someone has already peeked inside me.

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Seeing the child finally fall back to sleep, Arghet sighs in relief.

"What a beautiful child you are even with those memories." Her voice is heavy

"Your voice was too loud to ignore, and you think too much," came the response. Unbothered, she simply continued her soft talk with the sleeping child.

"The first thing I must teach her is to hide her soul—otherwise, she’ll be an open book to the other witches." Arghet’s train of thought paused.

"Or"

"I just need to ensure she never meets another witch at all."

"Once she grows powerful enough, none of them could ever peek inside."

She has cried for days until her eyes dry out.

With each day passing, I lost hope.

"I lost all hope that you would ever wake up until today.

Even if the soul within you is older than you appear, you are still my child."

"And I will keep my child safe." The chill in her voice distorts the atmosphere.

The cold is still there just beneath that motherly love or obsession.

"Still, I am happy. You don't remember me from that time, and I will ensure you never find out.

For you, I am always your mother, nothing else."

A heavy sense of relief leaked into Arghet's voice as she spoke.

Arghet continued talking to the sleeping baby, occasionally stroking her face and tenderly feeding her.

It continues even when the baby wakes up; she is always next to the child, and the child never leaves her sight as she remains next to it.

To her the child of hers is already her world, but the question lingers: is it really her choice or a path craved by someone else?

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