Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

385  Family

"Mommy, look! I found these fruits in the jungle!"

The kid opened his little palm and held them up for his mother to see. The woman was in ragged and dirty clothes, just like her son, but she was still charming enough. She, who was busy sewing clothes, put down whatever she was holding and patted the kid's head. "Wow, they look so delicious! Thank you, my little son! But you shouldn't stray too deep into the jungle alone!"

"I knoooww! I was just around the jungle, not inside it!"

"That's my smart son!"

"Hehehe!"

Giggling, the kid ran into their house to put the fruits in a bowl so that his family could eat them at lunch. As he was done putting them in the bowl, he spotted two figures walking to their house from the distance. They were his father and brother who were coming back from their farming field.

The boy was too young to be able to help his family farm. He didn't know his exact age but he was told that he was around 5, so he wasn't allowed to go too far away from their house. But his brother, who was also 5 years older than him, could help their father at farm. The little kid couldn't wait until he too was old enough to work. The boy rushed out of the house to greet his father and older brother.

"Redmond! Redmond! Hurry up! I've collected lots of fruits from the jungle. Let's eat them all!"

The older brother with light-brown hair and hazel eyes, just like his younger sibling, smiled for a second before grabbing the kid's collar from behind and raising him up a little bit. "You sure you collected them from the jungle? You didn't steal them from someone's garden, did you?"

"Whaaa!" The little kid wiggled and squirmed in the air. "Of course, I found them in the jungle! Stealing is bad! I would never do such a thing!"

"Pfft!"

Redmond put his little brother down and walked into the house with a smile on his face. The kid ran behind him while jumping up and down. "I'll set the table." The family of four sat at the table as the children's mother prepared their meal. "I heard something is happening on the other side of the river."

"What do you mean?"

As soon as the meal was brought, the parents began conversing while their two sons listened to them. "There is a fight over the river water apparently, I heard a few of the villages have been attacked and their farms were burnt down."

"Oh my god!"

The woman gasped before sending a worried gaze at her two little children. "Shouldn't we do anything? Will we be alright?"

Her husband heaved a sigh. "We don't belong to any of those villages, so I think we should be fine. However, it's still worrisome... "Hmm..." the woman also sighed after hearing her husband's remark. She shot another worried gaze at her children before going back to eating. . . . . . . . "Take... and... Hurry..."

"But what about..."

"Just..."

The little kid realized he was awake when he heard the distant voices of his brother and his mother. It was late at night and the whole family had long gone to sleep, but now he could hear a commotion at the other side of the house. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, the boy stumbled to where he was hearing the voices. "Mommy..."

No one paid any attention to him. Loud shouts and screams could be heard from outside. The little kid could hear his father yelling something about not allowing anyone to hurt his family. There was a fire outside. The horses were neighing and some armed, scary men could be seen through the window. The wooden door of the house was blocked by the furniture inside the house and their father's tools were scattered everywhere. Even their mother was holding a knife. "Have this. I don't know how much it's worth but it must help you out for a while," their mother said while putting something in her eldest son's palm. It was a necklace, her necklace that her husband had given her before marriage. Both brothers knew how much she loved that necklace.

"Mom!" "Take Reynold and run. Hurry! Hurry up and run!"

"Wait! I can't! What about you two?"

The woman pushed her son's back. "Go! Go! Just go already!" She grabbed her younger son's hand and shoved him towards the older one. "You should run. Don't get caught! Please, just go!"

"Mommy...?"

"Arghhhh!"

A loud scream came from outside the house. It belonged to the children's father. "...."

The little kid could feel his brother's fear and rage through their clasped hands. He didn't get what was going on. He was too little to understand.

BANG

Something banged on the door. "G-go!" The woman pointed at the house's basement entrance. "Get out of here. Just go!"

Redmond glanced at his mother before looking at his little brother. He bit his lips and took one step back. BANG BANG

The door was cracking little by little.

"Redmond, please!"

"..."

Just before the door could completely break, the older son ran towards the basement entrance while dragging his brother with him. "Aah?"

The little kid didn't know why, but he just ran alongside his brother, his brother who was crying as he ran with all his might. "Ouch!"

It was too dark everywhere. Even after they ran out of the basement and entered their backyard, it was hard to see where they were stepping. The kid tripped and fell. Without wasting any time, his brother raised him and held him in his arms, before running even faster than before. The kid could see the scene that they were running away from. Their house was on fire. His father was laying on the ground, not moving no matter how many times those scary and big men stabbed and kicked him. Their father didn't respond. "Look, isn't it a waste to kill her this soon?"

He barely managed to hear the man's voice from the distance. The man was dragging his mom out of the burning house while talking excitedly. His brother's grip tightened around him at the same time, as if he'd also heard those words. Their mom, who was pushed to her knees, was surrounded by those scary men. The little kid watched the scene with horrified eyes. Those scary men grabbed his mom's hair and pulled her skirt. "...Mommy.."

The kid didn't understand the situation, but he could know that much that it wasn't good. He knew that his mother was in danger. The woman, who was struggling a lot, received a kick in the stomach and fell beside her husband. She froze for a second before hurriedly reaching out her hand and grabbing a blade that was thrust inside her husband's heart. The kid watched as his mom pulled out the blade and moved her body up, before stabbing the blace at her own neck. Crimson blood splattered around as her body fell down right beside her husband.

"...Mommy..."

The kid mumbled as he watched the scene while being dragged away by his brother. Don't forget to leave comments~

daniz_

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