Chapter 17 - End of the Dream (2/2)

”It's all right. It's all over now. You don't have to worry about it. Everything will be fine now. ”

At that point, Lei Bai told her daughter about what happened after they both passed out. Thanks to the other inhabitants' stories, he had discovered how Hei had fought for them and how he had almost died. Knowing this, Lei Lei's eyes burst into tears. In her mind, she could see Hei's body being brutally beaten, and yet he would stand up to defend them.

Lei Bai then went on with the arrival of Bao Bei and what happened next. Obviously, to his daughter, he didn't omit anything, and he revealed everything to her, including Hei's origins.

Listening to this, she was surprised but then smiled as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Thus the mystery that enveloped Hei was finally revealed to her. But later, she became sad again, hearing the words of farewell he had left for her to his father.

”Lei, are you all right? I know you are sad because of Hei- ”

”No, it's okay. After all, I knew it would happen. It was only a matter of time. Don't worry, I'm fine. I just need a little rest. You go out with the others; the village needs you. ”

”Are you sure? If you need me, you know that you come first. I almost risked losing you even though I swore to protect you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. ”

”I'm fine. Nothing will happen to me here. Other people need your help more than me now. ”

With a determined look, she finally convinced her father to go outside, and then, she burst into tears.

The disgust at the corpses' sight, the sadness at the burning houses' sight, the fear of seeing her, and her father almost killed, knowing that Hei had fought for them, and he would no longer be there after having been with her for so many years. All this tumult of emotions exploded, flowing in the tears that ran down her cheeks.

It took a long time before she could calm down. Her emotions had finally subsided, and she could, therefore, rethink the final words spoken by Hei.

I'll never forget you

The promise she had asked him to make, but he hadn't been able to do it in the grass area where the forget-me-nots were.

Go ahead with your life

Although it was easy in words, how could one go on with one's life when one lost a loved one. Even if he wasn't dead, who knows when she could see him again.

With a resolute expression, however, she decided to respect Hei's request as he had done with hers.

'All right. I will do as you wish, I will continue my studies and become a doctor. I will help the people in the village and those who need care. One day, who knows, maybe sooner than you think, I'll see you again. That day I will show you how much I have grown and my progress. I hope you won't get into trouble until then, and you'll be fine.'

With a silent promise at the dawn of the new day and her new life without Hei, Lei Lei prepared to travel the path she had chosen.

***

An unknown forest somewhere in the territory of the Leaf Kingdom.

After traveling a distance that she deemed sufficient for the moment, Bao Bei took refuge in a small forest nearby for a little break, waiting for her children to wake up.

Fortunately, the Forest Kingdom hadn't by chance this name: it had, in fact, a vast number of forests scattered throughout its territory.

After building a temporary shelter, she crouched next to her still unconscious cubs. However, soon after, she got up because she noticed small noises coming from them. With great joy, she saw Hei open his eyes, followed by Ye and Xing shortly after that. Their bodies were still weak, so they remained lying on the ground.

'How are you? Don't move; you haven't recovered yet. It is better for now that you lie while resting.'

”Lei Lei? Lei Bai? The inhabitants and the bandits? What happened, mother?”

'It's okay, Hei, don't worry. I saved the inhabitants and cleaned up the bandits. Lei Lei and Lei Bai are fine. You even talked to him before you fainted, don't you remember?'

'Yeah... right. Now I remember. I wasn't able to protect Ye and Xing as mother had asked me. I haven't been strong enough,'

'No, it's our fault that we are too weak. We slowed you down, big brother.' The two little spirit animals responded together.

To this, Bao Bei couldn't help but emit a small noise like a sigh. So she prepared to cheer up her cubs.

'No, it's my fault. As a mother, it is my duty to protect you, but I didn't do it properly. Don't worry; such a thing will never happen again. I will not allow you to be hurt.'

”No, it isn't mother's fault. We are the ones who are too weak, but this will not happen again. We will train and become stronger. So trust us. Let us face dangers and adversities; only in this way, we could really become stronger. Train us to improve our fighting skills. ”

At Hei's request, Bao Bei's eight eyes lit up: his response revealed the fighting spirit inside him. Ye and Xing were also determined to become stronger.

'All right, but if you are in a situation where there is no hope, I will help you. But in other cases, you will do it yourselves. There are several things to discuss now. I told you that I would tell you about it when you would awaken your spirit power, and now the time has come. But before this Hei- '

”I know, it's no longer possible to go to the Leaf Village. If we go, we will endanger the people there. I already said goodbye to Lei Lei and Lei Bai, so there is nothing left to do. Do you know, mother? These five years seemed like a long beautiful dream. However, now that dawn has arrived, it is also time to wake up. I don't know when I can see them again, but for now, I have to continue on my way. But it's okay because even so, they stay here with me in my heart. Besides, I'm not alone, as long as I have you and Xing and Ye by my side, I could never feel alone. ”

'My good son, this was nothing but a starting point. From now on, many obstacles will be waiting for you, but I will be close to you anyway to help you. Don't worry about anything now, rest. When you wake up, we will start planning our new future.'

Hei and his two little sisters went back to sleep while Bao Bei covered them with soft silk to protect them from the cold. Her eight eyes rested on the rising sun that began to illuminate the earth. From today onwards, their new life would start.