Chapter 10: Unsealing

Chapter 10: Unsealing

Lying on the ground, Hei Long curled up, as he firmly grasped his head trying his best to suppress the painful memories, that he had already long sealed into the deepest depths of his mind, from coming back to him, bringing him more pain and sufferings. Memories that reminded him of who he was before, and the memories, that forcefully molded him to become what he was now, were gushing out from its blockade, flooding his mind to destruction. He didn't want this to happen, and he—certainly!—didn't want to suffer the agonizing torments of Sadness and Agony, searing through his mind, breaking the walls that had blocked the memories, and making him remember what he didn't want to remember. But he can't stop it from happening.

"Stop!Stop! please!" he shouted.

He could vividly see the varying faces of everyone—the criminals he killed, the orphans that he adopted and later on became his comrades, who died, unwillingly and young, in a battle against the bandits, and lastly his family from Peach Evergreen. They looked at him with red eyes, telling him to accept death and damnation. Stretching his hand above the sky, and gasping for air, he could hear the cries of the people who were screaming out of pain and anger, and some of them begging him mercy. And not a single one of them offered their thanks—not even his family!

"Why did you kill us!" A man clad in a damaged black suit with wounds all over over his body, pointed at him.

"You deserved death!" Releasing frustration, Hei Long shouted at the man. "You killed a lot of people when you were still alive, Bandit!"

"I did that for my family!" the other strongly protested. "They were starving, and, as a father and the bread winner of the family, I had to do what I have to do—even if it's wrong! Had I not become a bandit, they would've be long dead! But since you killed me, who will they rely on, and who will feed them!" He vanished. But the things he said still lingered around his mind. Thinking how he indirectly killed someone's family, he became muddle head, and his eyes became lifeless.

A skinny child, who was barely eight, limped over to him, and asked, "Big brother why did you leave us?" To Hei Long, it was like the world was thrown into chaos after the child had asked that question.

He could still vividly remember the day when he picked the poor little child, who was probably disowned because of its deformity on its legs. It was crying its eyes out, in the cold winter snow. At that time, the temperature was cold enough to send even the healthiest man around to an endless sleep, much less a child, who was only placed in a thin box like it was some cabbage, and with barely anything to keep it warm. Having failed his bounty hunting mission, which he spent most of his time and money planning, Hei Long was left with nothing to eat.

"Poor thing," he said. "What am I going to do?"

The poor child cried, so he had to nudge the box, where the child was placed, and swayed it back and forth to make it stop crying. "Everything's gonna be alright." The child became quite after being swayed in a gentle way. As a matter of fact, it actually laugh. Although, it was quite weak and feeble. It still made a difference, He thought.

Looking at it with sad eyes, he contemplated. He place his hand onto the child to check if something was wrong. And to his dismay, there was, indeed, a problem. The child was probably left here long enough in order for it to catch a fever, which was why the child's body was burning hot... After another deep but quick contemplation, he decided to end its suffering. With his hands shaking, he tried to place his hands over the child's nose and mouth. Then, he pinched its nose closed. Only the mouth's left, he said to himself. When he was about the to do the same thing to the mouth of the child, the cold winter winds blew the box lifting it for a moment. The winds were so strong that it almost blew the box away with the child on it, but Hei Long was quicker than the wind and snatched the child back, from the winter winds. "Gotcha!" he said while holding the child tightly on his arms. The child bubbled some words that weren't very understandable, but that made Hei Long more guilty. He took off his winter clothes—long, blue scarf, a jacket made from thick a leather, and white T-shirt—and wrapped it around the child, who gasping heavily, and moving it a very weird manner.

"Don't move child," he said. "These will make you warm, and happy."

With his bare upped body, he ran across the town, and down the aisle, screaming, "Someone help! My child needs help!" While running, he could feel that the child doesn't have much time left. He blamed himself for hesitating. Feeling guilty, he screamed and screamed that he didn't realise that his voice was gradually fading. He knocked every door he sees, but every single person that came out of those aforementioned doors had quickly denied his entry without even bothering to hear his request, thinking he came to their doors only to beg for money while bringing a skinny child to gain their sympathies, which actually just made them angrier for destroying their good evening. In the end, they had the same statements—the soft ones would say, "Sorry, we don't have much to give." And the rough ones would say, "Please leave!" then with a slamming door at the end. With head lowered, and dry eyes, he thought that maybe hope was already lost by the time he hesitated back then.

With a growling voice he said to himself, "You fool! You should have taken him right away!"

If only he didn't indecisively decided what to do with the child, he sighed. Walking in the cold winter, without much energy, he was feeling dizzy, cold, and very exhausted. Then, he tripped, and fell on the ground. Putting the child on his bare chest, he fell with his back facing the ground. Breathing heavily, he cough and made a worrying smile. "What am I going to do with you?" he said. "Help us! Please! Anyone!"

Then, the rumbling of the winter night became serene, and temperature seemed to drop as patches of ice slowly melted.

"Boy," someone said, "stop shouting, you're ruining my winter sleep!" The voice was old and had this authoritative influence to make anyone listen attentively.

He turned his head, only to see a old man, who was a hunchback. He wore faded suit with holes with varying sizes everywhere around it, black hiking boots, and he had an old cane, which was made from a skeleton of some kind of animal, on his hand supporting his weight—whatever kind of animal it was, thought, he wasn't familiar.. His winter-white hair was long and braided beautifully, with thin strands running down his back. Wrinkles ran across his face making him looked really old, and sickly. Which might be the truth if we based it according to his looks. And the most eye-catching "feature" of all was that his eyes were red as his, and fierce as a tiger, that it brought chill on Hei Long's spine, though, it might be because of the wind that the snow had brought. He wasn't entirely sure, but he had this feeling, telling him that the old man was not a normal being, and that he needs to run away as fast, and far as he could—or else he would be damned, and it would the end. In the end, his concern for the child outweighed the danger he felt from the old man.

"Sir," he fell onto the ground, on his knees. "please save this child! I beg of `you!"

The hunchback didn't reply. He only stretched his arm and snapped it. Then, a book, that was very thick, big, and wide appeared, and floated in front of them. Opening, and flipping it with a flick of his flimsy hand, he looked at the book, Hei Long, and, lastly, the child, who was still on Hei Long hands. He said, "If the price is right, we'll make a trade."

"Sir," he said while feeling troubled, "I don't have money to pay you sir!"

He stopped flipping his book, and looked at Hei Long.

"Money?" he laughed. "Money doesn't bother me, boy. And first let's me fix your voice. Can't you see I'm old? It's giving me a hard trying to understand what you're saying, Boy." He smiled at him, and a faint golden light burst out of his hand, and onto Hei Long's body. "You okay, kid?" he asked.

The light had bathed him, made him float for a while, after that it made him feel much better. He felt like he had just had a good day rest despite of the things that he had done today. Touching, and feeling his throat, he knew that his voice before was very strained from all the shouting, but now it was different, the pain was gone. Confused, he stretched his body without feeling miserable. My body was even healed. I thought the Great Tree would be my only healer, he thought.

"Thank you, sir." He took a bow.

The old man laughed, and then he started flipping his big book once more, at a much faster rate.

"Small thing, small thing to do, Boy."

"Sir, what are you looking at that book of yours?" he politely asked. "Can you please set some time aside and help this little one, sir?"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm on it—I'm looking for his time, boy, the record of his time." He pointed at the little one. "If it's not his time yet, I will save him. But the same goes vice-versa—Oh, peculiar, indeed!"

Anxiety surged his body, he came closer and asked. "Can he be save?" he'd already forgot his manner.

"I—actually don't know. This "thing" should be dead long ago."

"Sir, please save this boy. I'll do anything and pay you anything, just please save this child..."

"Okay, deal!" he said. "I guess I can break some rules for you, boy!"

Hearing that, Hei Long kneeled down and said his thanks.

"Thank you, how can I repay you, sir?"

"You have already paid it, Boy. You may have forgotten but I have not." He smiled, and vanished. Then, the silent child began to cry. "Uwaa, Uwaa…"

"Forgotten? Who are you?" he mumbled as he gently swayed the child.

"There, there child, everything's fine now," his face was full of love and confusion."From now on you'll be called—hope!"

Recalling the memories he sealed.

"I-I…" he stuttered with tears streaming down cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't wish to leave—." Hand shaking, he tried to hold the child. And so he did. The child smiled, and kissed him. "We miss you."

"I also miss you lot." He smiled and closed his eyes to try to feel the warmth he longed for… Feeling the tinge of warmth on his cheek, he feel asleep on the ground. Seeing Hei Long sleeping, the dog on the child's hand leaped on the ground, and transformed into a hunchback man. He said to the child, "You're pure soul in exchanged for his soul, are you satisfied with this?"

Hope smiled at the old man, which made the old man sigh.

"Yes," From head to toe, they gradually turned into clouds of fine particles, flew around, and entered Hei Long's body.