004 - Barun and Miria’s Home

Barun navigated Jai through the gate. They passed small houses and a few barns, and then a small yard with a stone well in the middle.

Jai noticed a girl was sitting by the well, her face looking downward. He couldn’t help but notice that she was frowning as they walked closer. Then the old man behind him called, “Miria!”

The girl looked up and was instantly overjoyed.

“Grandpa!” Miria exclaimed, running to the two of them happily.

“What are you doing here, you child? And with that outfit!” Barun asked, a hint of concern slipped into his voice.

“I-I was waiting for you, grandpa… I was worried…” Miria defended. She smiled apologetically to the old man.

Now that the girl was only two feet from him, he could see her much better. The girl has long amber hair and she was wearing some kind of white night gown that reached her ankle. It seemed understandable to Jai that Barun was upset. The girl wore no sandals or anything for her feet, and he could guess that night gown was probably made from a thin fabric.

“Who is this, grandpa?” Miria asked. Her eyes are looking over at Jai.

Jai looked back at her, noticing her light green eyes that seemed to spark a sense of warmth and interest. Suddenly, Jai felt somehow nervous and looked away unconsciously.

“This kind young man is going to stay with us for the night.” Barun answered, smiling warmly at Jai knowingly.

Miria gave a polite smile and inclined her head. “Hello, my name is Miria. It’s nice to meet you.”

The faint hue in Jai’s cheeks grew a tad thicker, but he tried swallowing down the excited feeling in his gut before answering.

“I-I am Jai. N-Nice to meet you too.” Jai silently cursed himself for stammering.

Barun noticed the change in the young man’s attitude and made a mental note to himself, pushing away the urge to smile wider than he was currently.

“Well, let us go. It’s getting cold, and I’m hungry.” Barun said, sounding a tad bit smug for no reason.

Not noticing anything was wrong, Miria delightfully returned her grandfather’s words with, “Of course!”

And they went to Barun’s home.

Jai didn’t know that he was actually starving when Miria prepared dinner. When the scent of food reached his spot at the dining table, his nostrils itched, and his stomach let out a rather embarrassing grumble. Miria was in the kitchen when she heard the grumble loud and clear—the dining room and the kitchen were only around two meters apart. Miria was the first to laugh, followed by a small chuckle by Barun on Jai’s side. Dinner was served, and the three of them ate peacefully.

“Thank you for the food,” Jai said with a smile.

Although he decided that he was temporary a lunatic, that did not mean he should forget his manners. And although he did not even know what he just ate, it seemed very normal to his eyes and the taste was not bad. It was delicious even! But maybe that could be caused by his lunacy too. Eh, whatever. Being a lunatic was a good change. It was just until tomorrow. He would sure be ‘awake’ by tomorrow.

“It should be me who thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I would be dead by now,“ Barun said.

Miria sent her grandfather a wry look, “Grandpa...”

Barun shook his head. “I mean it, dearie. I’m not exaggerating.”

Miria sighed and turned to Jai, somehow the expression on her face was a cross between grateful and concern.

“Thank you for helping my grandpa, Jai. We are in debt.”

Jai nervously waved his hands in front of him, “Oh it’s alright! You don’t need to do that. I-I was just around, that’s all. Besides, your grandfather sort of helped me too, you know.”

Miria gave a cute questioning look and glanced between him and her grandfather. “Really?” she asked.

Jai nodded with a smile. The red hue on his face started to fade a bit.

Barun seemed to remember too, because he added, “Oh yes, you were lost in the woods, weren’t you Jai?”

Jai flinched. This old man! Could he stop embarrassing him in front of this cute girl?!

Miria looked at Jai while asking, “Really? You were lost?”

Jai stared back at Miria. His face looked as if someone had sprayed him with a red paint once more.

He didn’t know what to answer. But managed to nod, although reluctantly.

Barun gave an amused chuckle at that, followed by Jai frowning at him for somehow making the situation more embarrassing.

Hearing her grandfather chuckling, Miria seemed to notice how embarrassed the young man now. She smiled and started gathering the plates.

“It’s alright to get lost, Jai. I got lost a lot in the woods when I was little.” Miria assured.

Jai looked at her, not entirely convinced.

‘That was when you were young. I’m a grown man! Being lost is embarrassing for me!’ – was what Jai wanted to say, but decided against in and just gave a fake cough.

Miria smiled again. Then she stood up and brought the plates to the table beside the stove. Her foot accidentally brushed past something soft and she squealed in surprise.

“Oh, kitty... I didn’t see you there, I’m very sorry...” She smiled apologetically to the small kitten on the floor.

The kitten mewled and rubbed its head to Miria’s ankle.

Miria giggled. She reached down and cradled the little thing in her arms. Then she returned to the table.

“Where did you come from, Jai? And is this kitty your friend?” Miria asked, scratching the kitten’s cheek.

Jai swallowed back his nervousness and forced himself to act normal. He sent a glance to the kitten in Miria’s arms before answering, “I don’t really know. I woke up in the red dirt forest and the kitten was there beside me.”

Miria looked a bit surprised, “Oh my, were you robbed?” she asked in concern. Barun also turned to him. Jai did not share anything about that with him on their way to the village, so this was the first time he heard about it.

“Oh, uhh no.” He said, but he decided to said the otherwise, “I don’t know. Maybe? I don’t remember anything before that, sadly.”

He didn’t feel like giving away the facts about him. Pretending he was sick seemed like a more preferable idea for tonight.

Sadness painted over Miria’s face, “You must’ve hit your head. That’s why you couldn’t remember anything.”

Jai gave a small, uneasy smile, “Maybe.”

Miria returned the smile apologetically.

Barun hummed. “But you remember how to fight.”

Jai blinked. Right, he didn’t thought of that. He did show off his fighting skills in front of the old man. But he was pretending to not remember, right? Let’s try to hold that on for much longer.

“You’re right. I do remember how to fight!” He spiritedly lied. That seemed wrong.

Miria’s eyes lit up, “Are you from the Jaden Brotherhood?”

Miria seemed to light up at that as well and turned to look at him expectantly.

Jai blinked dumbfoundedly. “Eh?” What brotherhood?

Barun and Miria looked at each other. Clearly, the young man looked clueless.

“You are...not from Jaden Brotherhood?” Miria asked carefully.

Jai shook his head lightly, “No? What’s that?”

“It’s a community school in the kingdom. They teach young citizens how to defend themselves.” Miria answered with a small smile.

Jai’s eyebrows rose at that, slightly amused to know that there was a martial art school around here. Surely it would be either wushu or karate, but it would be fine either way. Both arts could wash off his boredom for a while. He made a mental note to visit the place, if possibble, tomorrow after bidding Barun and Miria goodbye.

“I don’t know about that brotherhood. But I am interested.” Jai honestly replied.

Barun chuckled. “Well child, even if you’re only standing there, they could surely see you have talent.”

Jai’s gace painted a pink tint while Miria smiled at that.

A mewl joined in the room and Miria looked at the kitten in her arms, “Yes? What is it kitty?”

The kitten gave another mewl and rubbed its head to Miria’s upper arms, feeling comfortable.

Miria giggled and looked again at Jai. “Does she have a name?”

Jai smiled sheepishly, “I don’t even know if it’s a girl or a boy. But you can name it whatever you want. It’s not even mine to begin with.”

Miria’s smile widened, “Then I’ll name you Usha!”

The kitten looked up at Miria, returning her gaze intently for a few seconds before rubbing its head against Miria once again. That action made Miria laughed gleefully.

“Why don’t you go to sleep, child? It’s late and I’m sure you’re spent after beating those hooligans.” Barun said.

Miria looked at her grandpa in alarm, “You were attacked by bandits?!”

“Oh yes, didn’t we tell you that?” Barun asked with a smile.

“No, you didn’t! I only know you were in need of help!”

Barun gave a knowing smile, “Ah well, that wasn’t much of a difference.” He slurped on his tea with ease.

Miria blinked, her face showed bewilderment at how ease her grandfather told her he was almost dying.

Jai shook his head with a smile. Jai excused himself to turn in for the night and Miria led him to his room. She had already prepared it before the dinner, and Jai thanked her for it. It wasn’t much, just a thin fabric on the floor with straws on top of it. Barun and Miria’s home was not that big, it was more simple and cozy. So he did not expect anything more than this.

Usha the kitten hopped from Miria’s arms and followed Jai into the room. Miria gave a small pout, as she wanted to spend more time with the cat, but gave away. She left after Jai thanked her and bid her goodnight.

Jai laid himself on the straw futon. The kitten was already making itself comfortable beside his head. Bidding the little Usha good night, Jai closed his eyes.

He had to get up tomorrow and be more ‘awake’. He was trying to solve what was actually happening the entire time. But he wasn’t sure if his mind was clouded by depression over him losing his girlfriend, or the fact that he fell from a bridge into a raging river. Worst come  to worst, he’s probably dead by now and this was the afterlife.

But he could worry about that again tomorrow. At least for now, he should get some sleep.