Published at 18th of October 2021 10:53:55 AM

Because I think Id die without her.

Depending on how you interpreted his voice, it even sounded a little painful and distressed.

Because I miss her so much that its painful. Because without her, its painful enough to die. I want to see her to death, but I cant. I dont know why she left, and I dont know when shell be back How can I not search for her?

Simon paused for a moment before bursting out into nervous laughter. It was a laugh mixed with sighs.

Yet he couldnt blame Kalia for any of this.

It would be hard for him to have the heart to blame her or even resent her now that he was going to meet her again. He couldnt let Kalia get away from him once again just because of his lacking mouth1. It was not enough to just long for love anymore2

What if something happens while Im not around? What if she gets hurt? Or if a crazy guy keeps bothering her by saying he loves her? Ha! All because Im not around.

If he met her, all he had to do from now on was pour out all of this overflow of heart-aching love into her. Though Kalia so cold-heartedly left without telling him why, how could he hate her? He couldnt even utter words of resentment easily in front of her.

Salvation was like that.

He couldnt ignore it nor did he dare to resist.3

She was the only person in the world who could invoke emotions so overwhelming that she could dominate him with said feelings.

Simon frowned, his face contorting to the point where the others didnt know if he was smiling or crying. The sound of rain falling outside the window was annoying.

With a brief sigh, Simon leaned forward.So, I need to find her. As soon as possible, even if its at this hour. I have to find her.I cant calm down for even a moment without Kalia. Because I think Im going to go crazy at this rate.

With his arms on his knees, he nervously twisted around his interlaced fingers for a moment before raising his head. His eyes had acompletely different look than before. One without even the slightest leeway.

Dangerous.

Humming and Allen thought the same thing at the same time.

This mans love was dangerous.

It was such an overwhelming amount of love that it overflowed and smothered his surroundings. As much as he had already muffled4that love inside. It was a love that overflowed with no end in sight. At the same time, Kalia needed that love.It wasa huge love that will compensate5for the times growing up that were without love.

Humming looked at Simon with much lighter, more relaxed eyes.And when she opened her mouth, she had already made up her mind.

I will tell you where Miss is.

Humming! Its not up to us to decide.

But if we dont tell you, you wont let us go. Right, Mr. Simon?

Simon, who was listening attentively, simply smiled calmly and raised an eyebrow in response. That smile of his conveyed only one meaning.

Fully understanding the meaning behind that smile, Humming said to Allen again,Look, Allen. As you know, were in a situation thats delicate, precarious and hurried right now. So, wouldnt it be better to be able to go back and take care of Kalia as soon as possible?

.Take care of her? Is something wrong with Kalia? Simon asked in Allens silence when he could not refute Hummings logic.

The strange nuances of the two made Simons expression grow worse.

It looks like youre a doctor Is that why youre with Kalia?

Allen gnawed his lower lip, scowling at Simon, but failed to answer.As if to put pressure on Allen, mana increasingly began to pour from Simon and radiate into the air around him. The enormous amount of mana emitted seemed to compress down the very concentration of air. Both Allen and Humming tensed as the pressure pressed down on them and the mounting pressure felt as if it was choking them.

If somethings wrong with Kalia and youre dragging your feet like this youd better be prepared. Even if youre Kalias people.

Quarreung!6

Just in time, thunder struck outside, adding to the already suffocating and tense atmosphere. His eyes gleamed eerily in the near darkness.

Allen grabbed Humming and shot Simon a shaky look.

Since youve been waiting for this long, cant you wait a few more days?

Simon replied with a sour smile, I dont think so.

There was a tense silent confrontation between the two men. What broke the eerily chilling air was an abrupt sound from a cute, round head that materialized out of nowhere.

-Kkyu?

Suddenly, a mole-shaped spirit rose up in the air between the two men and tilted her head.Surprised Humming and Allen both leant back in their seats, widened eyes trained on the mole.

Tierra.Recognizing the spirit, Simon shook his head and held out a hand. What were you doing for you to only show up now?

-Kyu!

She raised her head as if she had something to say and jumped up into Simons hand. From there, the mole ran up his arm to his shoulder, seemingly a bit excited.

-Kyu! Kkyu! Kyukyukyukyu! Kyuuuuuuu! Kyuuwu!

Taking in the moles language with head cocked slightly, Simon tried to figure out why this little guy was so excited like this. The moles words were not a language, but a form of meaning7. What Tierra was trying to convey sounded in Simons head.

You went to the Spirit Forest and met a strange human? But?

-Kkyuuu! Kyukyu!

At the moles squeaks, Simons face, which had been calm this entire time, gradually changed. She smelled similar to the mana I showed you before?

-Kkyu!

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Quarreung! Quang!9

Kalia woke up at the sound of lightning. To be precise, she woke up to the sound of thunder and an uncomfortable tightening pain in her stomach.

Hiss.

It was similar to the contractions before, but gave off a subtly different feeling, tightening in the lower abdomen. Kalia took a deep breath before sitting up in bed.

Allen should be back tomorrow morning

Something felt off. She had felt uneasy all afternoon yesterday but now, she felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding. She had a hunch that her child will be born soon.

Kalia slowly got up out of bed and headed for the kitchen.The sound of rain was still loud, but the air was not cold thanks to the lingering fire in the fireplace, warming the room to a lukewarm temperature. Fortunately, as she walked down, the pain subsided.

After seeping some soothing tea leaves in warm water, Kalia checked the time. To figure out whether these were false labour pains or actual labour contractions, the most important thing to focus on was the interval of time.10

I felt the pain three minutes ago.

And its been about 10 minutes since the contractions began. Allen said that contractions could last for 24 hours without going into labour if there was enough time between each contraction.When one really goes into labour, the interval of the contractions drops by a minute each time.It could hurt a lot Allen had said without further explanation.

If you can hold on a little longer, youll be fine.

Kalia laid down on the rocking chair in front of the fireplace. Two more hours to go before it would be bright. It would be a relief if Allen and Humming left early and got back as soon as the sun rose, but if they came late, she had to be prepared and think of other ways.

Lets talk to the next door neighbour first, and contact Henry, the village doctor. Maybe I should even tell Mrs. Collins since she used to be a midwife.

As she forcefully tried to distract herself from the pain, her stomach tightened once again. She checked the time quickly and about 20 minutes had passed since the last contraction. The time interval was much closer than she had expected.11

Kalia laid herself down on the chair and tried not to panic. Just then, she spotted a baby hat that had yet to be finished on the side table next to her chair. She had learned to make the hat from the neighbours wife, Mrs. Lana. The tiny hat was clumsily knitted with her own hands and was honestly a bit of a crooked mess12. Nonetheless, no matter how sloppy the hat shed made was, Kalia looked proud every time she saw it. It took a month just to knit this much of this little thing.

Due to her lack of dexterity, she had to unwind to re-knit with her needles over and over again even though she spent over an hour working on it every day. She worked on it whenever she had the time but she hadnt been able to completely finish it yet. She estimated that she could complete it by today or tomorrow if she held on but at this rate, most likely not. It was a pity. She wanted to make it pretty

Kalia caressed the soft material carefully and gently spoke to Shasha to soothe her stomach. Mom wants to see Shasha sooner, but wouldnt it be better if we meet safely? So, Shasha, dont rush, just wait a little longer. Just until Allen comes back. My good baby.

When she spoke in a friendly voice as she stroked her clenching belly, the labour pains subsided. Just that alone made her feel proud of the child in her stomach. Catching her breath, Kalia closed her eyes again.

Rumble!

The crashing sound of thunder sounded like a knock on the door and following that, lightning flashed across the window.Turning to the kitchen, she couldnt help but think that the thunder was quite loud today.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Just then, she heard a knock on the door so clearly that she couldnt mistake it for the thunder or lightning outside.