“Lily!”
The door opened with a welcome voice.
I was playing with the wolves when I looked up at a welcome voice. Lily had come inside with her brother, Raven.
"Did you finish the work well?"
"Yeah. Lily, did you have dinner?"
When I nodded, Lily smiled with satisfaction. As if Raven, who had come in with her, was of no concern, Lily strode toward my side.
"Thank you, Lily. Thanks to you, I was able to muster up the courage."
Then, suddenly grabbing my hand, she said this.
"...Courage?"
I tilted my head at the incomprehensible words.
"Yeah, it's all thanks to you."
Lily smiled broadly as she said that.
"Listen. Do you remember what you told me? You told me I wasn't at fault at all."
"Theo, what happened between you and that person?"
My fists clenched involuntarily. Lily shook her head as if to say that wasn't the case.
"I almost did, but I said it properly today. I told them that this is burdensome and that I don't like it. I said it myself!" As she said this, Lily looked overwhelmed, like a child tasting victory for the first time.
"If it weren't for you, I would have lived my whole life as a coward."
"..."
"Thank you for giving me courage, Lily."
Lily's golden eyes twinkled as she looked at me.
However, unlike Lily, who was happy, I felt a little strange.
The fact that the words I spoke gave my mother courage.
That fact felt as if it were ringing in my heart.
Tears welled up again, threatening to burst, but I forced myself to hold them back. I knew I would look like a weirdo if I cried here.
However, I couldn't prevent my expression from clouding over. Lily opened her eyes wide.
"Yeah. Are you sick? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
“Ah. This is..."
I hurriedly wiped the corners of my eyes.
"It's because my head hurts."
"Really? Does it hurt a lot? Do you need some medicine?"
"...It looks like my memory is coming back. It's okay. I'll be fine soon."
"But..."
I held Lily's hand again.
"Then... will you grant me just one favor?"
“What is it?”
"...Excuse me. Please put your hand on my forehead."
As a child, I used to catch colds often because of the ice magic swirling inside my body. Whenever that happened, my mother would place her hand on my forehead and sing a lullaby until I fell asleep.
Mom's hands were moderately warm, but not warm enough to ward off a cold.
However, just with my mother's lullabies and touch, I felt as though the chill lingering in my body would vanish. Whenever that happened, I was able to fall asleep peacefully.
"...A memory just came to mind."
I spoke while trying hard to hold back my tears.
"I remember my mom often doing this for me. Then all the pain would disappear."
Then Lily immediately laid me down on the bed.
Her brother, Raven, tried to say something, but Lily didn't even glance at him. Her eyes were focused solely on me.
"Like this?"
She gently placed her hand on my forehead.
“...Yes. Like that.”
I tried to answer as usual, but my eyes welled up with tears again. It felt like I had returned to my childhood.
"...And there’s one more thing I remembered."
I barely managed to compose myself and spoke.
“What is it?”
Then Lily asked in a voice full of curiosity.
"My mom always used to say this: 'If you do good deeds, you will receive blessings."
"Yes"
I slowly opened my eyes. Lily, looking down at me, filled my vision. She had a slightly curious look on her face.
"Why did she say that? Isn't doing a good deed too abstract?"
She narrowed her eyebrows as if deep in thought and said.
"Is it something like a sacrifice?"
"No, it's a little different from that."
I decided to give my mother back exactly what she had told me.
"She spoke of the heart that cares for and worries about others. She said that such feelings will definitely be rewarded someday."
I looked at Lily and smiled faintly.
"Thank you, Lily, for having such a heart... Thank you for taking me in and looking after me like this."
I sincerely thanked her.
Perhaps this was the greeting I couldn't give my mother.
"Ah..."
She blushed slightly at my words.
"You don't need to thank me so much... I'm the one who's honored. Thank you."
She tidied my slightly disheveled hair and said.
"Lily's mother must be a really good person, too."
" Yes. She was... a really kind person."
"I hope you regain your memory soon and go meet your family."
Lily had a look on her face as if she sincerely wished for that. I closed my eyes again. Then Lily asked in a soft voice
"Are you sleepy?"
"Yes. ...Please stay by my side until I fall asleep."
"Okay. I'll do that."
I heard Lily laugh softly. I composed myself, trying not to let my eyelashes flutter.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of a window rattling. It really felt like I had gone back to the past and was dreaming.
***
Morning dawned in the North. It was time to go to work again today, as always.
After finishing her preparations, Lily quietly looked down at the fast-slept Lily, or rather, Eve.
'You're sleeping exceptionally well today.'
Seeing Eve sleeping soundly without waking up, she found herself feeling pleased without even realizing it.
Eve was a truly fascinating child.
The only difference was the eye color; otherwise, she was exactly like her. Even her name was the same.
Perhaps that was why. Lily couldn't take her eyes off Eve. She felt as though affection was constantly welling up inside her.
It was when Lily looked at her with a faint smile.
“Lily.”
Her older brother, Raven, approached Lily.
"You haven't forgotten, have you? That you have to leave earlier today than usual."
"Don't worry. I know."
Lily pouted at Raven's urging. She finished tying Eve's blanket and got up from her seat.
After greeting the wolves, she was about to leave the house when she felt her body go limp.
Confused, Lily lowered her gaze.
“Thomas?”
Thomas, the wolf they were raising, was looking up at her with a pitiful face.
Lily stroked Thomas's head.
"Brother and sister will be back soon. Have fun playing with Lily, okay?"
She tried hard to soothe him, but Thomas was adamant. He bit down hard on her clothes and showed no intention of leaving her side.
'Why is he acting like this today?'
Thomas had better senses than other wolves. Despite his agility, he had a gentle personality, so Lily especially doted on him.
'He's never thrown a tantrum like this before...'
Lily, feeling perplexed, looked around. Just then, she spotted the dog chew she had brought to give to the wolves.
"Thomas, do you want to eat this?"
She shook the dog chew in front of Thomas's eyes. His gaze, which had been fixed only on Lily, fixed on the dog chew.
Lily chuckled and put a dog chew in Thomas's mouth. Thanks to that, he was able to escape from Thomas.
Lily exchanged glances with Raven and quickly left the room.
Today, the snow was piled high. Lily shivered involuntarily in the chilly wind. Then Raven spoke.
"Lily, the wind is unusually cold. Make sure to wear a hat."
"Okay."
They were wearing white cloaks. In the snow-covered North, white was often used as a form of camouflage.
'Is it because I came out earlier than usual?'
The surroundings were unusually quiet. Lily, looking around for no reason, hurried her steps at Raven's urging.
Just as she had expected, the two of them left the house earlier than usual.
Therefore, they did not know that someone wearing a cloak like theirs was approaching their house.
***
I opened my eyes to the chill penetrating my body. Sunlight was streaming in beyond my narrow field of vision.
'Did I doze off...'
I rubbed my eyes and sat up. The wolves, who had been sitting quietly, approached me.
"Did you sleep well?"
I greeted the gentle wolves and looked around. Lily and Raven seemed to have already left, as they were nowhere to be seen.
'How long did I sleep?'
I couldn't even see them off. Regretting that I had slept in so long, I got up. It was time to have some warm tea.
Then the wolves followed me closely, hoping for some crumbs to fall to them.
'This isn't a wolf, it's a puppy.'
I chuckled and boiled the water in the kettle.
It was when I was filling a hot cup with water and about to get back under the covers.
The wolves that had been wagging their tails at me all turned their heads at once and looked at the door.
Then, as if by prearrangement, they started barking fiercely.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
Flustered, I looked around. I couldn't sense any sign of life.
Among them, Thomas, whom Lily adored the most, barked particularly hard.
I tried to soothe the highly agitated wolves.
"Guys, calm down for a moment..."
However, the wolves thrashed even more violently. As a result, the cup I was holding ended up breaking.
"Oh!"
A tremendous wave of pain washed over me along with a sharp tearing sound. Hot water had been poured directly onto my foot. It was just as I instinctively recoiled.
Coo!
The door opened with a crashing sound. My head automatically turned toward the source of the sound.
At the same time, the wolves that had been barking at the door collapsed weakly.
I hurriedly sat up. But the intruder was faster. The moment a black cloth was placed over my face, my body rolled onto the floor.
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