Chapter 58
I spoke sincerely, with a deep sense of urgency.
“Helping them might seem meaningless right now.”
He wouldn’t understand. And neither would my little one.
In a chapter I had read, Lilian in the future would defuse a bomb at a village festival. When she falters and almost gives up, unable to handle the remaining explosives, some elderly villagers step forward, lifting the crates of explosives and tossing them into the river.
No one expected such help—everyone thought it was over. Watching Lilian and the paladin Glaeser Yornbach narrowly survive, they sternly remarked something that stuck with me.
“Even when it looks like the end, you don’t give up until it’s truly over.”
They’d heard it from someone, too—it ain’t over ‘til it’s over—and they told the young lady to keep her wits about her and live wisely.
It was a scene that touched me, even though the author cheekily didn’t credit that borrowed saying.
In that moment, I believed in it. Cliché and overused as it might be, a little courage and belief can leave something lasting in someone’s heart.
To believe in what’s right, reject what’s wrong, and rise again, not just sit down and collapse at every setback—even if that’s the harsh reality of life.
If we just accept an unjust reality and give up, what happens to those left behind?
People can mock it as naive idealism, but who knows? Hidden amid words that relentlessly seek only to provoke, small moments of hope and dreams might someday strike a chord in me.
Life is like that, after all. Everything I experience, read, hear, and feel piles up, becoming a strength within me.
And who’s to say that someone else, just like I did, won’t find hope and rise again because of my words?
We don’t need to look too far ahead. One step at a time, focusing on what’s right in front of us.
“I don’t want to ignore those I can reach out to.”
Who knows? The people I help to their feet might someday help others, and they in turn might one day help my child in her time of need.
But despite my plea, Ernst’s reaction was less than enthusiastic. It seemed appealing to his sense of compassion wasn’t going to work.
Then there’s only one way left—absolute insistence.
“Fine, if nothing else, consider it as paying for the potatoes.”
Ernst raised an eyebrow, wondering what I meant, and I replied with a smirk.
“Freshly boiled potatoes—the best thing I’ve eaten recently.”
“Do you even realize what you’re saying?”
I grabbed his collar and whispered in his ear,
“You tasted it too, just now, didn’t you?”
Didn’t it taste good? I teased with a mischievous lick of my lips, watching his eyes narrow knowingly.
“You’ll have to pay quite a high price for that, you know.”
He immediately pulled me close, his hands finding my waist, our bodies pressed together. His presence was unmistakable, and I laughed aloud.
He looked down at me, a faint smile crossing his face, and led me into the house. No sooner had the door closed than he placed Lilian in her crib and pulled me down onto the bed.
“I haven’t even washed yet.”
Covered in dust, I barely managed to murmur before his warm breath brushed my ear. His hand slid down my back, unfastening buttons and finding its way in, tracing a line over my chest that still bore the scent of milk.
As he kissed my neck, he murmured with a hint of frustration.
“Please, don’t scare me like that, Julie.”
I blinked, taken aback. How tender he was, though I hadn’t thought he’d be so worried with our ever-diligent house ‘fairies’ protecting me. Yet his voice was truly shaken.
‘I guess he was really frightened this time.’
I wanted to comfort him. Hugging him, I looked into his eyes, smiling gently as our gazes met.
Our lips met, and the soft flavor of familiarity spread. It tasted like someone’s kindness, another’s innocence, and a touch of humanity, mingling with his affection as I closed my eyes and snuggled into his arms.
Another tumultuous day in Julie’s life was coming to an end.
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