Chapter 153: Chapter 153 - Master of Tempest ( Part 2 )
Morning came under the skies shrouded with pale gray clouds.
The euphoria that had greeted the Awakening of Tempest was over.
Although Luka managed to make villagers happy with his Divine Sword of Storms, there was one thing overshadowing their joy.
Derresa’s disease persisted.
On the contrary...
It started worsening.
Jennie was standing in front of the cottage holding a basket with freshly baked bread.
A pleasant smell of wheat filled the cold mountain air.
Roxy was trailing her with medicine which she made during the whole night.
Snow carried several bundles of herbs around his neck.
"I still think this medicine won’t help," Snow mumbled.
Roxy sighed.
"I know."
"But doing nothing will be worse."
Jennie silently nodded.
"As long as there is a chance..."
"...we’ll try."
In the cottage, Luka was sitting near the window watching how Derresa was arranging flowers in a small vase.
She was calm.
She looked almost healthy.
If to overlook those black dragon scales growing along her wrists and neck, nobody would think about her disease.
As soon as Derresa noticed the visitors, she smiled politely.
"Oh..."
"We have guests."
Jennie smiled.
"Good morning."
"I brought breakfast."
Derresa tilted her head.
"Thank you..."
She made a slight wrinkle on her forehead.
"I’m sorry..."
"...have we ever met?"
Everyone was silent.
Jennie felt how her heart sank.
Just yesterday...
They talked and laughed over the tea.
They talked about her child.
And now...
Deressa was staring at her as if she had seen her for the first time.
Luka stood.
"They’re friends."
Deressa looked at him.
"Our friends?"
He nodded.
"They come often."
Her expression softened.
"Oh."
"I’m sorry."
"My memory isn’t very reliable lately."
Jennie forced a smile.
"It’s okay."
She went to the middle of the room and placed the basket on the table.
"My name is Jennie."
Deressa repeated her name softly.
"Jennie..."
"What a lovely name."
"I hope we’ll become friends."
Jennie looked at her in silence.
"...I hope so too."
Roxy tried to change the topic of conversation in order to keep the atmosphere light.
"I made some more medicine."
Deressa looked in her direction.
"Oh."
"Are you the village healer?"
Roxy froze.
"...You don’t remember me too?"
Deressa smiled.
"I’m sorry."
"I really wanted to."
Roxy’s lips started shaking.
Just yesterday...
They were spending the whole night baking bread together.
Deressa was laughing while explaining her an old family recipe.
But now...
Nothing remained.
Snow quietly put his paw on Roxy’s shoulder.
She moved her gaze away in order not to show anybody the tears which were appearing in her eyes.
Jennie gently helped Derresa to sit next to the fireplace.
The older woman was watching the flames as if she was seeing them for the first time.
"Your cottage is beautiful."
Luka smiled slightly.
"You’ve decorated it."
"I have?"
"You’ve planted every flower in front of the cottage."
"Oh..."
She looked as if she was astonished.
"I’ve got good taste."
Luka smiled softly.
"You always said that."
Derresa laughed.
"I like whoever I used to be."
During all the morning hours the memory loss became obvious.
Jennie was watching how Deressa was greeting everyone as if she saw everybody for the first time.
She was talking to elderly neighbors as if she was meeting them only today.
She couldn’t remember where the kitchen of her house was situated.
She was searching for a sewing basket in every corner of the room although she had just held it in her hands.
Every new detail forgotten was another knife cutting her friends’ hearts.
At noon Roxy offered Derresa a cup of herbal tea.
"I’ve added some mountain mint."
Derresa took it politely.
"Thank you..."
She hesitated.
"...Miss?"
Roxy felt how her shoulders stiffened.
"My name is Roxy."
"Roxy."
Derresa repeated it several times.
"I’ll remember."
Few minutes later...
She smiled kindly.
"Excuse me..."
"...what is your name?"
The cup fell from her hands.
It smashed on the floor.
She hurriedly turned away.
"I’m sorry."
"I’ll clean it up."
Jennie kneeled beside her.
Nobody said anything.
There were no comforting words left.
By the afternoon Snow finally realized what was happening.
The Divine Wolf was walking towards Deressa and gently put its huge head beside her chair.
As usually...
She was always smiling and petting the wolf behind the ears.
But now...
She jumped in alarm.
"A wolf!"
She automatically stepped back.
Snow slowly lowered its head.
"It’s me."
"I’ve been sleeping in your garden for a week."
Deressa smiled nervously.
"I’m sorry..."
"I don’t think we’ve ever met."
Snow forced a smile.
"I suppose we haven’t."
He quietly went out before anyone could notice how sad his golden eyes became.
That evening Jennie found Luka sitting alone on the porch.
Tempest was resting on his knees.
He was watching the mountains in silence.
"She forgets faster."
Jennie joined him.
"...Yes."
Luka sounded calm.
Too calm.
"The physician said it was going to happen."
"I only hoped..."
"...he was wrong."
Jennie looked in the direction of the glowing windows of the cottage.
"She still smiles."
"That’s because she doesn’t understand what she is losing."
Luka closed his eyes.
"I remember everything."
"And she is forgetting each hour."
A soft voice interrupted them.
"Luka?"
Both of them turned.
Deressa was standing in the doorway.
She smiled kindly.
"There you are."
Luka instantly stood up.
"Do you need something?"
She hesitated.
She was looking at him.
"I’m sorry..."
Her voice was trembling.
"I know everyone says that you are very important to me..."
She pressed her hand against her forehead.
"But..."
"I can’t remember..."
Silence.
"...Who are you?"
The world suddenly stopped.
The wind stopped blowing.
The birds were silent too.
Luka stood motionless.
His expression wasn’t showing any anger.
Or panic.
Only quiet grief.
He slowly went to her.
His voice was still gentle.
"My name..."
"...is Luka."
She smiled politely.
"It’s nice to meet you."
The words cut deeper than any sword.
Inside the cottage Roxy covered her mouth to hold back the tears.
Snow turned his head to the dark sky.
Jennie quietly closed her eyes.
Dragon Shell had stolen the last memory which mattered the most.
Deressa had forgotten the man she loved.
And the life they had lived.
She was looking at Luka as if he was somebody who was meeting her for the first time.
But...
Luka answered her smile without hesitation.
"It’s nice to meet you too..."
"...Derresa."
The cottage was quiet.
Warm firelight filled the whole room, but nothing could erase the chill that froze the hearts of everyone present.
Derresa stood in the center of the room, smiling apologetically.
Her eyes were kind.
Gentle.
Just as usual.
But the recognition that used to shine there...
Had faded.
She looked at Luka, treating him as if he was a stranger in her house.
"Excuse me..."
Her voice was gentle.
"...Who are you?"
Nobody answered.
Not even the crackling fire could make any noise anymore.
Jennie bowed her head.
Roxy bit her lips so hard, they bled.
Snow quietly moved to the door, not wanting to witness the coming scene.
Only Luka stood in front of Deressa.
Several seconds...
Passed in silence.
He couldn’t utter a single word.
His hands were shaking.
Not out of fear.
Not out of anger.
But out of such pain that even words couldn’t express anything.
The woman he loved.
The woman who laughed with him.
Argued with him.
Whom he married.
With whom he planned to raise their child...
Was looking at him without a trace of memory.
Derresa bent her head to the side.
"I’m sorry."
"Did I say something offensive?"
Luka forced himself to smile.
"No."
"No."
His voice broke.
"My name is Luka."
She smiled kindly.
"Pleased to meet you, Luka."
Those words destroyed the last barrier that surrounded Luka’s heart.
He turned away from her before she could see his face.
His shoulders began to tremble.
A low sound left his throat.
Not a scream.
Not a cry.
Just a broken sigh.
Jennie faced countless enemies.
She saw whole kingdoms burned.
She witnessed deaths of great heroes.
But none of this could compare to the sight of man losing his wife right before her eyes.
Roxy quietly wiped tears from her cheeks.
"...It’s unfair."
Jennie nodded silently.
Dragon Shell was a cruel disease.
Death put an end to suffering.
This illness stole years of life from its victims.
And left only memories...
Except for those of the ill person.
Luka went outside.
Fresh air met his face.
He walked across the garden without paying attention to the flowers under his feet.
Finally...
He reached the cedar tree near the cottage.
Nobody followed him.
For the first time in his life...
The feared leader of Rosario Village allowed himself to collapse.
He fell onto his knees.
His hands covered his face.
A sob tore his throat.
Then another.
All years of suppression collapsed in a second.
"I promised..."
His voice trembled.
"I promised to stay strong..."
He looked up to the sky.
"But..."
"...how should I do this?"
Tears freely flowed down his face.
"I can fight armies."
"I can survive injuries."
"I can endure pain."
He clenched his fists, until they started bleeding.
"But..."
"I can’t fight this."
Tempest lay near him.
The Divine Sword was silent for a long time.
Then...
Gentle breeze circled Luka.
At last, the sword spoke.
"Cry."
Luka closed his eyes.
"...I should protect her."
"You should."
"But I can’t even protect her memories."
The wind became gentler.
Almost comforting.
"Some storms can’t be prevented."
"But they can be endured."
Luka lowered his head again.
"...I’m afraid."
It was the first time he admitted those words.
Even to himself.
Back in the cottage...
Deressa looked around in bewilderment.
"Where did Luka go?"
Jennie said gently.
"He needed some fresh air."
Deressa nodded.
"I hope I didn’t upset him."
"No."
Jennie smiled sadly.
"You were very polite."
Deressa looked relieved.
"I’m glad."
She quietly sat near the fireplace.
Several moments passed.
Deressa looked at Jennie again.
"Miss Jennie?"
"Yes?"
"Everybody looks at me as if they want to cry."
Jennie felt something squeezing her chest.
"...They do?"
Deressa nodded.
"I don’t understand why."
"I feel quite well."
Jennie couldn’t answer.
Because it was the most cruel thing.
Deressa didn’t realize what she had lost.
Only everybody around her did.
That night...
Jennie quietly found Luka sitting near the cedar tree.
Snow lied beside him, saying nothing.
Roxy stood close by with a lantern.
Nobody tried to cheer him.
Some grief can’t be cured by words.
Jennie slowly sat down near him.
Several minutes...
Passed in silence.
At last...
Luka spoke.
"Do you know..."
"When we got married..."
Jennie shook her head.
He smiled faintly through tears.
"She was so anxious that she put my ring on the wrong hand."
Weak laugh left his mouth.
"I joked about this for weeks."
He looked at the silver wedding ring on his finger.
"She apologized every day."
"As if something like this could matter."
His smile faded.
"And now..."
"She doesn’t remember doing that."
Jennie looked up at the stars appearing above the mountains.
"You still have those memories."
Luka nodded.
"I know."
"But they are ours."
"Not just mine."
His voice became fainter.
"I hoped that we would remember them together."
Gentle wind stirred the branches of the cedar tree.
Crystal on Tempest’s hilt faintly shined.
Divine Sword whispered for the third time.
"Memories are precious."
"But love is not made of memories alone."
Luka listened silently.
"She smiled when she met you today."
"Didn’t she?"
"...Yes."
"She decided to trust you."
"...She did."
"Then, even without memories..."
"...her heart remembered what her mind didn’t."
Luka looked at the cottage.
Faint light was shining through the window.
Deressa forgot his name.
His face.
Their wedding.
Their promises.
But when she met him again...
She smiled.
Not because she remembered him.
Because somehow...
The gentleness she loved made her heart feel comfortable.
Tear rolled down Luka’s cheek.
But this time...
He smiled.
A sad smile.
But a real one.
"I guess..."
"I’ll introduce myself tomorrow too."
Jennie looked at him.
"And the day after that."
Luka nodded.
"And every other day."
"As many times as it will take."
He stood up, cleaning the last tear from his face.
"I promised to love my wife."
"Dragon Shell won’t decide when this promise ends."
Jennie stood up next to him.
Snow quietly smiled.
Roxy nodded with tears in her eyes.
They all looked at the warm light coming from the cottage.
Inside...
Deressa forgot everyone she loved.
But outside...
People who loved her made a promise.
No matter how many times she would ask, "Who are you?"...
They would answer with the same kindness.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Because while memories could be stolen by the disease...
Love was chosen every day.
