206 Her Greatest Treasure
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By itself, the desire to live has many meanings, but one of them could be said to be selfishness...
But at the end of the day, every living being wished to live, and they all wanted to survive and protect what they loved...
Ninhursag began to realize that she had said a lot of stupid things without realizing it, because she was blinded by the sadness of the loss of her family.
Even now, after so many years, this big scar keeps resurfacing, even when she was healed with the comfort and love of her friends and those children, it continues to resurface, like a curse.
A curse feed on her own sense of loneliness.
Even when she was with everyone there, she felt alone, deep down, it was very hard to feel “accompanied” even when there were people clearly at her side.
Perhaps this loneliness was engraved so deeply into her very soul after so many years, that it would never go away, a feeling of emptiness... the feeling of being the last of your kind.
It was something so painful that it always remained within her, deep down, she was waiting for the moment to die... she wanted to die.
.....
Sometimes, Ninhursag would think, and continue thinking... what was her true purpose? What was what she had to do?
To protect this place and die?
She had nobody of her race to make a family, she couldn’t have children, and she never truly connected with the amazon tribe, no matter how hard the heroes there tried to make her their friend, to make her part of their family...
They knew of her loneliness, and wanted to help her.
But it seems that she never wanted help.
She was sinking in her own self-loathing, and the only thing she truly wanted was to die.
At the very least... she wanted to die while fulfilling her duty, like her family did...
Perhaps... that would be a better way of doing it.
And that’s why she got angry and that’s why... she stupidly insulted all the people that ever offered her any type of friendship, of love, of care... of warmth.
Those that had even shed tears for her... those that fed her, hugged her, and told her that she was someone important to them.
At the end, she insulted those that tried to help her, and treated them like garbage for no actual reason.
She was really the worst.
“I really deserve to just die... I shouldn’t even exists... The last of the Skin Changers with nobody else to even make a family... What’s the point anymore...” she thought. “I’ve insulted the only people that ever showed me love... What do I even deserve other than... dying miserably? Like the beast I am...”
Ninhursag continued to drown in her own self-loathing, as the darkness of her heart continued to grow bigger and bigger, she fell into an endless abyss, and the only thing she thought was about bad things.
And now that she discarded the last people that could have ever helped her... she literally had nobody else. Not a single soul...
She was a lone in this world.
Like she always was.
And... like she believed she was destined to be.
“Ninhursag!”
However, the voice of a little girl woke her up from her sorrow.
She looked towards the direction of the voice, finding a small half-elf girl running towards her, and many people behind her.
“W-What...?”
Ninhursag couldn’t believe what she was seeing, despite covering their entire bodies in the rain, they were running towards her...
Despite all of it... despite all the things she said, the loud voice, the insults, everything... Why? Why were they coming back to her?
She made sure they wouldn’t come back to her... She was sure that they would... not ever come back to her, at all, never ever... yet...
Yet...
They were here... and the voice of Sylphy, that sweet and intelligent girl resonated across the forest.
Ninhursag barely managed to stand up, feeling unwell and tired...
“No... Go away... Don’t come...”
She began to slowly move away, but her entire body barely responded to her, the wounds of her body were still hurting, even thought they had closed, she felt pain all over her body.
“Don’t come closer... I don’t deserve you...”
She continued to move away, crawling as fast as possible, but her body didn’t respond to her.
But Ninhursag realized that her own body was very strong, she had withstood even greater pains before... so why? Why wasn’t she able to move faster?
It was her own mind that was stopping her, her emotions, her heart... they were telling her to wait.
Deep down, she wanted to wait and receive them, she wanted to apologize...
But her pride, and perhaps the depression she had developed over the years didn’t wanted it, it spoke through her lips, through her mouth...
“I don’t want it... stop...”
She tried to make them stop, but they got closer and closer...
“Ninhursag!” said Sylphy, as she smiled adorably the moment she found her in the floor, pathetically sitting over the mud, covered I dirt and grass...
“No... Leave me...”
Ninhursag cried with tears flowing out of her eyes, as Sylphy walked at her side.
“Don’t run away anymore... We are here for you, Ninhursag!”
“S-Sylphy...”
The little half-elf girl hugged Ninhursag back, tightly hugging her torso, as she helped her sit down again.
“You’re our friend! Y-You’re... my parents’ friends... And Aquarina’s parents too... And Aquarina and Zack’s... Y-You don’t know how much you mean to that boy... You’re like his big sister- no, like his mother! You’ve been taking care of him all this time...” said Sylphy. “Do you know what he said when he learned this?”
“Ah...”
“He said that he was very happy to have found you...” said Sylphy. “And that he wanted to grow up with you at his side...”
“Ahhh...”
Ninhursag began to cry even more over Sylphy’s shoulders.
The rest of the group already reached them, as they saw the scene in silence.
“I am sorry... I am sorry... I am stupid... I am so stupid...” cried Ninhursag.
“Yes... You are a bit stupid...” sighed Sylphy. “But we all commit mistakes... Just let us... help you.”
Ninhursag looked back at everyone in silence, as they all smiled back at her.
And she... couldn’t help but cry even more as she realized that she was never alone.
And that the greatest treasure in her life was... all these people.
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