That was my end...
I did not know what I was supposed to do now.
The half-wolf's grip around me was starting to loosen, as if its life was fading slowly, or maybe it had already faded.
Even though I was free from it now, I still could not change the situation.
Should I just give up?
As I was thinking that, an idea suddenly came to my mind.
Maybe it would not change anything, but at least I could say that I tried.
At once, I moved the half-wolf's corpse and put it under me.
It was hard to do because of how huge it was, but here, while we were in the air, it became easier to move its weight.
As we kept falling, I held onto it tightly.
At least if we hit the ground, its corpse would take most of the damage.
The wind whistled near my ears, and the darkness of the cliff slowly began to swallow the moonlight.
That made me feel just how far I was falling downward.
"Maybe after one second or two, I will hit the ground and my insides will scatter everywhere."
I smiled as I mocked myself.
I do not know why, but the half-wolf's corpse, the one I was sure was dead, started to show signs of warmth.
Little by little, I could faintly feel heat rising from it.
I could even see a few red and orange sparks coming out of its body and rising upward.
They looked like stars in this sea of darkness.
The scene was actually beautiful, but because it happened here, it felt strange.
"What is happ—"
Before I could finish my sentence, or even make a confused face, something like an explosion happened!
The half-wolf's corpse that I was lying on crashed hard into the ground.
As for me, I fell off it and hit the rough, rocky, wet ground.
It felt as if my whole body was cracking apart.
Pain took over my limbs, and a constant ringing clung to my ears.
I could not keep my sanity while I gritted my teeth and endured all of it.
And at some unknown moment, I lost consciousness.
......
I was in the back garden of my house.
The place around me was very blurry, but as if it were something completely normal, I did not care.
Out of nowhere, in the middle of the spring air, a pale-skinned woman with gray hair and brown eyes leaning toward red appeared.
Around her, one could feel an aura of dignity in the air itself.
She looked ordinary, yet at the same time, she was beautiful in a way I could not explain because of that aura.
I was not surprised or alarmed when I saw her walking toward me.
I had memorized every detail of her during the last five years since our marriage, and even a little before that.
She was my wife...
I moved toward her as well...
But very quickly, the atmosphere turned into a gloomy gray.
Behind my wife, Lilith, a huge shadow appeared.
Its misty shape did not become clear for some reason I did not understand, but I could see the glow of its red eyes, and they looked as if blood was boiling inside them.
I rushed toward Lilith, who was not far from me, to push her away from that huge shadow.
I rushed forward, but it was as if the distance between us was endless.
I did not move closer at all.
It was as if I moved backward whenever I tried to go forward.
The distance between us kept growing.
I shouted, "Get away! Run!"
But she did not hear me.
At that exact moment, I... opened my eyes as a faint light filled my sight.
I found myself covered in sweat and breathing hard...
I took a moment to understand the situation.
"Was that only a dream? Yes, it was a nightmare. It was just a nightmare."
I calmed myself, but then confusion and doubt filled me as I looked around.
This was not my room, and it was not my house.
I tried to remember what had brought me here.
"A half-wolf chased me. I fell into the giant ravine. But why am I here? Did someone find me and save me?"
That was the only possible answer.
Otherwise, I would not still be alive at this moment.
"George..."
When I thought about him, some sadness came over me.
I did not know what had happened to him.
"Is he alright? Did he manage to escape?"
I hoped so...
I drifted off as I went over everything that had happened in my memory...
As the seconds passed, I felt as if someone was tapping my arm.
I turned around, and strangely enough, I found a boy with a childish face looking at me with innocent eyes.
When our eyes met, the boy stayed silent.
Then he stepped back a little, took a tray from a table near the bed, and placed it on my lap, as if he was asking me to eat.
Then, with small steps, he left the room.
He looked cute.
I stayed silent.
I did not fully understand the situation.
Maybe he was the one who saved me.
Or maybe it was his father.
There was no way a small boy like him lived here alone.
"When he comes back, I will ask him."
I looked at the tray in front of me.
It was made of wood, just like the plate on top of it.
The plate held some kind of pale yellow porridge, with a small piece of fat or butter on top.
I picked up the spoon and ate it greedily.
Since the moment I woke up, hunger had attacked me as if I had not eaten for days.
I did not worry that the food might be poisoned.
If the people of this place wanted me dead, they would not have saved me in the first place.
The porridge tasted bland, but I had gotten used to worse things.
After a few moments, only the clattering of the spoon against the plate remained.
The porridge was gone in only a few seconds, and I swear I was still hungry...
Disappointed, I heard footsteps coming from the door.
The same boy came back right after I had finished eating, as if he had been waiting for that impatiently.
I saw it as a good chance to ask him about everything on my mind.
"Were you the one who saved me?"
The boy stopped where he stood after hearing my question, then nodded in agreement.
He did not say a single word.
Was he shy?
"Then thank you very much. When I return, I will surely repay you for what you did for me. Not only did you save me, but you also treated me. I am deeply grateful."
After I woke up, I found myself wrapped in pale yellow pieces of linen.
I did not feel any of the pain I had felt after the fall.
Even my arm, which had been broken, was back to normal, or at least I could not feel any pain in it.
That was what made me think that I had been treated.
I did not know how it was done so quickly, but all that mattered was that I was alive.
"Where is your family? Are you alone?"
This time, he did not answer right away.
He stood still for a few seconds, then nodded again.
I could see some sadness in his eyes.
"I am sorry."
As if I already knew what had happened to his family, I apologized.
Those looks in his eyes hinted at a cruel truth.
I shared the same feeling.
Since I was an orphan, I had never known who my father was.
I spent all my childhood and youth in the village temple.
If Lilith had not been in my life, I would never have known the meaning of family love and warmth.
But even though five years had passed since our marriage, our family was still incomplete.
The heavens had denied us a child...
It is easy to imagine how that feels, right?
But it is hard.
I said to myself that I did not want him to live through the same life I had lived.
I knew it would be hard for him to accept having someone else and calling him "father," but I wanted to call him "my son."
Even if he was not of my blood.
Also, him being alone in a place like this was not good for a small boy like him.
I tried to get out of bed, then placed my feet on the floor.
I faced the boy in front of me and stood there, holding my arms open.
I saw him step back a little.
Was he afraid of me?
Maybe because of the scars on my face.
Children were often afraid of me because of them.
I was about to step back, but then I saw the little boy move forward with trembling, clenched fists.
It looked as if he was about to hit me, but I also thought that maybe he had decided something.
I hugged the boy.
He trembled a little at first, as if he had not expected it.
I said in a low voice mixed with sadness,
"Do you want to leave this place with me? I understand this feeling of loneliness. I am sorry for what happened to your family. Come with me, would you like that?
Maybe one day, you can even call me father."
I was joking a little in that last part.
I knew how strange and hard that would be.