The 51st day of Spring, 256 (Niomerday) 

The sun was rising in the sky and lighted up a small bedroom through its open window. This brightness made Zan awaken from his dreams, and as he slowly opened his eyes, he tried to block the sunlight with his hand. After realizing that morning had arrived, he got out of his bed with a slightly grumpy face, and as his stomach grumbled, he went to the kitchen for breakfast. His body was covered with blue and green spots, and every single step was painful to him, but it especially hurt at his left rib cage after each breath.

Once he arrived in the kitchen, he took a jar off the shelf and spread some jam on a slice of bread. As he was eating his breakfast, he also made some green tea to drink.

"Have you awakened?" Arilia asked as she stepped into the kitchen.

"Yes," Zan nodded. "I'll eat a little and then go to work."

"You have not recovered completely yet. After a tenth, if you still want to, you can go to work."

"After ten days?" He was surprised. "That will be too late. I don't even want to miss a single day of work. The others will think I am lazy."

"Well, you are already late with that." She smiled."You were sleeping for more than two days in a row."

"What?!" Zan asked, and in his surprise, he spat out his tea.

"Do not spit in the kitchen!" Arilia almost yelled at her son. "Clean up your mess, and after you ate your breakfast, go to my little daughter-in-law. The little girl was crying every day because of you."

"All right," he said and cleaned up the spilled tea with a rag. Soon he finished his meal and tidied up after himself.

Zan was just about to head to Liria's hut, but when he opened the door, he got frightened by a little girl who appeared in front of him. She wasn't scary nor even ugly, and the only reason that he got scared was that he was deep in his thoughts, and the little girl suddenly showed up in front of him. He needed to take a couple of deep breaths before he could calm himself down.

Of course, Zan immediately recognized Liria, who was now standing in the doorway with blurry eyes. However, this time, tears of joy were running down her ruddy face, and she quickly hugged him.

"It's so good to see you alive," was all Liria could say.

"If you squeeze me so hard, then I won't live for long," Zan said, and although Liria's embrace wasn't so tight, yet she grabbed him at his injured ribs, which was quite an unpleasant feeling.

After Liria heard this, she immediately let go of him, and with a blushed face, she could only say: "Sorry," while looking at her small shoes.

Watching the pair, Arilia smiled and said to her son, "Do not be such a crybaby, Zan. My little daughter-in-law was only happy to see you being healthy. Go out and sit down in the backyard, while I make some tea for all of us."

The youngsters did as they were told and sat next to each other behind the hut. Their attention was drawn to the garden's plants, and they were watching the bees move from one flower to another. They didn't know what to say, so they were listening to the bird's melody that took over the silence. The two youngsters were absorbed in the beauty of the moment.

However, this idyllic atmosphere was soon disturbed by Arilia when she brought their teas. After a short while, both of them were blowing their hot drinks, and other than the words: 'thank you', no sentence left their mouth.

It started to become a little awkward in the yard as no one could really say anything, but Liria suddenly broke the silence. "What kind of tea is this, Aunty Arilia? It tastes really good."

"We are drinking lime-flower tea, but in yours, my little daughter-in-law, I put some honey as well. Zan, however, is drinking willow tea for his pains," Arilia explained.

"I understand," Liria nodded and sipped into her hot drink again.

While they were drinking their tea, Arilia told Zan that in the last few days, Liria frequently came to visit him. She spent long hours at his bed each day waiting for him to wake up. Then they talked bout what happened in the village while Zan was sleeping, but none of them seemed important to Zan to remember them.

They were so immersed in their conversation that they didn't even notice how time flew by. Liria couldn't stay with them for long as she had to go home to help her mother in cooking. Soon she said goodbye with a smile on her face and left the mother-son pair.

After Liria left, Zan sighed.

"Is there something wrong?" Arilia asked her son.

"No, not really... I just thought about what would have happened if I hadn't defeated Zolar," Zan said.

"But you defeated him, and you have awakened. You faced your fears, and that was the key that opened the door into my world."

"If you knew that was the key, then why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"If I told you, what would you have done? Would you have faced the Smith boys?"

"Yes!" Zan nodded. "I would have so much sooner awakened if I knew."

"Or you would have died sooner," Arilia interrupted. "But, you do not even realize what you are truly afraid of."

"I am no longer afraid of anything!"

"That is not true. You just do not want to or do not dare to admit it."

"Whatever..." Zan said and went into the hut, but in a low voice so that his mother wouldn't hear it, he added, "And what would have happened if I wouldn't awaken?"

'Then I would have stopped those scoundrels,' Arilia thought to herself; however, no words left her mouth.

...

The scent of delicious potato soup filled the kitchen. With only one sniff, anyone would slobber. However, Zan seemed to be uninterested in the lunch and was sulking to himself. Nevertheless, he couldn't resist his hunger for too long and begin to eat his meal. He liked it so much that he ended up eating more than one bowl of it.

Arilia could only smile after watching her son eat, and soon she put a small vial next to his dish. "This is a healing potion. It will quicken your recovery by using your mana. After you finished your meal, drink it and sit on a chair or lie in your bed, and try not to move your body at all. You should pay attention to the potion as it moves your mana to your injuries, and do not be surprised if you feel a little tingle during the process... This brew will not heal you immediately, it will only speed up your recovery. Try to pay attention to how it makes your mana flow in your body because it will be helpful for you in the future. After a tenth, we will start your real training because you need to learn how to use your new ability."

"All right," Zan nodded excitedly.

After he ate his third bowl of soup, he drank the potion, and lay in his bed, just like his mother told him to do. He felt his injuries tingling as well as his mana flowing in his body. It was as if his heart was pumping mana through his veins to his wounds. However, his bed was now so comfortable that he soon fell asleep.