I remember trying to shake him awake, how hard I tried to resuscitate him, and crying so much on my brother's shoulder when he arrived. That was the last time I could remember showing any particular emotion, beside indifference. Emo boy, hehe...

It's been, I don't even know how many times I've had this dream already, tens, maybe even hundreds? At first, I was crying everytime I dreamt this, seeing my dad again. But now, it's just getting annoying. And the fact that I can't wake up, and it just happens all over again, makes it worse. I must be in a coma or something, maybe I even died again and this is the afterlife. Just a- just your worst memory repeating itself for all eternity. That sucks...

Wait a second, I can feel, something again... My body, I began to feel it once more. Conciousness beginning to spring through me another time. I felt relieved as I began to woke up knowing it was just a dream. One long ass hell of a dream.

***

When I opened my eyes, light hit my eyes through a window, blinding me. It reminded me of when I first came to this world, being reborn. That feeling of opening your eyes for the first time in what feels like an eternity. It was annoying, but also gave me some semblance of joy, knowing I was still, still alive.

I slowly picked myself up on the bed, pushing up using my elbow. It was my room, but it felt, smaller? Has being in a coma distort my perception or something? I then pull off the blanket, and I slide my legs to the side of the bed to stand. As I tried to get on my feet, my knees buckled, and I fell to the floor in a loud thud. That's what muscle degradation does to you, alright. 

I heard a commotion outside, someone hurriedly trying to get up the stairs. The floorboards creaked so much, it stinged my ear. In a sudden moment, the door opened with a bang, and low and behold, it was Reiss, panting, with a look of concern. As he saw me on the floor, he began to tear up, and ran to me to hug me, almost jumping onto me.

He hugged me so tight that my ribs were getting literally squeezed into my lungs, or something.
"F-father, you're c-crushing... me..."
He then let go of me after a short while of sobbing.
"Are you, okay?"
I asked him, as he continued to sob and wipe his face with his arm.
"Y-Yeah, I'm alright... sniffle I'm just so, so..."
He then proceded to cry again for the next few moments.

After a while, he stopped crying, and just looked at me with a warm smile, a smile of gladness and maybe some regret behind his eyes, I don't know. He spoke to me, about what happened in my coma.
"Y-you were sleeping, for a year," Well that's a quite a bomb shell to drop willy-nilly "Miss Reigna told me it was because your body needed to recover a large amount of mana, whilst also needing to heal you or something like that, I wasn't really listening on the details."
Damn it, that would've been a nice thing to learn about.

"W-who's miss Reigna?"
"A cleric, of the party that saved you?"
I'm guessing it's the party of that blue armored guy. He then continued by explaining that this Reigna girl was actually the one who healed my big ass wound by that Wyvern, bitch, the Wyvern I mean, and also the one who sustained my body using magic in my coma, and basically said that I needed to rest for a couple more days when I woke up.

When I went down, everyone in my family greeted me in their own way. Lilia with her loud bawling, and her tight ass hugs that could kill. Lize with her proper, motherly hug, and whispering into my ear that she's happy I woke up while she cried. Sylpha just standing at the side, all prim and proper as she held a tray in her hands. But I could notice a single tear fall from her left eye, as she smiled at me. Lilith also hugged me, or my leg since she was still too short to reach me, and so I carried her so she could do it properly. She's growing so fast, I could cry... Kidding.

"H-How do you feel, Lili?" Lilia asked with a sniffle. I looked toward her, still carrying Lilith.
"I'm fine, I think... Maybe a little weak from sleeping a whole year," I chuckle "but other than that, I'm feeling well."
Lilia then hugs me again, but this time a more, careful, loving hug like Lize did. "I was so worried, you know that? I'm just so glad you're awake now."

I looked at Lilia's head, as she snuggled her face into my shoulder. I've never really considered her as my sister so much, hell, I haven't really considered anyone here as family despite how long I've been living here. I was so stuck in the past, that I never really noticed what was happening around me as I grew in this world. But I guess I can say now, that they're my family.

Before I knew it, I smiled. Just a small curve of my lips at the side, but everyone looked at me like they saw something so astounding. Big word there. Confused, I couldn't help but ask them with a weirded out look. "What? Is there something on my face or something?"

Everyone stood silent for a bit, before Sylpha replied. "Not at all Miss Lilinet, it's just that, this is the first time we've ever seen you smile."
"In what, in the year that I was asleep?"
"No, even since you were a child, you've never smiled, not even once. The most emotion you've ever shown is annoyance." 

Harsh, but alright. 

I was dumbfounded after I heard that. I never realized I wasn't really showing much emotion, that I was so indifferent towards them. But looking back, I was still rather depressed back then, so that may explain it. Emo boy, hehe... Or is it emo girl now? 


***


After that revelation, hehe, big word again, I didn't really think much of it, and just decided to jog again, so I could work out my muscles, and regain my strength. They initially didn't want me to do so, but eventually agreed, due to my persistence and my explanation why it would be beneficial for me to start moving, even just slightly like this.  Suck on that bi- better not call 'em that...

Besides, jogging, for me at least, isn't really a strenous exercise, and there were actually studies that showed that doing non-strenous exercises when told to rest, unless physically unable to or advised to not do so, can help heal muscles faster since it promotes muscle activity. And nevermind that, it's also just a past time for me by this point, 'cuz I'd die of boredom if I had to stay in that house for long. Who the hell am I even explaining this shit to?

Being the idiot I was, I wasn't paying attention to where I was running, and accidentally bumped into someone whilst I ran through town. I, thankfully, was able to catch the person as they fell. It was a girl, with long, wavy ginger hair flowing down her shoulders. She had emerald green eyes, which I couldn't help but glance at. She had pale skin, and wearing a blue sun dress with a white shirt that had puff sleeves underneath. As I caught her, I didn't even notice that I held her there for a couple seconds or two, until I snapped out of it.

"Oh, uh, sorry for that miss, gosh, I was being an idiot and wasn't watching where I-"
"It's fine, no need to explain yourself so much." She said with a chuckle, as she tucked her hair into her left ear. She then looked at me with a surprised face. "Oh, you're Lilinet, aren't you?"

Dumbfounded, I replied with a question. "H-how do you know me?"

"You're the one who saved that kid and fought the Wyvern a year back, of course I can't forget about you."

She smiled, and I didn't even realize that i was staring at her, until she pointed it out.
"Is there something on my face or something?"
"Oh, no, oh god no... Ahh, sorry for staring and all. I just couldn't help but think you were really pretty, and all." I gulped at the last part. It's been a long time since I this flustered at a girl before, but god, she was just really pretty. A blush then formed on her cheeks, as she hid her face by turning away.
"Uhh, thanks. First time anyone has ever said that so bluntly to me." She turned back, and cleared her throat, her face still red. "I, uhh, I forgot to introduce myself. M-my name's Charllem, by the way. I'm part of the party that saved you from that Wyvern"

My heart pounded as she introduced herself. I don't even know why, I thought I was already done with girls after what happened with the last one I dated. Is this love at first sight? No, no, definitely not. You just found a pretty girl on the road, is all. Yep, totally... Totally normal occurence. Nothing less nothing more. 
"Oh, thanks, for that. And Charllem. that's a... That's a pretty name." I said with an awkward smile. Why the hell am I being an average rom-com anime protagonist when they meet someone pretty?

"Oh, thanks. It's from the word 'Cherl', which means red flower, where I'm from... You're really tall for your age, you know." She blushed even harder as she blurted that out. "F-forget I said anything."

"Oh, yeah, I just grow a bit faster than most kids, is all." I chuckle "Red flower huh... I think it suits you, since you're pretty like a flower."
We both blushed harder as I mentioned that.
Why am did I say that? Am I du-
But before I could finish my trail of thought, someone called out from somewhere else.

"Hey Char! Get a move on, or we'll leave you behind!"
It was a rather tall woman, part of the giant race maybe. She had blue hair, toned skin, and was wearing a white long sleeve underneath a plain brown dress, carrying a rather large basket, seemingly filled with food and potions. Charllem then ran to her, before turning as she ran, waving, still blushing, saying, "T-thanks for the compliment! I gotta get going.", before turning and running full force to the other woman. 

An earring then fell from her ear, and I tried to yell and run after her to give it back, but she was long gone. I looked at it closely. It was a drop earing, with a blue gemstone encased in silver. I put it in my pocket, and walked towards the direction of our house a bit, before I squatted in the middle of the road, covering my face in embarassment from how I acted in front of her.