Chapter 1336: Her Nightmare |
-----
"I'm sorry, ma'am, your son… bravely served the Dream Warrior Army, and passed away protecting civilians."
"Oh… No… My David…! No… Ooh…!"
"Papa… is not coming back?"
One of the few memories she could recall was when a soldier, a member of the Dream Warrior Army of Switzerland came to bring the news about her father's death.
Back then, she was only six years of age, her short pink hair looked all messy because she hasn't taken a bath in days.
Her grandmother cried for the whole day after learning the news of her only son dying, the same way his father did, in battle against Nightmares, protecting civilians.
Like every other Dream Warrior died, as they very rarely did they reach the age of retirement.
She didn't have a mother, as she passed away when she was born.
"Dad…"
As the night came, and she hadn't eaten anything that day, she looked at the night sky.
At the stars, and at the moon.
"You're not dead, right?"
She started crying amidst the darkness of the night.
"Papa…"
She recalled her memories with her father, and how much she missed him already.
Her father, a brave and strong Dream Warrior, would come back home and always bring her toys and good food.
His smile was always contagious, and he would always make funny jokes, making his mother and his daughter laugh.
"I'm sorry for not being able to come for your last birthday, dear… I was really, really busy!"
"It's fine papa! I know you were saving people! I don't really mind it."
"Aww… But at least I got your birthday gift! Open it up! It wasn't cheap, hey!"
"Ooh!"
She would remember opening those boxes to find the latest toy she always wanted.
The cutest dolls, the most colorful cars, and so on.
And she thought it was nice, for a child that liked playing with toys…
However, her happiness was most of the time not derived from playing with toys, but from being with her dad.
His company had more worth than any toy, and ultimately, she always felt happier he came alive, more than anything else.
She knew what had happened to her grandfather, a tale that her mother always cried when she told.
Those moments when her father would come back, as she was wandering the farm, petting the cows and the horses, or playing with the little goats and chicken.
"I'm baaack!
"Papaaaa!"
She would run towards her father and jump over him like a little rabbit.
"Hahaha! You missed me that much?"
"You're back! You're back! Let's play! Let's play papa!"
Her father would kiss her little forehead and hug her.
"Huh? Sure! Why not? What do you want to play, my princess? Lunch can wait I guess!"
"Let's play with the goats! They're so playful today!"
"Hahaha but be careful! They do pack strong headbutts!"
"They never hit me! They're nice with me!"
The girl would bring her father to the farm, and they would play together.
And after lunch, she would bring all her dozens of toys and make a huge tea party, where her father would join in.
Despite his slightly stern face, her father wasn't a grumpy man.
And he would always gladly play with his daughter, anything she wanted.
It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that he lived for her.
And maybe…
She lived for him too.
Without friends, living in the countryside was pretty boring.
The nearest village was dozens of kilometers away.
And she had yet to go to school mostly because she was being homeschooled by her grandma.
But after what happened…
She had to move out of the countryside and into the village.
Her grandmother and she mourned her father for a whole month.
But over time, her grandmother's energy came back to her, over time.
As she spent time with her lovely granddaughter, and as she saw the light of her son in her eyes…
As she saw the smile of her son in her smile.
And as she saw the energy of her son in her own.
Her grandmother got better.
She knew that her son left this little treasure for her…
And that she had to protect her and take care of her.
"Always remember to be nice with the children, alright dear?"
"Yes grandma! I-I got this!"
"And here."
Her grandma gave her a few candies from her little bag.
"Give these to the kids, so they'll like you more."
"But isn't this like bribery?"
"Hahaha! Of course not, it's just candies."
Her grandma winked at her, giving her a chocolate candy bar too.
"There, this for you dear. I always ate chocolate whenever I felt nervous, helps a lot sometimes."
"Oh, thank you grandma… I gotta go now! T-The kids are all going inside the school!"
"Take care!"
It had already been a year since her father's passing, and she started a new life in this school, aiming to do her best and create new memories.
And make new friends…
Her first days were fine, the first weeks, and perhaps months.
The kids were friendly, relaxed, some were stranger than others though.
As someone who grew up until seven years of age in the countryside, she was quite clumsy with social interactions.
But she still did her best and got to make some good connections.
By gifting candies sometimes, the kids would approach her, and she would get to make friends easily.
However, there were also those that disliked that.
And some that found her obnoxious.
"Why does she give candy to the other kids?"
"They only like her because she gives candies anyways…"
"The new girl is way too old, isn't she?"
"She's like three years older than most of us, yeah."
"That's weird!"
"Really weird."
"She's kind of a fatty too, isn't she?"
"Yeah… why has nobody told her that? She's a fat pig after all!"
Over time, some of these kids, especially other girls, cornered her.
"Hey, stop giving candies to the kids for attention!"
"It's not good, you fat pig."
"You only are buying their friendship; they don't care about you."
"E-Eh? What? B-But…"
"If you think otherwise, don't bring any candies tomorrow!"
"Okay… I will! I-I'll show you that… they're my friends…"
-----