9 CHILD AT HEART 1

Lirzod was on his bed. He had been rolling around for fifteen minutes, but he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he remembered Duera. She was the one who always made him sleep, either by telling him stories or by patting on his chest. When she wasn't there, Primera took care of that job, though she just scared Lirzod into a sleep.

It hadn't been more than an hour since he departed, and his heart which pumped at normal speeds when he's at the shore, now pumped in strange rhythms. From as far in his past as he could remember, there was never a day he spent away from either of those two. But at the moment, both of them weren't by his side. He missed their company more than anything.

Silent tears soaked the pillow as he cried in a subdued way.

After few minutes, his eyes no longer produced tears, but his cheeks still had traces of streams left by the salty secreted liquids. He got up and rubbed his eyes and cheeks with his forearm. The coldness of his tears just told him how long he had been crying. Slight redness tainted the whites of his eyes.

His gaze settled on his right palm, which had a black circular dot on it. Seeing that, made him remember what happened the previous night.

"Little Zod, promise me... You'll never get rid of that birthmark on your palm," His mother seemed emotional and serious.

"But mother, I never really liked it. Whenever I stare at my palm, all I can see is this big black mark. At school, my friends used to laugh at me, and even teachers avoided giving me a handshake."

Valli's heartbeat fluctuated in an irregular fashion. Lirzod never told her those matters before. She knew that people didn't like seeing such a mark, but she never thought that even teachers behaved in such a manner. She gritted her teeth, and its sound reached his ears. Just the thought of people cracking up at the mark on her son's palm made her blood boil.

"Mother, I didn't tell you this because you'd have fired those teachers right away."

"Of course. They deserved that!"

"They do. But I admired their teaching. Though they were a bit harsh to me in some aspects, I have some good memories of them, and of my friends as well."

"Little Zod... This is the problem with you that worries me the most," She slid her hand on the back of his head. "If you like someone, you turn a blind side to everything they do... Though, that Vesta's kid is an exception."

"Mother, we are not talking about this again!"

"Fine, but remember that you're not a child anymore. Just because you love someone, don't act nicer towards them, got it? There are all kinds of people in this world." Her focus then shifted downward, "This mark on your palm might be a gift from the god. It guards you against the evil eyes of the world... Just like the scar on your face. These two will ensure that the 'evil eye', doesn't fall over you."

Lirzod spoke nothing.

"Please, Zod. Do it for me, okay?"

"Got it. But you are unexpectedly calm today..."

"I'm not the kind of woman to quarrel with her son on the day before his journey."

"You are definitely the best of the three clan mothers."

"Just among the clan mothers?" She narrowed her eyes for a moment and later planted a kiss on his cheeks.

"In the entire neighborhood." His other cheek was greeted by a kiss as well. "In the entire town!"

Getting back to the present.

Lirzod's butt had heated up by a few degrees of Fahrenheit, and he was still lost in thought, but his hand just happened to land on the book beside him. He glanced down sideways, and it was the pocketbook that 777 gave him. Tinier than the extent of his palm, the claret-colored book titled 'Extensive Voyage Guide,' oozed out a newfangled aura which made him pick the book into his hands without his conscious control. He also saw a groundnut lying on the bed and picked it up with his other hand.

He opened the cover and the first page exposed a peculiar picture of a decorated bell which faded in and showed itself on the surface of the page, right in front of his eyes. "Hmm?" He touched the image of the bell.And it gonged.

"What the —" The sound made by the bell took him by surprise, and his hands automatically tossed the book away into the air.

Still, the gonging resumed, and Lirzod's hand flighted by itself, startling him. He tried stopping his hand, but it further got pulled towards the book. "What's this?" Lirzod was forced to get out of the bed. His feet slid on the polished wooden floor as his body continually pulled closer and closer to the book, which floated in the air. He used all his strength, but there was no use. "Owuwohh!" His entire body got sucked into the book before it closed and fell to the ground.

The gonging ended as replaced by the newborn silence, and left no traces of Lirzod, other than his luggage that lied at their respective spots. At the moment, the single groundnut, however, almost touched the ceiling.

At some unknown area, Lirzod stood and stared at the agricultural fields which extended as far as his eyes could behold. "Where am I?" He looked around but didn't find a single soul anywhere. His body, however, floated about and drifted along with the wind, as he got carried towards an obscure destination.

"So you have boarded one of the four vehicles that lead to the Shambala Sect." A sourceless voice reached his ears.

"Who's there?" Lirzod looked around, turned in every direction in midair, but found nobody.

All of a sudden, a bunch of dry leaves flew towards Lirzod and circled around him, before forming into a human figure in a stygian cloak, his face hidden by the hood. His long yet skinny gray beard mirrored his fragile yet towering physique. His well-grown mustache hid his mouth without fault and made sure that nothing above it was noticeable.

Lirzod wanted to move back, but his body wasn't in his control, and he got pulled closer to the mysterious person.

"Fret not... Child," An archaic voice sounded out of that man's mouth, and it calmed down Lirzod's anxiety in an instant.

"Who are you, geezer?" Lirzod still returned an unscrupulous gaze.

"It matters not who I am. Since you've come here, I assume you have your own reasons for doing so, and I won't question you regarding that, but there are some rules that you must follow — be it in life or on the ship you are currently at. And there is some knowledge you must be made aware of."

"What the heck are you talking at?" Lirzod scratched the side of his head, "First tell me where I'm at now?"

The old man's arms lied on the peak of a staff that appeared to be made of twisting tree roots and leaves floated about at its base. "You are where you wished to be," with a flight of his hand, both of their bodies dashed through the winds at high speed. They kept crossing miles in a matter of seconds, but Lirzod didn't feel any pressure on his skin whatsoever. "Why do you want to become a martial?"

Though he was in doubt on everything that happened around him, Lirzod replied, "I don't know. To be honest, I don't really know, you know... I do want to help my clan more than anything. But I'm not sure how I will help it just by becoming a martial."

"Are you saying you are not sure if you can help your clan even after becoming a martial?"

"Yes. My father and his friends are quite headstrong. I can't force them to do things against their wishes."

"So, that's why you fear that you can't reshape the clan as per your wishes."

"Kind of, yeah."

"Why do you want to change your clan?"

"Not the clan, but its people. They are just too many bad things my people do, including my parents."

The old man shifted his head slightly towards Lirzod. "You picked one troublesome goal. At least you seem to know that."

"I hope I do," Lirzod sounded not so confident.

"Forcing people to do something they don't like is much easier than trying to change their characters. Temper is one troublesome thing"

"I know that... Because I have that."

"Hmm, having temper is not a bad thing by default. Still, you acted well all this while as you were speaking with me."

"That's... Because you're old, I just showed you some respect, that's all. But don't think of it as me being naive, got it?"

"Since you said so, I won't be doing that. But, my dear child, tell me... Is there any other reason for your desire to possess the power of a martial?"

"There are some, but they are personal, and I can't discuss them with an old man... If you know what I mean."

"Personal?" The old man was puzzled, just a bit, "Wasn't all the affair that we spoke about your clan... Wasn't that personal to you?"

"No," Lirzod shook his head and placed his finger on his mouth and uttered in low voice, "but don't tell this to anybody from my clan, especially not to that Allda and the clan heads... Got it?"

"... Got it."

"Good."

"So, I'm asking for the third time... Are there any other non-personal reasons for —"

"I have a simple reason," Lirzod said and grinned. "The life of a hollow is not only boring but is also tough to survive. So, if I become a martial, life gets a bit easier, right?"

"Easier huh..." The old man took a slightly long breath. "If you can't survive the life of a hollow, how do you expect to survive the life of a martial?"

Lirzod's eyes enlarged and nothing but the racket of the wind entered his ears.

The old man lifted his staff and they both halted in midair — hundreds of feet above a certain village. "A long time ago, there lived three wonderful little sisters, who had an elder brother, called Rick," The old man turned into leaves, but his voice still echoed all around. The visuals of the three sisters and their brother were shown in front of Lirzod, with the old man's voice in the background. It grabbed all of his attention. "Born poor, he had to work more than three quarters of the day and night combined, just to fill the stomachs of his little sisters.

"Though he starved for many days and nights, he made sure his sisters' stomachs never rumbled, not even from getting upset. They didn't know the difference between the rumblings of hunger and indigestion. He bought them fruits, vegetables — though not as fresh as the rich would have it — and everything they asked for, even if it meant shedding his blood in the form of sweat.

"Under his care, they never got to eat the rotten bread that most of the poor were cursed with for their entire lives. The three of them grew up into beautiful women, whom all the unmarried men of the village wished to share their lives with.

"The three had also fallen in love with three charming young men, all of whom belonged to markedly wealthier families of the town.

"One day, the sisters had revealed their interests about marriage, to their brother. And they believed that he would without a doubt, happily acknowledge their lovers. Howbeit, they faced what was the first rejection they got from their brother.

"Though puzzled and confused, they kept on requesting their brother, regarding the matters of their marriage. Days passed. Weeks passed, but all they got in response was a rejection. With every passing day, the sisters got angrier and were annoyed at the sight of their brother. Slowly, they stopped eating what his brother bought, and stopped wearing the clothes he himself stitched at the cost of his sleep."

"What an ungrateful bunch?" Lirzod controlled his anger, "But seriously, those three girls look like triplets. How cute!" At the same time, he was mesmerized by their beauty.

"Will you stop talking in the middle of my speech?" The old man's voice said.

"Oh, sure. But, hey... Can I ask you one thing?"

"What is it?"

"Is it possible to take those three girls into my clan?"

"Don't be silly. Didn't you hear me say this happened in the distant past?"

"I did, but you know, I'm just being hopeful. If I can get those three into my clan, I will teach them some manners first!"

"Enough blabbering!" The old man's voice rang in his ears, startling Lirzod, and his heart skipped multiple beats.

"Okay, okay. I got your problem." Lirzod put his finger on his mouth.

"That's generous of you. Just stay like that," The old man said, "the sisters stopped eating what his brother bought and didn't wear the clothes he himself stitched at the cost of his sleep. But he was never angry at his sisters. He advised them that their lives would no longer be pleasant if they were to marry the sons of the rich families. But the sisters responded by saying that their lovers weren't such crooks.

"Days passed and his sisters further distanced themselves from him. Unable to bear it anymore, he ultimately agreed to their marriage. Though he wasn't asked any dowry in his sisters' stead, he bequeathed equal amount — one acre of land — to each of his sisters. After the marriage, he was left with nothing but the small home, and he was happy with it.

"His sisters no longer wandered in his home, and he couldn't hear the delightful sounds made by their anklet decorations backed by their laughs, but their memories were still in his mind. He initially visited their homes often, but his frequency of visits lowered after the landlords didn't seem to like his presence in their territories. A farmer like him who worked in mud every day looked lean and far less appealing than his sisters. His dressing style was cheap as well. Though he was born with skin paler than his sisters, his time under the sun turned his skin browner to a notable degree. At the age of thirty, he seemed no different or special than the undistinguished guys of the village — who were available in plenty.

"He only visited their homes when he made their favorite sweets and such. But even then, nobody came to the door to receive him. It's like his sisters purposely avoided meeting him. It took a toll on his heart for the worse. How could his sisters who spent their entire lives under his care, be blinded to such an extent by their new families? Though he knew that the money was the cause for all of it, he wasn't angry at his sisters. Instead, he was angry at himself.

"Many thoughts crossed his mind, but one stood out among the hundreds. If he hadn't raised his sisters in such a doting manner, and instead made them experience the struggles that life brings in order to live just another day... They might have grown into different women. But it was too late to change his sisters. They were married and on their way to having children.

"In a few months, beautiful girls were born to each of his sisters. But he didn't even get to see their faces. He was denied entrance into their homes. His brothers-in-law told him his nieces wouldn't want to have such an unexciting uncle as him, that he wouldn't be able to buy all the stuff the children would ask of him. When he turned to his sisters, they said nothing in his stead, so he could only oblige to their actions.

"Time flew by, and though his sisters lived in the same village, he felt alone. Though he saw their faces now and then, it didn't feel good with them who paid less and less attention to him with every passing day. All he was good at was working at fields. And he kept working, no matter how he felt. Though his sisters' daughters didn't know of his existence, though there were days when he could see those little beings but couldn't talk with them, he just waited. He couldn't give up hope on his sisters yet. He couldn't quit.

"Every day went by — him feeling like a victim who couldn't identify his enemy that he must fight against, but he always told himself whether his sisters cared for him or not, whether they turned even distant or not, he will always be there for them.

"No matter how bad the day was, he never stopped working in the fields even when the blazing sun tried to burn his self, for that was all he knew and was good at. No matter how good the night shaped itself under the sparkling moon, he couldn't get a proper sleep, for his sisters were always in the back of his mind.

"He had aged and white strands showed up in his beard, but other than that, nothing much changed. He was still alone — and was the same guy he was the past decade. He no longer thought about tomorrow, but only the current day. He worked in the fields, as usual, walked by each of his sister's houses once, before roaming aimlessly in the streets of the village, ultimately ending up at his home.

"He had entered his fifties — with more whiteness in his hair than ever before. At the same time, all the three of his nieces had matured, and as their fate would have it, the three of them got in the eyes of a wealthy minister who directly worked under the king of their kingdom. The minister — who was in a disguise at the time — asked the three girls to be his maids but they refused right away. The minister just smiled it off and made his men capture those three girls and had taken them to his private estate.

"After knowing the news, the parents of the three girls traveled many villages and spent so much money — giving bribes to people — just to know the location of that private estate. Before long, they learned of its location in a matter of weeks. The guards of the estate, however, didn't let them enter. The parents were wealthy enough to pay off the guards and requested an audience with the minister. In the meeting, they stated that they had no problem if the minister accepted their daughters as his wives. The minister who had never taken a wife got enraged and had them severely beaten, before getting them kicked out.

"The minister had two shades to his personality. He acted like a great human being in the eyes of the public, but he committed wicked deeds for his king. So the king turned a blind eye to all of his perverted actions.

"The parents were left in shock. They certainly didn't know that the person who took their daughters was a minister. Otherwise, they wouldn't have spoken in such a straightforward manner. Though they were wealthy, their wealth was thousand times less as compared to the minister's — maybe even less. If the minister wished to, all he needed was to raise his finger a bit, and his men would hang the heads of the parents.

"Only the minister and those who knew him well enough could tell the reason as to why he didn't kill them. It was to get on the good side of the girls. As long as the girls did what they were told, their lives and the lives of their family members wouldn't go to waste.

"Frustrated and devastated from everything that happened, the parents didn't dare rent a house in the village where the estate also lied.

"The minister's estate also had an infamous name, The Estate of Thousand Maids. Almost all the workers were women, except for a few handfuls of old males who took various laborious roles from watering the plants to feeding the dogs, cleaning the gardens and such.

"There was a hierarchy of ten ranks among the maids. When the three nieces of Rick were brought to the estate, three among the existing thousand maids were kicked out. The three sisters were directly given the sixth rank, with the tenth being the lowest. The lower the rank the more work a maid was supposed to do — as given by the higher ranked maids. A tenth ranked maid was obliged to massage the higher ranked maids at the beck of their call. Cooking, cleaning, keeping things at their places... All such kinds of jobs were given to the newbies, as overseen by the experienced maids.

"In the first six months, the three girls had risen to the fourth rank. They couldn't go any higher because the maids of those ranks were cunning and cruel towards everybody else.

"In that half a year, many more maids came in, but there was only a single change in the workers other than maids. It was the position of the Dog Feeder. Rick was the new worker."