I Don't Want To Be Loved

Chapter 13: Make a Wish

Flashback continued…

“…Are you crying?”

Rihannan shed tears like a river dam flowing uncontrollably. The boy covered and flinched, unsure what to do and at a loss for he’d never seen a woman tear up since birth.

“Don’t cry! People will think I made you cry. Hey, don’t cry… ok?”

After soothing the troubled Rihannan, albeit in failure, the boy grinded his teeth.

“Oh, okay, I got it! I’ll save the bird!”

The boy ran to the big tree and climbed up the trunk in one fell swoop. The mother cat, with its mouth wide open, was about to pounce on the bird. Judging that he was running out of time, the boy jumped over the thick branch without a moment’s hesitation.

Chirp, chirp!

Swoosh!

“Ahhhh!”

Boom!

In that moment, various sounds mingled in with sounds of harmony that filled the entire garden.

Rihannan came running up in amazement at the sight of the boy crashing to the ground.

“Are you all right?”

The boy donned a face that did not look alright and groaned softly. The small, little bird was in his hand and the mother cat, frightened, ran away. As soon as the boy opened his hand, the little bird flew up into the blue sky, flapping its wings happily.

“Ah…”

Rihannan’s eyes widened.

While distracted by the bird that now appeared as a small dot, the voice of the boy came from below.

“What? I threw this precious body in danger for you and you don’t even care?”

Only then did Rihanan turn to the boy who looked irritated.

“I’m sorry. Are you hurt?”

“Nope.”

He said bluntly as he rose up with Rihannan’s help.

Rihannan looked at him anxiously.

Fortunately, like he mentioned, he didn’t incur any injuries, aside from his torn and dirty attire.

His face was covered with black soil; Rihannan used her hand and wiped the dirt off his face. The boy’s purple eyes widened for an instant before looking away.

“Who are you…?”

“Did you see it?”

Rihannan asked excitedly.

“What?”

The boy was confused.

“I know that bird.”

“What bird?”

“It was Ataraxia!”

Ataraxia was not a real bird, but a bird that only appeared in myths. It was the same in Crichton. They too had their own mythical bird called Myastra. Myastra was a half-god and half-human that lived in between the human realm and the heaven. In the human realm, it was no different from the average bird.

As mythical birds were often threatened, they’d grant one wish to the person who saved their lives.

“You know, when the bird flew into the sky, it suddenly grew so big that it sparked ever so brightly. I saw it clearly!”

“…..”

“I see… wow, that’s amazing. So I saw something really great.”

The boy was about to say something, but he soon closed his mouth and sighed. Contrary to his words, his expression wasn’t the least bit surprised, but Rihannan didn’t care. She was flattered by his response.

“That wish is yours.”

“Hmm?”

Rihannan looked around and soon found what she wanted –– a small yellow feather that fell on the floor. She handed it over to the boy.

“You saved the bird’s life. Make a wish with this.”

The boy picked up the yellow feather without saying a word.

The tip of his lips went up a little.