Savage Forest - Chapter 125.2

Enya continued her story in a dreamy voice.

“Every day, I told my grandfather about you. One day, you passed by with a dead deer on your back. Another day, you sat on a stump looking defeated, holding nothing in your hands. Sometimes, you’d come home carefully clutching a bag full of something, your excitement impossible to hide. And other days, you’d sit alone by the river, crying so sorrowfully that I didn’t know how to comfort you.”

Her voice had now dropped to a near whisper. As she gently stroked the ear and cheek of the man in her arms, she finally confessed.

“You may not know this, but… I watched you every single day in secret.”

Now Tarhan’s pupils trembled uncontrollably, unable to hide his emotions. Enya momentarily choked on her words, but after a brief cough, she was able to continue her story.

“After my grandfather… passed away, I followed you even more.”

The Maggot Elder hadn’t lasted long before he died. The memory of Piache helping with the funeral caused Enya to pause for a moment.

“Do you remember when you got angry… on my behalf? You gave me an apple.”

Time flowed once more as she recounted her memories. Enya was now slowly reminiscing about the past, piece by piece.

“That night, I couldn’t sleep at all. It was the first time someone had gotten so angry for me. In the end, I couldn’t even eat that apple, and it rotted leaving only the seeds behind… I probably have it in my treasure box that I left behind.”

With great effort, she managed to smile, feeling both shy and nostalgic.

“I tried so hard to hide it, but here I am, spilling it all out.”

Among the pebbles and trinkets Tarhan had given her, including the necklace, the most precious was the seed. She had hidden it at the very bottom of the box. Even when she took out the necklace crafted from Geppas bones, she never touched the seed, keeping it tucked away in the deepest corner.

As she continued to stroke the hair behind Tarhan’s ear, she whispered.

“It’s embarrassing, but… back then, I felt like I would die if I didn’t see you, even for a day. I guess I needed something to hold onto. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but… it felt like, whenever you threw stones, you made sure not to hit me. I’ve seen you hit the fruit hanging high in the trees every single time, so I suppose that’s why I followed you around so shamelessly.”

As soon as she finished speaking, an overwhelming sadness and pain washed over Tarhan’s face. It seemed he was also recalling those times.

“Enya, I…”

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but Enya quickly pressed her lips to his, stopping him.

The story wasn’t over yet.

“Tarhan, I’ve… never met anyone like you. Growing up in the empty fields since I was born—well, I don’t remember much from that time, so this might sound silly to say this. But I’d never seen anyone whose face showed so many colors. Some days, you were so kind; other days, full of hope, or regret and anger. And on some days, you were consumed by endless sadness. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. That’s why, without realizing it, I shamelessly followed you around.”

Tears were welling in Enya’s eyes now. As she met Tarhan’s gaze, a small smile graced her lips. She spoke each word with precious care.

“…You were also the first person I saw who desperately tried to protect something so valuable. No one in those empty fields ever did that.”

Cold sweat formed on her forehead as the pain in her thighs, which she thought she had forgotten, returned. Yet Enya’s expression remained endlessly tender. The words she wanted to share with him, the feelings she held for him, were so precious that they made her forget her pain and compelled her to go on.

He once told her that she was his light… but to her, he was her light too.

“…About your mother.”

With tears brimming in her eyes, Enya slowly began to stroke his hair, letting her fingers weave through his dark strands and gently smoothing them down. At the mention of his mother, Tarhan suddenly squeezed his eyes shut, as if bracing himself for an impending wave of pain, like a cornered animal.

Sensing this, she quickly continued.

“I secretly met your mother. You, with your sharp hearing, must’ve been exhausted that day, Tarhan, because I was able to get close enough to find you asleep at her feet. You were clinging to her toes, looking so tired and worn out—it broke my heart to see… In fact, while you were away, I took care of your mother a few times without you knowing. Well, saying I took care of her is a bit funny. I just straightened her blanket when it got messy or wiped the drool from her lips. Little things, like I used to do for my grandfather.”

“Enya… wait.”

Tarhan seemed lost and confused now. He looked bewildered as she brought up such old memories, things she had hidden away in the deepest recesses of her mind for so long.

Still, she didn’t stop.

“Actually, I often watched you while you were sleeping next to your mother.”