Warmth

“Tell me, you just reacted to my stare didn’t you?” The Goddess was still holding me in her hands.

I was confused. Do I say I remember everything? What if she decides to abandon me if I reveal that?

But it was the truth she had been taking care of me all this time. She was still looking at me. I nodded a bit.

“Whaaaaaa!” She shouted.

“You know how much I had to wait? I thought you would regain your consciousness in a year or so. It took you 4 years to just regain your past life.” She seemed annoyed.

I guess I can understand her annoyance, she was dragged here by me.

“Daadaa.” I wanted to say sorry but this body just couldn’t seem to do it.

“What you still can’t speak ?” I nodded No. She smirked.

“Hehe, I thought you were finally back but it seems you still need me.” She looked satisfied.

“Well, I don’t mind taking care of you a few years more.”

She hugged me. I was surprised. I had a bad reputation for Goddesses because of Goddess Euphrosyne but it seemed Goddess Elaine was genuinely kind.

“Daa!” I smiled at her. She really is a mother figure.

Her eyes shone with sparkles, “It doesn’t matter if you are the same mortal as before. You are still a child to me.”

I wanted to ask what exactly happened in all those years I was sleeping, but it could wait.

I was just relieved to finally came into the same world as my wife.

When we reached the village everyone was standing at the village entrance. They were all preparing to come after Goddess Elaine, even though she had told them not to.

“Aunty Elie!” A familiar voice screamed, “Where’s lil brother Vance?” I saw Mary running through the crowd, Anne was right behind her. I finally found out my name.

“He is perfectly fine.” Elie showed them a peek from her hands.

The crowd cheered in joy. I saw people holding wooden swords and spikes, even farming tools.

They definitely would have rushed if Elie hadn’t saved me.

“Now now, let’s all go inside. Elie must be tired too.” The woman I saw in the morning came through the crowd.

Why does everyone respect Goddess Elaine so much?

My questions unlike all the doubts before went unanswered as I still could not converse.

“I’m sorry Elie that they managed to take Vance from the village.” An old man with a rusty sword was getting flustered. He was the only person with a leather armour and a real sword. He looked very ashamed. The Goddess started walking towards him.

Everyone was waiting to see how she would react.

“Ivan, because you were patrolling the shore, I could roam around and leave the village. I really shouldn't have let them go when I caught them the first time. It’s not your fault, you are a very reliable knight."

“Now Now, you are already retired so stop being so hard on yourself.” The woman from morning smacked the old man in the back, “And we all know how strong our Elie is, there's no way those nobodies could have done anything.” She looked at the Goddess. That habit of hitting, she really is the mother of Mary.

The old man seemed to be in a better mood.

“Well, I hope Ivan doesn’t die from you hitting him every time.” A woman from the crowd shouted. Everyone started laughing.

“Hey! I may be temporary but I am still the village chief.” The woman boasted while smiling.

It all felt so warm as if I was surrounded by a big family. I started giggling.

Everyone stared at me in awe.

“Well, let's get little Vance to sleep first.” Elie patted my head and everyone started to disperse.

Elie put me on a bed, checked the windows, and locked the door.

“Now the important question, do you remember everything?” She sat right beside me.

I nodded yes.

“Good, you must be confused about why I am pretending to be your mother. You must have many questions."

Elie started telling me what happened after we fell from the sky.

While falling I was about to hit the ground but Elie managed to grab me before I turned an infant. At first, I felt immense pain from all the memories trying to fit into a baby’s brain.

So Goddess Elaine used her powers and sealed them away until I naturally developed my brain, enough to hold my consciousness.

Afterward, Goddess Elaine changed her name and became Elie. She made a false story of forced marriage and running away from her husband with her only son. She wasn’t sure how long it would take me to regain myself, but she wanted to take care of me until then.

She went from town to town. She was lost in new world just like me, but she was also a Goddess. She worked hard to earn and find shelter. She worked in many places. But it always ended in people trying to take advantage of her. Maybe because she was a single mother with a newborn.

Even her appearance wasn’t too grown. People often tried to kidnap her.

At first, she was upset about me dragging her into this world. Making her lose most of her powers. Even the heaven cut their ties with her.

She didn’t tell me much about the heaven issue, but her expression looked pale. Even if I wanted to I couldn’t ask her more about it.

She told me she wanted to have less attention and hence went to the far side of the nation.

When she first arrived at the village, it was on the verge of collapsing. Because of famine and frequent attacks from monsters. She helped them fend off monsters and in return, they made her the village guard.

She needed a place to stay but also a suitable place for her baby too, me.

The village chief named Martha welcomed us both as her own family. It looked like she also helped Elie by breastfeeding me when I was an infant. I did not want to imagine that part. She was a woman with two daughters. Mary was the older one and Anne was younger. Anne was almost two years older than me. Martha's husband was the village chief but he was away in a war. Hence she took the responsibilities until he would return.

Elie talked about a lot of things, how she occasionally fought with bandits. She even fought with a dragon once. Even without her godly power, Elie was still considerably stronger than most people. Which seemed very cool to me so I ended up smiling a lot.That made Elie very happy for some reason.

“Well, that’s about it.” She seemed proud but tired. It was an instant for me, but for her it has been years. Nothing but struggles.

“Also, I just realised you are an adult male in human years now. So from today onwards I’ll let you sleep on this side of the bed. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you by clinging to you like I used to.”

She smiled at me with her eyes closed, she was a goddess, a warrior, and a mother because of me. By her appearance, she looked young even as a goddess. Despite that, she took care of me, as her own son.

I started crying. This body is really too honest. It seemed my true nature and my physical appearance were combining.

“Oh No!” She started patting my chest lightly. “It appears to me you are still adjusting to control your emotions. I guess we can sleep together today.” She tried to hide her happiness. For me she was young, but by fate she had became a mother to me. 

What a world, I’ll never forget the sacrifices you have made for me.

Thank you, I wanted to say. But I just grabbed her hand tightly and I instantly fall asleep. She put a blanket on me. She wrapped her gentle warm hands around me. As if still protecting me from the whole world.

I wasn’t feeling shy or embarrassed. I was only feeling warmth and love from Goddess Elaine, who’s now my mother from now and forever.