Chapter 2 Mommy's Strange Disease

Jade's POV

Mommy quickly pulled my outstretched hand towards the man.

"Leave my child alone! Got it!" Mommy said in a lofty tone. After that, she pulled me away. Before I could ask why, she forbade me to be friends with that man.

"Mom. What's wrong with me being friends with him? Aren't we newcomer here? We should at least be friendly with the old residents," I kept asking along the way. However, as usual. I didn't get a single answer from her. Mommy kept pulling my hand like a horse pulling its cart, mercilessly. It wasn't until we reached our flat and locked the door from the inside that she released her grip with a panicked look on her face.

"They're coming! They already know where we are! What do we do? Now we have to get out of here, Jade! Pack your things now!" Mommy said. She went into her room. She put all her clothes into a big bag. I was still standing with tears in my eyes. This time, she couldn't hold herself back anymore. Her mom had gone completely crazy.

"Jade! What are you thinking again? Hurry up and pack all your things immediately!"

"I'm not leaving, Mom," I replied firmly.

"What?"

"I've always complied with your wishes to move around as much as you like, Mom. Without me arguing or asking what makes us have to move because I respect you. But this is crazy. We just got here last night and you want us to leave again now?" I stopped my sentence for a moment, with tears in my eyes. "You always say the same thing. They're coming! They're coming! Who the hell is coming? Even in life, we've never had anyone really close to us. Because you're busy changing places all the time." I let out my heart that I had been keeping to myself. "You think adapting to a new environment is easy. Not everyone is willing to accept my presence among them. And when that happens. They try to bully me and hurt me all the time. But when someone wants to be my friend. You push him away. You kept him away from me. I want a normal life, mom. Like other kids my age. No, Mom. I'm a big girl and I have the right to make choices. I will stay here. With or without you," I said firmly. Then went into my room and locked the door.

"Jade! You don't understand! Our lives are in danger, Jade! Don't you want anything to happen to you?" mommy shouted from behind my bedroom door. However, I completely ignored her.

"I can protect myself, Mom!" I yelled back.

"Jade," mommy murmured, which I could still hear even though it was very soft.

The next day, I was still locked up in my room even though Mommy had asked me to make up by taking me shopping at the supermarket. But she didn't come back, so I started to feel bored being left alone. I chose to take a walk outside. Sitting in the park while waiting for mommy would be more fun. The atmosphere that afternoon was quite calm. There weren't many people there because it wasn't a weekend day like yesterday.

I sat in the same place as before. Taking a deep breath and enjoying the fresh breeze was fun. I looked up while closing my eyes. Until shortly, I heard someone's steps approaching.

"Hi. Aren't you the girl from yesterday?" the man greeted as he approached me. I gave a small nod with a smile.

"Yes." I replied softly. Honestly, I was starting to feel bad for Mommy's arrogant actions yesterday. Silence. We were silent while enjoying the atmosphere there.

"Do you like this place?" I nodded quickly.

"Not bad. How about you?"

"It's a pretty good place to escape from my rather complicated life tasks." I laughed amusedly.

"You're quite open to it."

"Want to take a tour with me. This place quite beautiful from all sides, you know!" I paused for a moment, feeling hesitant. Of course, it was because I was waiting for my mom to return. She wouldn't like seeing me go out with someone I didn't know. "My name is Jimmy. I know you must be scared of your mom, right? Don't worry. We'll just go around the neighborhood. It won't be far." Jimmy seemed to know what I was thinking.

"Alright. But, I hope we don't stay long. Because my mom should be back soon."

"Sure. Let's go!"

Time passed. It was already getting late in the afternoon. Jimmy turned out to be quite a fun person. I lost track of time because he knew beautiful places with cool and calm air. I'm sure mom must have come home by now. I blurted goodbye and chose to leave. With a disappointed look on his face, Jimmy let me go. I still wanted to be with him. But I didn't want to argue with mommy like last night.

I stepped into my flat in a hurry. I hoped mommy wouldn't nag me again. For finding me not at home when she left. I slowly opened the door to the flat and entered without making any noise. When I turned around, I was stunned by the messy condition of the house.

"What has happened? Why does it look like an earthquake just hit here?" I muttered with a furrowed brow. I walked carefully inside. "Mom!" I screamed when I saw mommy lying on the floor. "Mom, what happened?" I felt very worried. Moreover, Mommy could not reply. Her eyes were wide open and her lips seemed to move. But her voice disappeared. She couldn't speak. Her hands and feet kept rebelling as if she wanted to get rid of something I couldn't see. "Mom. What has happened to you?" I was getting more and more frightened. I could feel my tears falling.

I immediately called an ambulance to take mommy to the hospital. Unfortunately, the examining doctor also looked confused with mommy's condition.

"From all the examinations I have done. Your mother was not detected to have any disease. Everything is normal, like a healthy person in general."

"But why is my mom's condition like this now?" I was getting worried after listening to the doctor's explanation. I glanced at mommy who was now tied to the patient's bed. She looked calmer because she had just received a sedative injection by the doctor.

"I once had a patient like this. But she cannot be diagnosed with medical science." I gasped.

"What does that mean, Doc?"

"I used to live in Alaska. Life there is quite different. There was a woman who came in the same condition. But we believe it was for a magical reason."

"What?"

"You don't have to believe this ridiculous story. I'm just remembering the experiences of my youth."

"But we're from Alaska too," I blurted.

"Really?"

"Yes. So, what did that woman do?"

"Magic hit her. Some sort of curse for keeping the Fladerhood amulet."

"What? A curse? Amulet? What amulet?"

"The Fladerhood Amulet. This amulet is a magic item that belonged to a Great King of Caballeron. He is in the middle of the Alaskan forest bordering a small town called Vlanistone." The doctor explained while showing a picture of a semicircular object with strange symbols written on it on his cell phone screen. When I noticed the picture, Mommy thrashed again. Her mouth twitched again, as if she wanted to say something.

"Mom," I was getting worried. The doctor immediately examined her again.

"The curse is getting stronger. You must immediately find the amulet and return it!"

"Alright. I think I've seen this thing kept by Mommy. But, Vlanistone? As long as I've been to Alaska. I've never heard of that place."

"Yes. It's a place that's pretty isolated from other towns. In fact, they have almost no contact with the outside world."

"How can I get there?"

"Don't worry. I will help you."