forgotten happiness
754 Words
Morning arrived quietly over Guram Village.
The storm from the previous night had vanished completely, leaving behind only wet soil, broken branches, and cold fog drifting across the muddy roads.
Inside the small house near the edge of the village, warmth slowly returned.
The sound of soft breathing filled the room.
For the first time in years…
Algar's home no longer felt empty.
---
The two babies slept peacefully beside the candlelight.
One possessed hair black as the night sky.
The other carried hair pale as silver snow.
Algar sat silently near them, his rough hands resting on his knees as he stared at the children.
His tired eyes softened slightly.
"…You two need names," he muttered quietly.
Shesha sat beside him curiously, her tiny legs wrapped in a blanket.
"What names, father?"
Algar looked toward the pale-haired baby first.
Even while sleeping, the child seemed strangely calm… almost radiant.
"…Light," Algar said softly.
Then his eyes shifted toward the black-haired baby.
Unlike the other child, this one remained strangely quiet even in sleep. His dark eyes carried an odd stillness that even Algar could not explain.
"…Grey."
The candle flickered gently.
"Light…" Shesha repeated with sparkling eyes.
Then she pointed toward the other baby.
"And Grey…"
A small smile appeared on Algar's face.
From that moment onward—
The two abandoned children received names from the only person willing to give them a home.
But Algar did not stop there.
Slowly, he looked toward the old knight's sword hanging on the wall.
Rust had consumed parts of its blade.
A reminder of the life he had lost long ago.
Once…
Algar had been a knight of the Vestine Kingdom.
Not noble.
Not famous.
Just a man who believed loyalty mattered.
Until betrayal destroyed everything.
Now all he possessed was this broken house… and the family sitting before him.
Algar looked back toward the children.
"…From today onward," he said quietly, "you are my sons."
Shesha's eyes widened happily.
Algar continued:
"You will carry my name."
His voice remained calm, yet strangely firm.
"Light Vanhard."
"Grey Vanhard."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Then—
Shesha suddenly smiled brightly.
"Light little brother…"
She gently poked the pale-haired baby's cheek before turning toward the other.
"And Grey little brother."
Her childish voice carried pure warmth.
A warmth the world itself could never imitate.
The black-haired baby slowly opened his eyes.
For the first time—
Grey looked directly at someone.
At Shesha.
And strangely…
The child who never cried quietly held onto her tiny finger.
Shesha immediately gasped happily.
"Father! Grey likes me!"
Algar laughed softly under his breath.
A sound he had not made in a very long time.
---
Years ago, after Shesha's birth…
Her mother had died.
Since then, silence and grief had lived within that small house.
Algar tried his best to raise Shesha alone, but a part of their family always felt incomplete.
Like something important was missing.
But now…
That emptiness slowly disappeared.
Not because fate had been kind.
But because fate had accidentally left two children at their doorstep.
And somehow…
Those children filled the broken spaces in their hearts.
---
Shesha carefully held both babies in her tiny arms while sitting near the candlelight.
The babies looked impossibly small beside her.
Yet her expression suddenly became serious.
She looked toward Algar proudly.
"You don't have to worry, father."
Algar blinked.
Shesha hugged the babies tightly.
"I'll protect my little brothers!"
Her childish voice echoed confidently through the small room.
For a moment—
Algar simply stared at his daughter silently.
Then he smiled.
Not the fake smile he showed the world.
But a real one.
Outside, sunlight slowly broke through the clouds above Guram Village.
And within that tiny house forgotten by the kingdom itself…
A family was finally born.
---
Three years passed.
The seasons changed again and again.
The poor house remained small.
The village remained forgotten.
But laughter now existed within those walls.
Light grew into a calm and strangely gentle child.
Grey remained quieter than others, often staring silently at the sky for reasons nobody understood.
Shesha, now older, treated both boys like treasures more important than the world itself.
And Algar…
For the first time since losing his wife…
No longer felt alone.
None of them realized it yet.
But hidden beneath those peaceful years…
Something terrifying slept quietly inside the two brothers.
Something ancient.
Something capable of shaking existence itself.
And sooner or later—
The world would awaken it.
- Writer
