Chapter 400: Memories
Drifting in and out of sleep, Rory faintly caught the sound of Terry’s piercing cries.
"Terry?"
Rory opened her eyes, threw off the covers, and had just sat up in bed when her bedroom door was gently pushed open from the outside.
Vangar’s tall figure appeared in the doorway, cradling a sobbing Terry, whose eyelashes were still wet with tears.
"Mommy..."
The moment Terry saw Rory, his little mouth pouted with grievance. Feeling like he had found his ultimate protector, he reached out his chubby little arms, begging for a hug.
"What’s wrong? Why are you crying like this?"
Rory’s heart ached terribly for him. She quickly took Terry from Vangar’s arms and held him tight against her chest.
The little guy’s body was still trembling slightly. He buried his head into Rory’s warm embrace, rubbing his tiny nose against her pajamas. With a thick, nasally voice, he whimpered his cute little accusation:
"Daddy’s bad... Daddy won’t let Terry sleep with Mommy, and he wanted to hit Terry..."
He hiccuped pathetically between sentences, looking as miserable as a child could possibly look.
Yuel actually wanted to hit Terry over something so trivial? Rory was cut to the heart seeing how pitifully Terry was crying.
Just then, Yuel walked in behind them.
Holding the little sweetheart in her arms, Rory looked up at Yuel and asked, "Yuel, what is going on?"
Looking at his son, who was busy snitching in Rory’s arms, Yuel stepped forward and tried to explain, "Rory, you’re exhausted today, and I wanted you to get some proper rest. I didn’t hit him—I was just trying to scare him a little."
So, Terry was telling the truth. Yuel really had scared the poor boy into tears.
Rory knew Yuel meant well, but she didn’t approve of his methods.
"Yuel, Terry just took his human form today," Rory said. "It’s only natural that he’s clingy and wants to sleep with me. I don’t think you should have turned him away. And I don’t believe having Terry by my side will keep me from resting, either."
Terry was such a well-behaved boy; there was no way he would disturb her at night. And even if he did, so what? It wasn’t like he needed her to sleep with him every single night. An occasional night really wasn’t a big deal. Besides, it was a great way to bond, which Rory thought was wonderful.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Terry nodded vigorously against Rory’s chest. "Terry won’t disturb Mommy. Terry will be super good right next to Mommy."
Seeing how sweet the cub was being only made Rory’s heart ache more. She cast a disapproving look at Yuel, and without caring what he thought, she stated flatly, "I’m sleeping with Terry tonight. The rest of you can go back to your own rooms and rest. Yuel, you go back to your room too."
If you won’t let my cub sleep with me, I’ll just kick you out instead.
Yuel looked at Rory in utter shock. "Rory, I..."
"No need to explain, it’s decided." Rory lay back down, pulling Terry with her. "I’m going to sleep now. You all should head out."
Yuel: "..."
Usually, he was the one playing tricks on everyone else. He never imagined that today, he would get completely played by his own cub.
Seeing that Rory really wasn’t going to let him stay, Yuel had no choice but to turn around and leave the room.
Once everyone had gone and the door was shut, Terry instantly sat up from Rory’s arms. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the raw crystal ore he had brought back from the auction house.
"Terry, why aren’t you sleeping? What are you doing with that stone?" Rory asked with a yawn, looking at the crystal in confusion.
"Mommy, let me tell you a secret."
He had come to find his mother tonight specifically to get some alone time with her. Even if his dad had agreed to bring him over in the first place, Terry would have found a way to send him away.
"What secret?" Rory asked softly.
Terry crawled over and leaned right into Rory’s ear, speaking in a tiny voice meant only for the two of them. He whispered to her about how he had inherited her memories.
When he finished, Terry looked at Rory earnestly, his tone carrying a hint of anxiety. "Mommy, are you going to wipe away these memories too? I didn’t tell Daddy any of this, because this is a secret just between you and me."
"If you’re also worried that these memories might make me a bad person, Mommy... you can wipe them away too," Terry said, his voice tinged with sadness.
No matter how many memories he possessed, he was still just a newly transformed cub.
Rory’s heart ached, and she pulled him tightly into her arms. "No, Mommy won’t wipe your memories."
Though her own childhood had been a bit rough, her grandmother had been there with her, making those memories happy ones. Rory didn’t think there was anything wrong with holding onto them.
"And Mommy won’t tell your daddy about any of this, either." She held out her hand to Terry. "This is our secret. Let’s pinky swear on it—no telling anyone."
"Mmh!" Terry nodded happily. Having access to Rory’s memories, he knew exactly what a pinky swear was.
"Pinky swear, cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye for a hundred years!"
A hundred years from now, Terry would be long grown up. By then, he could share these secrets or keep them to himself as he pleased; Rory wouldn’t interfere.
"Then... can I call you Mama from now on?"
"Of course you can." Rory genuinely preferred Terry calling her Mama anyway. "Terry, you still haven’t told Mama what you’re doing with this raw crystal."
Terry held the raw crystal up for Rory to inspect. "Mama, look at the color of this stone. Doesn’t it look just like Earth?"
Rory nodded. "It really does."
"I’m going to make a very special gift for Mama." Clutching the crystal, Terry scrambled over to the corner of the bed. "Go to sleep, Mama. When you wake up, your gift will be ready."
Hearing this, Rory frowned. "Are you planning on staying up all night?"
Terry replied, "Mama, we vines can go days and days without sleeping. I just woke up from my transformation, so I’m not sleepy at all."
This was actually the real reason his dad hadn’t wanted him to stay with Rory—he was worried the boy would stay awake all night and disrupt her rest.
Rory was indeed exhausted. She let out a yawn and said to Terry, "Alright then. If you need anything, just call Mama. I’m going to sleep first."
Since Terry shared her memories, his behavior was bound to be different from a normal cub’s. Rory trusted him completely, closed her eyes, and quickly drifted off.
Anxious not to disturb Rory’s rest, Terry used his vines to shield himself from view. Using his special ability, he began meticulously and carefully polishing the raw crystal in his hands, infusing a few other elements into it along the way.
The next morning, Rory woke up.
Slowly opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was Terry’s peaceful, adorable sleeping face. The little guy had likely been busy the entire night and was now fast asleep. His long eyelashes cast tiny shadows on his fair skin, and his rosy little mouth was slightly pouted. He looked incredibly precious.
Rory’s gaze softened instantly. Smiling, she was just about to get out of bed when she suddenly felt something resting near her pillow.
Turning her head, she saw an exquisite pendant lying quietly on the pillow. The chain was a brilliant silver-white, looking as though it had been woven out of starlight. Hanging from the bottom of the chain was a deep blue planet.
With just one look at that planet, Rory’s heart violently squeezed. That beautiful azure blue... it was the exact same color as the one in her memories.
Rory picked it up with utmost care, and a familiar scene instantly flashed into view, bringing tears to her eyes.
Lush green fields, a winding path, and at the end of that path stood a small house she knew all too well. It was the place where she and her grandmother had lived for over a decade—built of red bricks and grey tiles, with a small veggie garden out front that her grandmother had always kept impeccably tidy.
Standing right at the doorway of the cottage was a slender, elderly woman with graying hair and a slightly hunched back. She was wearing the blue floral blouse that was etched deepest into Rory’s memory. Though her face was lined with wrinkles left by the passage of time, every single line was filled with love and warmth.
She was looking up, as if bridging the distance of time, space, life, and death. Her clouded yet bright eyes were looking right at Rory, crinkling with a gentle smile.
"Grandma!"
In an instant, tears completely blurred Rory’s vision.