After that, Heka understood why Ansel it was difficult to be honest about what Soul Delivery was. It seemed that he was not in the second requirement. Because, his body was so healthy.
"For the second requirement, you don't have to worry. Grandpa can handle it." Ansel said, his tone shifting as a faint smile played on his lips. As if he was entertaining a private joke only he understood.
Heka blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change. Ansel's smile seemed genuine, but there was an undercurrent of something else. Something deeper and more complicated.
"Heka, if you have any questions, you don't have to do. You still have a chance." Ansel added softly, his voice almost coaxing.
The words struck Heka like a paradox. Just yesterday, and the days before that, Ansel had been insistent, urging him to accept help, to take the path toward healing without hesitation. Now, it was as if he was gently persuading Heka to step back, to reconsider.
What was Ansel really after? Was this a test? A warning? Or something else entirely? Yet, despite the confusion, it was clear that Ansel was not joking or playing games. His eyes held a seriousness that brooked no argument.
Ansel reached out and took Heka's hand on his own. The touch was warm and grounding. "I'm sorry. Grandpa can help you, but I want you not to do it. It's too expensive for you." he said quietly, his voice heavy with regret.
Heka's brow furrowed, a sarcastic edge creeping into his tone. "How much do I have to pay?" He could almost see the look in Ansel's eyes, like he was sizing up someone who had no income, no stable life, someone barely scraping by.
Ansel's expression hardened, his voice firm and unwavering. "It's not about money, but about your life." He gestured toward something intangible, something that felt almost ridiculous to Heka but carried a weight that was impossible to ignore. "Heka, are you getting married?"
Heka just shook his head. He was not going to get married, but his friend would.
Even so, Heka felt weird. His instincts said that it had been saying that there would be a big risk. But he had to bear what was proven. It was just that he didn't know the risks.
So he was still waiting for Ansel to continue his words.
"Bloody Marriage, that's what you have to pay for. So, you shouldn't accept Soul Delivery." Then Ansel finally spoke, his voice low and heavy with meaning.
The words hit Heka like a cold wave, confusing and alarming all at once. "What do you mean? If I get married, will my bride die?" His mind raced, picturing the worst was this some cruel curse? Was the price of healing the life of the woman he might love? Was it both of them, or just one?
Ansel shook his head slowly, his expression grave but patient. "No, it's not the bride who will die. It's just that in marriage it will be full of blood." Ansel said obviously, but Heka did not fully understand at all.
Heka's brow furrowed in confusion. The phrase was ominous, but its meaning was elusive.
Since Ansel knew that Heka didn't understand it at all, he repeated it again. "In a marriage, it becomes the day that someone will die. He is not the bride, but someone else."
For Heka, it was not a big problem because he knew that the death was unavoidable. But he didn't understand if that was the only price he had to pay why Ansel looked so scared and seemed to prevent him from accepting Soul Delivery.
"Heka, I beg you, you have better not accept Soul Delivery," Ansel pleaded, his voice trembling with sincerity and a raw vulnerability that caught Heka off guard. A single tear traced a slow path down Ansel's cheek, glistening in the soft light of the bookstore.
Heka looked at him, surprised by the intensity of Ansel's emotion. "What are you worried about?" Heka asked gently. He tried to reassure the friend who had become so enigmatic yet so important to him. "It's not that you said that I'm not going to die, it is not a bride either."
For Heka, that was more than enough. The thought that the other person who would die was not Clancy, her beloved, his family lifted a heavy burden from his chest. It meant he didn't have to carry the unbearable fear of losing them. That alone gave him the strength to move forward.
"I'll do it. I like to accept Soul Delivery. I think sooner is better. Tomorrow I will go to your place." Heka declared, his voice steady and resolute.
This time Heka had made the final decision that he would like to accept Soul Delivery. Although Ansel looked doubtful and worried. He felt that Ansel's Grandpa could be trusted even though he had never met him before.
So there was nothing to worry about. All Heka had to do was follow Ansel's directions, and everything would be fine. That simple thought became a fragile anchor in the storm of his restless mind.
Right now, what he craved more than anything was the elusive comfort of sleep, just a few hours each night where his mind could finally rest, where the haunting shadows that plagued him could retreat, even if only briefly.
That small reprieve was more than enough to keep him going.
In every other aspect of his life, Heka had made a solemn promise to himself. He had vowed to accept any risk, to pay whatever price was demanded, no matter how steep. He had resolved to face the unknown with courage, refusing to let fear turn him into a coward.
It hovered at the edge of his consciousness, just beyond reach, like a forgotten whisper in a dream.
He didn't know what it was, and tried as he might, he couldn't remember. His mind was consumed by thoughts of Soul Delivery, the mysterious process he was about to undergo.
But that missing piece, the one he couldn't grasp. It was a key to something deeper, something that might change everything.
Unaware of what he had forgotten, Heka prepared himself for the journey ahead, stepping forward into the unknown with a heart full of hope and a mind clouded by uncertainty.