Hero opened his eyes slowly. The world around him was blurry at first, like everything was covered in fog. His head felt heavy, and his lips were dry from thirst. A soft light entered the room from a small window, and for a second, he did not know where he was. He tried to move, but his body was weak from hunger and exhaustion.
Then he smelled something warm. Soup. Rice. Food.
He turned his head and saw a woman sitting beside him. She touched his forehead and smiled with the kind of smile filled with both sadness and relief. Hero stared at her longer, not blinking, because something inside him was slowly remembering. Her eyes. Her voice. Her scent. It was all familiar. A memory from many years ago.
His lips trembled as he tried to speak.
"Mom?"
The woman nodded, tears forming in her eyes.
"Yes, Hero. It is me."
Hero felt his chest tighten. He wanted to sit up immediately but his strength failed him. His mother helped him sit and placed a bowl of soup in front of him.
"You need to eat first," she said gently. "You walked too far. You pushed yourself too hard."
Hero did not answer. He just stared at her face, memorizing every detail. The curve of her smile, the wrinkles of pain near her eyes, the love that never changed. It was really her. After so many years, he finally found her.
He ate slowly at first, but his hunger returned quickly and he finished every bite. His mother wiped the sweat from his forehead and held his hand, just like when he was a child.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. They just looked at each other, as if making sure it was all real.
Then Hero finally spoke.
"Why did you never come back to me? Why did you leave me alone for so many years?"
His mother took a deep breath. Her hands were shaking.
"Because it was too dangerous," she answered. "After what happened inside the cave, everyone was hunting for the map. The gang, Lord James, and other treasure hunters. If they discovered I was still alive, they would come for me. And if I went back for you, they would come for you too. I thought I could protect you only by staying far away."
Hero shook his head. "But I waited for you. Every day I waited. I thought you abandoned me. I thought maybe I did something wrong."
His mother covered her mouth as tears fell.
"You did nothing wrong. I thought that by staying away, you would live a peaceful life. I hoped you would forget the treasure and the danger. I prayed that you would grow up safe, far from darkness. That is why I never returned."
Hero looked down. His voice was soft, but full of pain.
"I did not live peacefully. I spent my whole life looking for answers. I tried to know what happened to both of you. I searched every day. I searched until it destroyed me."
His mother touched his cheek gently.
"I am sorry, Hero. I made the worst choice because I thought it was the best one. I thought I was saving you. But I only hurt you."
Hero took her hands. He did not pull away. He just held them tightly.
"I missed you every day," he said.
"I missed you too," she answered with a shaking smile. "More than anything."
For a few minutes, they did not speak. They just stayed close, letting silence carry years of pain.
Then Hero finally asked again.
"What happened after you ran from the cave? How did you survive?"
His mother looked away, like she was looking at the past.
"I ran deeper inside until I reached another exit. I wanted to go back for your father, but the gang entered. I heard gunshots and voices. I knew if I went back, I would die too. I escaped through the forest and reached this island. I stayed here ever since."
Hero listened without interrupting.
His mother continued. "I kept one half of the map hidden. I hid from the world so no one else could find it and no one else would get hurt."
Hero thought that was the end of the explanation, but his mother stood and walked to a steel box hidden under her bed. She opened it slowly and removed a paper wrapped in cloth. Her hands trembled as she returned to him and placed it on the table.
"I have kept this for years. It is time for you to have it."
Hero unfolded the cloth, and his heart raced. The markings were old, brown, and perfect. It was exactly the missing half of the map. He placed it beside the half he had taken from the warehouse. The two pieces matched perfectly. The lines connected. The symbols completed each other. After so many years, the map was whole again.
He stared at it for a long time. The letters and drawings formed a clear location. A mountain. A river path. A hidden valley.
He whispered softly, almost afraid of his own voice.
"I know where the gold is."
His mother looked away with fear in her eyes.
"Hero, listen to me. You do not have to go after it. That treasure has destroyed everything it touched. It destroyed your father. It destroyed Jade. It destroyed us."
Hero looked back at her. There was pain in his eyes, but also something else. Determination.
"I am not looking for the gold because I want power. I am looking for it because it is the only way to end this story. If I walk away now, someone else will find it someday. Someone worse. And the cycle will begin again."
His mother tried to object, but Hero held her hand.
"I promise I will come back. I am not leaving you forever. I am ending this so that no one else will suffer because of this treasure."
His mother stared into his eyes and saw something that reminded her of Jack. The same fire. The same courage. The same heart that refuses to give up.
She pulled him into her arms and held him tightly.
"Then promise me you will live. Whatever happens, promise me you will survive and return to me."
Hero closed his eyes.
"I promise."
Outside, the waves hit the shore. Birds flew over the sea. The world continued as if nothing had happened. But inside that small house, a broken family was slowly becoming whole again.
The map lay on the table, complete at last. Hero looked at it one more time.
The biggest secret in history was now right in front of him.
The gold was real.
And he knew exactly where it was.