The Sage of Einar

Chapter 81 - Einar's Doubts

At night Ansgar, who was already feeling a little better, had his head resting on a pillow, and related everything he had experienced on his way.

"It all started when we started dismembering that bear ..."

As Ansgar told his story, Einar and Sven's faces became serious, but Aila who was in charge of writing only maintained an attitude of concern because she was afraid she could not keep up with Ansgar.

Ansgar's voice was not interrupted until he mentioned how he had fallen off a cliff, as at that moment Aila was so shocked that she dropped her ink jar to the ground.

But despite this they refrained from saying a word, fearing that Ansgar would forget some important part of the story.

For the rest of his story, no other incident occurred, until at the end he mentioned the dream he had had and how his friend Galder said goodbye to him.

"It was then that a girl in strange clothes appeared and Galder referred to her as Erika…"

Einar dropped his jug of water to the ground when he heard that part.

"Ansgar, what did that girl look like?"

Ansgar who had been stunned by Einar's reaction lowered his head and tried to remember.

"It was a girl who seemed to have a kind of blue dress, she also had a kind of shoes that were black and shiny.

But the two details that most caught my attention were the strange clothes that she was wearing. It was completely white and seemed to be made of wool.

However, it had two rabbit ears on the back, as for its hair it seemed to be held by a strange figure that reminded me of a bear. "

Einar's hand began to tremble because the description Ansgar had given him matched the last clothes Erika had worn before the incident on that flight.

For a moment Einar felt a lump in his throat and some tears fell from his eyes. This made everyone wonder what had happened to Einar.

"You are fine Einar, you want me to look for Kassia or Felipa."

Einar upon hearing his father's words realized that he had to recover soon, so he raised his face and wiped his tears.

"Thank you father, but when Ansgar spoke about Erika, I could see her life, the tragic end it had.

It influenced my feelings unconsciously, now I think I need to take a break. "

Sven who somehow wanted to understand Einar saw him leave the room silently, so he sighed and asked Ansgar to continue with his story.

When Einar went outside, he took a wooden box and sat down while looking up at the dark night sky.

'Erika, because you appeared in Ansgar's dream, it's not normal for something like that to happen.'

Using his hand, Einar began to massage his forehead, which caused him to close his eyes as he remembered the rabbit jacket he gave Erika on her birthday.

"Dad, you're sure Mr. Bear won't get mad at us for leaving him in the car."

Max who was grabbing a shopping cart looked at Erika with affection "Mr. bear can wait for others it would not be a good idea for him to enter the mall."

Erika looked at the car and sighed deeply before taking her father's hand, Max after feeling Erika's small hand took her by the arms to place her in the cart.

When they entered the shopping center, they began to visit the different stores that were open.

"Look, dad, he's a big bear!"

Erika said while pointing to a person who was dressed in a white bear boot from a famous brand of bread. 

Max just laughed and asked Erika if she wanted a photo with the bear.

Erika accepted and after taking the photo, she stood showing great curiosity while looking at a children's clothing store.

Max, who had noticed his daughter's curiosity, decided to enter that clothing store.

Once inside the store, Erika ran to see the different animal-shaped jackets that there were since they had caught her attention because in their hats they had the ears of animals.

Max watched as Erika began to go through all the jackets. This surprised him as he went through one by one trying to find a bear.

Seeing that there appeared to be no bear-themed jackets, Max asked the manager if they didn't have any in stock.

But he only shook his head, Max at that moment understood that if he did not do something, Erika would possibly be depressed because her love for bears was due to the last gift she had received from her mother.

With some ingenuity, Max took the first jacket he saw and showed it to his daughter.

"Erika, how would you like if you choose this rabbit jacket and I for my part buy rabbit pajamas.

I know it's not a bear jacket that you like so much, but it's something I'd like us to make as a family. "

Erika looked at the rabbit jacket with some doubt, but when she saw her father's face she hugged the rabbit jacket and nodded.

Max, seeing that his daughter had accepted his deal, took her to the cashier and asked the manager if he knew where to buy adult rabbit pajamas ...

Einar came out of his memory when he felt the hand of Kassia who sat next to him.

"Sorry if I interrupted your thoughts, but I can't bear to see your melancholy face and Sven told me what happened in the room."

Einar bowed his head "Kassia, as you know after I died on that plane I came to a dark area where I could see the person I had to take care of being carried by an old man.

After this, I was in that place for a while until I realized that my daughter was nowhere to be found.

I was looking for Erika in that place for what seemed like an eternity, but there was no one.

But what I did find was a horrible transparent thing that I'm sure was trying to kill me. "

Einar raised his face and looked seriously at Kassia "But how must I face the fact that Erika seems to be more than just a memory of me.

What if she is actually a spirit or something else and because she died together with me, she also came to this place?

There are so many questions I have but I don't know how to answer them, if Erika exists somewhere then what did she mean with Amatlein and with my mother's death.

But also who does he refer to as his mother if what I saw when she died was not Margaret was something that looked like a skeleton. "

Kassia, when she finished listening, rested her head on Max's shoulder.

"We are only humans who do not understand beyond what we see Einar, but as thinking beings, we can also learn from what is happening around us.

I can only tell you that maybe we should ask the entire tribe if anyone has seen or heard about Erika.

Perhaps all that will lead you to find the answer to your questions.

Although it may not be related, but when I became ill with cowpox, I had a dream where I could read the name of Flavio in a book of gods.

Strange, since I never heard or saw that name before in my life. Something changed the day you arrived, but it will be up to us to find out what it was. "

Einar leaned his head on Kassia's and held her hand "I think you're right in everything you said and we can only ask to find the answers I'm looking for.

As for Flavio, it may be part of the dream you had since I don't know a god with that name either. "

In a beautiful forest, a young man with blond hair sneezed for no apparent reason, disturbing a young white-haired woman.

"It seems that someone is thinking about me, who will it be ..."

In the morning, the news about Ansgar and his brave return to the tribe spread among everyone, so at noon Asgot held a small ritual to thank Odin for allowing Ansgar to return.

This brought hope to the Derik and Elof families as if Ansgar survived. Maybe they too could return.

Einar, who had helped his father-in-law give the ritual, waited for him to finish so he could give a word.

When Asgot finished, he informed the tribesmen that Einar would deliver a message that came from Odin himself.

As he stood in front of the entire tribe, Einar opened his arms and looked up at the sky "Ansgar, our companion and warrior of the tribe survived thanks to the intervention of the soul of his friend Galder.

Who supported him so that he did not give up, but also met, a little Valkyrie named Erika.

She was the one who allowed Galder to help and say goodbye to Ansgar, while he was on the verge of death.

So if you ever see little Valkyrie Erika who has a strange outfit made up of a blue skirt and shiny black shoes.

I hope you can inform me personally what it was that you saw or heard when meeting her.

It is very valuable information that could help our tribe in the future, but the most important thing is that knowing about it could help me personally.

Since that little Valkyrie, I consider a daughter who is lost and only needs the help of her father. "