Unsealing Emptiness

Adopt?

Entering the house, Ozul took the first chair that came into his view and collapsed on it.

Old Carol watching him act like that, smiled and asked for a glass of water for Ozul. Just looking at the boy’s doll-like face, her motherly instincts will start to act up.

Old Carol had never married anyone. So, having a child was only a fool’s dream. She already had an idea about what to do with the boy.

“Two arms... hmm... it may take a while,”- Mr. Smith mumbled.

“Also, a leg.”- Ozul spoke up, listening to Smith’s words.

“Huh?”- Both Mr. Smith and Carol spoke up as they wondered why he would need a leg?

“It is fake.”- Ozul said as he absorbed the leg into himself.

Seeing his left leg vanishing into thin air, both of them were stunned.

.....

‘Poor child. Just how much has he suffered?’ – Old Carol again started her inner monologue about Ozuls hardships up until now.

“How did you do that?”- Mr. Smith was sane enough to wonder how he made that leg.

“Magic.”- Ozul gave just a simple answer, not willing to reveal anything further.

“Oh.”- Mr. Smith had more questions but did not probe into his privacy.

“Well, it may take up to three hours making functional limbs.”- Mr. Smith gave his estimate. It was a magical world, with enough materials, unimaginable things were no longer impossible. He also took Ozuls measurements for the prosthetics.

Ozul just nodded his head. He was under a roof; There was no sunlight directly falling onto his face. He was more than happy to wait here.

Surprisingly, Old Carol also did not leave in the meantime. She started chatting with Ozul.

“Oh my, I did not even ask your name, did I?”- Old Carol.

“... Ozul Ashfall.”- Ozul took a few seconds to answer as he had almost forgotten that he had a name. All this time, No one ever called him, so it was understandable.

“Ah, Such a lovely name Ozul. You can call me, Grandma! If I had grandkids, they would just be at your age.”- Old Carol exclaimed.

Ozul just nodded and did not say anything.

They chatted for the time. Well, it was more like Old Carol kept asking, and Ozul replying with only simple words.

Of course, Ozul did not say anything about how they prisoned him at birth, how his ‘father’ crippled him while calling him a Devil’s Spawn.

Three hours flew as Mr. Smith came back, and in his hands were two arms and a leg made out of some kind of polished metal.

“It will hurt like hell when connected. So, brace yourself, kid.”- Mr. Smith said as he bent down to Ozuls waist.

Mr. Smith took out a knife and cut the base of Ozul left side where a leg is supposed to be. Smith was expecting some blood but was astonished to find no blood!

Though he was not a physician, everyone knew that it was practically impossible to live without blood. However, looking at the situation, he didn’t ask any questions. While Old Carol only thought that Mr. Smith had done something to stop the blood from gushing out.

Both Mr. Smith and Old Carol were expecting Ozul to cry out. But when they looked at his face, all they could see was a child looking at his cut skin like watching a show. There was no reaction on his face whatsoever, Cold as ever.

There may not be any blood, but the wound still burned Ozul. But he did not even twitch an eyebrow.

Getting out of his surprise, Mr. Smith quickly joined the leg with the base. He then proceeded to do the same with arms. Once done, he took out some bandage and patched up the foundation of the arms and the leg.

“The cut will take some time to heal, but you can still try to move the arms and the leg.” – Mr. Smith told Ozul to test the prosthetics.

Ozul may not know, but the prosthetics were not so easy to make. Even experienced people may fail, and not to mention that it required quite an extraordinary amount of rare materials.

Mr. Smith was an expert in this field. He may have retired but did not lose his touch. Ozul would never be able to afford his service with only the pitiful amount of Silver Coins that he had. Ozul may even need a couple of gold coins!

Anyways he tried to move his left leg as he does with the right one.

‘Hmm... I can stretch and bend them just as easy, but there is no feeling from it.’- Ozul thought after trying out his prosthetic arms and left leg.

“Convenient.”- Ozul said out loud as this was the only reason he needed them.

Old Carol was at least expecting Ozul to try out his new arms excitingly, but listening to his bland exclamation ruined her fantasies. Just a cute smile on his face would have been enough, but Alas seeing his smile, is not so easy.

“Oh, Thank you so much, Mr. Smith! You gave me not only your precious time but also used such rare materials, and that too without asking anything in return!”- Old Carol thanked Mr. Smith.

“Hahaha... there is no need for thanks between us, Miss Carol, anything for you.” – Mr. Smith again with the flattering smile on his face. He was getting a bit embarrassed now.

“Fufufu... I would have stayed to repay you somehow if only I were not busy!”- Old Carol went out together with Ozul. Mr. Smith was left behind, lost in his old lewd fantasies about Carol.

. . .

Outside the house, Ozul faced Old Carol and stopped.

“Thanks.”- Ozul expressed his thanks to Carol as he now knew that it would have cost him quite a sum to get the prosthetics.

“You don’t have anywhere to live, right? If you want to repay me, come live with me!” – Old Carol had decided to adopt this lifeless doll of a boy! So she struck when the iron was hot.

Carol may be old but looked just in her mid-fifties. She always wanted a child of her own, and this was her opportunity!

But listening to how the old lady wanted him to repay using his body, Ozul stared at her for a moment and then...

He started moving his right hand towards the other hand’s foundation and began to disconnect the arm.

Seeing his behavior, Carol quickly stopped him.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing? I won’t make you work for me or anything! I just want to adopt you!”- Carol quickly explained herself, seeing that he won’t stop otherwise.

Ozul finally stopped.

‘Adopt? Hmm... I may consider it if I get to live in her house. Some sleep is just what I need. Booking a room in an inn would be a bother.’ Ozul seriously began to consider her offer. It is not like he will lose anything. After thinking for a while, he gave his reply.

“My freedom and privacy?”- The meaning was clear; Ozul would not compromise on his privacy and especially his freedom anymore.

“Of course, but you will have to call me Grandma! And you will not bring a girl into the house without first introducing her to me!”- Old Carol stated her conditions. She forgot that he was just a six years old kid.

Ozul just nodded his head in agreement. For him, it was more like a deal. He gets to sleep comfortably, while Carol gets a grandkid.

Coming into an agreement, Carol quickly went to hug Ozul. But Ozul promptly stepped to the side, narrowingly dodging it.

“Hmph! Come here, young man! You are my grandkid now. I have full rights to your hug!”- Carol exclaimed. She just did not seem like an old lady in her early sixties!

After a few minutes of struggle, he was finally caught. Ozul was not yet used to the prosthetics.

“Aww! Look at you, shying away from the hug!” Old Carol thought that Ozul was just shy.

Anyways, after the

scuffle

, they walked towards Carol’s house.

It was just around the corner. In a minute, Ozul was standing in front of a prominent house.

The house stood in the back as, before him, there was a gate that allowed entry to the garden. There was a walking path in the middle that leads to the front door of the house. From the sides, the garden was surrounded by wooden fences.

The garden surrounding the house was tranquil. There were many beautiful flowers planted in it. A few fruit trees were also scattered around.

“Beautiful, right! I sell flowers from this garden. No one lived with me, so my expenses were quite low. Hence, I put all the money into building the garden,” Carol explained as Ozul was staring at the flowers.

Ozul replied with just a weak nod. Right now, He could not care any less about the garden; he needed an urgent nap right now! It was already noon and the sun was over his head.