"Hey, Rahul!" Etele appeared next to the boy one evening.
"Huh?" Rahul opened half his eyes and looked at the ghost.
"Do you know how much of a daredeviTheou are?" The question surprised Rahul, thanks to which he opened both eyes and looked at Etele in a puzzled manner.
"A what?" He asked back, but received only a wave in response.
"Don't worry, it's not a bad thing. They say it to people who always get into trouble, but always get away with it." The ghost relative explained.
"Oh, and why have I become such a daredevil now?" Rahul tilted his head to the side and pulled his mouth in a grimace, while his brain tried to grasp the meaning of this daredevil.
"For the first time in your life, you set foot over the Karrabata and you are caught by a group of people who take you in. You crash into the Heginjülin competition, the killing squad on duty takes you in for that. You heal a tree with some chán spell, for which the little chán accepts you as a disciple. Now you've broken a puppet into small pieces, and you'll be sent to the battlefield for that." Etele pointed here and there, as if he had gone mad, which Rahul had secretly suspected for a long time.
"You want to say it's my fault now?" The chüvigh boy asked with a confused look.
"No. I'm just saying it's surprisingly fast." The ghost shrugged.
"It's not my fault either way." The boy rolled his eyes.
"I didn't say a single word. I meant that I thought it would take at least five years for anything to happen. Who would have thought you would be so interesting to be around." Etele grinned, as if someone had given him honey. "Speaking of which, before I forget. Why do you know that something you used to blow up that dummy?" The ghost scratched its head.
"We used it to cut the trees at home, don't you remember?" Rahul blinked at his relative.
"Oh, yeah. That cruel woman with that box." The ghost shook itself.
"Hey, you're talking about my mother." Rahul snarled.
"I know, that's why I said it." Etele stuck out his tongue.
"Don't want me to hurt you." The boy hissed between his teeth, but the ghost just laughed.
"As if you could!" He pulled himself out. "Anyway, you still can't hear the team?" He tilted his head to the side.
"No. Everything is silent, even though I tried them one by one." Rahul shook his head, while Etele took hold of his own chin and thought.
"Something is very wrong about this. They are already so close that you should be able to hear them easily." He muttered under his breath before Rahul closed his eyes again.
"There's nothing to do, I have to wait. Things will get better. Until then, I'll go wherever the hell they're taking me now. So I should sleep. Good night grandpa." The boy turned on his side and fell asleep without worrying about the ghost.
The next few days were a march for Rahul until they reached a tented camp. The place they were visiting was completely unknown and new to Rahul. Everything was covered with sand, like the beach, as far as the eye could see it was warm, very, very warm, but in the evening the boy froze in his tent.
The first couple of small skirmishes against the people in the strange gray-brown clothes went without any problems. Then a larger group appeared on the horizon before the ötandi led everyone out onto the battlefield. There was a huge commotion, smoke and the sound of screams everywhere. Then the enemy seemed to disappear and in the distance appeared creatures covered in strange scattering materials.
The soldiers around Rahul completely froze, everything was silent for a few moments, and then confusion broke out. Everyone ran headfirst back into the camp shouting a phrase that Rahul had never heard before, but for some reason he didn't move. It was as if something was stirring in the back of his mind as he looked at these creatures, but he couldn't recall the memory. Then suddenly a huge light surrounded him, forcing him to close his eyes.
"Where am I? At home? This is my forest." Rahul blinked a lot as his eyes got used to the lights, but he suddenly got a hold of his head and took a few steps back.
"I'm sorry, I had to." He raised his head at the sudden voice only to find himself face to face with a white haired man. He didn't know why, but he smiled.
"What did you have to do?" He asked, but the man just smiled.
"That's not important. Just tell me Rahul, how much do you remember about your mother?" The man's question surprised Rahul.
"She always laughed and the fact that she was nice. How red her face was when she was angry with dad. As she sang, as we cut the wood together. The way she hugged me and things like that, but why? You don't usually ask questions like that." Rahul declared, not realizing that he had no idea who he was talking to.
"I guessed that was the case." The white-haired figure nodded. "But now you need a few more memories of her." The white-haired man said seriously, but Rahul just rolled his eyes.
"I might need it, but memories don't just come back out of nowhere. They are not migratory birds." He shook his head and sat down next to his little pond.
"No, they really aren't migratory birds. You are very right about that." The man chuckled. "However, you also know that there are memories that are just covered, not completely lost." He stated as he stood behind Rahul, and the boy looked up at him.
"And why is it important that they are only covered?" The boy asked with a nice little frown on his face.
"Because that's how I can help you bring them out." The white-haired figure smiled kindly at Rahul.
"Really? So can I remember more things about mom?" Enthusiasm gripped the boy in an instant. He had always missed his parents very much, so it was no wonder that he took every opportunity to hear from them.
That's why he liked it when the old people told stories about his family, or when Uncle Tete teased him a little and, although in the company of quite strange things, in an incomprehensible jumble, he told stories about his father and mother, how they met and how he was born.
But now even those memories were hazy, causing Rahul to frown. He knew these were memories he visited often, but he didn't understand why he couldn't recall them now with the usual ease.
He was so absorbed in his thoughts and staring at the surface of the lake that he didn't notice when the white-haired man leaned closer to him. He only realized something had happened when he felt hands on his shoulders. He was surprised, he turned back to the man, who looked at him sadly.
"I'll help you remember a little." He declared and simply pushed Rahul into the water. The boy gasped in fear and as the water surrounded him he still heard the man's last words. "I'm sorry."