Adventures Of A Goblin

"uhuhm...., are you okay...."

Dexter reluctantly asked after walking up to where Dana is sitting. Dana on the other hand, openly ignored Dexter's poor attempt in starting a conversation with her.

His plan was coming here to try and console her, and if she doesn't respond to him, he had made arrangements to leave her be immediately.

But, seeing her up close in person, Dexter realized how wrong it would be of him to leave her as she is.

Dexter grabbed the chair beside Dana, and sat on it.

"you know, your grandfather was a role model not only to me, but to all the adventurers of my generation. His death, affects not only you, but every single adventurer who glorified his courageous act".

Clenching his fist and raising it up along the glorified part. Dexter turned to look at Dana thinking he was going to get some sort of reaction from her, but he got nothing.

"listen kid. I understand you are grieving, but this is not the way to do it. Keeping silent and staring at your grandfather's tombstone all day long isn't going to change anything. He also wouldn't be happy wherever he is if he sees that his granddaughter refuses to move on and stuck herself to the past".

"you need to get your act together and give a reaction, anything".

Fed up with Dana being mute to his words, Dexter began to spit out the harsh reality, hoping she was going to do respond verbally or physically.

Any would be better as long as her face isn't devoid of life like it currently is. His attempt however failed as Dana still continued to ignore him.

"this is why I told her I wasn't the consoling type of dude".

"alright kid, let's take this again from the beginning, shall we".

Dexter did not want to give up on her just yet. He once admired Shakir as a role model, and this is Shakir's granddaughter. The least he can do for the one he once looked up to, is to make sure what he loves stays brightened and not depressed.

"losing a loved ones, and getting over it, is not as easy as people think it is. It's like telling one to erase a part of who we are, a part of what shapes us into our current self. That memory, it stays buried within us forever. And knowing that the one's you made those memories with is someone you will never get to see again, that pain, no matter how many years or lifetime has gone by, it will always hurt the same. Nothing can change that".

"i have just lost the two people I consider to be my only family. Am I devastated by that?..., definitely. Am I going to miss their presence?...., always. But will I let their memories weigh me down into being my true self?...., the answer is no".

"my friends, Riley and Caren, they wouldn't want that for me. They wouldn't want me to lead a life of a degenerate because they are no longer with me. Knowing them, they would probably blame themselves more, and rain abusive words on me for letting myself get tied down by their deaths, Caren especially".

"that is who my friends are. They want the best for me either dead or living, and I am sure your grandfather is not that far off from them in that he also wants what is best for you. He would want you to get on with your life, and not spend it in his shadows. He would want you to become fierce, to learn from your pain and grow through it, not regress with it".

"pain, is what separates us from the monsters. We feel pain and sadness whenever our loved ones leave us. But monsters, they feel none of those. They are cold-blooded bastards whose motive is to always cause us pain and despair".

"ask yourself, do you want them to win? Do you want the monsters to get away with killing your grandfather and rendering your life a desolate one? Or, do you want to get back up like humans do and pay back the monsters tenfold what they took away from you? Do you want the monsters to bleed and for once, feel the same agony that you are feeling right now?.... "

" it's your choice kid. And whichever it is you choose, I hope it is one you can own up to when you meet your grandfather in your next life".

Dexter having said what he wanted to say, remained silent and raised his head forward, expecting a reply from Dana.

"its all my fault".

She said, with her voice cracking and filled with remorse.

"if only I was stronger, I could have stopped the monster before it got to grandfather. Grandfather died because of me, he died because I was too weak to do anything".

All the emotions she had kept bottled up, rushed out instantly in the form of tears. Her eyes sobbing out water profusely with no signs of her stopping anytime soon.

"hey, hey kid. What are you saying? strong enough? who would expect a kid to be strong enough to defeat a monster like that? I and my friends were present when the monster first appeared, now look what became of us".

Dexter said, with Dana in his embrace sobbing.

"you are a kid, and only a foolish adult would expect to be protected by a kid. Your grandfather also wouldn't want or expect you to lay down his life so that he can live, he wouldn't forgive himself if that were to be".

"you are a kid, and as one, the adults should be the one protecting you and not the other way around. So kid, never blame yourself for the choices made by the adults. Your grandfather did his best to save you, the most precious thing in his life. Despite knowing the risks behind it, he still did it. That was his choice to make and not yours. The only choice you should be making now, is the kind of choice that will make your grandfather proud from wherever he is watching you from".

"is that clear".

He placed his hands on Dana's shoulder and slightly pushed her back so he could see her face while she answers him.

"y....ye...yes...."

She says with a weakly voice and face gone red and puffy.

Dexter seeing Dana's expression could not help but shower her in pity, and a remembrance of how he once was.

"your teacher miss Aletta, she told me that you don't have anyone else in this city apart from your grandfather. Now, I am going to make you an offer, and I want you to think carefully about it before deciding if you will accept or not".

"yes I will".

Dana did not bother to wait and listen to what sort of offer Dexter was going to propose before she agreed to it.

"you haven't even heard what I was going to say. LikeI said, I want you to think carefully about it, don't just give me a straight up yes wh...."

"you were going to ask me to come with you, weren't you".

Dexter was undoubtedly caught off guard on how she knew what he was going to ask.

"yes, yes I was. I figured, you have no one here, and I have also recently become a loner. Taking care of kids is not really my forte, but I can't just sit and watch while the last descendant of my role model gets left behind and unattended to".

"in this city, the people are good and I am sure they will take care of you well enough, in memorial of your grandfather's deed to them. But I know, that won't be enough for the current you".

"the thing is, just like you, monsters took away everything from me. That's one of the reasons why I became an adventurer, to protect people like me so they will never have to be hurt by the monsters ever again, and also so I can get my revenge on them".

"being in that position, I know what sort of mindset is raging through your mind right now, and I am willing to help you on that".

"staying here will grant you an easy going life, surrounded by the people that care about you. But going with me, will only leave you on a path stained with the blood of the monsters, that's why I said to take your time before deciding".

"there is nothing for me to think about. Uncle is right, this place cannot give me what I want. I don't want to be surrounded by love, I want revenge on the monster that took grandpa away from me".

Dexter felt himself amazed and astonished by Dana's determined mind, and the fortification of resolve glowing through her eyes.

"that is some great resolve you have there kid. And I promise you, I won't let you down on it".

"we will make the monster pay for taking away our loved ones, both you and I".