GATE: Journey in the New World Vol I

Arc 1: Coda Village Part 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Gate or Nihonkoku Shoukan as it belongs to its rightful owners.

Arc 1: Lands Of Rodenius:

First Contact: Coda Village Part 4

"Whenever things were going well and according to plan, there's always this minor hiccup that would ruin everything, and the next thing you know, hell has opened its gates again to invite you."

-New World Journal

Guest Room, Village Hall

"I'm so sorry for what happened to Elrena."

Yet another word of apology came out from the old woman's lips." If I've known earlier regarding her illness, I would have asked Cato for help." She explained, recalling the last time she had seen the wonderful elf woman.

She couldn't help herself but noticed the silence that enveloped her. As if she was indeed hiding something. No matter how weak the latter's state was during that time, she still managed to bring up every time, she would visit the village.

Hodor slightly forced a small smile. The elf man didn't really want to revisit those sorrowful and colorless days as he was on his way to a self-destructive path during that time. Adding the fact that he wasn't there for his daughter, who also had suffered the same emotional pain as him.

"You don't have to apologize, Mrs. Elena." He responded as he placed his now-empty cup on the small wooden table beside him. "It happened a long time ago, and there's nothing we can do." He went on to say. "At the very least, there are a lot of lessons to be learned from it." He finished his sentence with a twinge of guilt in his eyes.

The village chief's wife nodded slowly, "I understand Hodor," she said, looking down at the ground. Her thoughts were drawn to a brief struggle. She wasn't sure whether to let her emotions out and cry for the loss of a dear friend, but the recent struggles that the village had faced, her husband's poor health, and many other factors had greatly affected her emotions to the point where she had almost lost the ability to cry, and she had been staying in this position where she had to muster all of her strength in her every day if she were not to experience this kind of pain.

Add the fact that her son's recent departure fueled her distress from within. Even at this age of her life, she would still worry for a loved one that has already moved on, and she understood the motivations and reasons behind that.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your son."

Hodor spoke the words that had been floating around in her head at that precise moment, which surprised her.

"How did you know?" She asked, placing a hand on her lips thereafter.

The man blinked a few times in confusion before realizing the meaning of the old lady's question." Oh, I guess I haven't informed you yet but, Eldar himself told me about it." He added." When he visited me on the first day, I was confined in this room."

"Oh, I see." She muttered.

"My husband? "How come I can't seem to remember?" Elena had a thought. She had to keep an eye on her husband at times. He could no longer walk long distances and couldn't handle his duties as chief of the village, at the same time.