The Path To Perfection

Chapter 23: Unsettled Heart

Inside one of the rooms of a busy hospital, a very comfy-looking bed was set right next to a machine that the humans of planet Green Cloud called a heart monitor.

Sitting on the bed, a seventy-year-old-looking woman was in the middle of talking excitedly with the group of people surrounding her. Above her head were floating balloons, all of them having been imprinted with planet Green Clouds language version of 'Happy Birthday '

The beautiful smile on her face seemed to make the white hospital room brighten up, anyone who passed would most likely wonder what could make such a wonderful-looking old lady so happy.

With her smile being kind of contagious, the visitors standing in the room also gave out beaming smiles. All in all, everyone here was happy to be with this woman.

Among the eighth men and women inside, one of the men stepped forward to give the old lady a gift. He had previously been blocking the old lady's view of the entrance door but as he moved out of the way, she was able to notice the face of a middle-aged man peeking through the rectangular glass part of the door.

As soon as both she and the man's eyes met, her expression turned into one of disbelief while the man had an unsettled gaze fall on his face.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Asked her son whose hand, holding a gift box, was outstretched to his mother, hanging in the air while the old lady herself was frozen.

"Mom, what's wrong?" He asked again. The old lady finally snapped out of the trance-like state she was in and noticed the gift in her son's outstretched hand. Receiving the gift, she said "Oh, it's nothing dear. I thought I saw someone outside, he looked very familiar."

Her son, intrigued by her words, looked behind him at the door but didn't see anyone there. The old lady also looked back and did not see the man again. She frowned at this realization but said. "It must have been nothing. Oh, what gift did you bring for me.."

Her son smiled when she started paying attention to his gift but he was slightly surprised on the inside. The reason she was in the hospital in the first place was due to a disease with one of the symptoms being memory loss and hallucinations.

For her to claim that she saw someone familiar and then dismiss it instead of insisting that she saw something like she used to do. 'The treatment must be showing its effects, just like the doctor said' He thought to himself.

When the old lady was distracted by the other visitors, he walked out of the room to check if what his dear mother said before was valid.

Upon stepping outside, not a lot of people were in the hallway so he was able to immediately see the back of a man who had immediately turned away as soon as he stepped out, causing him to narrow his eyes.

Just when he was contemplating on whether to stalk the man, "Sonny!" His name was called from inside so he had to put the matter at the back of his mind.

...

Al'ravee walked out of the hospital ignoring the weird look coming from the receptionist while trying to calm his unsettled heart.

Finally, he had finally seen her. It's been a few months since he awakened from his grave and learned the truth about his origin and gained his full memories.

Ever since he left the graveyard, he had to engage in robbery to get some money to leave the city. Although society frowned upon such acts, his case was special. He had no identification documents, no job, no base, and no money.

Even if he wanted to get a job, the high-paying ones required some form of certification and long-term contracts, and the small jobs could not help him raise the money he wanted. With no other option left, he turned to crime.

He started with pick-pocketing and then moved to trail women and robbing them in the alleys of the city using a wooden club. He always made sure to change locations as often as possible to prevent the possible capture of the law enforcers.

Al'ravee might be immortal but if he drew attention now and had the gazes of the government and the law enforcers on him then he'd be in big trouble.

Because of the temporary effect caused by the concept of mortality put on him by a god named Stylaff according to Ris, he didn't have to worry about not aging for a while but if he got sent to prison and people noticed anything peculiar, there could be some serious complications. Apart from the fact that he won't be able to do all the things he wanted to do, they might lock him up and conduct many experiments on him to find out the reason for him not dying.

It was good that the E-currency had not yet been fully implemented in the country so he was able to get some physical cash.

His destination was the only place where he could gain a foothold and call home for now. His family's former house in his hometown was still available, he hoped, with his own house having already been sold years ago before his supposed death.

Getting into his parent's house was a bit troublesome, luckily, the backyard fence was high enough to enable him to break in without letting the neighbors notice.

After all, the last time someone saw him with his current appearance was roughly seventy years ago.

Fortunately, he was able to find some left-behind documents like a copy of his birth certificate and some portraits of someone he recognized as his last daughter.

Unfortunately or fortunately, his daughter was living here and from how it looked inside, she was not always around. He had no intention of exposing himself so he moved out to start his life of crime again.

This time, apart from the money issue, addiction also played a part in it.

He was able to join a local gang and find refuge in their base of operations, soon gaining access to firearms.

Later, he got info that someone had moved into his parent's house. After some snooping, the person living there was found to be his youngest child and daughter who now appeared to be sixty in age.

Before his death, he already knew that she was divorced and had two children but from what he heard, she usually went to live with her late brother and his wife.

He was naturally heartbroken to hear that his son was dead but steeled his mind cause he was resolved of mind that it would happen someday. He also got to know that his eldest, was in the hospital due to a disease.

After a month of stalking, his youngest child was finally moving again. With permission from the gang leader, he left town for the city where his late son's house was.

In the city, he got to see his grandchildren and great-grandchildren of all three of his children.

More stalking led to him finding the hospital his daughter was in because he wasn't registered as a relative or important official, plus, she was not allowed to have visitors, so he couldn't go in to see her. Being able to remember her birthday, he figured that some family members would be there to celebrate with her. An opportunity to go in under the pretense of being a well-wisher.

That is what led him to the hospital he was leaving. He was the one spying on that old lady and the old lady was obviously his daughter. The reason why the receptionist was giving him a weird look was that she always had to send him away in the past but today, she let him in because the doctor said it was okay to receive visitors.

Although he claimed to be a visitor, she still did not trust him, the bribe she received yesterday and his promise to not cause any harm eased her up a bit.

...

Of course, Al'ravee had no idea of what the receptionist was thinking. Instead, he was strengthening his heart for this was the last time he was going to see his children.

They would all die out anyway, it's better to keep the distance from them and their family. If possible forget about them... If possible.

If there was a way to bring back his wife and make his entire family immortal, he would, maybe if he became a powerful god. But the thing is, by the time he becomes such a powerful entity, time would have passed and he most likely won't feel anything for them anymore.

The maturity earned from being a hundred years old did not let him shed any tears. With nothing else to do in the city, he prepared his things at the hotel and went back to his hometown the next day.

The next thing he was about to do for now would test the limits of his morality. Becoming a full-time criminal.