The Seed Thief

Lulu paced in front of the house, thinking about the three of them. As time passed, the snowflakes grew larger, obscuring her vision. In the past, she would have brought Scarecrow and Crow inside when it snowed like this. She couldn’t bring the golem inside, but she would have at least ordered it to sit under the eaves.

‘What should I do?’

She knew she should go and find them. But…

“…”

Lulu remembered the day she had yelled at them.

‘I was wrong.’

None of them had done anything wrong, yet she had taken her anger out on them. She should go find them and apologize. Tell them she was wrong, that she had been unfair to them…

Lulu, unable to bring herself to speak the words, paced around the yard.

Darkness fell quickly on this cloudy winter day. Lulu lit a magical orb, casting a soft glow, and tried to read. But she couldn’t focus on the words. She was just pretending to read, trying to distract herself from the silence, the sound of the snow piling up, which filled her with a sense of unease.

‘I need to go find them.’

She had been thinking about them all day, yet she still couldn’t bring herself to move. Because of her petty pride. Her selfish, stubborn refusal to apologize, even though she knew she was wrong. Why was she acting like this?

Lulu hugged her knees, pulling the blanket tighter around her. She shivered, even though a magical fire roared in the fireplace.

‘Why?’

And then she realized that she felt empty.

Ever since she created them, she had been clinging to one of them whenever she could. Of course, she spent most of her time hugging the golem, rather than the unpredictable Scarecrow or the fragile Crow.

The golem, made of stone, was always cold. But why was she remembering those times, when she would hug it even on cold days like this?

‘Maybe it’s because I’m so cold.’

Lulu got up and went to the fireplace. She hoped that sitting there would alleviate the emptiness she felt.

“Ouch!”

She stubbed her toe on a book lying on the floor. Glaring at the book she had tossed aside, she recognized it as the one about creating magical constructs and sat down to flip through it. She had read it countless times, so she skimmed through the pages with a bored expression. Then, she stopped at a page she had only read once.

“Huh?”

The chapter title read, “[Precautions for Maintaining Activation After Successful Spell Casting]”. Her gaze followed the words.

“If the construct is separated from the caster for a prolonged period or exposed to unfavorable conditions before the magic circles are fully established, there is a high probability that the magic will dissipate. In such cases, the construct’s experiences and memories may be lost, and restoration is difficult…”

Lulu bolted upright and rushed outside.

‘No!’

Dissipate? Lose their memories? She hadn’t known that.

Snow had already piled up outside. It seeped into her worn, hole-ridden shoes, but she didn’t even feel the cold as she ran toward the forest.

She had a hunch where Scarecrow, Crow, and the golem would be. As expected, she found them in a clearing, huddled together. The golem was crouched down, Scarecrow was leaning against it, motionless, and Crow was perched on the golem’s lap, its bony wings folded.

“Guys!”

Normally, they would have looked up and greeted her excitedly the moment she called. But this time, they didn’t react to her call.

“Guys, it’s me!”

Lulu swallowed her anxiety and called out to them again, her voice louder. The golem slowly lifted its head.

The snow that had accumulated on it fell to the ground. Lulu realized.

She had neglected them for far too long.

She rushed towards them, frantically brushing away the snow. As her hands touched them, Scarecrow’s body twitched slightly, and Crow spread its bony wings. But that was all. Their movements were slow and weak, unlike usual. They looked like they were fading, their life force dwindling.

Seeing them like this, Lulu remembered the Forest Witch’s final moments.

“No…”

Tears welling up in her eyes, she brushed away the remaining snow. She then checked the magic circles that animated them. As expected, they were faint, and the magic power emanating from them was weak. She hurriedly channeled her magic power into them, but they didn’t brighten. Then, as if feeling the cold, Crow hopped into her arms and curled up. As she embraced it, she felt the magic circles starting to stabilize.

‘They need to be in contact with me.’

Realizing that, Lulu, holding Crow, pulled Scarecrow’s head close. The problem was, she couldn’t hug all three of them at the same time. In the end, she settled for holding Scarecrow and Crow and then sat down in the golem’s lap.

The Golem, seeing her in its lap, slowly wrapped its arms around them, shielding them. She felt the coldness of the stone through her clothes, but she leaned against its arm. And whispered, her voice small,

“…I’m sorry.”

Naturally, there was no reply. She buried her face against the golem’s chest, her arms tightening around Scarecrow and Crow.

“It was my fault. You’re my friends… You’re nothing like those villagers…”

They had been with her since the moment they were created. And she had ordered them to leave, just because she didn’t want them to see her being rejected by those humans.

‘Why did I do that?’

They were the ones who had always been by her side…

Tears streamed down her face again. Her sniffles turned into sobs. The golem lowered its head, shielding her from the falling snow with its body. Scarecrow covered her with the softest part of its raggedy clothes. And Crow, its wings useless against the snow, tried to cover her head.

Lulu, sobbing, poured all her magic power into them.

‘Don’t disappear.’

They were her friends. Friends who shared memories that only they knew, the oldest friends she had, the ones she wanted to spend her future with.

‘I’ll never take my anger out on you again.’

If she was wrong, she should apologize. She shouldn’t be mean just because she was angry. The Forest Witch had taught her these things long ago, why had she forgotten?

Amidst the heavy snowfall, Lulu waited for the dawn with her friends.

The next day, the golem, carrying the sleeping Lulu, returned to the house. Careful not to damage the wooden structure with its large body, it gently opened the window and laid Lulu on the bed. Crow, fluttering inside, struggled to pull the blanket over her. Scarecrow, unable to do anything, simply stood in the yard, uncharacteristically still.

Having done all they could, the three sat in front of the house, waiting for Lulu to wake up.

Last night, Lulu had repeatedly apologized to them. And she had called them her friends.

They all knew that what Lulu truly desired wasn’t friends. Their Master had always longed to meet other humans. But humans didn’t want her. Still…

[One day, a human will come.]

[They will, caw.]

[Human. Coming.]

They nodded in agreement.

One day, the human Lulu longed for would come to this place. The three of them hoped that day would come soon. So that their Master would cry less.

And a long time later, the golem, standing in the dark forest, saw a human, immobilized by its Master’s magic.

It knew, at that moment.

The human its Master had been waiting for had finally appeared.

* * *

The world around it began to come into focus. The golem felt its clouded awareness returning and stood up.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

It saw its Master’s familiar face. Not the young Master from its memories, but its grown-up Master. Standing beside her was the human man she had brought with her. They were both looking at it with concern.

What had happened?

The golem, realizing that its cognitive functions had been impaired, tried to recall what had happened. Its little Master had cast a sleep spell on it…

And then it felt something warm wrap around its leg. Looking down, it saw its little Master, her face stained with tears, hugging it tightly. Just like its Master used to do when she was young.

“I’m sorry! It was my fault!”

What was she apologizing for? The golem tilted its head, confused.

Lulu, seeing the golem’s bewildered expression, spoke to Heinel in a stern voice,

“Apologize properly, Heinel.”

“I’m sorry… I won’t ever… use magic on you again… sniffle…”

Heinel clung to the golem, repeatedly apologizing. Lulu murmured,

“She really gave us a scare…”

They had been cleaning up after dinner, Lulu clearing the table next to Er, who was washing the dishes, when they realized how unusually quiet Heinel was. Normally, she would have been running around, playing, and then clinging to them, begging to go to bed. A quiet Heinel meant trouble. Either she had gotten into trouble, or she was about to.

“Heinel!”

Lulu rushed outside, calling her name. And then she saw it. The golem, collapsed in a heap, and Heinel stood before it, clutching an eagle feather, tears streaming down her face.

Lulu quickly repaired the golem. The magic circle that animated the golem was the one she had drawn the most in her life, the one she had poured her heart and soul into.

Fortunately, the restoration was successful. But it was best to let the golem awaken slowly, allowing the magic power to flow smoothly for a complete recovery. In the meantime, Lulu scolded Heinel sternly.

Even Ervandas, who usually intervened at some point to comfort Heinel, remained silent this time. He understood what the stone golem, as well as Scarecrow and Crow, meant to Lulu.

They were more than just ‘friends.’ If it weren’t for them, would Lulu have been able to survive in the forest? And when he had been away, they had protected Lulu from the enemy soldiers who had entered the forest. Hadn’t his own heart ached when he saw their broken and battered forms upon his return?

Heinel deserved to be scolded for dismantling such a precious being.

And then it happened. The golem bent down, gently lifted Heinel into its arms, and patted her back.

Its gesture conveyed those words to everyone present.

“You really are…”

Lulu ran a hand through her hair and sighed deeply, seeing the golem’s actions. The golem, who had always comforted her, reassured her that everything was okay even when she was being difficult and unreasonable as a child, hadn’t changed at all.

The golem’s comforting gesture caused Heinel’s sadness and guilt to overflow, and she burst into tears again, clinging to it. She eventually fell asleep in its arms, and the golem gently handed her over to Lulu.

“I’ll put Heinel to bed.”

Ervandas took Heinel from Lulu’s arms. He kissed Lulu’s cheek and whispered,

“Come inside soon.”

Lulu, touched by his words, which seemed to read her mind, kissed his cheek in return. Ervandas, after glancing at the golem with a fleeting look of envy, carried Heinel inside, seemingly satisfied.

Before entering, he looked back at the golem standing in the yard, his gaze filled with a touch of envy and a great deal of gratitude.

“Come here, you two.”

Lulu, left alone in the yard, called out to Scarecrow and Crow, who had been watching from nearby. She embraced them, just like she used to, and then settled into the golem’s lap. They huddled together, feeling each other’s presence, just like they had that winter day long ago.

“My friends.”

A gentle smile spread across Lulu’s face.

“And my family.”

They had spent countless nights together. Walked together, slept together. Shared laughter and tears. They had relied on each other, closer than anyone else, under the same sky, through the same experiences.

She had given them life, and they had saved her life.

They might be different from Er and Heinel, but if she couldn’t call them family, then who could she call family?

Beneath the starry night sky, Lulu and the three embraced each other, just like they had that winter day long ago.

Looking forward to the many days they would continue to spend together.