Chapter 122: Love and Compassion
At first, Maeve couldn’t understand how the Mother Tree could possibly teach her to control her ability. But after staying connected to it for a while, she finally began to hear its voice.
"Your energy is so warm..." the Mother Tree whispered softly. Its leaves, which had only recently grown back after withering for so long, gently swayed in the breeze. "The warmest energy I have ever felt from the depths of my heart."
Once the pain in her body completely faded, Maeve slowly got to her feet and carefully walked toward the Mother Tree.
She stood in front of it for a moment before gently resting her cheek against its rough trunk.
The moment she did, its voice became much clearer.
"How can I become your heart?" Maeve asked in a voice so quiet that no one else could hear her. "The Sylvara Tribe has so many people with amazing plant abilities. Why am I the only one who can help you?"
She took a deep breath, then spoke in an even softer voice. "I’m not even from this planet."
The Mother Tree remained silent for a moment. Then it finally spoke again, its voice filled with warmth and kindness. "And that is exactly what makes you special."
Maeve blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
The Mother Tree let out a gentle laugh, and the sound echoed through the countless leaves above them.
"The people of the Sylvara Tribe were all born under my blessing. From the moment they entered this world, they received a part of my power."
Its branches swayed softly as rays of sunlight slipped through the leaves. "They can hear the voices of trees because I allow them to. They can help plants grow because I share my strength with them. Their bond with nature exists because I gave it to them."
Maeve listened in silence.
"But you..." the Mother Tree continued, its voice filled with admiration. "Your power was never mine. It belongs to you alone."
"You reached out to plants without my blessing. You heard their cries without my guidance. Even though your gift hurt you, you never lost the desire to help them."
Maeve lowered her gaze to her hands. "But if that’s true..." she whispered, "why can’t I control my own ability?"
"Because no one has ever taught you how." The Mother Tree’s answer came without hesitation. "Imagine pouring all the water in a river into a single flower. Even the strongest flower would wither beneath that weight."
"You have always poured all of your energy into every plant you touched. You loved them so deeply that you never learned how to hold back."
Loved them so deeply? Maeve couldn’t even remember ever being someone who loved nature that much.
Sure, she used to keep a few potted plants on the tiny balcony of her apartment. But they always ended up dying because she was too busy to take proper care of them.
If that was considered love, then she must have been terrible at loving something as precious as nature.
"I don’t think I have that much love," Maeve whispered.
"You have had it from the very beginning," the Mother Tree replied. "If you didn’t have such deep love and compassion, you would never have come to this world."
Maeve frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Tell me, Maeve," the Mother Tree said gently. "What was the reason you died?"
The question only left Maeve even more confused because it seemed completely unrelated to what they had been talking about.
Even so, she answered honestly. "Because I accidentally walked into the hideout of a group of dangerous people, and they threw me into the sea."
She let out a self-mocking laugh. "I died because I was stupid and had terrible luck."
"You are wrong," the Mother Tree said softly. "You died because you cared too deeply for others."
Maeve stared at the Mother Tree, unable to understand its words. "I cared too deeply for others?" she repeated. "How?"
The Mother Tree remained silent for a moment before answering gently. "If you hadn’t wanted to help someone, you would never have ended up in that place from the very beginning."
Maeve frowned. "I don’t understand"
"Think carefully," the Mother Tree said. "Remember what happened before you were thrown into the sea."
Its calm voice echoed inside her mind. Slowly, a forgotten memory surfaced in her mind.
===
The sound of busy streets filled the air.
Maeve, still wearing her police uniform, was patrolling her assigned area as usual. Everything had seemed normal until she noticed a group of rough-looking men dragging someone into a narrow alley.
The man struggled weakly, but one of them slammed a fist into his stomach, forcing him to stop resisting.
Maeve immediately frowned. "A robbery?"
Without thinking twice, she quietly followed them. She kept a safe distance, carefully hiding behind walls and parked vehicles while secretly calling for backup.
At the time, she had believed they were nothing more than a group of violent criminals attacking an innocent victim.
She had no idea...
...that they were members of a powerful cartel.
Nor did she know that the man they were dragging away was an undercover police officer whose identity had already been exposed.
By the time Maeve realized the truth, it was already too late.
She had unknowingly walked straight into the cartel’s nest.
The memory ended there.
Maeve’s eyes slowly widened.
"So..." she whispered. "I wasn’t just unlucky."
She had died too early, and her soul had arrived in this world before it was truly ready. Because of that, some of her memories had remained buried deep in her mind, just out of reach. But now, they were finally becoming clear.
’Pinky, why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?!’ Maeve shouted angrily in her mind.
Pinky answered right away. [Because forcing you to remember before you were ready wouldn’t have been good for you, Host! You needed to recall those memories little by little!]
[Your nature ability also stimulated your brain, which is why you can finally remember them now!]
Maeve fell silent. The anger she had felt toward Pinky disappeared almost instantly, replaced by a complicated mix of emotions.
’So... I really forgot that much.’
[I’m sorry, Host.] Pinky’s voice became unusually gentle. [Some memories are tied to trauma. If they return all at once, they can hurt your mind.]
[I wanted you to remember them when you were ready.]
Maeve let out a slow sigh. ’I guess... I can’t blame you.’
She closed her eyes for a moment, replaying the memory over and over again.
The frightened look in the undercover officer’s eyes. The rough hands dragging him away. And the thought that had crossed her mind without hesitation: someone needs help.
Back then, she hadn’t stopped to think about the danger, she hadn’t wondered whether she could win, and she had simply followed them because she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t seen it.
The Mother Tree spoke to her softly. "Do you understand now?" it asked.
Maeve slowly nodded. "I do." She gave a bitter smile. "But I wasn’t trying to be a hero. I just... couldn’t walk away."
"Exactly," the Mother Tree replied. "Compassion is not always being a hero. Sometimes, it is simply the inability to ignore another person’s suffering."
The Mother Tree’s leaves rustled softly above her. "That same compassion crossed the boundary between worlds and brought you here."
Maeve lowered her head. She suddenly remembered every person she had met since arriving in this world.
Lior.
Ikarus.
Cerus.
Axan.
The people of the Azuryn Tribe.
The dying trees she had instinctively reached out to.
Without realizing it, she had been doing the same thing all along.
She had never changed. She was still the woman who couldn’t turn her back on someone in need.
The only difference was that, this time, she had the ability to truly save them.
More importantly, she also had people who appreciated the kindness she gave and for Maeve, that was more than enough.
A gentle smile slowly appeared on her face. The Mother Tree seemed to sense the change in her heart. Its branches swayed softly, and countless glowing leaves drifted through the air like tiny stars.
"You have finally accepted yourself," it said.
Maeve looked up at the enormous tree. "I think..." she said softly. "...I just realized that this place truly feels like home."
She had experienced so many ups and downs since coming to this world.
She had nearly died more than once. She had cried, laughed, and gone through countless hardships.
But no matter what happened, her husbands were always there beside her.
They never asked her to change who she was. They never told her that caring too much was a flaw.
Instead, they embraced every part of her.
For Maeve, that was everything she had ever wished for.
The Mother Tree let out a soft, content sigh. "Then your heart has finally found its roots."
[Current Bond Rate: 67%... 68.1%...]