What Kindness Can Bring

Chapter 16, A Wish Come True

When we entered the house I immediately started unpacking my belongings and putting them at their designated place.

I walk over to my uncle and hand him my canteen and flask, "Please wash this, I must get something ready for you to see."

He nods and starts washing them, ruffling through my knapsack I pull out my camera and remove the chip containing the pictures from the Creature Realm and insert it into the laptop we have at home.

"What do we have here?!" His voice filled with excitement as he sits down next to me.

"Believe me or not, these pictures are not photoshopped. It's all a long story but feel free to look at what I've got."
With me only eating K rations for five days, I walk to the fridge and start eating the leftovers while watching him look with great curiosity over the pictures from the Creature Realm.

At some point while I'm eating he suddenly yells my name, "YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?!"

"Um no, why you ask?" My mind focused on the food I barely even give a care until he tells me.

"CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHO IS THIS GIRL IN THIS PHOTO?!?!" He yelps. My uncle points at the picture Rotte and I together. "Ohh, you mean Astarotte? Yeh I know her, we first met in the forest. The same day I first left." I say with such a casual tone like it's nothing at all.

He laughs, "It's nice to know you have a girl!'

*facepalm*, "Dad, she's not my girlfriend. Can we change the topic?"

"Sure." He says.

My voice comes out shaky, "Look, I don't know if you'll even grant me this request.. It might be too much for you."

My uncle does his signature 'It will be fine' type smile, "If it's reasonable, you will have what you want."

I pause for a few seconds while trying to put my words together, "Well, the Creature Realm is dangerous, there are many beings that have evil intent towards others. If I am just armed with airsoft or BBs, it will not do anything against a bloodhound or a bandit. I need something that- can actually be good for protecting myself and Rotte.."

He looks around the room while scratching his beard, "So what you're trying to tell me here is you want a firearm."

My heart skips a beat, "I just want to keep myself safe along with someone I care for.."

He starts laughing, "So now you're admitting that you have a crush on the girl."

I inhale a deep breath, "It's not really all about her. It's about keeping myself alive in an alien environment."

"I understand your point but there's only one problem, what type of weapon you will be using?" He asks.

Standing up from my chair I go to my room and grab my bayonet and set it down in front of my uncle, "Something that can fit this."

He unsheathes the blade and inspects it, "There's only one gun I know that can fit this."

We turn to each other and speak at the same time, "The M1 Garand."

He puts the blade on the table and just looks at it, probably his mind is still trying to process what to do next.

Finally he opens his mouth, "I will find one for you but before you depart from this Realm, you will be fully trained in how to use, oil, disassemble, reload, aim, and repair your rifle in case of damage."

He looks up at me, "That includes bayonet training."

I stand up from my seat, "Thank you sir."

"Your welcome, Second Lieutenant." He replies.