Jasper quickly reached his house. Before he could knock, the door opened from the other side, and a girl stood there. When she looked at Jasper, her eyes widened and her face blossomed into a smile.
"Brother, why are you so late?" she hurriedly asked.
"Irene, why haven't you gone to sleep yet?" Jasper asked, surprised that the little girl was still awake. It was almost bedtime.
"I was waiting for you for so long, but you didn't come," she said in a sad tone.
"I went shopping. Here, fruit jam buns," he said, quickly handing over the food. He could see that his little sister had been worried about him.
Her face immediately brightened when she heard about the fruit jam. She quickly took the package and ran inside, calling for their mother. Jasper walked in with a smile. He quickly removed his backpack and set aside the pickaxe before stepping into the hall.
Their house was small—a medium-sized hall with a kitchen and two small rooms. His mother and sister shared one room, and he slept in the other. He had grown up in this house for as long as he could remember. Before he could fully enter the hall, his mother walked out of the bedroom.
"Jasper, what happened? Why are you late?" his mother, Jocelyn, asked with concern on her face.
"Nothing, Mother. I lost track of time while digging at the mine," Jasper replied, handing over the groceries he had bought earlier.
"Okay, sit. I will heat up the porridge," she said without questioning further. She knew Jasper would not hide anything serious from her.
Soon, she walked out of the kitchen holding a bowl of steaming grain porridge. Jasper was not fond of the taste of the porridge, not since childhood, but it was the food that kept his family from starving, so he never complained. He quickly ate it since he had not eaten lunch.
"Mother, we will visit the medical house tomorrow or the day after. I fetched a few extra crystals. I think the savings should be enough to diagnose what is causing your tiredness," Jasper said, taking out the remaining coins and handing them to her.
She collected the coins without speaking. She knew that something had been wrong with her body in recent days, and she could no longer ignore it as she had at first. She needed to find out the cause before it became severe.
"Son, I feel better these days. Don't stress yourself or overwork. It will take a toll on your body. What is the use of curing me if you get injured?" she advised, believing Jasper was overworking to save money for her medical expenses.
"Don't worry, Mother. I feel fine. My body has adapted to mining," Jasper said as he emptied the bowl.
"Brother, here, eat," his sister said, offering him one of the fruit jam buns she was eating.
"Does it taste good?" Jasper asked as he took the bun and watched her enjoy it. She rarely tasted sweet food, so she was always happy when he brought something from the shop. She shared one with their mother as well, and the three of them enjoyed the fruit jam buns together late at night.
After that, Jasper went to bed since he had to wake up early the next morning. Though he had worked hard that day, he felt no pain in his body. Usually, he would feel pain in his hips and shoulder joints, especially his right shoulder. However, now it felt easy, as if he had taken a long rest from mining. That made him wonder if something was not right. With that thought, he fell asleep on the tattered bed in his small room.
The next morning, he woke up feeling fresher than ever. There was no aching in his body, and even the usual heaviness after sleep was gone. He felt as if he had lived in a castle all his life and had never done hard labor.
"What is this feeling? So refreshing and energetic," Jasper muttered as he jumped lightly and flailed his arms. Suddenly, he stood still and extended his palm. In the next second, a blue light glowed, and a blue rock materialized on his palm.
"Is this some kind of magic stone that can give strength to the body? I ran very fast last night. Could it cure diseases as well?" Jasper wondered, thinking about using the stone to cure his mother's illness. If it had relieved the pain in his body, wouldn't it work on others too?
With that idea in mind, he quickly walked into the hall and entered the kitchen, where his mother was cutting vegetables.
"Take a bath, son. Breakfast is almost ready," Jocelyn said when she noticed him.
However, Jasper stood there, staring at his palm. When she realized he had not left, she turned around and looked at him.
"What is it, Jasper? Are you not feeling well?" she asked, thinking he might have been injured after working late the previous night.
"No, Mother. It's just that the vegetable soup smells great from the hall," Jasper said with an innocent smile as he walked out of the kitchen. Seeing his odd behavior, Jocelyn shook her head and continued cooking.
Jasper walked away with a confused expression. The stone had done nothing when he had commanded it to cure his mother. Furthermore, he doubted whether the stone had been visible to her, even though he had been holding it in his palm the whole time.
"Is it really a magic stone?" Jasper questioned, doubting its ability to cure his mother.
With that thought in mind, he quickly finished his morning routine and had a tasty breakfast of flatbread and vegetable soup. Around eight in the morning, he left the house with his backpack and broken pickaxe.