Year 2033, August
8:00 A.M
Goz Beida, Chad, Africa
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It was strange.
At the same time, I was frozen in place.
Back in my hometown, Rigris, it was not that crowded compared to what my eyes laid upon right then.
I looked left and right, scanning the market that Hope and I went on that day.
Even under the hot, streaking sun, that market was bustling with people. Stalls with different colored tents lined up along the street. A few, however, was occupied with customers that I couldn't even see what they were selling. Voices buzzed in the air as people went to each stall there.
We walked past a few stalls here and there, unsure of what we should buy. I slid my hand into Hope's and looked at him.
"Hmm, I wonder what we should have for dinner," he said.
"Anything is fine. Oh, but I will cook. You can just sit tight when we get back Hope."
"Hah. Fine by me." He considered what he said. "But, if it gets rough, you'll have me by your side."
I smiled at him. "You're not going anywhere . . . Right?"
"Not for now. Anyway, we have to get something for dinner." His golden eyes flickered. "Starting with veggies."
"Eh? Why?" I said.
He patted my head. "Because you need it . . . And so do I."
We went to a stall that sold quite a variety of veggies, and Hope bought some of it. He pulled out the money that Helena gave us and handed it to the bald brown-skinned guy.
"Thank you," he said with a smile.
"No problem." Hope grabbed the plastic bag with the veggies in it. Immediately, I took it away from his hand and he frowned. "Ava?"
"I'll be carrying this, Hope."
"Ah, okay. I think we'll have beef soup tonight. Hoping they have enough beef chuck though."
We walked over to a stall where they were selling different cuts of beef.
"Doesn't seem to have much left." Hope pointed at a section where they sold boney kind of beef. "I'll have the shank too please."
"Shank?'" I repeated. "What's the difference?"
"Oh, you didn't know?"
I shook my head. "Back then, I ate potatoes almost every day."
"Ah, I forgot." He smiled. "Well, the chuck is around the neck area of the cow, and the shank is from the leg. Both cuts are of the toughest meats, so braising and making a soup out of it are more preferred."
I nodded. "I see. You really do know a lot Hope."
He just shrugged at my comment. "I did take care of those kids back then."
"Hmm."
'I wonder what they're doing now. Alice, Luca, and the others,' I thought.
We went to a few more stalls to buy the remaining ingredients. After that, we rested on a stone bench at a pretty empty street.
"You know, I've been thinking." My fingers tied the plastic bags with the ingredients in it together. "What did you do while you're in The People's Light?"
He thought about it. "Well, I participated in a few raids against the C.U's military barracks. There's that one time we invaded that one city in Mongolia and took over the C.U's armory there."
"You killed . . . The civilians in that city? I heard The People's Light doesn't care much about those unrelated to them," I said.
He drew his eyebrows together. "A few of them have that kind of thinking, and sadly, they are higher ranking too. I didn't participate when they instructed the rest to eliminate the civilians in that city." He sighed. "Still, they got mad at me for not doing what they asked. So . . . I was sent to Khovd with a dozen others. The rest stayed in the capital city."
I nodded. "Your Aegis . . . How do they get one for you?"
He lowered his head, perhaps remembering something he shouldn't have. "Vladimir said there's a User back in Russia, with the main group that knows me. That User, somehow, confirmed my compatibility with a stolen Aegis."
"And that's why you followed them in the first place, right?" I asked.
"Yeah. Honestly, if they never told me I was compatible enough to use this Aegis, maybe I'm still in the hospital." He patted my shoulder. "You don't have to go through all that trouble if I never left."
"Not really." I leaped on my feet and flashed a wide smile at him. "But you're with me right now."
"That's true." He looked up at the blue sky. "Ava, there's a place I want to take you."
"Where?" I touched the golden locket hung loosely at my neck, anticipating his answer. Though he didn't.
Hope took me to a barbershop nearby. We went inside, and there was no one but a barber there. He was a tall brown-skinned man with a long, black beard.
"You need to keep your hair short Ava." Hope looked at me.
"Yeah. It disturbs me sometimes when I'm fighting."
I got the barber cut my hair short after that, and somehow, it felt weird. For the longest time, my hair was long, reaching my waist before then.
Later on, we went to a shop where they sold phones and stuff. I bought one using the money Helena gave us.
"It's for Erhi," I said to Hope.
"Wait, why?"
"She's good at electronic stuff if I remember correctly. Maybe she can help us with her skills."
"Ah, I see."
"Also . . ." I grabbed Hope's hand. "Do you have someone else you love, other than me?"
My heart thumped hard against my chest. I felt like it was not a question i should've brought up.
"Hmm." He paused. "Only you Ava." He laughed after that. "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
I pouted. "What about that Freya girl? You love her?"
He raised an eyebrow and gave me a confused look. "She's a teammate back when I'm in The People's Light." He then waved his hand in dismissal. "There's nothing between us."
I looked at him suspiciously. "Reeeaally?"
He nodded. "Yup. What's wrong Ava? You're weird today." His hand ruffled against my dark hair and I giggled.
"Hehe, nothing," I said.
'I'm just insecure,' I thought.
In a way, I wanted Hope's attention to myself.
"You are one jealous girl, Ava," I mumbled.
"Hmm?" Hope glanced at me.
"U-Um, nothing. Come on, let's head back. Tuya and the others are waiting."