A girl's eyelids opened when she felt the heat of the sun on her skin. She looked ahead with a cloudy gaze. A glimpse of a bus falling into a mysterious black hole and a man who escorted her to her room replayed in her head.
As she came out of her bedroom, she saw nobody was in the main living room. But then she heard a restless voice coming from the next family room.
"We need to go home now. No one could guarantee our safety here!"
Quietly, she walked towards the wall and hid close to the archway.
"No, Elia, we're not going anywhere! Especially with no adults. Do you think we have enough money to go back to town?"
She instantly recognized the voice of a man named Mariel, one of her friends.
"We lost contact with the cops who would pick us up today. How can we go outside?"
"But is there any guarantee we will stay safe inside?!"
"Silence!"
A loud shout from Ilias flinched and froze everyone.
"We'll think of the best way home while staying here and protecting each other," Ilias spoke, trying to sound calm.
"Are you serious? Ilias, we don't have a week's worth of food! Even half of our food supplies are on the other bus!" A man named Chakra argued.
"I don't think Aeryln would agree to move this quickly."
One of them mentioned the name of the girl who was hiding behind the wall near the archway.
"Where's your sympathy? She's still in grief at the loss of her only family member!" Ivana, who stated her presumption of Aeryln's decision before, glared at Ilias.
"Just because of one person, you behave like this? It won't be good too for her to stay here too long!" said Ilias, pausing. "Sympathy? Did she ever sympathize with you or any of us? Or even herself?"
Everyone was silent. Aeryln clenched her jaw as she stepped into the family room.
"Enough, Ilias."
All eyes were on her. Ilias turned around, slightly wide-eyed, seeing the girl casually standing there. Her presence seemed to call silence.
"… Good morning, Aeryln. How was your sleep?" asked Aletta, half worried and half cynical.
"Good," Aeryln nodded nonchalantly, turning the room in silence again. One by one, her friends walked into the dining room, awkwardly. Eventually were just Aeryln and Ilias in the room.
"… It's time for breakfast. Join us in the dining room," said Ilias, walking ahead of her. Aeryln turned and walked into the dining room after the distance between them was quite far.
The eleven teenagers sat in front of the long dining table and ate their instant noodles in silence. They frequently glimpsed Aeryln staring at the empty chair at the corner of the table, which should have been the seat for her brother to lead the meal.
When Aeryln got up from having finished her meal, everyone turned to look at her. The girl spoke nothing, washed her dishes thoroughly, then walked straight out of the dining room.
Everybody's gaze was linked to her leaving, which somehow recalled the absence of Aeryln's older brother. Mixed feelings enveloped their hearts.
In the backyard, Aeryln was dribbling her basketball. Sometimes she threw it into the ring, although it didn't seem to go in.
She couldn't stop thinking about everything. Things that happened escalated too quickly and left a wide, gaping wound in her heart.
However, when she failed to catch the basketball and someone caught it from behind, her attention was drawn to it quickly.
"Not feeling it?" Ilias asked as he shot the basketball straight to the ring.
Aeryln sighed softly as the ball entered the ring and bounced away from her. She muttered under her breath, "It's not like I can't sympathize with my sport, too."
Ilias's small grimace made Aeryln look at him a while. She saw him apologizing in his eyes.
"I once made a promise…"
Ilias turned to Aeryln, who spoke as she walked towards the path to the fountain.
"… That I will let no one behold my tears, but Him and His disciples," continued Aeryln as she plucked a purple tulip from the bushes on her left.
Ilias was still standing where he was, dribbling the basketball with no intention of letting his gaze off her figure.
"I also promised I would not cry because of the wound or pain," said Aeryln, whose voice was getting low.
She then took a deep breath before turning to face Ilias with a flat expression. "I promised to be strong."
"Don't be dramatic. Aren't living creatures created with emotions so they'd be able to feel the life and the living?"
Ilias tossed the basketball in the other direction, then approached Aeryln.
"Crying isn't a sin."
Aeryln shook her head with a wry smile. "Crying only makes me look weak," she said, staring blankly at the blue sky.
"No, Aeryln," Ilias answered and paused. "If you want to cry, then cry. Don't pretend to be strong."
Aeryln's brow furrowed at hearing that.
"I did something that wouldn't bother you. You won't worry about what happens to me if I don't cry. And I have to get used to being strong," Aeryln argued with a sinister look.
"So, what if...."
Ilias stepped closer to Aeryln.
"… What if we all die leaving you tonight? Will you still not cry?" he whispered.
Aeryln narrowed her eyes. "Unless it's unintended, that'd be such a foolish way to make me cry."
Ilias rubbed his face with a tired expression.
"Talking to you much harder than to strangers, you know?" Ilias groaned as he walked away with his back to Aeryln.
Aeryln lowered her gaze and let the morning breeze blow her hair.
"I… won't let you die," she muttered.
Ilias stopped and turned around. "What did you say?"
"Tenth of you is all I have now. I can't seem to let anything bad happen to any of you," Aeryln said with a sincere, albeit small, smile.
Ilias fell silent. A light breeze gently caressed the two of them.
Aeryln turned and walked into the mansion, leaving Ilias who was staying still where he was. His hands clenched into fists. He desperately wished to tell Aeryln that he and all his friends loved her more than she thought. To the point it scared them would one day break her heart.
***
Everyone gathered at the dining table with small talk and laughter that warmed the night. However, someone amid the merriment looked pensive. Aeryln's words were still ringing in his head.
"Hey, Ilias!"
He flinched when Chakra tapped his shoulder hard.
"You've been daydreaming ever since. Who is on your mind? Aeryln?"
Chakra's teasing made Ilias snort irritably.
"By the way, where is she?" he asked while observing the dining room.
"Her name makes you come to your senses, doesn't it?" Chakra chirped while covering his mouth so his friends wouldn't see him smiling mockingly.
"Where. Is. She?"
"Aha… relax, relax, buddy. She indeed is not here. But earlier, I saw her in the indoor pool," Chakra replied, returning to his casual expression.
Ilias nodded as he got up from his seat, turned around, and walked out of the dining room. Chakra turned to behind with a mischievous smile. "He'll be in surprise."
As he stepped into the corridor near the pool, a sound of splashing water halted him. He entered the indoor pool area as quietly as possible.
However, as he saw a girl in her loose hair and an elbow-cropped and knee-length nightgown, he couldn't continue to walk in. It was Aeryln, who splashed the pool water with her slim feet while sitting on the edge of the pool. Her vacant gaze reflected the water ripple.
It was very awkward for him to see her in such an unguarded appearance when he was used to seeing her in a ponytail and neat outfits. It was almost like he was being punished for an indescribable sin.
"Ilias? What are you doing here?"
Ilias was initially surprised at Aeryln's question. But later, he suspected her. Moreover, she immediately plunged herself into the vast three-meter deep swimming pool that glowed crystal blue.
"That's my question," said Ilias with a serious look. "Aren't you prone to cold?"
Aeryln stared at Ilias for a moment, chuckling softly. Then she dived into the water. However, it was Ilias who suddenly shouted out her name, startling her to the point she immediately popped her head on the surface.
"What the hell?! Go! I want to cool my head, can't I?!" Aeryln exclaimed.
Ilias frowned, seeing something strange in Aeryln's eyes before she dove again. He started to think the girl was ignoring him, which made him want to leave immediately.
But suddenly, a flash of vision showed up in his head. He saw a child running here and there, chasing the girl in front of him. Then, a graceful woman pulled the little girl's arm away from him, sending the other child away while yelling at him to stay away from her.
Ilias blinked with an astonished expression once the mysterious vision disappeared. He came back to the pool area again. He turned around, having a sudden urge to ask Aeryln the meaning of the vision, even though he was not sure Aeryln would understand.
His eyes bulged when he saw air bubbles in the swimming pool. What shocked him furthermore was nobody appeared to be there.
Aeryln's body slowly approached the bottom of the pool with her eyes shut tight. Just a second later, a hand grabbed Aeryln's right hand and pulled her body to the surface.
At the edge of the pool, Ilias laid the girl's head on his arm. He couldn't help but look pitifully at Aeryln. Why was she like that? Didn't she promise not to hurt herself?
"Cough...! Cough…!"
He turned to Aeryln, who had come to her consciousness.
"What are you… doing...?" Aeryln asked weakly while taking as many breaths as possible.
Ilias let Aeryln sit down and muttered no words. He took a towel from the bathroom, tossed it to Aeryln, then simply left without a word. It made Aeryln clench her jaw.
"Why do you always save me in such a strange way, Ilias? What do you actually want?" asked Aeryln as she stood up and toweled her wet hair.
Ilias stopped but didn't turn around. He could hear Aeryln's footsteps approaching him from behind.
"Don't follow me, nor confuse anymore," Aeryln spoke in a low voice before leaving Ilias there.
***
In her room, Aeryln looked at her pale hands. Ilias did not follow her as she asked. However, why did a glimpse of regret arise in her heart?
"Ilias...."
Only a word came out of her mouth. All the actions Ilias had done to her couldn't be expressed in words. Aeryln started thinking about the conversation in the living room before she came to interrupt them.
"Right… What will our fate be next?"