"Oh, Isuke… look at that".
Lya pointed to the sky and I could see a large group of bluebirds flying to the east.
"Wow, they are beautiful".
Lya nodded her head as she smiled.
In the end, the team decided to split up when the voting was over. Liria together with Petris went to look for a tent. David and Lya were going to accompany me, but his sister scolded him, telling him that he had to train more for tomorrow's mission. He reluctantly agreed and said goodbye with a firm handshake.
My mind was already calm, although to my surprise my stomach began to growl.
Hell, even with the stuff we ordered to eat at that bar… I'm still hungry. I'll fix myself something for dinner. Wait…didn't I leave all the vegetables out when Petris came to pick me up in the afternoon!!?
Reviewing my memories, apart from the food I had left half-finished to prepare, I had also left the campfire that I use as a means of cooking on.
"Are you hungry?"
Lya spoke to me in a much more casual tone that did not at all resemble her attitude shown at the meeting. Her posture and gait was very relaxed as was her tone, she no longer showed any shyness.
The time it would take me to walk home from this place would be approximately 40 minutes, but if I run…
"Lya".
"Yes?"
"Thank you for joining me. I wish we could talk more, but right now, I have something vital to check on".
"I understand…"
Waving goodbye, I started my run in the direction of home.
I have to be there in less than 15 minutes.
Shit! If I really didn't turn it off before I left… I screwed up!
Trying to recreate in my mind everything I did this morning since I woke up. I started to recall all the events in order:
I woke up, tidied my bed, read for several minutes, lit the campfire, made breakfast, put out the campfire, worked on Alexia's project for several hours, rested, got things ready to cook lunch, lit the campfire, went out to attend to Petris….
When you go back to put the knife away, put out the campfire, right? I don't think I forgot something as important as that, did I? That's impossible.
Although I was immersed in my thoughts, I felt that someone was following me from behind. I ignored this sensation for various minutes, but curiosity got the better of me.
"Lya!?"
"Hi".
"Why are you following me?"
"You never said anything about not following you".
Does what she says make any sense? When you say goodbye to someone, it's normal for them to go their separate ways, right?
I thought of some words to see if I could convey some sense to him, but a shiver ran up and down my spine as I began to see smoke.
My house!
Increasing the rhythm, with my heart pounding, the more smoke there was in the air as I went on.
I live in an area that is not close to town. I like the quiet, so I have no neighbors nearby and my house is all wood. If it burns… I'm screwed.
We arrived.
"No!"
Everything is on fire to the point that it cannot be saved, no matter how much water one tries to use. The fire does not spread beyond my house because in the past I made with Alexia a large area of stone on the ground that prevents the fire from spreading.
"Isuke".
Ignoring Lya's words, I walked even closer to see if I could salvage anything.
I am tired.
Unlike me, who could barely breathe due to the running I did earlier, Lya's face was indifferent, and she was breathing normally.
"You will get burned".
The walls were reduced to ashes. The interior of the house was indistinguishable. I tried to see if there was anything of value intact, but failed to find it, no matter how close I got. It was there that I felt a tug.
"It's dangerous. If you take another step, you'll be burning with everything in there. Isuke, is that your house?"
It took me several minutes to respond.
How could I make such a mistake?
"Yes".
"I guess you won't be able to sleep there anymore".
I let out a small laugh at Lya's sudden joke.
"Yes, I think so too".
Lya had not loosened her grip on my shirt. I turned to look into her eyes, but Lya's attention was still on the burning house.
"Was it them?"
"What?"
"Isuke, to tell you the truth… I doubted you until recently. We haven't met yet, but you're already part of the team. Petris is an idiot. Liria is another big idiot; however, she has a lot of money. My brother… I appreciate him. I still have some suspicions about you, but to be going through something like this…"
Lya began to bite down hard on her lips.
"It was my fault".
"It's not true, don't talk nonsense. Who would burn down their own house?"
"We all make mistakes. Don't you make mistakes?"
Suddenly letting go of me, Lya began to laugh.
The cold this winter was high. Most people spend it in their homes or inside a store because if you are outside you could get sick or freeze to death.
Fortunately or unfortunately, we are not freezing right now thanks to the fact that my house is serving as heating. I was still aching in my chest about this whole situation, but I decided to sit down on the floor next to Lya to start the talk I had promised her earlier.
To my surprise, she had the initiative and was excellent at joking around. I played along, so much so that I started to enjoy this moment so much that I completely forgot that I was hungry… and that I had burned down my own house.
It wasn't until nightfall that the fire began to die down. The cold gradually began to set in, and she threw out the next question:
"Could you tell me names?"
"Names? Are you going to name something?"
"Don't play dumb. I want to know who I have to beat up".
I made a loud intentional noise to pretend I was taking his question seriously and answered him:
"I got it! The main one is… Isuke".
Lya laughed.
"Don't you trust me?"
"We've barely known each other for less than a day. If I had all the confidence in the world and had to confess all my secrets to you… Don't you think I would be a basic man?"
For the first time, Lya stared into my eyes quite intensely.
"Isuke".
"What?"
"I have to teach you a lesson for burning down my friend's house! Here".
Lya pretended as if she was going to punch me in the face, but her punch stopped halfway.
"It's annoying…"
Steps.
"Isuke!"
Alexia had come running and looked tired. She was carrying several shopping bags and her face reflected a lot of concern.
"Oh, Alexia… about the job…"
Dropping everything to the floor; she gave me a hug.
"How did all this happen? Are you all right?"
"Yes. I was outside when all this happened. Lya accompanied me back, so that's why…"
"It doesn't matter. Burned jobs can be redone, but people cannot".
Breaking away from me, Alexia turned to look at Lya.
"They're cute. Your ears still look adorable, Alexia, can I touch them?"
"Of course! I even brought food, I got it…"
Alexia averted her gaze back.
All the bags were on the ground, freezing from the snow.
"Oops…"