After a while, happy with my adventure in the water, I turned around. The feeling of cold was still present and my teeth clashed constantly.
- Why do not you come? I articulated.
"That doesn't look very pleasant," he grimaced. I'm fine here.
Once both feet were out of the water, my tremors calmed down a bit and I discovered Vernor's defeated look. He was hungry, he told me. Which usually made me smile. However, the implication of his sentence did not escape me. We were by the sea, In an area that had always been considered dangerous, without weapons and food. The sky was clear and the sun was setting. In two hourglasses at most, It would be dark and cold. And we couldn't eat or hope to go home.
- So what do we do?
I didn't panic when the situation demanded It. Vernor was not In his normal state, however. He kept glancing around as If a beast was about to come out of the forest and pounce on us. We didn't know anything about the creatures that lived there. Were they big or small for example? If one of them appeared at the edge, how long would It take them to catch up with us? And how could we hope to protect ourselves from it? Without a weapon.
I finally realized the stupidity of my enterprise. Not for leaving, but for having done so in such haste. Grabbing some Quelbrass and a spear wouldn't have taken me much longer. And then a creeper! It would probably have saved us from stupIdly fainting.
"I suggest we take shelter In the benibacs," Vernor said In a confident voice that didn't go with his crestfallen face. We find ourselves a tree a little bigger than the average and we spend the night there.
- It's a good idea. How about we start climbing that hill too? It will be less to walk tomorrow.
- Tomorrow ? he repeated. Do you think the boat will still be here tomorrow?
"I don't know, Vernor. However, I won't go back until I've checked. No way!
He rolled his eyes but said nothing. He knew I wouldn't change my mind. So we started to progress towards the top of this strange hill on the left. I had chosen this one without the slightest conviction. Some parts were much steeper than others and the soft golden earth from the beginning gave way to a new black earth, less loose, with very hard lumps of a grayish color. I quickly realized that the three types of the earth should not be the same material, in reality. But not knowing how to qualify them, I kept this name.
At times, you had to climb, almost vertically. The vegetation reappeared In the form of small plants. Nothing comparable with the plants that grew in our trees, either for shape or color. These were built much like miniature trees. While our Quelbrass were very bushy with large, broad leaves starting from the heart, these plants grew a little taller with different branching. Their tiny leaves bloomed at a distance from each other.
When the sun dipped below the horizon, we turned towards the forest and found a tree capable of supporting us, each on a branch. From where we were, we could watch the sunset like no other sight before us.
- That's wonderful.
"Yeah," Vernor admitted. I hope we survive all this to tell our children.
I smile without answering. I couldn't see how Vernor could take care of children. As for me, I had no intention of starting a family. The adventurers probably didn't have time to take care of brats…6
A growl was heard and I jumped before realizing It was my companion's belly. After a second of silence, I burst out laughing, quickly caught up by Vernor.
"I told you I was hungry," he apologized.
— Eat a piece of the tree.
- Nope I care about my health. I am not like you
In reality, I cared about my health just as much as he did and hadn't dared eat any plants or trees since we left the territory. There I had tried, but the conditions were different and more reassuring. We had healers, for example. And I had heard that others, In the past, had already done it. Nothing heroic, In short.
Another growl sounded.
- Hey! Am I supposed to be able to sleep with such a racket?
- It's not me…
This time my heart raced and panic settled in my mind. It didn't occur to me for a second that Vernor could have played a joke on me, given the tone he had used. So it was certain: a creature of the forest was prowling In the corner. Was she on our trail? Were we on his way? It didn't matter then: the dull and repeated growl was a sufficient indication of his intentions.
- Do you see her? I asked in a low voice.
— Non…
Footsteps, slow and IIrregularlyapproached and I was able to determine a direction to direct my research. I knew, at the same time, that the beast was on the ground. With any luck, she wouldn't be able to come up to join us.
- To e!
It was out of the question for me to stop surveying the area to see which direwhichmy friend was pointing. So I continued to peer into the darkness. The sun that had just set still shed some light, but the beast came from the heart of the forest, which was much darker. Suddenly I saw two bluish reflections! They changed immediately to become green than gray, before returning to blue and constantly changing between these three colors. The two eyes that seemed to be staring at me were level with me. If the beast was on the ground, it was huge. Otherwise, climbing trees didn't seem to be a problem for him.
"I see her," I whispered. Do you think she's tall or she's in a tree?
Vernor did not answer me despite a raise a little stronger. The noise was coming from Its location and, reluctantly, I let go of the beast to find out what it was doing.
As a good apprentice guardian, he was in the process of breaking a branch to make a weapon of it. He wasn't the bravest boy I knew, but I knew I could count on him when It mattered most. I smile before turning to our mysterious creature. She had moved forward and was standing much closer now. It was covered In dark gray hair. His face was barely wider than the distance between his eyes and his mouth stretched forward letting flow a thick drool. Six huge teeth protruded from his hairy lips. It wasn't a very big beast. She was perched on her four legs, with huge, shiny nails, on a branch of the nearby tree. She stared at me and I realized that It was me5
My heart was beating so hard that I no longer heard the wind In the branches or the roar of the beast. A pain In my arms made me realize that I was clinging to the trunk of our tree without realizing it. So I loosened my grip slowly. If I had to flee, It might be useful.
"With all those branches and In the dark, I'm not at all sure I'll kill her the first time," Vernor whispered behind me.
I noticed with happiness that he did not consider for a secmissingmiss It. I had never followed him to his training with his group of young apprentices. I just made fun of him kindly every time he told me about It. He who did not Imagine leaving the territory did not seem to be the most appropriate to defend us against creatures coming from below. His character did not allow me to see him as a fierce defender of our people. However, at this precise moment, I promised myself not to make fun of him anymore. If I survived this encounter.
"Be ready to jump to the ground when I tell you, okay?
- Yes.
In the meantime, I remained paralyzed by this monster. If the beast wasn't huge, It must have been at least my height and maybe twice my weight. Proof that the flexible branches were much stronger than I had thought. After a few blinks, Vernor shifted position and the creature turned its attention back to him.
- Jumped up ! he yelled then.
The beast curled up on Itself before relaxing In a prodigious leap. I dropped to the ground without trying to aim. My landing was rough and my ankle called me to order as Vernor screamed. I heard a sort of cry, very different, which I attributed to the beast. There was the sound of leaves and branches snapping just before the beast landed within two arms of me, on its back. She got up very quickly and Vernor landed in turn, very close, hitting her with his thick, pointed branch. It wasn't a spear, just a club, but It seemed to do the trick. The beast screamed a second time and sent Its big paw In the direction of my friend. He dodged the attack as the creature opened Its mouth wide and I had a vision of an Impressive number of teeth. I had never seen so many or so sharp on a single creature until now. Vernor wasn't distracted and slammed Into the monster's lower jaw with both hands. He was about to repeat his gesture when the animal turned around and fled on all paws. It only took a moment for her to disappear Into the darkness.
Vernor kept his club In his hand, ready to face him again, gasping. For my part, I tried not to give in to madness. My friend had just faced, alone, a creature from below and had put It to flight.
- How are you? he asked without looking at me.
At first unable to answer him, I took the time to reflect. I had nothing. My ankle was a little sore, but I could stand up and decided to get up. With a word, I reassured him.
"I think she left, but I'm not sure she won't come back," he said, relaxing.
He gave me a look I had never seen before. Somewhere between absolute assurance and the relief of having defeated the enemy.4
"Thank you," I stammered then. I don't think I've ever been so scared In my entire life.
- Why ? Have you ever been scared before?
I smile. He was right, I always boasted that I feared nothing. That was before I encountered a beast from below. I had been truly terrified by this encounter.
"Do you think we're safe In that tree?" I asked after sticking my tongue out at him.
"I don't think there are a lot of safe places here. Even climbing higher, I believe that with the size and the power of Its legs, it would catch up with us In a few leaps.
"So we're not sleeping?"
- After the day we spent, I could easily sleep two nights In a row. No need to hope to stay awake, no. We'll have to take turns standing guard.
- Oh. But I've never done that!
After giggling, Vernor reassured me that he had never done that either. That was going to help me feel safe, Indeed!
My friend, an apprentice guardian, offered me to take the first shift. He specified that the animal had just left, and would certainly take a long time before returning. So I accepted. With the level of stress I was under, I wasn't ready to fall asleep anyway. Vernor, therefore, settled a little higher than he had been earlier and handed me his stick. If a creature appeared in the night, and I could see It before it jumped on me, I would hardly have hurt It much with a branch of that weight. However, I kept that comment to myself. Vernor had well deserved a few hourglasses of quiet sleep after saving my life.
When the sun had finally set and the night was dark, Vernor was sleeping, serene on his branch despite the ridiculous size of the latter. I stayed on the ground taking a few steps from time to time, as he had advised me. After what I estimated to be three hourglasses, I woke him up so we could switch roles. I found It much harder to sleep than he did but ended up getting some sleep. The time of a blink of an eyelid, it seemed to me when he woke me up.
"But it's daytime!" I then noticed the spirit was still a little sleepy.
We had decided to do two rotations each. Given the brightness that reigned In the forest, the sun had been up for a few hourglasses already.
- You seemed to sleep well and I know you had trouble falling asleep, he explained.
"You didn't have to stay up all night. One more hourglass would have sufficed. You would have been a little rested, like that…
"Hunger took my sleep away.
— Oh…
It was a subtle way of reminding myself of how careless I had been by running away like a runaway without any food supplies. Nor water. Fortunately, the sea could at least provide us with something to quench our thirst. But we were so far away now that even that was out of the question. Not until we were done climbing that hill to see If the boat was visible on the other side. I was a lousy adventurer.
I climbed down from my perch to resume our journey. Despite my long night's rest, I felt tired. Still, I refrained from saying anything. Vernor had only slept three hourglasses and watched over me the rest of the night. I was hungry and thirsty, just like him, but I had to keep it all to myself. So I remained silent. He did the same, too exhausted to speak, and It was surely this lack of conversation that saved our lives.
Behind us, I heard unfamiliar sounds that had nothing to do with the breeze blowing my hair. Like a very light regular kind of percussion. Turning around, I saw a new creature, twice the size of the previous day, rushing towards us. The shriek I gave was the loudest that came out of my mouth and Vernor spun in time to dodge the first kick.
Dodging it, he slipped and fell hard on his side, without letting go of his improvised weapon. By the time he stood up, the huge creature, which seemed so close to one another, was swinging its large front paw; Sharp black nails ready to be cut. He struck with his stick and the beast barely backed away, giving him time to straighten up. Still stunned, he didn't lose his focus and stood guard. I saw him from behind, but I was willing to bet he was staring at her. The monster took a step from side to side as if testing its opponent's reflexes. In all the horror of the situation, I found it fascinating. Its dark gray coat reflects sunlight with every movement. His muscles are defined with exquisite perfection under his skin. She had grace. Each step seemed to require minimal effort yet was executed with great flexibility.
When she cried out and opened wide, her huge mouth full of sharp white points such as none of our instruments can claim to be, I forgot all the beauty of the beast and feared greatly for my friend's life. Then me.
She threw herself at Vernor with the speed of a Bluebeard, and when my friend waved his weapon she seized it with alarming ease before breaking it as if it were nothing. Finally, she cried again. The palm that followed hit Vernor in the groin and he screamed as he fell to the ground. The slope made him roll the equivalent of a few paces and the creature followed with one edge. I sat on top of it, ready to gorge on it, and closed my eyes, unable to bear the sight, paralyzed with fear[4]
Suddenly, as I was sinking into a state of semi-consciousness that I cannot explain, I heard a dreadful sound. It's unlike anything you've experienced before. It was so strong that I felt a vibration in my chest and jumped. I open my eyes despite myself and see the Beast collapse right next to Vernor as if pushed by an unseen force. That terrible sound seemed to kill the creature. It took me a minute to assess the events. After several gasping breaths, she rushed over to him.
As I approached him, he slowly straightened up. He remained on the ground, unable to support himself on his bleeding leg.
- Vernor!
Why did you feel the need to contact her? I don't know. I had to say something, I guess. He looked at me blankly. He was sweating, his dark circles red with menacing tears and perhaps the stress of a near-death experience. His trembling hands tried to approach his huge wound, but he didn't dare touch it.
Kneeling beside him, she hugged him carefully.
- I think I was more afraid of you last night, he whispered in my ear.
I stood back to watch it. He was smiling. Forced strange smile. Was he trying to reassure me? Or was this a bad joke for him?
Then a long hoarse sigh was heard and we both jumped up: the beast was still alive. I looked at him and saw his stomach. It was moving so fast that it seemed to be shaking. His tongue was hanging out from his huge mouth, and blood was pouring down his neck.
- What happened? Vernor asked. Did you do this to him?
I shook my head: I have nothing to do with it.
"I closed my eyes… I heard that big noise and when I opened my eyes again, this thing was falling on you. How's your man?"
I reached for the wound but he forbade me to touch it without saying a word.
"We have to do something. I was bleeding a lot. "
There was almost as much blood under his leg as there was under the neck of the creature next to it.
"Help me get away from this, please. Then we'll see the rest. "
Without a word, I got ready and used all my energy to pull him up a bit, with his help. No sooner had I placed it on a more solid hill than I heard again the sounds of the procession. I flinched and looked at my friend. This time we were going to stay there. There was more than one creature and Vernor couldn't stand it. So stand up for yourself…
He seemed resigned and ready to die.
It was short, he said with difficulty, but I'm glad I tried it with you.
A tear that I did not feel ran down my cheek and I heard voices.
Voices!
Pulling myself to full height, I looked in the direction of the procession and saw there … men? My smile instantly faded. I couldn't see very well, of course, but these people were unlike anything I knew. In general, they looked like old people. There were only males. Maybe five or six. But their skin was strange.
When they got closer, I realized that they were wearing some kind of armor. Different from the Territory Guards, they seemed soft and useless to protect against anything. Even their feet were covered in strange things.
The first one who saw me stopped and pointed a stick at me. Had he been at a much closer distance, I might have been scared, but from this far he wasn't a threat. His comrades say something to him, and he walks with them, lowering his cane. Once at our level, he spoke to me and I didn't understand a word.
- What are you saying? I asked him politely. My friend is injured, he must be helped. This monster attacked us from below.
I pointed at the creature at the same time and discovered another man was riding it and brandishing a tool at its throat. Blood gushed out at the monster's mysterious attempt to resist. I looked away after that, panicked.
The stranger spoke to me again and I understood nothing more.
- Hey! Watch what you're doing! I shrieked when I saw another man roughly kneading Vernor's leg.
Big fingers felt my thighs and my friend screamed at the top of his lungs. The stranger squeezed the wound as if trying to rip the muscle out of its sheath and my heart skipped a beat. If my friend cried at first, he soon fell silent with his eyes closed: he lost consciousness. I threw myself beside him again, trying somehow to restrain this man's formidable arms, but they caught me and forced me to let go. Treat his leg carelessly and pass a sort of flat vine around the thigh, just above the wound. Pick up a piece of hard earth and place it on Vernor's inner thigh before tying a very tight knot with the thin, flat rope. Then he touched around the wound with a red leaf that he had taken from his shield. The blood stopped flowing.
Noticing that my calm had returned, the person holding me released me and I knelt beside my friend. He was still breathing. The other spoke a few more words to me, but I paid no heed to them. It didn't make any sense to me. Instead, I devoted myself to trying to wake Vernor up, to no avail.
Around me, the six men were still busy. Two shared the creature's body. One of them took it to head on to dig a hole while the other two took it towards the woods. The latter, speaking to me, addressed everyone in a solemn tone. He was giving orders. His cane hung beside him, held over his shoulder by a dark vine. Come to think of it, it wasn't a stick. There was a wooden part, but the rest was of a material I didn't know. Their armor was also in materials that were foreign to me. I realized at the same time that I had just dealt with men who were not from the area. Were they on the boat, or were they from somewhere else? I quickly detailed what was in front of me. He had all the feelings. Two eyes, two ears, one mouth, and ten fingers evenly distributed on the hands. I easily imagined that under his type of armor, he was made like us. His complexion was much darker but his companions did not have the same skin tone. Beside them, Vernor and I looked very pale. Truth be told, Vernor was more than usual. I assumed it was due to a leg injury. Not all of them had the same skin color. Vernor and I looked very pale. Truth be told, Vernor was more than usual. I assumed it was due to a leg injury.
The man yelled at me in his language and I looked away again. Behind me, the other two removed the animal's skin to spread it on the ground and its hair on the ground. Now attack to cut the meat into slices and then put it on the skin. I suppressed my retching and decided to look out to sea.
New voices sounded up the hill and I was looking in that direction when Vernor regained consciousness. I rushed to his side, forgetting about the men I didn't understand anyway.
- How do you feel?
- Times…
It was a silly question. I tried to smile apologetically and glanced at his wound. She hardly bleeds anymore but remains particularly touching. The wound was bleeding slowly, spurting out minute amounts of blood. With what he had already lost, I wondered if he was really out of danger. The stranger who took care of him seemed to know what he was doing and nobody took any notice of Vernor any longer. So that must mean he was out of danger. However, I have never seen anyone in such a situation before. I was afraid for his future.
- I'm sorry.
"It's not your fault, you know.
I didn't know if he meant what he said, but he was sure that I was responsible for what was happening to him. Granted, I didn't rip his leg off myself, but if we had stayed area-wise, we wouldn't be here.
"Have you been able to find out more about these people?" he asked, ignoring my inner thoughts about my guilt. Were they on the boat?
I don't understand anything they say.
I paused so that he, too, could listen and realize that not a single word made sense to us. It hadn't changed since he lost consciousness. Vernor grinned and sat down for a while before addressing the stranger who seemed to be giving orders. He was in the middle of a discussion with one of the four newcomers, but my friend didn't hesitate to interrupt them.
- Hey! Excuse me. Do you speak our language? What are you doing here?
I interrupted, "You should let them finish their discussion." They don't look comfortable. I don't want to end up like this monster.
Baha swept, "If they want to turn us into shards, they won't save us from that monster.
- I don't know…
"Do you hear me when I'm talking to you?" Vernor resumed.
- I hear you perfectly. But you should listen to your friend's advice, it can get you out of trouble.
The answer was formulated without the slightest hesitation but in a strong tone. The newcomer had a hoarse voice and sounds came out of his mouth with a force quite different from our usual way of expressing ourselves. He didn't look angry or even a little upset, at least his face didn't reflect that feeling. It was his way of speaking. The mere fact of being addressed in our language silenced Vernor. So the new man resumed his conversation with the chief.
For my part, I kept my eyes fixed on this stranger. He was taller and heavier than the one who gave the orders. His armor was also very different. I saw tools of various shapes hanging from all sides. On his head, he wore a strange triangle, decorated funnily. He, too, looked like a star, with a much darker complexion and eyes… blue like mine! Maybe it doesn't quite look like me, but it's blue.
"Did you see his eyes?" I suddenly asked my companion in a low voice.
"Of course, I saw his eyes!" We just see it.
He was right, this man's eyes popped out patchy due to her radiance and dark complexion. His thin brown beard helped, too.
Suddenly, the person I had imagined to be the leader turned away and the newcomer turned to us in a cacophony of things hanging from everywhere him. One of them caught my attention because of a ray of sunlight that stuck to it. Around his neck was a small rope holding a transparent box with green water in it. When she stared intently, he grabbed her and tucked her inside his soft armor.
"Now to us!" He said in a deep voice. You are old, right? What are you doing here? I guess you never left your trees.
Not only did he know our language, but he seemed to know a lot about us and our customs.
Fearlessly, I replied, "We wanted to see the boat."
He laughs.
"My boat?" It's pretty, I admit, but getting bitten off by a flipper for that is a waste, if you ask me.
Vernor whispered, "Thank you." To save us.
- Not a problem. That will give us some food and some fur.
Meal? At this sign, Vernor was disgusted, and I was surprised. How can they eat living things? Only the creatures below did that!
It was then that an axiom was imposed on my mind: This man lived somewhere other than the trees. He, too, was a creature from below! So he was feeding like her…and maybe feeding on us?
"Don't make that face over there," he continued with a slightly wider grin. There are so many other foods besides Quelbrass! Much better and more nourishing too. But I guess I won't develop you by just telling you that. Generation!
Talk to one of the guys who are busy chopping up the beast and give him an order. Immediately, a handful of bloody streaks flew in his direction and he handed one to Vernor who nearly vomited.
At least taste! He said before shoving the whole slice into his mouth. It's delicious, even raw. Do you want?
I catch another slider dripping toward me. I hesitated for a moment. I was hungry and always pretended I wanted to eat something other than Quelbrass. It was an opportunity. This guy had just eaten this creature and claimed to do it a lot. Besides, good or not, eating it gives me a feeling of revenge for the harm I did to my boyfriend. I stretched out my arms.
"Won't you eat that?" Vernor scolded me.
At least I can taste it.
I grabbed the sticky bit and almost knocked it down, so disgusted at the contact. It only took a moment for my hands to be covered in pure blood and the smell made me sick almost instantly. Given the size of the slice, I couldn't devour it as the stranger did. Gnawed back at the flesh. Blood was gushing in my mouth, hot and sticky, and I had to restrain myself from spitting it all out. I chewed slowly, new flavors summoning themselves on my tongue.
It is impossible to describe with the words at my disposal. Of course, it has nothing to compare with quelbrass. Harder to chew, at first, less stringy, sweeter, and less dry. I found it to be much better than I could have imagined. Once the blood was swallowed, the rest was nice in the mouth. This simple idea of swallowing the blood of a living being made my nausea come back. However, I took a bigger bite.
- There you go, see! When you feel hungry everything passes.
- How horrible! Vernor answered as his stomach growled that he wanted some.
For my part, I was eating and I felt blood running down my chin. I couldn't see myself but easily imagined the picture I had to send back. However, I was hungry and this creature was getting better and better with each new bite. I made seeing myself with a bloody mouth in the back of my mind forget it. The guy handed me a new, larger chip, and I had no way of taking it.
He said, "Good…". Each will benefit you. Something tells me you had a rough night, right?
I nodded under Vernor's curious look.
"I could take you home. In your tribe. It was my destination anyway."
"What do you want to do there?" Vernor wondered.
"I'm looking for a girl of about seventeen!" Seventeen rituals corrected himself. She has blue eyes. I guess there are a few in your tribe, right?
As he said this, he looked at me and was still smiling. I tried to keep calm and chewed my plate without saying anything. A lump formed in my throat and I knew I couldn't swallow.
His mother may not have survived, and her name was Amelia. If her memory did not fail her, she probably named her daughter Celia. It's your name
My heart stopped, blood flowed from my mouth to the ground and I didn't know what to answer. He knew my mother!
I stared at him, my blue eyes meeting his. He couldn't stop smiling, it was so annoying. Who was that? How did my mother know? The most important:
- What do you want? I exploded, and my mouth is still full.
- An answer to my question, at first.
Nobody comes to our house, you know. So if you want me to answer you, tell me what you want from Celia that you seem to know.
The man called out to the person I assumed was the leader and exchanged a few words with him. He was making fun of me, but the other didn't seem to find it funny. I thanked him internally. The person who came to see me swallowed another slice and turned his attention back to me.
- I assure you, you are not as old as the others. No one of his kind would dare speak to me in such a tone when you are outnumbered.
"I am not afraid of you!" I honked.
- That's what I said, laughing this time.
"Then you are truly your father's esteemed daughter!" Not just an elder of Stratton.
- Huh?
Again, I was stuck. There was a lot of information in that last sentence. First, consider that I'm not just too old. With my blue eyes, I was often accused of being an outsider. The story of my mom's arrival added to the accusations. He also talked about Stratton. Was this name given to our lands beyond the great waters? However, these questions were obscured, for the time being, by the fact that he seemed to know my father. Or at least he knew.
"Do you know my father?" She whispered after finally swallowing hard.
- Yes. By the way, I know him very well, because it's me: Thomas Belt. Glad to see you're doing well, Celia.
From the beginning of this conversation my heart had been playing irregular rhythms, alternating between fast and slow, strong and weak, but this revelation added more cacophony in my chest. I felt tingling all over my body. As if the blood circulating in my veins had been heated to extremes. I flinched, then blinked. Without wanting to, I grabbed my friend's hand next to me and then shook his hand. Was my father standing in front of me?
So he didn't die? This discovery makes me happy. But he, therefore, abandoned me, for all these years he knows very well where to find me! It made me swell with anger. So when tears streamed down my cheeks, I couldn't tell which of these feelings they were showing. Suddenly my throat ached and no words came out of my mouth filled with animal blood. My dad was in front of me…
Suddenly the air became difficult to exhale.
"What proves to us that you are his father?" Then Vernor asked, in a stern tone that contrasted with his sickly look.
"I put you and your mother down at your district gates some seventeen years ago. Ritual, he corrected himself without taking his eyes off me. No one has seen me, so no one can confirm it. But it seems to me that you don't have many visitors. It must be the fact of my presence ." Here and I know your existence is enough for you. I know that in this lifetime, a senior decides his future. I came to ask you to come with me…