Aldreuno: -whispering- Don't separate for a moment, and if that happens, you know where to find us. Don't cross the door alone. *We moved, almost crawling in every corner of every house on every street, so as not to encounter the torches that usually lit up the center of the main streets.*
Éstefer: All right.
Kouji: -Looks- "Is this a rope?" -whispers- Wait... *I thought this object would be valuable; having the rope meant we didn't need to go to a specific door. We could descend from any part of the wall.*
Kouji: -crawling in a corner- *The rope was on a barrel, just there. Initially, it seemed suspicious to me, so I took a slight precaution by checking my surroundings. I noticed that next to it was a cart, and on one of its legs, there was a knot. It was one end of the rope; now I could understand the situation. It wasn't a trap, as I initially thought because I hadn't seen the cart. Now, all I had to do was untie it.*
Aldreuno: -Whispers- And Kouji?
Éstefer: -Turns her head from side to side-
Aldreuno: -Whispers- We need to go back.
Éstefer: -Whispers- It's not safe.
Aldreuno: -Whispers- Just as I would go back for you, mother, I must go back for him. It shouldn't worry you that I would go back for him. On the contrary, you should worry if I don't. What assures you that I would go back for you?
Éstefer: You are my son, you are my family.
Aldreuno: I appreciate you, mother, but there are doubts in my mind. Who is Shela?
Éstefer: -silence- Who gave you that name?
Aldreuno: It shouldn't matter who did it, but rather what they told me.
I hadn't realized I was alone.
Kouji: -whispering- All right, it's ready... -Looks at the cart- There was food in the cart, and better than that, there was dried meat. I hadn't eaten anything since the morning, so I was hungry. Besides, it might be useful for us when we leave, so I approached to take some from that bag inside the cart.
Kouji: -approaches to take the meat- -sees a hand next to his- -whispers- What the...
Komi: -looks at the person in front of her- *It was Komi. Damn, it was Komi! Her face was petrified, probably she didn't recognize me because I was covered in coal. It seemed like she wanted to scream, but her instincts denied it. Even without the moonlight, her face was expressionless, trying to hold back the scream.*
Kouji: -whispers- No, don't scream, please. It's Kouji, it's me...
Komi: -whispers- Kouji...? -tears fall on her cheeks- Fool, fool. I thought, I thought you were dead.
Kouji: -whispers- No, but damn, Komi, you almost scared me to death.
Komi: -whispers with a sad expression- I should say that. What are you doing painted like that?
Kouji: -whispers- We're trying to sneak out and leave. How did you get here?
Komi: I... It's true!
Kouji: -whispers- Don't scream.
Komi: -whispers- I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just that your mom is looking for you. *My mother... she was still alive! I felt excited, but...*
Kouji: -Smiles- -Changes his expression to sadness- -Whispers- That's great.
Komi: -whispers- What's happening? *I wanted to go see my mother. I wanted to see her with all my heart, but I had already set two goals for myself. The first was to get Aldreuno to safety, and the second was to figure out how to defeat that Thing.*
Kouji: -whispers- I'm pleased. However, I have to get out of here and find a way to defeat that thing. Komi changed her expression to fear mixed with anger.
Kouji: -whispers- What happened when I passed out?
Komi: -whispers- Yamil is dead. Aldred strangled her, as far as I know.
Kouji: -whispers- What do you mean?
Komi: After Aldreuno dragged you away, Jonas and Ánticu came to separate Braud and Aldred. I know this because a woman I didn't know appeared. She had dark, long hair like a princess, her skin was well cared for, and her expression, sad but serene, didn't change at all even when she spoke. She didn't care to maintain eye contact with others, even if the gaze was returned. Likewise, she reminded me a bit of the chief. She took me and woke me up, then went for your mom and dragged us deep into the village.
Kouji: -whispers- So that's what happened. That's why I only saw my two sisters when I woke up.
Aldreuno: -whispers- Komi?
Komi: -opens her eyes- Aldreuno!
Kouji: Don't scream, please don't scream. Doesn't anyone understand the situation we're in?
Aldreuno: Are you okay? How did you get here?
Komi: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just that... -Cries- I thought everyone was dead. I thought I would never see them again, and I'm delighted. I didn't expect the worst.
Éstefer: Do you plan to go?
Komi: Aldre's mother, you're okay too. I'm so happy, I really didn't expect to see you again. I thought the worst.
Éstefer: It's good to see you, girl. I'm glad you're okay.
Kouji: It's your decision, Aldre, you know what I think.
Aldreuno: I know.
Kouji: No matter what you decide, I'll go with you, friend.
Komi: Aldre, come with us.
Éstefer: No, I'm sorry, Komi, but we should go on our own.
Aldreuno: Mother, calm down, a decision like this can't be made so quickly.
Kouji: Aldre is right. I was failing again; I was forgetting what my father had told me. Think, Kouji, think!
Kouji: Komi, do you know how they plan to leave?
Komi: I... have no idea. They were talking among themselves.
Aldreuno: -Looks at Kouji- *He looked at me disapprovingly; in a way, he already knew what decision I was going to make.*
Aldreuno: We won't go, Komi, although I'd like to. However, you can come with us.
Éstefer: -Displeased expression- *I saw her, Aldreuno's mother, with such an unpleasant expression that I began to despise her. Beyond what her face showed, *I was starting to dislike her for her intentions. A person who didn't help others but informed you of something probably chose their own skin before doing anything to help another. I was grateful to her for treating my wound, but I doubted more and more that she did it out of kindness.*
Komi: No, I promised I wouldn't be a burden to anyone anymore, and I know I would be if I went with you. I'll go with the lady; I feel I can be more useful to her. *I was impressed to see how mature she had become. Anyone would have been in shock after what had happened to her, and I wouldn't blame them. I would have been in the same state if it weren't for Aldred by my side.*
Aldreuno: Then we'll see each other again, Komi.
Kouji: Take care, Komi.
Éstefer: You're a wise girl, stay safe. *We were retreating; we were already going away, but I had to tell her.*
Kouji: Hey, Komi... you were never a burden to anyone. *I turned and looked ahead. I didn't want to see her face; I wanted her to know that I trusted in what she would do in the future. I thought turning to see what she would do with what I said would be a distrust of her decision. Likewise, I don't expect anyone to understand my reasoning, but I believed she didn't want me to see her after saying that; the information I had was telling me, "Don't look at her."*