"Why are you telling me all this?" I ask him curiously.
"Firstly, so you know how important it is to keep the bracelet hidden," he explains to me. But Kaia already made that clear to me. "Secondly, so you know what the options are for calling for help. And finally, because I know Torsos very well." Gasard sighs. "You've befriended this time traveler. My dearest friend has surely already had the idea to keep you here a bit longer, hoping the guy slips up with something."
I nod.
Even to me, it's clear that for him, the chance of getting important information would be worth more than my life.
"Do you have any more questions?"
I'm about to shake my head to show him that I have no more questions, but then something else comes to mind. Something that just won't leave me alone. Since I've been here, I've been asking myself a certain question.
I lower my head and dare to say something.
"My mother was sent from Torsos to Tormahs."
Gasard shakes his head.
"I can't tell you whether she's doing well or not, only Torsos can," he explains to me. "But as angry as he was when he brought you here, don't hope that she's doing well there."
I already know, yet the thought of what might be happening to her there hurts me so much that tears well up in my eyes.
Gasard's hand moves through my hair.
"I'll talk to him," he promises. "He's actually quite nice."
I nod, then I push back the tears welling up inside me. When I look back at Gasard, there's a grin on his face that initially confuses me.
"I know what to do," he says.
Gasard gets up. I follow him.
As we leave the cafeteria and are greeted excitedly by one of the guards, he pretends not to know.
"Hey, my dearest friend." The guard's smile is radiant as he rushes over to Gasard. His hug is enthusiastic as he greets the other. "Somehow I'm stuck down here. And I thought you could help me out."
Curious about the reaction, the guard looks at the redhead.
But he looks first at Marto. The older man leans his arms on the railing and then his head. With a pleading expression, he looks down at the two men.
"Furthermore..." Now the guard has Gasard's attention again. "Akara mentioned that we're slowly running out of those delicious fruits, and you know how crazy everyone is about them. So, instead of hanging around here, I could go on the honorable task of getting more. After all, it's one of my jobs!"
"You really look like you're being forced by us." Gasard laughs out loud. His gaze shifts up to Marto. "But he's right."
"I specifically traded with my colleague just so I could keep this guy here for a while, and now you have to spoil my fun," the old man says with a sigh.
I watch amused as the scene unfolds.
Marto runs his hand through his hair with a sigh. Gasard looks back at the guard, who has released him from his hug but still looks at him with a radiant expression.
"But not without compensation!" Gasard grins at the guard.
"What now? Compensation?" The guard looks at Gasard as puzzled as I am. Except I have a suspicion of what he means. This suspicion also fills me with a fear that I should actually feel happy about.
"You take Janine with you," he demands.
"Forget it!" the guard protests vigorously. "I'm definitely not taking the kid with me!"
"And what's your alternative?" He seems angry at the refusal. "If I don't order it, only Marto will be happy, and you'll just continue to play the guard here obediently."
"You don't think there's someone else who might have a say in this?" comes from the black-haired one, crossing his arms.
Gasard grabs the other's arm and pulls him closer.
"She just wants to know how her mother is," he says calmly and softly. "Even he isn't so heartless as to forbid that."
"And what if you're wrong about that?" snorts the guard. The two men exchange a brief glance that I can't decipher, until the black-haired one ultimately looks at me. "Unfortunately, I'm forced to take you with me, so come on!"
After finishing this sentence, he heads towards the exit. I follow him, happy but still anxious about what awaits me there.
But also considering, maybe I'll find out more about this guy.
At least I hope so.