Dora sat on one of the benches, sobbing. Her body shook, as she tried to calm herself down, but to no avail. She didn't know if she should hate Archi or not for what he did.
"How could he do this? I literally took care of him as a child, could he not even consider me?"
She felt a hand on her shoulder and froze. The touch was familiar, yet it felt like a lifetime had passed. Slowly, she turned.
It was Kaelos.
Dora's breath hitched. Thirteen years. It had been thirteen years since she had last seen him, but he was right there—older, different, yet still him.
Her voice trembled. "What… what are you doing here?"
"I heard what happened," he said softly. "I had to see you."
Her emotions overwhelmed her—anger, relief, pain, and something else she could not name. Before she could stop herself, she threw herself at him, gripping him tightly. "Oh, Neriah!" She still called him Neriah, because she didn't want to accept his real name "Kaelos".)
