『Dad: Aaah, I understand now. You've finally reflected on how you speak to your father; that's not okay. 』
The father thought that perhaps Lina felt bad about the way she had spoken to him that morning.
For a moment, his concern was eased by the mistaken impression that had arisen.
『Lina: ... That's not it either. 』
Lina turned her head, shaking her father's words away.
『Dad: Oh, really? 』
He put a hand to his head and scratched his hair with a finger, wondering curiously what it could be then.
『Lina: We've been robbed, Dad. 』
『Dad: What!? So much? How is that possible? 』
His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
『Lina: I'm sorry, Dad. I fell asleep, and we were robbed. 』
Noticing the worried expression on Lina's face as she sat in the chair at the stall, his heart filled with compassion. He approached and sat down beside her, gently stroking her back.
『Dad: ... I understand; you were tired and bored, and that's why you fell asleep in the middle of the stall. 』
His expression softened, becoming more gentle as he worried about his discouraged daughter. Lina thought she had let him down, and he knew it.
『Lina: Yes... That's what happened. 』
『Dad: Well, do you know who robbed you? 』
Reflecting on how and who could be responsible for the robbery, he looked back at the stall seriously.
『Lina: Yes, it was a young hooded boy wearing dark clothes and a scarf around his neck.』
The father began to think about what Lina had said, trying to remember something that felt familiar.
『Dad: ... 』
The silence that filled the space for a moment made Lina worry about what her father might be thinking.
『Lina: Aren't you mad at me? 』
『Dad: Just a little annoyed, but I'm not angry with you. I just hope this doesn't happen again because of your carelessness, okay? 』
With a more serious tone, he reprimanded her for the mistake she had made. Lina lowered her head and nodded.
『Lina: I know, it won't happen again, Dad, I promise. 』
As she raised her voice with more firmness, her determination was sincere.
『Dad: I think I know who that boy is. 』
Surprised, Lina raised her eyebrows, interested in her father's unexpected story.
『Lina: What? And how do you know? 』
Lina's curiosity grew to find out who that mysterious boy could be.
『Dad: I think it's the same boy who came by one or two months ago and stole two apples from me without me barely noticing. Besides, I heard from other vendors that there was a hooded young man who was stealing from different merchants in the area every week. 』
『Lina: «That idiot is so brazen. The next time I see him, I'll teach him a lesson.» 』
With her cheeks flushed, she pouted, wanting to take revenge for her father and the other people who had been victims of his thefts. If she had the boy in front of her at that moment, she would surely slap him.
『Dad: Did you see his face? 』
『Lina: Yes. Is something wrong? 』
『Dad: That's the first time I hear that. What did he look like? 』
Recalling the moment when the boy was perched on that rooftop, revealing his face, Lina began to remember the details about him.
『Lina: He had dark eyes and hair, along with huge dark circles under his eyes. His skin was tanned, but he wasn't ugly. He must have been around my age. 』
『Dad: Well, I see you took a good look at him. You didn't let him take everything, did you? 』
Lina furrowed her brow at her father's comment, feeling her cheeks flush. She hadn't expected such an unusual remark from him.
『Lina: Dad! 』
『Dad: Hahaha, Lina, my daughter, it's been a while since I've seen that expression on your face. I know this isn't a moment to be happy, but what's done is done. So why don't you leave the rest to me and take the time you have left to rest at home before it gets dark?』
『Dad: Tomorrow, I'll think about your punishment, but I expect to see another one of your breakfasts. Good morning, okay? 』
『Lina: ... Alright, I'm going to my room. 』
After getting up, the girl left her seat and headed inside the house. She opened the door to her room and flopped down on the bed, hugging a pillow.
She glanced to one side, where there was a shelf adorned with several books. Normally, Lina didn't have much work to do, so as a pastime and distraction, she would read the books her mother had given her, and she even studied on her own since she didn't go to school.
She had always learned by herself, with her mother's help. For Lina, learning to read and write was essential for knowledge and life. She knew this and many other things thanks to the wisdom she inherited from her mother.
However, when thinking about the past, she sometimes found it hard to reach those memories, which often seemed vague.
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In a field as vast as it was beautiful and green, there was a sweet and cheerful girl running through the meadow. The short grass she walked on swayed with the wind that caressed her hair.
The girl played with fabrics that seemed to float in the air, gliding without ever touching the ground. Everything danced in harmony with its surroundings, illuminated by the sunlight.
In a small stumble with one of her feet, the girl fell to the ground. She felt the impact of the fall and the pain that arose in her knee and hands.
First, she looked at both palms, which only had a little dirt and some tiny strips of grass. However, when she examined the area that hurt more closely, she saw that an open wound was oozing bright red: her blood.
It was the first time she had observed the color of her own blood so closely, and this discovery gave her a prickling sensation.
The red droplets left a trail as they fell down her skin. Suddenly, she felt a tingling in her beautiful eyes that forced her to furrow her brow; tears began to well up and flowed like a transparent river.
Despite sitting on the ground, the girl got up on her own, supporting herself with her hands. She didn't cry out loud, as she was only somewhat worried about the pain, but that was not enough to scare her.
A little further away, a man was working in a garden, plowing the soil, while a woman, outside, was gathering the clothes she had hung out to dry. As she placed them into a basket, the woman lifted her gaze and looked in the direction of her daughter.
Noticing that Lina had stopped playing and that she had an open wound on one of her legs, the woman temporarily interrupted her work and approached her.
『Mom: What happened to you, Lina? Let me see. 』
Lina's mother took her by the arm as she crouched down to better examine the wound. Her face reflected concern, but upon seeing that the situation was not serious, her expression relaxed.
『Lina: I fell to the ground. 』
『Mom: Can you walk? 』
『Lina: ... Yes. 』
After glancing at her knee, Lina nodded in response to her mother's question. They took each other's hands and walked together toward the cabin that was their home.
Once there, Lina sat in a chair that her mother indicated while she looked for a clean cloth. When she found it, she wet it in water and wrung it out. Carefully, she brought the cloth to her daughter's knee and wiped it over the wound.
Lina endured the pain, but she couldn't help but let out a small whimper and tighten her gaze. After cleaning the blood and dirt from the wound, her mother went to find a medicinal plant used to disinfect and improve the treatment of wounds.
She plucked a long leaf and, with a small knife, split it in half, revealing a white, foamy liquid inside. As she passed the surface of the leaf over Lina's wound, Lina furrowed her brow again from the pain.
Once she finished, she set the leaf aside and bandaged her knee with the white gauze she held in her other hand.
『Mom: How are you, Lina? How do you feel now? 』
『Lina: Yes, Mom. I feel better now. 』
『Mom: I'm so glad you're such a strong girl, sweetheart. 』
With a big smile, the beautiful woman with black hair and jet-black eyes gave her daughter a tender kiss on the forehead, leaving a gentle caress that conveyed a sense of warmth and satisfaction, encouraging her to smile again.
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『Lina: «I'm such an idiot. If Mom were here, I wouldn't have to be the one helping Dad with the work. Why did you have to leave, Mom?» 』
The girl sank into thoughts about those moments when she enjoyed her mother's company, watching how her parents shared their love and affection while smiling alongside her.
Lina didn't want to stop seeing her mother. She had always wanted to be with her.