It was an ordinary day, just like any other. Life was still as tough as before... but not painful. After all, Raiden could always leave this place, couldn't he? Moreover...
Raiden leaned against the wall, listening to the sounds coming from the other side.
"Those bad people say Daddy did something wrong, so they won't give us food. Lisa is so hungry... but as long as Daddy is okay, that's what matters. Daddy will take Lisa, Mommy, and Uncle away from here," a weak voice said.
The food provided here was already pitifully scarce. How could anyone endure going a day without eating?
Listening to the frail voice on the other side of the wall, Raiden heart... suddenly felt strange.
In this place, the daily ration was a piece of bread, hard as a rock. You had to soak it in water, and only after it expanded could it fill you up to about a third.
After hearing the girl words, Raiden silently returned to his bed. He picked up the bread from beside his bed—his food for the entire day. Raiden broke off a small piece and stuffed it into his mouth; then gulped down water. Admittedly, the muddy water, when drunk in large amounts, could make you feel somewhat full.
At night, the voice returned to share her thoughts. Though still weak, she no longer complained about hunger. Her words were filled with hope for the future. She longed to return to school, she wanted to go to the amusement park... she missed the pizza Grandpa Peter used to make.
Pizza... that must be delicious. Raiden swallowed hard.
The night quietly passed in this bittersweet way.
The days that followed seemed to return to normal. Raiden didn't know if those demons had restored their food supply, because the girl voice was always filled with hope.
Until one night... that night, the girl didn't come to the wall to speak. Raiden couldn't sleep. He felt as though he had lost something.
He spent the entire night pressing his ear against the wall, listening for any sound from the neighboring cave, but there was nothing. It was as quiet as death.
Fortunately, the next day, the girl returned to the wall to speak. Though her words were still filled with hope, her voice was incredibly weak, like a candle about to flicker out.
And again, on that night, the girl didn't come to the wall to speak.
So Raiden returned to his bedside and sat quietly for a while. Then, from the table beside his bed, he took out the food he had saved over the past three days—three pieces of bread, one of which was only half left.
Raiden broke the bread into small pieces and pushed them through a small hole in the wall. Then, using a dirty stick, he poked all the bread through the hole. Finally, he greedily licked the stick clean, as it was covered in bread crumbs.
In his sleep, Raiden was suddenly startled awake by a scream—a scream mixed with joy. He heard the sound of hurried footsteps, light and quick, as if the person running was very small.
After a while, Raiden heard someone knocking on the wall. A hoarse, weak woman voice said,
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
That was the first time Raiden had communicated with the people next door.
And that night, Raiden heard the girl voice again.
"Hello! Hi, my name is Lisa. Are you asleep yet?" The voice was tender and sweet, like the soothing sound of a clear spring, filling the famished Raiden with a sense of contentment.
"Hello..." Raiden leaned against the wall, speaking with a hint of nervousness.
"Great, you're still awake! Uncle Stone, thank you for the food you sent us." The girl voice was always brimming with joy.
Uncle Stone? A smile couldn't help but spread across Raiden face.
Suddenly, a faint rustling sound came from the small opening in the wall, and a piece of candy was pushed through. It was a candy Raiden had tasted before—the sweetest in the world.
The girl continued, "Uncle Stone, this is all I have left. It's Lisa last piece of candy. I've been saving it because Mom said we should learn to be grateful. This is my gift to you."
Grateful?
Hearing this word, Raiden felt at a loss. He hurriedly tried to push the candy back through the opening, but the girl stopped him.
In the end, Raiden chose to listen to her. Faced with such a cheerful and hopeful girl, he felt unusually reserved.
To Raiden, this girl was like the most beautiful crystal in the world. He could only hold her carefully in his hands, always afraid of shattering her.
That night, the first night they spoke, they talked for a long time and had a wonderful conversation.
But Raiden heart was heavy because he suddenly realized how much he owed her. How could he ever repay the kindness she had shown him during those nights?
And... Raiden touched the candy in his pocket... In truth, the girl's gift had been given long ago, and this piece of candy would forever remain a debt he could never repay.
........
From that day on, Raiden would chat with Lisa every day.
Though a wall separated them, they still enjoyed their conversations. Raiden was an excellent listener, and Lisa finally had someone she could confide in without reservation.
They often tried to catch a glimpse of each other through the small opening in the rock, but unfortunately, they never managed to see each other clearly.
Throughout their long time together, Lisa never once asked for Raiden name. She always called him Uncle Stone... She never saw Raiden as a fellow captive imprisoned here like her.
In her heart, she always thought of Raiden as a spirit in the cave who listened to others' thoughts, a guardian angel sent by heaven. And in Raiden heart, wasn't that exactly how he felt too?
Lisa always brought Raiden something special. She told him about the taste of her favorite pizza; she shared with him the many happy memories she once had; she described to him the beautiful places she wanted to visit in the future—places with mountains, oceans, flowers, and all the beauty the world had to offer.
Raiden could always imagine the beauty from Lisa descriptions, and so, in this abyss of suffering, the two found solace. They became each other's support. If only things could stay like this forever, how wonderful it would be.
But alas, this was hell... and darkness would eventually consume the light.
"Uncle Stone, do you have a beard?" Lisa asked curiously.
Raiden touched his neatly groomed chin and said, "No, why do you ask?"
"Lisa loves beards the most. Daddy had a beard, soft and comfortable to touch," Lisa voice chimed with innocence, perhaps missing her father.
Raiden had seen that scientist... who indeed had a bushy beard... but Raiden despised that scientist. He hated him.
Raiden hated that scientist for being so useless, for not being more capable, for not having more value, for not living longer!
When the last bit of the scientist's usefulness was squeezed dry, he was kicked aside like discarded trash, and his family... the same... it was all over.
Outside that iron gate, everything ended. Raiden life was shattered, his peace, his everything, the cage within his heart—all of it was broken in that moment.
On that day, the emptiness inside Raiden was filled with rage. All the emotions he had lost returned to him in that instant, leaving an indelible mark on his soul.