The sun rises, glowing bright, casting gold in the lands—lands that were colored in green. And I found myself drifting with the down breeze, allowing it to take my mind with it.
Only for it to find its way to Theadus. It's been more than a week since I last saw him. Where's he? Where has he been? In fact, not only him but Mei too. However, I was used to not seeing much of Mei, unlike him. He just wouldn't disappear for long usually. And the night I met Yohan, I gained no information. Well, Yohan was truly in need of a talk, so it was worth it. At least, that's what I believed, as my mind ran in circles, trying to find any lead to know where he may be, where they may be.
My head heavied with thoughts, and I felt my chest tighten. For a moment, I let a heavy breath out before standing up, leaving the hill behind me. Truly, from how much time I spent there, I should give it a name. Well, what should I name it then? As I pushed the troublesome thoughts away, I pulled the silliest thought into my mind, trying to hopelessly find a name for a hill—a piece of land.
Well, at least it means so much to me, so who cares? As I allowed my mind to hang on that thought, I walked towards my cottage slowly, only to be startled by a voice that came out of nowhere
: "Morning, Yona."
Trying not to jump from my place, I balanced my body as I looked for the source of the voice that had just startled me, only to see the long-haired girl eyeing me with a bright smile.
Julia. Heading towards her, a smile spread across my face as I greeted her back
: "Morning, Julia. You're early."
I saw her hand move swiftly to her hair as she tidied up while she spoke with her usual calm voice
: "One of the elderly is having a hard time, so I came to do my job."
Her words were followed by a tiny huff—one of exhaustion. Taking that in, I just spoke in a calm voice
: "You should go rest. See you later," only to turn, trying to leave.
But a hand found mine, stopping me midway. I turned to look at Julia's hand, which had stopped me, and I lifted my head, only for her to speak in a spoiled manner
: "Come on, stay. We haven't sat together for a while, Ms. Hunter. Let's chat a bit."
To be honest, I had no work for today, so I would be staying alone—and being alone wasn't good for me nor my mind. That's why I found myself following Julia into the rescue cottage. More like she dragged me there, but it doesn't matter.
I sat on one of the beds, and she did the same. My eyes wandered around, taking in the details of the place I spent my first month in when I came to Zarethia. It was, as always, calm and quiet, as if even the wind didn't dare penetrate, allowing it to be this quiet. But the silence faded when Julia spoke, trying to keep with the calmness of the place
: "How's being a hunter? I haven't seen you for a while."
A warm smile hugged her face as she spoke, but I found no words to answer her question.
It was a question I never thought about. Being a hunter was part of the river, and I just swam along it, not giving much thought to how it felt. Maybe it just felt like that. That's what I thought, and that's what I said
: "It's okay."
I saw her eyebrows frown as she said with a huff
: "Yona, please don't be such a numb thing, will you?"
She looked like a girl fawning over her idol but not getting the same reaction from her friend.
And somehow, that brought a smile to my face as I said in a teasing manner
: "You could become one. That way, it's easier to know how it feels."
A pout found its way to her face as she said
: "Seriously, you know that if it weren't for me, all of the hunters would've died long ago from their injuries."
She mouthed, bragging about how important she was. And for a moment, my head felt lighter than earlier, as the heavy thoughts took a leave for a moment, allowing me to breathe. I said
: "Oh, really," only for her to stand up, making a fuss, screaming about how important she was. Truly, I don't know how, but I found myself laughing, with tears slipping from my eyes. She truly looked ridiculous.
And it was nice—the feeling of having a friend. Something I never had before, or at least an acquaintance I could speak comfortably with. It truly felt nice. Wiping my numerous tears, I said between my laughs
: "Okay, I believe you. Breathe, will you?"
I saw her pout as she allowed her body to fall, letting it hit the bed and make a tiny thud. She groaned about how emotionless I looked right now. After all, Julia was giving her full energy as she spoke. A moment of silence followed, allowing us to drown in it before I felt her looking at me with a calm look as she said
: "What's it like back at Earth?"
My stomach twisted at her question, and I felt nauseous. But somehow, clenching the fabric under my hand, I replied
: "It was good enough."
My words were clearly nothing but a lie—a lie I spouted to protect the bitter truth that lived deep inside me, a past that I feared. As I sensed my mind go through the old records, pulling things that were nothing but nightmares to me, I sighed and said
: "What about you? Was it livable?"
I don't know why, but every person in Dilmun described life on Earth that way, saying that it was better not to talk about it. But for me, I'd just gotten that question twice already, as if all the people I met longed for it enough to speak about it—longed for that life they ran so fast from. But who am I to judge them? As that thought echoed through my mind, I heard her quiet voice break the silence that seemed to take over us as she spoke
: "It was nice, if it weren't for my grandpa." She paused for a moment, inhaling before speaking again
: "I never knew my mom, and my dad was far away most of the time, so I lived with my grandparents. What about you?"
Julia was trying so hard to make the conversation flow, to make it seem normal, though she knew that's not something we had the right to do. But regardless, seeing how hard she tried, I sighed, gathering a weak smile as I spoke
: "Just my parents."
She nodded for a moment before standing and taking a place next to me, only for her to hold my arm dearly as she spoke
: "Well, both of us seem so lonely, as we were raised alone. What about we become sisters?"
In the suffocating atmosphere of sadness and nostalgia, she said something silly again, but somehow, it was heartwarming—saying that we could become siblings, something I never had. But the thought seemed nice, so I found myself laughing as she pouted, thinking I was mocking her words. It's not like I denied it, as I said between my laughs
: "Who would want to be the sister of such a loud person like you?"
Only for her to try to hit me, but unfortunately for her, I was the trained one.
Julia kept struggling as she screamed, calling me an evil person, saying I was refusing a golden offer. But that made me laugh harder as I stopped her from reaching my hair. We fought loudly, and between my laughs and Julia's loud voice, a deep voice cut in
: "How loud." Irritation was evident in the voice.
Gaining our attention, we both looked at the source of it, only to find a usual presence there. He stood tall at the door of the rescue cottage, with his head covered as always. But knowing who he was wasn't hard. I saw Theadus walk inside, and my eyes were fixed on him as I felt Julia let go of me and head towards him, asking with her usual calm voice: "What happened?"
Only then did the idea hit me. What was he doing here? Was he injured? To think he was gone for over a week, only to return with an injury. Though I didn't spot the wound, my mind rummaged through loud thoughts, trying to find where and how he got injured. My eyes wandered around his body, looking for blood, only to stop at his right arm, which Julia took in her hand soon after, lifting the jacket he was wearing up to reveal a large wound with already dry blood. I froze in my place.
The wound seemed old—maybe two to three days old. But why would he only return now if he got wounded? Again, my mind heavied, looking for all the possibilities, searching for answers to the questions I'd been asking. Only for his voice to interrupt my thoughts, sending a wave of surprise through my body as he said
: "Leave."
I lifted my eyes only to face a hood that hid most of his face. His voice was cold as usual, but somehow, it had something else in it that I couldn't figure—maybe exhaustion. Pushing the thought away and taking his words, I stood up, saying my goodbyes to Julia before glancing at his wound and leaving.
The wound seemed to be near rotting—large and deep. But somehow, it didn't seem to be made by an animal. It looked human-made. And along with that thought, a shiver took over my body. Who would do that to him? There's no way—it must be just my imagination. After all, he was more than capable of protecting himself. There's no way it was a human. It must be because of the hunt. But why wouldn't he come earlier to heal it if it was from a hunt?
And for the millionth time today, I found myself in deep thoughts—thoughts that revolved around him. After walking a few steps from the rescue cottage, I leaned against the building beside it, lost in thought. I wasn't sure what I was doing exactly, but I just stood there, as if desperately waiting for him after not meeting for a while.
I didn't know how much time passed until I heard footsteps coming out of the cottage. And my body moved unconsciously, following him, as I spoke with a voice loud enough for him to hear me
: "Where did you and Mei disappear? I've been looking for you, but…"
As my voice trailed off, his voice interrupted me as he spoke calmly
: "Nothing you should worry about, so just leave it."
His answer was just a way to push me, to stop me from asking questions. But not today. Because somehow, I just wanted to know too badly for me to just give up. So I ran a bit faster, stopping when I was by his side, only to say
: "What if I don't want to?"
I saw his body turn stiff for a moment before he returned to his earlier state. And somehow, that moment of stiffness gave me the courage to ask more as I spoke again
: "Just tell me how you got injured. Just answer that."
Saying that out loud, I waited for an answer. But instead of saying anything, he stopped and turned to face me. I saw his hand lift up, reaching for my head, and ruffling my hair. We drowned in silence before he said with a calm voice
: "Nothing out of the usual happened, so don't overwork your mind, Yona."
His voice was softer than any other time I'd heard it, and my head lifted, seeking to see a bit of his face, trying to satisfy some of my curiosity, to uncover what he was hiding. But I saw nothing but black, as if that area never existed, as if he had no upper side of his face. As the shock of what I saw took over me, I saw his hand retreat and his body walk away, leaving me there to drown in my thoughts, doing the reverse of his words.