Chapter 33 - Icarus's Sun

She stood up and grabbed my hand, dragging me along.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"It's getting dark, and this area is too dangerous for you to be alone. I'm taking you to a safe place."

I pulled my hand away from her.

"I'm not supposed to go with strangers..."

The girl sighed and flicked my forehead.

"Why did you do that?"

"I helped you, idiot. Is this how you thank me? Come on, I have food at home," she said, starting to walk.

I looked at the sun and saw that night would fall soon.

She saved me... the only person who ever did that.

I watched her walk away and then ran to catch up.

"How do you get food? Just by picking through the trash?" she asked as I followed her.

"Yes, and sometimes I beg on the street, but people can be mean and hit me."

I kept following the girl.

"And how do you drink water?"

"I get it from the river," I replied.

She stopped and looked at me.

"You drink straight from the river?"

"Yes, and from the rain too," I answered.

She flicked my forehead again.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because you're silly, you can't drink river water without boiling it first."

The girl started walking again.

I didn't know that...

"Don't you get sick?"

"Sometimes, but I'm used to it."

She sighed.

"My name is Helen, what's yours?"

"I never had a name, but I liked the sound of Icarus, so I chose it."

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She stopped walking.

"You never had a name? Didn't you live with your parents until you were three?"

"They didn't give me a name, they just called me one word."

"What word?"

"Burden."

Helen made a strange face.

"Icarus... is... a good name, I prefer it," she said, patting my back.

We kept walking, and she held my hand.

"It's a character from a story, right? I think I've heard that story somewhere," she said.

"Yes, it's the story of a boy who lived in a bad place but managed to escape."

"You know that in the end, Icarus dies, right?" she asked.

"Yes, but he escaped that place and got to live his dream of seeing the sun up close. Even if he lived a short life, for a moment he was truly happy."

She seemed to understand, and we walked to the sewer area. It was a dangerous place, and many people stayed away because those who entered never returned.

"Don't worry, those are just stories. The only monster here is me," she said, laughing, and we went in.

"I don't have anyone either," the girl said.

Helen guided me through the corridors, and we reached a dark area where there was a hole in the wall hidden by stones. Helen pushed the stone aside and went in.

I waited outside for a while. She said she had girl’s clothes lying around and needed to put them away.

After some time, Helen reappeared and called me in.

"This is where I live," she said.

We were in a small room with some fabric scattered on the floor, broken furniture salvaged from the trash, and even an old mattress on the ground.

Helen lit a fire using a tool and was heating a pot over a small fire.

"You know how to make fire?" I asked, surprised.

"If you want to survive, you need to learn the basics."

I sat on the floor, not knowing what to do.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked.

Helen kept stirring the pot.

"I just wanted to help. Is that wrong?"

"No one helps anyone in this city."

She let out a small laugh.

"In this city and all other cities. People are like that, Icarus. It's hard to find a kind soul. I just wanted to help a good soul before things got... bad for you," she said, serving me a cup.

I looked inside, and it seemed to be some kind of soup.

"Go ahead and eat. You’re a child. You shouldn't be going through this."

"But what about you? There’s nothing left in the pot."

She shrugged.

"I ate earlier, it's fine."

I poured half of what was in the cup back into the pot.

"You should eat it all," she told me.

"Let's share."

Helen sighed, a little annoyed when she saw that I wouldn’t eat if she didn’t, but she accepted and started eating.

I watched her eat and remembered what she did for me.

"How did you manage to fight off those three boys? You don’t look it, but you’re really strong."

She stopped eating and looked at me.

"I'll tell you the secret, but you must promise not to tell anyone. Do you promise?" she asked.

"I won’t tell."

Helen came closer to me and showed me her hand.

"I'm strong because of this," she said, and a small, almost transparent ball appeared.

"What is that?" I asked, surprised.

I tried to touch the tiny ball, but my hand went right through it.

"That’s Aura," Helen said.

"Aura?"

She closed her hand, and the ball disappeared.

"It's a type of power that gives strength. You mustn’t let anyone know you have it if you ever get lucky enough to have it."

I found her words strange.

"But why can't they find out about the Aura?"

Helen leaned closer to me.

"There’s a very bad woman who kidnaps children and forces them to be warriors," she said.

"A woman?"

"Her name is Athena, and she's a goddess. If you ever gain the ability to use Aura, never let her find out. Once you're sent to her army... there's no way out."

I knew a bit about these stories.

"Is it her army that has the Generals? They're very famous."

She flicked my forehead.

"Those are adventure tales to deceive children and lure them in. Never let Athena know you can use Aura if you ever awaken that power, or she'll find a way to use you."

From that day on, I never left Helen's side. We lived together, looking out for each other. She taught me how to survive, kept me warm on cold nights, took care of me when I was sick, and brought food when I was hungry. Helen became the first person I learned to love; she became my world... my sun. When they took my sun from me, all that was left was darkness, and I became General Icarus.