In the deep forest, under the feet of giant plank roots trees, almost imperceptible white smoke rose from a gradually cooling pile of firewood. Two curled-up figures slept by the extinguished campfire. Capillata, wrapped in a cloak, hugged his knees and nodded lightly with regular breathing. Vit’via huddled up and lay on the black cloak, her slender sheep ears trembling with the flow of air.
At the darkest moment of the night, a sudden strong wind rushed through the forest, bending the white smoke. Immediately after, the rustling of leaves and the squawking of birds mixed into a terrifying sound that attacked the two hiding behind the tree trunk. Vit’via woke up in a cold sweat, sat up, and leaned against the trunk, looking back at the abyss of darkness.
Capillata was not disturbed by the strange wind, but he was awakened by Vit’via's movements. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked:
"What's wrong?"
"They caught up," Vit’via's lips trembled, and her voice was heart-stopping.
"Who?" Capillata asked in confusion.
"The one I abandoned." Vit’via turned around. Her sunken eye sockets looked terrifying due to the lack of sleep. "They know I'm selfish." Since she had traveled with Capillata again, she had never slept well. Facing the boy's concern, she just skimmed over the surface. But tonight, her pale skin was covered with cold sweat, and her eyes wandered around in confusion, becoming difficult to ignore.
"Where are you going?"
"To a place where a Dàn(the god of fate) can't find," Vit’via muttered while walking.
At that moment, the dark forest suddenly lit up, and several torches cast moving shadows on the disorderly trees. Capillata grabbed Vit’via, covered her mouth, and pulled her towards the trunk. If he had been a step later, they would have been exposed to the light with the surrounding darkness. Capillata riskily peeked out and saw several burly figures shuttling behind the bushes.
"It's your people, Vi," he whispered in her ear, tightly holding her trembling hand as he hid behind the trunk.
At the same time, a worried cry came from behind. The tears that were held in the throat extinguished the anger, and Capillata could hardly hear that it was Quine's voice.
"Vit’via? Capillata? Are you together?" he shouted loudly in every direction, "Vi, we all know now, about the witches... about the Morning Star, everything." His voice choked, swallowing his throat, and continued shouting, "I know you must be very scared, but we won't force you to do anything. You may not believe me, but can't you trust everyone?" His voice spread throughout the woods, and other villagers joined in the shouting, "Come back! Vit’via!"
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Behind the tree trunk, Capillata didn't understand the reason for their change, but she could hear the real worry in their words. "It sounds like they're not angry with you, Vi," he breathed a sigh of relief, but the girl in his arms did not respond. He felt a warm and wet feeling on his hand, and found that the pearl-like tears were falling uncontrollably from Vi's cheeks.
"Vit’via?" Capillata asked softly.
"No, I can't go back." Vit’via turned her body and buried her face in the boy's chest, "How can I lift my head in front of people who suffer because of me?"
Her uncontrollable voice entered the ears of the stargazers. One of them walked forward, stood where the two had camped, and lit a torch to illuminate the traces of fire between the plank-shaped tree roots. Quine walked up and gently flicked away the ash covering the firewood with his hoof. Warm sparks scattered from the cracked residue.
Quine signaled with his eyes, and the two of them lightly stepped forward, simultaneously reaching out behind the thick tree trunk - but there was nothing behind it.
There were fresh footprints in the bushes in front of the tree trunk. He raised the torch and, illuminated by its light, saw the ferns in the depths of the forest swaying because of something passing through. He blew a whistle behind him, calling for the villagers to narrow their search range.
On the other hand, in front of the swaying ferns, there was a sudden steep slope. Capillata and Vit’via stepped into the darkness and lost their footing, rolling down.
The impact of the fall squeezed the air out of Capillata's lungs, and he briefly lost consciousness. When he opened his heavy eyelids, he saw Vit’via still curled up in his arms, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry, Capillata. Making you do these stupid things with me..." She obediently closed her eyes and hugged the boy tightly. "But you are my only fate left."
Capillata brushed away the mud and grass that had tangled in her black hair. Despite the disheveled present and uncertain future, he felt an immense sense of happiness at that moment. "You are also my only fate left."
Quine and the villagers crossed the ferns, stopping their hooves just before the fall. They raised their torches and lit the steep slope below, feeling a chill running down their spines. Below the slope was a turbulent river. Once someone fell into the seemingly calm surface, they would be sucked into a deadly undercurrent, collide with sharp rocks at the bottom of the water, and then be washed down the waterfall after the river bend.
"Look." A villager pointed to the foreign object trapped in the crevice of the rock. It was a piece of black fabric and a strand of golden long hair.
"I didn't smell anything," another person said solemnly. If it weren't for the support of others, Vit’via's nursemaid would have already knelt on the ground. Quine stared across the river in spreading unease, but no matter how he squinted and looked through his rapid breathing, he couldn't see two pairs of wet footprints on the grass.
Quine's heart was blank, but he still waved his hand and led the villagers to continue searching downstream. After they left, two naked figures emerged from the dense reeds. Capillata, with wet golden hair, and Vit’via, with soaked woolly legs like a newborn lamb, crawled up the steep slope and hid in a forest clearing behind a clump of photinia.
Crossing the river had exhausted all their strength. They were almost collapsing on the ground as soon as they found shelter. Capillata looked up at the starry sky and breathed heavily. Vit’via lay beside him, weakly closing her eyes.