The chair creaked a little as I sat. Mimi, the old granny, stood in the kitchen as our breakfast bubbled on the stove. Elawynn was sitting on a chair directly in front of me, sometimes glancing up at me, but immediately looking away when I returned her glance. I moved my chair back, trying to give her space, hoping to make her more comfortable. She slouched a little into the chair and shifted her eyes to her sister, who still sat on the bed brushing her hair.

Golden mourning light poured in through the window, landing on the small wooden table between Elawynn and I. I watched the dust dance in the sunray and disappear as it left the bounds of the light.

Erria finally approached the table, fixing thick hair ties onto the ends of each ponytail as she sat down. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

I glanced back at Elawynn, who didn’t miss a moment before grabbing onto Erria’s arm. Seeing them like this really accentuated the contrast; a thin, frail girl next to Erria’s soft form, Elawynn’s paleness against her sister’s healthy pink-ish hue. I hoped that, whatever it was, Elawynn would soon be able to receive a cure.

The floor creaked as Mimi walked to our table, somehow managing to balance all three of our bowls in her arms. She placed a bowl in front of each of us. The sun shimmered through the rising steam. It was a translucent brown liquid with beans, potatoes and other various types of vegetables floating in it. Soup. I inhaled the scent, letting it linger. It smelled good. I picked up my spoon, carefully sipping on the hot liquid. I’d forgotten how good human food could taste when I was not craving blood.

Technically, half-vampires like me don’t need to drink blood to survive. And, at times like this, I could almost believe that, but the doubt has never failed to return as my time away from blood stretched to weeks.

Erria stood up from the table. “I’m going to change into my day clothes.”

She walked off, leaving her empty bowl on the table, and her little sister alone at the table with me. Elawynn avoided eye contact, poking at something in her bowl with her spoon. Her dark purple, almost brown hair clumped into strands, as if wet. Yesterday, I’d assumed that it was, in fact, wet, but it had stayed that way since then.

It wasn’t long before the bathroom door opened and Erria walked out, dressed in the intricate purple dress with black lacing again. Her outfit choices reminded me of being in Dorran again, where almost everyone would dress like her, even if they were only going to a store to pick up milk or eggs.

“Well,” said Erria, “I am ready now. When you two are ready, we can go for a walk.”

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Elawynn glanced at me for a second before resuming the poking of her food. I lifted my bowl to my mouth and drank the last bit of soup left in it.

Outside of the cottage, it was pleasant and bright, and yet the leaves shielded my skin from the sun.

Erria held Elawynn’s hand and we slowly walked through the forest. It was quiet, the silence only interrupted by gentle bird songs and the rustling of the leaves. I noticed Elawynn glance at me again. I tried giving her another smile, and this time she didn’t look away.

“Hello,” I said quietly, “how old are you?”

Elawynn glanced down.

“S-seven,” she finally murmured, in a voice so quiet that I could barely make out the word.

“I remember being seven,” I said, “but now I am fifteen. That’s twice as big.”

Elawynn ignored me, looking away again, but Erria gave me a warm smile. I decided not to bother the child anymore, so the rest of our walk continued in silence. It seemed like Erria was very familiar with this place already; I could barely tell the difference between one tree and the next, but she confidently glided through the shrubs and bushes, somehow finding shortcuts and paths I couldn’t even see until she led me through them.

Soon, we arrived at a stream of water running from a small waterfall. It must have only been two or three meters tall. The water softly pattered on the rocks below, flowing into a gently moving pond of water.

Elawynn let go of Erria’s hand, walking closer to the pond. She crouched at the edge of the bank, inspecting in the water. I walked up to her slowly, careful not to scare her.

“What is it in there?” I asked. something

She looked up at me, staring at me as if I didn’t belong there, as if I was an unexpected intruder. After a moment, she looked back into the water again.

“Fish,” she murmured.

I looked closer, and, in fact, small silvery fish wriggled in the lake, barely visible between the green clumps of aquatic grass. Elawynn poked her finger into the water and the fish scattered away, disappearing between some rocks.

“Careful not to get any of the water into your mouth or eyes,” said Erria, “you might get sick.”

Elawynn briefly glanced up at her sister, but promptly looked back at the fish, swirling her finger through the surface of the water, small waves emanating from her gesture. I stepped back, letting her play.

Something fluttered in the bushes behind me. I darted my eyes to the source of the sound, spotting a black blur. A bat. I stepped closer carefully, making sure to seem friendly; if it wasn’t a bat I’d met before, I could scare it off. The bat stayed still, its black beady eyes staring up at me. I knew this bat.

Have you seen her? I thought.

No, not seen. The thought appeared in my head as if not my own, and it wasn’t, it was the bat’s.

Thank you anyway, I thought.

The bat wrapped its wings tighter around its body and closed its eyes. I decided that I should let it sleep, so I walked back to where Erria was standing. She didn’t seem to notice me come closer, her attention fixed on her sister, who was still playing by the pond.

It’s been a year, and even with the help of bats, I couldn’t find my mum. Was it possible that she was currently sitting at home in Dorran, wondering where I went? But it was too late now, I had to search here. I didn’t have enough money for a ticket back.

Elawynn stood up and tugged Erria on her arm, whispering something. Erria looked at me.

“Elawynn’s tired. Let’s go home,” she said.