Maria sat on the cold balcony floor, her fingers absentmindedly tracing the rough texture of the cement beneath her. The city below was a blur of muted colors, the occasional passerby a mere shadow in the darkness of the early morning. Despite the chilly breeze that seeped into her bones, she remained still, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon.

"Well... Well," Maria's laughter was hollow, a facade. "But I cannot do any of that. I hate him, but at the same time, I like him," she murmured to herself as her voice mingled with the scent of jasmine. She tugged at her hair, a nervous habit that betrayed the turmoil within her.

"Is that so?" A strange, ghostly voice cut through the silence, causing Maria to startle.

She tried to stifle her laughter, a feeble attempt to hide her emotions.

A few seconds later, Leo appeared in the doorway, his presence both comforting and unsettling. "Can't sleep?" he inquired, his voice gentle.

Maria flinched, retreating to a corner of the balcony, and curling into a protective ball. Her eyes, brimming with unspoken sadness, met his gaze. "I'm not sleepy," she replied, her voice tinged with a hint of resignation.

"How about if we talk for a while?" Leo suggested, settling beside Maria. "We’ve been together for about six months, and I still don’t know much about you."

Surprise flickered in Maria's eyes, mingling with a fleeting sense of joy. She managed a small smile, though a flicker of fear danced behind her gaze. "Do you really want to know?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Leo shook his head. "Not pressuring you. Just tell me if you want to," he reassured her, his brow furrowed in thought. "Let's start with something simple. How old are you? Twelve? Thirteen?"

Maria's chest swelled with pride as she straightened her posture. "I turned ten a few weeks ago," she declared, her voice strong despite the vulnerability that lingered in her eyes.

"Ten?" Leo's surprise was evident, mingled with a hint of disbelief. "A few weeks ago? Why didn’t you tell me anything? We could’ve celebrated!"

A shadow of sadness crossed Maria's features. "I actually noticed a few days ago. So, it’s fine," she explained, her voice tinged with sorrow.

Leo's smile faltered, a somber expression crossing his features. "That’s a little too sad," he murmured, his gaze softening with empathy.

The cold wind whispered through the balcony, carrying with it the faint scent of rain and distant city lights. Maria shivered, not from the chill in the air but from the weight of her own secrets and uncertainties. As she met Leo's gaze, she knew that opening up to him meant risking everything she had carefully hidden away.

But in that moment, as the city slept below and the night embraced them both, Maria felt a flicker of hope. Perhaps in sharing her truths, she could find the solace and understanding she had been seeking all along.

Maria gazed at Leo, her eyes searching, as if trying to unravel the depths of his being with just a glance. "By the way, how old are you?" she inquired, her voice soft yet carrying a hint of curiosity.

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"Nineteen!" Leo's face lit up with excitement. "X I X, all in Roman numerals," he exclaimed, tracing the numbers in the air with his fingers, a wide grin spreading across his features.

"I know what you mean. Unlike you, I'm pretty smart. I, for example, can speak nine languages!" Maria retorted, a playful glint in her eye.

Leo chuckled, his laughter warm and genuine. "Oh! I only speak Spanish and Italian, and a bit of broken English. Well, the second question," he interjected, his tone turning more serious. "When you got annoyed with Roberto, you mentioned a bit about your family. Could you tell me more about it? If you don't mind."

Maria paused, her fingers deftly brushing strands of hair away from her face. "It doesn't bother me, but I've never shared that with many people," she began, diverting her gaze from his. "I'm an orphan. According to the caretakers at the orphanage where I grew up, my father was a Boer farmer, and my mother, much younger, was a free black woman. They had a significant age gap of around twenty years. My father perished in a war, and my mother took her own life days after my birth."

Leo's expression softened, sympathy flickering in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he offered quietly.

Maria shook her head, a steely resolve in her gaze. "Don't be sorry. You should not pity such people; they're cowards," she stated firmly, a hint of bitterness underlying her words. "The orphanage I was in suffered a fire, yet I was the sole survivor. I wandered alone until Lady DeVries found me."

"Lady DeVries? Weren’t you with Ha-Halonda?" Leo inquired; his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Habondia," Maria corrected him gently. "Yes, it's true. Lady DeVries took me in as her apprentice. She was once part of Habondia’s entourage... I don’t know much about their relationship other than Lady DeVries being Habondia’s mentor at one time," she explained, her voice trailing off as she averted her gaze.

Leo sensed a shift in Maria's demeanor, a subtle veil of secrecy clouding her words. Not everything she shared seemed entirely truthful, but he chose not to press further. Despite living together for six months, they had never delved into such personal conversations. Certain memories seemed too painful for Maria to unearth, and Leo respected her unspoken boundaries.

Their surroundings fell into a hushed silence, the faint rustle of the wind against the balcony glass doors mingling with the weight of untold stories and hidden sorrows. Maria's past loomed like a specter but in the midst of it all, Leo saw resilience in her gaze, a quiet strength that spoke of many scars borne in silence. And as he watched her, he knew that some wounds ran deeper than words could reach, and some truths lay buried beneath layers of pain.

Maria huddled closer to Leo, seeking solace in his comforting presence. She curled into a protective ball, burying her face in her knees, her breaths shallow and ragged. "Crying?" Leo's voice was gentle, a beacon of concern in the darkness that threatened to consume her.

"I'm trying not to," Maria whispered, her words muffled by the fabric of her dress as she bit down on her trembling lips. Leo's embrace enveloped her, a warm shield against the icy tendrils of despair that clawed at her heart. Maria hesitated, a flicker of resistance dancing in her eyes before surrendering to the overwhelming tide of emotions. As Leo's hand brushed against her head, she felt a wave of vulnerability crash over her, tears cascading down her cheeks like a torrential downpour.

"I've never cried much before, not even when I fell and hurt myself as a child," Maria confessed between sobs, her voice wavering with raw emotion, her nose red and runny from the onslaught of tears.

Leo's words were a balm to her wounded soul, a soothing melody in the cacophony of her pain. "Crying is not a bad thing. It allows you to release your pent-up emotions, and let them flow freely. And you only need a friend to offer comfort in those moments of darkness."

"Friend? I don't have any friends," Maria declared, her gaze defiant yet tinged with a glimmer of longing buried beneath layers of self-imposed isolation.

"Of course, you have me. Who better than Leo, the Fabulous, to be your companion in times of need?" Leo's voice was filled with genuine affection as he gently stroked Maria's hair as he tried to reassure her.