"Gillua is really close to Nash, I guess you already saw that when you came this morning. Only a few minutes' drive. But Gillua is still considered a separate town from it that lies outside the city." Loy said.

During their short trip, Lin saw through the bus window the green fields between the two places. "Wow... the view here is something. I've never seen so much green... and vegetation... where I come from, the whole landscape is yellow from the sand of the desert and the crumbling rocks." she shared out loud. "The complete opposite from here. Sounds special." Loy replied. In a short ride, they reached the gates of the town.

"What is this?" Lin asked surprised. "I didn't notice it the first time I got here... It was late and dark... What are these walls? And what are those guards' posts on top of them?" she asked in wonder as they entered Gillua.

Around the town, there were high wooden walls at least 6 meters high. At their end, there was a guard in a post, guarding it with binoculars by his side. Every so often, he would scan the landscape with it. Shortly, they got off at the bus stop outside the town. Lin took a close look at the tall wooden polls.

"Huh? Didn't you have those in Saraf?" Loy asked surprised. "No... I've never seen walls like those before." she said.

"It's against the spirits" he replied.

"The spirits? What?" she asked with a raise of the eyebrows. "I thought it was a prank someone pulled years ago." she added. "A hoax? No... they're real. Didn't you have spirits in your town?" he asked surprised. "No... I've never seen a spirit before…" Lin answered with a slight feeling of missing out.

"Strange... To us, they come every day... but you don't need to be afraid. These are little spirits. We have guards at the entrance to the town. They destroy them quickly. Since they posted guards, we have never had any casualties from the spirits." Loy shared with confidence.

"Casualties? Wow... I didn't know it was that serious… did you ever seen one?" Lin asked, still surprised. "Of course! Lots of times. How could you not know about it? It's talked about a lot in the newspapers of our area. Didn't you get to read it?" he asked curiously.

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"No... From where I'm from, we hardly ever bothered with it... there was a time when it was talked about more on the news a few years ago but I never paid any importance to it..." Lin admitted. "I was sure they were the result of a joke. To be honest, I'm still surprised by the fact that we're talking about it in a serious sense. I thought you were kidding me for a second. I always thought they were fiction." Lin repeated, suspiciously trying to double-check that Loy wasn't messing around with her.

Loy recognized it as he raised his hands to defend his innocence. "That's the truth. I'm not lying. If you want, we can wait one day to see a spirit elimination if that interests you. If we wait long enough near the posts, we should be able to see one." Loy stated confidently.

"Really?! Yes!" she jumped from excitement. "But are you sure it's not dangerous?" she asked right after.

"Of course. All the residents of the town have seen it many times. They are small. You have nothing to fear about." He calmed her down.

"So, you moved here with your mother?" he asked. Lin suddenly opened her eyes in shock. She shook her head slightly and immediately after her eyes became downcast. Loy, noticed it as quickly as it happened. He also noticed the weight the word mother held for her.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to! I won't ask any questions! I'm sorry!" he apologized stressed and tense as he begged for forgiveness.

"I moved here alone… I'm sorry but it's hard for me to talk about it..." she whispered with a pained look.

"It's okay! It's okay! You don't have to tell me anything! You don't have to do anything you don't want to! I'm sorry for asking!" he quickly replied as he continued to plead.

"Thanks..." Lin replied with smiling eyes as she looked at Loy. Seeing her glance, Loy's face turned red with a blush. He quickly looked away.

"The truth is that there isn't much in Gillua compared to a city like Nash or Saraf... we have one grocery store. If you quarreled with the seller, you're in real trouble. And he's the unforgiving, stingy type of person. Besides him, there isn't even one other store. Not even one that sells fast food!" He shook his head in disbelief.

"But, when you live in one such small place all your life, every corner has its own story, so you find ways to occupy yourself." Loy said as he looked at the broken cobblestones of the town. "Oh wait… it's winter now. So, it's getting dark soon. You said you wanted to see the spirit, didn't you?" he asked playfully. "Now?!" Lin asked enthusiastically. "Hopefully," he replied with a smile.