By the time we got out of the forest, the sun was almost down. While we traveled the forest, the leaves of the trees were lit orange in a fading light, and by the time we were out, the sky had turned purple. At the edge of the distant mountain, orange remained, but on the opposite side, the darkness of the night spread together with the first stars.

At the entrance of the village, a brown-haired boy had his arms crossed and was pressing his back on the wall, looking down, waiting. When he saw us, his brows turned pointy, but quickly relaxed when he saw Papa and ran in our direction.

“What happened!? Cain asked in panic, his hands running for Papa, but quickly stopping before touching, afraid for Papa’s condition.

Papa, despite having his arm broken, raised it and patted Cain’s hair. Cain’s expression remained unchanged, filled with confusion and worry.

“Nothing big. We just came across some Emberfangs. Don’t worry, this is nothing serious. Orion will fix me in no time.”

“Nothing big? Wait, no,” he shook his head, “Emberfangs? What are those? These aren’t beasts of the forest. Where did you go? Mr. Roric told me to come here, but you had already left.”

“Ah, right. Preferably, I wanted you to come with us, but seeing as things turned out, I’m glad you got angry earlier.” Papa laughed dryly.

“You still haven’t answered me, father.” Cain repeated, tension still evident in his voice.

Papa sighed and looked like he was in a lot of pain. “It’s getting late. Can you go ahead to Orion and inform him of my condition? I promise I’ll tell you later.”

Cain’s eyes wiggled before nodding. “Yes, father.” He said to Papa. To me and Theodore, he looked intently before turning around and running back inside the village.

When Cain left, Papa sighed again and let out a small but not small enough to not be heard ‘ouch’.

“Papa!” Theodore’s voice came a second faster than mine.

For a moment, Papa looked like he was hurting a lot, but quickly smiled again. “Don’t worry, I already told you I’ll be fine. Now, let’s get going.” He kept smiling, but his voice was more quiet and weak.

Looking at Theodore, he looked back at me. His browns were touching, and he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t find the right words and neither could I.

As we walked, I felt more and more sleepy. My body was hurting, and I was so tired, I had to focus on my eyes to keep them open. I looked at my red hands again. My head wasn’t dizzy anymore, and I was starting to remember things, but I couldn’t remember how my hands had turned red or how I beat the Emberfang. One moment, I crying seeing Papa flying over a wall, and the other, I was waking up feeling dizzy.

Now, everything was calm. There was nobody outside, and the village was quiet, just our footsteps sounding. It felt nice being alone with Papa and Theodore. We were safe now, and we came across our favorite places, like Mr. Roric’s workshop and the fountain with its splashing water.

A leaf fell from a nearby tree and drifted to the ground. Then another fell, and another was quick to follow. I trailed each and every one of them as they touch the ground one by one, and when the fifth leaf fell, I saw something behind it. Behind the tree was Granny Mary’s house, and Granny Mary was looking at us. However, when she saw me looking at her, she quickly closed the curtain and turned away.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

‘W-what?’

Granny Mary was always happy to see me and she always gave me this milky candy that was so sweet and yummy. ‘Why would she do something like that?’

My chest felt tight, and my eyes started to sting. Then, a little further down, it was Mr. Henry who was there, also looking outside his window. And again, when he saw me looking back at him, he also turned away. I turned to every window we passed, and the same thing happened again. Everyone was looking and everyone turned away when they saw me watching back.

‘Why?’ Why is everyone looking at us? Papa is hurt don’t they see it? Why are they going away?’

It was hard to keep the tears from falling. All these people were always putting on a happy smile every time they saw us, happy to come close and show us new things! Now, there were all gone, staying far away when we need them the most…

‘Just why?’

“Because they don’t care,” Papa said.

My hands flew to my mouth. Had I said that out loud!?

“Why would they care? Listen, Lyon, humans are selfish creatures, driven by self-interest. If they see no benefit in a situation, they will avoid it. Whether it’s helping us reach Orion faster or giving their leftovers to starving children in the streets, they only act when there’s something in it for them.”

His eyes narrowed, and he looked nothing like my Papa. He looked more like the bad people he was describing. He smiled darkly. “Isn’t it fun when they are struggling? When they beg for what we take for granted? When they plead for what we don’t even have to think about?”

My lips shook, and tears started coming. ‘That’s horrible. Are people so bad? Even Papa?’

“Pttf.” Papa laughed. “I’m sorry Lyon, you should have looked at your face! Don’t take it too seriously, I was just messing with you because you looked sad. See? Even Theodore is trying to hold back his laughter.” Papa pointed with his brows to a giggling Theodore trying to hide his laughter behind his hands.

‘A- Wha- That was a joke?’ I blinked twice, realizing what was going on. That wasn’t funny at all! “Papa! That’s so mean!”

Just then, Cain’s voice called out from a distance as he ran in our direction, “Father! Mr. Orion sent me back to help you get there. He said he’s got the bandages and everything else ready.”

“Thank you, Cain. We’ll be going on our own. Can you take Theodore back home and help him take a bath?”

Cain turned to me. “What about Lyon?”

“He’ll be coming with me to get checked by Orion, you don’t just bleed out from your eyes out of nowhere.”

Hearing that, Cain’s eyebrows reached quickly for his forehead before turning to me with a shocked expression. He kept staring for a while, and for the first time ever since I can remember, he looked worried about me.

“Now go, it’s getting late.” Papa continued taking back his attention, “have you had dinner yet? I’ll send Lilia later to prepare something for you. Oh, and don’t sleep late just because I won’t be home tonight.”

“What!? Papa won’t come home!? Why?” Theodore jumped in panic.

Papa smiled back at him warmly. “Orion most likely won’t be letting me leave, and in the case he does, it will be late at night.”

“Then we come to Mr. Orion too!” Theodore said, tugging at Papa’s pants. Cain grabbed his hand and shook his head, causing Theodore to lower his gaze in defeat.

“Don’t worry Theodore. By the time you wake up tomorrow, everything will be back to normal, I promise,” Papa said with a final warm smile.

With that, Theodore went with Cain back home while me and Papa reached for Mr. Orion’s house. When we did, the door was already open, Mr. Orion welcomed us inside with a counter full of items. Bandage, scissors, many blue gloves inside a pack of napkins, some bottles that had waters with different colors, and many, many bowls.

I sat in a big fluffy chair and waited as Mr. Orion took care of Papa. The chair was soft like my bed, and I felt cozy right away. I snuggled into it, feeling the warmth all around me.

Yawn

Mr. Orion put two bowls under Papa’s arms. While he did that, he asked Papa some questions. Papa whispered his answers, and at first, I could hear him, but then he started talking even quieter, or maybe I was getting sleepier in the warm chair. Soon, I couldn’t hear anything he said. My eyes felt heavy, and I blinked slowly, trying to stay awake.

Mr. Orion’s face changed, and it seemed like something was wrong with Papa. He looked worried, but Papa kept smiling, so I wasn’t very sure. Mr. Orion put his hands on Papa’s burned scar and mumbled something. I couldn’t hear him; I only heard my slow breathing as the chair grew warmer. The room felt safe and peaceful, and my thoughts started to drift away.

‘What... is... Mr. Orion...’

I tried to keep my eyes open, but they kept closing on their own. The last thing I saw was Mr. Orion leaning closer to Papa, his hands glowing softly on the scar. I wanted to ask what was happening, but my mouth wouldn’t work. Everything was getting fuzzy and far away.