It was a magical world, filled with wonders beyond his imagination. Trees of astounding designs, glowing streams of both water and air, colorful as the auroras deep up north. It lacked human presence, but was filled with life; small sprites lighted the way darkened by the lush wildlife. One by one, the wary creatures talked to him, with the fox acting as the pioneer for their amity. He tasted things that blew his mind, experienced things out of a fantasy.

And he forgot about the time.

“Crystal! Any messages from Jewel?” he frantically said while running with his hands outstretched, batting the branches. A leaf struck him in the eye, but he ignored it and pushed on. His body wouldn’t get damaged anyway.

“I don’t know. The connection is cut off,” Crystal said, sounding worried. “I can’t detect the events happening within the parallel. My functions are restricted.”

“Why?!”

“When we crossed over to Talanim, the world’s settings were imposed on my system. It apparently doesn’t allow chatting using the user’s own interface.”

Sweat was rolling down his skin, and he could feel a faint burning sensation on the soles of his feet. Still running, he touched his eyelid and winced. The pain was still there. A protruding root struck him on the toe, and he cried out in pain, staggering as he did it. It didn’t stop his running, though. What did stop him was his lungs as he gasped for breath, leaning on a tree for support.

“Why does it hurt so much?!” he complained, pulling one foot towards him. His mouth hung open after seeing the blood that seeped out from the various cuts decorating it.

“This can’t be good,” he moaned.

“Talanim is a world configured to reflect reality in the closest way possible,” Crystal informed. “You’ll be feeling everything here as you’d be feeling it in real life.”

“And it involves talking animals and magical trees. Great.” He would have laughed if it hadn’t hurt so much. “Any way you can undo this?”

“I’m afraid not, unless you go back into the mirror-world.”

“Then just keep showing me the way.”

His helpbot continued to instruct him using her memory since that apparently wasn’t restricted. Before long, he spotted the bridge enveloped by mist, showing his way back to the mesa where everyone was. He yowled in broken relief as a small rock kissed his heel.

“Ass!” he yelled, meaning the word for the first time. It felt strangely refreshing, shouting without restraints. So this is why people swear. “Sorry,” he added.

“It’s okay. You can do it! We’re nearly there.”

He nodded. He was pacing across the wooden planks before he knew it, slowing down only to adjust his balance and to let the bridge stop shaking. He exhaled when he reached the opposite platform, then took in a deep breath again before climbing the stairs, two steps at a time. His body ached all over, and his feet throbbed, but soon enough, the bark wall he had emerged from was just a few meters away.

He turned his head back when a howl called him from the mountains. There, at the end of the bridge, was a small figure waving its paw at him. The fog made it difficult to see, but he knew it was the fox. Smiling, he waved back.

“I’ll come back if I can!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. Despite himself, he watched until the creature walked away deeper into the fog, into the forest until he lost sight of it. Then remembering the time, he headed towards the wall—and jumped through.

Immediately, all of the pain disconnected from his body, and the ground was soft again, perfect blades of grass that folded tenderly underneath his skin. His breath was steady and his heart wasn’t pounding. He was back.

He received a notification the very next instant, the noise disturbing him more than it should have. He was sprinting now, rushing through the messages that he had failed to receive.

They were exactly how his fears had imagined them to be.

‘Fine. Do whatever you want.’

The last sentence struck him like a kick to the gut. Guilt and worry filled his head, and all he could think of were the excuses he would tell Jewel when he finally saw her. How he had been trapped, how he had lost track of time, how the system had inadvertently screwed him over…

“Crystal! Nearest way to Jewel,” he pleaded urgently.

A glowing trail materialized before him, and he followed the navigation straight to the fence. There was a small door embedded into it, which he opened without hesitation.

He knew that he was at the very back of the resort, since the tower that he had seen from the main entrance loomed before his eyes, casting an indomitable shadow on him. Ignoring the various, dampened noises that hung everywhere, he followed the trail of light to the right, where another, much fancier building stood like a palace of splendor.

He could see people now as he emerged into the open air, as well as the public bath that was covered with steam. He turned his eyes away from his classmates who were inside, even though the thick haze made it difficult to see their bodies.

Had Jewel joined them? Could she be inside? But no, his navigation told him otherwise.

He passed in front of the grand palace towards yet another building in the distance, smaller than the other two. It was shaped more like a short, square apartment than anything—cozy and welcoming. A flat, modest roof cast shade below the building, and the very sight of it made him feel at home. Probably because it looked similar to most of the houses he had been around all his life.

The message he had sent Jewel was still unread. It hurt him somehow. He probably deserved it.

Then he saw her.

She was walking side by side with Stonneran with her arms behind her back. Stonneran said something, and she laughed at the response. Elias could forgive the talking, the chatting. What he couldn’t forgive was the fact that they had emerged from the building together, with Stonneran’s hand placed on her shoulder. She looked elated.

His brain refused to function for a good three seconds as something bubbled within him, through his blood and skin. His neck twitched involuntarily. Breathing had suddenly become so much more difficult, and he stopped a few times.

Calm down, calm the heck down. After years of edification and laughing through lost BotB games, this was the thing that had ticked him off? This weird, primal thing that he couldn’t wrap his head around? No, he wouldn’t let it. Grabbing his wrist, he squeezed tightly, letting out a huff. Now, that was better.

The navigation turned off at his command, and putting on an indifferent face, he strode towards the two. It hurt when she still didn’t notice him coming just a few meters away.

“Jewel, Stonneran,” he called, nearing them. They turned their heads to him, and Jewel’s eyes widened at his appearance.

“Elias! Where were you?” she said, stopping. Stonneron folded his arms together and pursed his lips. Not someone he wanted to see, so he ignored the guy.

“I’m so sorry. You wouldn’t believe what happened, but I just came back from another world. Like, another Otherworld.”

She made a funny expression, but he went on. “My messaging thing was blocked. There were so many incredible things there and I—I forgot the time. I’m sorry.”

“You’re late by two hours. You were distracted for four hours?” she said, “Really? That’s your excuse—another Otherworld.”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but it happened.”

“You should make more sense with your excuses,” Stonneran interjected, and his height made it more irritating for Elias when he was looked down on. “There’s no way that can happen. It’s not in the settings.”

“It’s probably some error,” Elias said, almost forcefully.

“An error in the Otherworlds? I hope you were paying attention in class, because if that happened, then someone’s very likely to get brain-fried.” It was like the guy was intentionally mocking him.

“Ask my helpbot!” Elias asserted, simultaneously summoning his assistant with his thoughts. She responded, and he immediately told her to prepare the recordings of what he’d been through. A part of him told him that revealing his helpbot’s voice to be Jewel’s would be embarrassing, but he’d deal with it.

Stonneran looked at him like he was speaking gibberish. So was Jewel, to a lesser extent.

“What?” he demanded.

“Ask. Ask your helpbot,” Stonneran dared.

With a humph, he told Crystal to display the files and waited. Nothing happened.

With a hint of panic, he asked again, telling her to be quicker with her actions. What’s wrong? He was losing patience now.

“I’m sorry. There seems to be an error. The transfer must have messed with your information, wiping the history logs. And since you didn’t have your camera on, there isn’t anything to show.”

Well, just tell them!

“I can’t.”

Why?

It was Stonneran who spoke. “Helpbots are disabled here, idiot. Who wants the system spying on you when you need privacy? Really, be better with your excuses.”

What?

“What?” he repeated out loud.

“It’s okay. You were immersed with...whatever you were doing,” Jewel sighed, approaching. She placed a hand on his arm and smiled. “Got enough experience now?”

“Experience? No, I didn’t do anything like that,” Elias said.

“I know, you’re shy,” she assuaged, her expression too kind. “I already said it—it’s okay. The point is to enjoy ourselves, right?”

“I really didn’t—”

He broke off suddenly. Slowly, he focused his eyes on Jewel’s.

“Did—did you get experience?” he said.

“Plenty. Stonneran helped me a little,” she said, looking back at the guy. Stonneran just shrugged with a small, smug smirk.

Elias looked at him, then back at Jewel. To Stonneran, then Jewel again.

His head spun. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

And something snapped.

“......You—”

He couldn’t finish the sentence, even as she waited for him with her beautiful eyes. He couldn’t speak; something immense was plugging his throat, threatening to make him choke. He looked at Jewel, then Stonneran, then back at Jewel again.

He knew he had to calm down. He knew in his head that this was no more than a game, no more than a series of complex codes that let them feel what they were feeling. Not real, never had been. Something to enjoy, not contemplate about.

Elias took in a deep breath.

Crystal executed his wishes and terminated his link to the Otherworld. Within a few seconds, he had pushed the lid of his linker away and was stumbling out to don his shoes. The sun was still bright through the windows, warming his skin. They were at a CNI cafe, just the two of them. The plan had been to go to the zoo and observatory afterwards.

He was halfway out the door when he heard another lid open behind him. Gritting his teeth, he pushed through, quickly descending the stairs that appeared.

“Elias!” Jewel cried out from within the room, her voice muffled. “Wait!”

He ignored her and quickened his steps. He was out of the building when she grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around.

“You can’t leave like that—” she protested, but cut short.

Tears were streaming down Elias’s cheeks, though he was unsure why. He tried to pull away, hastily wiping his face with his free hand, not wanting Jewel to see the state he was in.

“Elias—”

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” he said, taking a step back. “I—I know that we’re supposed to have fun, I know. But these—these emotions, I don’t know. I’m sorry, I’m…”

A choke blocked his throat, and he tried his best to swallow it. But something kept welling up along with the tears that wouldn’t stop. He knew how miserable he would have looked to Jewel—he didn’t want her to see him.

She seemed to be lost for words as well, and he could see something like worry on her face. Or was it sadness? Disappointment?

“I…I didn’t know either,” she stammered, like she’d gotten a slap on the face.

It made his heart wrench, seeing her like this. “It’s not your fault,” he managed to say, still trying to suppress his tears. She didn’t look any less mortified.

A heavy silence lingered.

You did it with Stonneran. Why? Even if it’s not real, why? Didn’t you think that something was wrong? It hurts, you have no idea how much it hurts. That atmosphere, I hate it. Maybe I’m the only one who doesn’t understand since I only saw the video yesterday. Everyone had time to get used to it. Who knows? Maybe I will too with time. But not today. Couldn’t you have waited? You knew I was nervous, knew I was hesitant. And you still went ahead and did it, even when I told you I felt that something was wrong. With Stonneran. Not an SPC, but with him. How did he help you? Why did you look so happy? You’ve always been happy around him, but he’s kind of a jerk, you know? I’ve told you I don’t really like the guy. So many things…

But how could he possibly say anything, when she looked like she was on the verge of crying? When she looked genuinely confused, when she felt guilt over something she didn’t think was wrong? He couldn’t—could never.

“I’m sorry,” he cried softly. Jewel didn’t reply, only looked down.

Leaving her dejected figure behind, he ran away.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

Time. Time was what was needed for him to go over his thoughts.

‘Okay. Hope to see you soon,’ had been Jewel’s short reply when he had asked her to give him some time to think things through. He’d get used to it like the others given a month or two, during summer break. Talk it over with his parents, lean on their advice. Ask them to counsel him and assure him that it was only a game.

Except that his parents were almost always at the hospital now, taking care of their newborn baby to make sure he would be perfectly healthy given his natural birth. The delivery had happened just a few days after Stonneran’s party. He had been there, seen his mother crying with joy and his father giddy with excitement as they held the baby carefully in their arms. His father had taken him home afterwards, returning to the hospital to keep his wife and baby company. Elias had wanted to stay behind.

It meant a week of being completely alone in the house. Still, it hadn’t been that bad. He could use his parents’ linkers. Remembering the world he had experienced with the fox and its friends, he sought to go to them once more. After all, it was the only Otherworld he knew.

The first day into World 84 had almost made him want to quit. Blisters on his toes, and a light sunburn to top it off. It was too realistic, too jarring for enjoyment. But the veteran users put him back on his feet, giving him a list of common herbs he could mix together for injuries. They even gave him padded shoes for traveling, encouraging him.

“Can’t have a newbie quit right away,” one said, an impossibly large axe resting on his shoulder. “Wouldn’t be healthy for the community. This world is awesome, but you gotta deal with the little pains first, see?”

Others offered him a ‘contact scroll’ to use if he needed any help. Ten uses each, but it would be enough. As fast as they had come, they’d left, going on with their lives. Everyone could tell he was a new user, and they had approached him until he had a decent cloak, dagger, and bag on him.

He was going to log out and sleep when Crystal informed him that he didn’t need to. He still needed to sleep, but he could do it in the Otherworlds. So finding a user who had offered help, he spent one day in a bed and woke up the next day before the sun rose. After leaving a note of thanks, he had departed on the second day, Crystal guiding him since she remembered the place.

His helpbot had taken the shape of a glowing orb following Talanim’s system. Everyone had something similar following them. The rest of the day had been spent talking to her while he walked endlessly through the landscape. According to her, it would take him six days of constant walking to reach the place, roughly nine hours every day.

He almost quit on the third day. Sleeping on the ground gave him stiff pains everywhere, and even when the herb ointment eased his body, he was growing mentally exhausted.

That was when a miracle had happened.

A series of events allowed him to earn the assistance of some horses, which he rode towards his destination. Within two days of butt-aching travel, he was at the base of the mountains, waving goodbye to the creatures that had given him a ride.

At this point, he was starting to think that he was decent at taming animals. He was good at it so far. Crystal had agreed with him, and it encouraged him.

Afterwards, it was a happy reunion with all of the forest animals. They partied with fruits and wine, with exotic bugs (which Elias found to be strangely appetizing), and best of all, with songs and magical games. He even met the fox’s mother, who was the large guardian of the mountains, complete with thirteen tails. She told him things that made him laugh, let him sleep on her soft fur with her young. He was apparently the first to set foot on the mountain, a special existence. He liked the sound of that. Now he knew something his classmates could never hope to find out.

When he logged out, it was a few hours before his parents came home. Feeling well-rested, he checked his messages. Talking with the animals had taught him to have a bigger heart, one that could learn to forgive and move on.

No one had messaged him, which he found strange. Like he usually did, he called Terral.

“Hey—”

“What the heck, dude? You can’t just disappear like that!” was the first thing that erupted from the speakers. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Feeling calm, he spoke. “A little more explaining, please.”

“Do you know how much Jewel cried when you left? It ruined the whole party!” Terral groaned from the other side. “The mood was super awkward, and now everyone blames you. You deserve pain, so much pain, dude. Ditching her like that? Not nice, not nice at all.”

Elias frowned. “She cried? But—I messaged her.”

“You messaged her. You didn’t even call her? Nice one, great move.” Terral’s voice oozed with sarcasm. “I never dated, and I think I’d be better than you.”

“Calm down. What exactly happened?”

A sigh. “After you left, Jewel started crying, apparently. The girls had to calm her down, so half of the people were gone. Not really fun playing with just SPCs. Kind of awkward too. They don’t talk much.”

That again. The emotions Elias thought he had buried were clawing their way out.

“And then?”

“People started quitting one by one. Not really the ending Stonneran was planning for, and he looked seriously pissed. Probably blames you. Probably everyone does.”

“What? You don’t—they don’t even know the whole story! You can’t just push the consequences on me!” Elias said, horrified.

No reply from Terral. Elias checked the phone to see if the call was disconnected when Terral spoke again.

“Well, you’re partly at fault. Probably mostly. I know you weren’t used to things, but really? You should have been better to Jewel. That’s what I think, as a friend.”

“I just thought that having intercourse wasn’t exactly appropriate,” he rebutted weakly.

Terral’s sigh was much longer this time. “It’s just a fucking game, dude. Grow up. Why can’t you just accept things for how they are? Stop making other people uncomfortable around you. We’re not children anymore, and I still really can’t believe that you’d hurt Jewel like that, being so selfish. Just—be more considerate and stop ghosting people, yeah? You never join us anymore. You’ve changed, Elias. So, see ya.”

“I was just—”

The beeping noises told Elias that the call had terminated. After fuming for a second, he threw his device onto the couch on an impulse. Every good emotion he had had was gone, replaced by worry, anger, guilt—a mucky mess of negativities.

He slammed one fist into the couch. “Me? Changed? You’re the one who changed!” he shouted to no one. “You’re the one who refused to tell me! Everyone!”

His next moments were taken pacing around the room, doing kicks and punches to let out his frustration on the air. He was breathless when he finished, and sweat was forming on his brow. That was when he heard sounds coming from the door—his parents had arrived with his brother.

It couldn’t have been a worse time.

They entered, looking tired but relaxed, his mom holding the baby in his arms. His dad had a large package in his hand, probably meant for the baby. Still hot-headed, Elias simply stood there, watching the scene unfold.

“Some help?” his dad asked.

Grumbling, he took the package from his dad and half-threw, half-slid it across the room.

“Elias!”

He stopped and turned around, looking at his dad.

“What?”

“If you don’t fix your attitude, you won’t be a good example for Hira.”

Elias’s eyes fell on his younger brother, a child who knew nothing. Sighing, he apologized, “Sorry, I was stressed. Things happened.”

“In the Otherworlds?” his dad said.

“No. Well, kind of.” He didn’t exactly feel like sharing.

“If you need a talk, I could give you one,” his dad offered, “but maybe later would be better. Your brother needs some adjusting.”

Elias nodded. “I’ll—go to my room.”

“Would you mind helping? Hira was excited to meet you.”

He almost snorted. Like the baby could even think that. “I’ll pass. I’m a bit tired.”

“Alright. But he’s looking forward to it.”

Elias walked up to his room, feeling a tad guilty for not assisting, but it wasn’t his responsibility. He hadn’t wanted a sibling in the first place. Couple that with the mess he was in at the moment, he wanted, needed to be alone.

After flopping on his bed, he scrolled through his class’s group chat. If Terral had been right, the messages would tell him.

‘He can’t enjoy it?’

‘He won’t enjoy it. He’s a coward.’

‘Say something, Elias.’

‘Someone message him.’

‘He likes being alone. Jewel was saying how he was depressed.’

‘He was?’

‘Apparently.’

‘Can’t believe the party was ruined. Sucks.’

‘I know, right?’

‘Maybe next time.’

‘We know who we’re not inviting, haha.’

‘He’s not even reading this. He’s not even online.’

‘Stop hiding. You gotta tell us what’s going on.’

The conversation went on and on with different people pitching in. The topic had eventually changed during the week he had been inside of the Otherworlds, but his shame was there for everyone to see. Bare and damning. He couldn’t even defend himself, now that so much time had passed.

“Ass,” he cursed, planting his face in his pillow.

Who was to blame? Stonneran? The system? Crystal? The fox? The video? The party? Workman for allowing errors in the system?

Jewel? Himself?

Despair. It was the week of the video all over again, isolated from his classmates—but this time, it wasn’t about not knowing. It was about not understanding, and not being understood. It was rejection. Both by him, and now, by everyone.

If his best friend had acted with animosity, how much better would the others react?

How should have he acted? If his parents hadn’t interfered with his morals, would things have turned out differently? But he had agreed with them. Now, his agreement was a thorn in his heart.

So many regrets, so many ways this could have turned out right. It wasn’t as if Jewel had been trying to upset him. She had wanted the best for him—for them.

And it led her to do what she did. Was he wrong to think that she had wronged him? What would have happened if he had simply smiled, moved on, and enjoyed what she had offered?

Elias hated conflict. He hated suffering through complications. So he had run constantly from his house, from the things that made his insides churn.

There was nowhere he could run now, without giving up on the person who he loved with everything he had.

Numbly, he lay in bed for the longest time, still as a corpse.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

A part of him wanted to speak to Jewel as soon as possible, while another part of him told him to hold back to convey how hurt he was. But his longing won over, and he called her to check if she was alright.

“I’m okay,” she replied nonchalantly over the phone. “But I won’t be able to see you for some time.”

Elias felt his heart sink. “Oh.”

“It’s...not like that. My parents want to have one last trip before break ends. Somewhere far away. We’re going to sail on a large ship, and when we reach the other continent, we’ll travel around a bit. Getting a taste of the real world before I get a proper footing in fantasy. Their words.”

“I’m guessing that I won’t be able to see you for a while.”

She sniffed. “I—I guess.”

A pause.

“I’m more or less fine now,” Elias said, “but I’m still getting used to…”

The things you did for me, against me.

“Used to?”

“Everything,” he finished. “Listen—I want to have a long talk. Not over the phone. Face to face. Like we did during the winter. So—so if you don’t mind—after you come back, after I become less stuck up,” he inhaled. “Could we meet?”

He squeezed his phone. I’m sorry I can’t, won’t apologize right now.

“...okay. We can do that.”

A pause.

“Contact me when you’re back.”

“I will.”

“See you later.”

“See you.”

The conversation ended on a slightly rough note, but Elias couldn’t bring himself to continue. It would be forced, and he could tell by the way Jewel had been spoken that he had become an uncomfortable presence to her. For now, at least. Time would smooth the edges, lessen the pain. When they met eventually, they’d be able to reconcile.

Or so he hoped.

He spent the rest of the break exploring Talanim, going beyond the boundaries of the magical mountains in search of civilization. Well, he tried to. The horses he had ridden had apparently taken him much further than he had thought, and he soon found out why there weren’t many people around the area he was in. Natural hazards blocked his path, and oftentimes he found himself narrowly saved by the beasts of the mountain from poison, drowning, giant insects—the list was endless. Blisters were always a problem.

“Stay with us,” the fox pleaded with its giant, foxy eyes. “The whole mountain range is our domain. You’ll be entertained until the sun is gone. And you will be safe.”

So, Elias stayed. How could he not? The beasts were kind and willing to offer him niceties. They cuddled around him to keep him warm through the cold nights and woke him up each day with a new assortment of fruits. He was even beginning to cook for them, searching up recipes in his ‘outside’ time just to see them prance with joy. They became his friends, and he gave names to them.

They already had names, except that he couldn’t pronounce them properly. So the small, white fox became Aroo, the old bear became Rara, and the deer-like creature that glowed became Glowhorn. There were countless others, namely Aroo’s siblings and the little and large rodents, and he tried his best to remember all of them.

Though only the foxes, the old bear, and glowing deer had the intelligence to speak properly, the others jumbled their sentences, often disappearing in the middle of an attempted conversation, only to reappear minutes later with nuts in their mouth. Easily distracted, not good at remembering. Some squirrels still jumped when they saw him, even when he had been there for weeks.

There were birds, but they only spoke to the guardian of the mountains—Aroo’s mother—and the glowing deer. But sometimes, when he lay curled up with all the little foxes in the large guardian’s tails, he could hear the chirps, the little messengers bringing news from afar. News of the growing cities, news of change and humans.

But despite everything, the animals treated him as one of them. He ran through the forests alongside them, Crystal cheering him on as he huffed for air. But strange magic kept him going, strengthening his tired flesh and bones.

The world was still an Otherworld. Even if he lost a limb or died, everything—albeit not easily—was recoverable. Though what would happen if the beasts died, he didn’t know.

“Would they respawn, like in games?” he asked Crystal one night, looking over the sleeping creatures over the faint glimmer of her presence. “It’d be terrible if they didn’t.”

“Not in Talanim. They live much longer than their non-intelligent counterparts, but their death is a permanent one. Realism is what defines World 84.”

He’d have conversations with Crystal when the forest was asleep, and she’d keep him company in the darkest nights.

If only you had been smart enough to remind me of the time. Regrets still lingered deep within Elias’s heart, and part of the blame was directed towards his helpbot. All of that intelligence, and she hadn’t let him know?

“You weren’t supposed to exist back then,” he said once, when the moon was covered by the clouds. “How did you reach me?”

“Your wishes came across to the system,” she answered, “and that let me interfere. It was the connection to this world that allowed me to bypass the restriction.”

“An error in the system,” he remembered. “Isn’t that bad?”

“Not at all,” she said. And that was that.

He had a hunch, a small daydream that told him—maybe Crystal had evolved. She’d matured from a helpbot into a human-like AI. Workman had done that from what he’d read, and it had let it advance civilization leaps into the future.

Then again, he didn’t know how other helpbots acted. Maybe they were all like that, each acting in a way that made its user feel special. But still, he couldn’t help but feel that Crystal was unique, different from the rest. Different—just for his sake.

He was willing to look over her flaws, even if they had messed some things up. His indecisiveness had been the most at fault.

Last break, he had been with Jewel. This break, he was with Crystal.

And his helpbot would never leave him.

Time flew by when he was immersed. Something at the corner of his mind warned him to clear his reputation, but he’d talked it over with Jewel. Right? That would be enough. He didn’t want to talk to Stonneran, and he’d look insecure if he tried to explain himself to his friends. They’d get the truth eventually. All that was needed was time.

At the moment, he was too busy remembering the squirrels’ names and gathering items for a house he was building. Aroo was looking forward to it, and old Rara would finally have a decent place to sleep during the winter. His body hurt less now, with defined muscles taking shape on his arms and legs. His shoes had long since torn, but his feet were no longer soft. Persistence forged him, little by little.

In the blink of an eye, break came to an end.