(It…is a lie…right?)

A useless and pointless though that didn’t change what was the truth.

He saw from far away what could only be described as a horrible scene. She was there, dropped to the ground like a puppet that lost its strings.

Something grew inside him but he didn’t know what that was. Rather, he couldn’t think of anything at this moment.

-Midna!

He shouted to hard his throat started to hurt, but he needed to make sure his voice reached her. However, there was no reaction.

Even with fear spreading all over his body, he ran up to her.

There was no more care left in him if those things were near.

He wasn’t paying attention to anything anymore; the fallen girl was all he could see.

And then, when he was in the middle of his way to check on her-

She sat on the ground.

-Maannn, it’s been a while since I got this much workout.

Without realizing he was there, Midna stretched her arms to relief her stiff muscles. It seemed she was satisfied and got up from the floor, and used her hands to push away any dirt that could be on her clothes.

-Urgh…I hope this can be removed with water.

She checked her clothes, looking for any sort of stain on them when she finally noticed Chris staring at her in shock.

-Oh, hi Chris. Aren’t you supposed to be waiting for me?

She was confused to see him there.

-Oh well, I will be on my way then.

But it didn’t take long for Midna to turn her back at him, ignoring his feelings. She picked up her scythe from the ground, swing it a few times to clean some of the blood stuck on the blade and faced Chris one last time.

-See ya later!

With confidence, she walked, going away from him.

Only then he could recover from his shock.

-Wait a minute!

It was too fast for him to even begin understanding what was happening, even more, if it was what happened, but there was something deep inside him telling Chris to stop Midna.

-What is it?

She turned back with a confused expression.

-Where are you going now? We need to get out of here!

The way she was planning to go was the opposite of where the school’s entrance was. While he might not know what happened before in details, there were no more presences of those shadows.

Not to mention how the girl was at that moment. He couldn’t see well because of the distance between them, but the ground she was laying was enough for Chris to get an image of how her body must be after the fight.

The best option for them was to go back home and think this thoroughly while he would take care of the girl. But her words didn’t give him the comfort he was looking for.

-And then what?

-What do you mean now? We escape and-

-And let them go just to attack us again? Is that what you are saying?

With the last sentence, he couldn’t say anything afterward.

-Besides, how can I let this pass?

Chris' eyes followed as her arm extended while she pointed something on the floor. There was blood forming a line going towards one of the corridors as if it was a trail. With that image, he fully understood what she was trying to say and couldn’t believe it.

-But…why do you want to risk it anymore?!

-…Look, I will be straight with you. They aren’t here anymore and, yeah, they did get through me, but only because it was just a lucky strike.

Chris couldn’t see her expression but the way Midna talked to him was solemn, making him notice the distance between them aren’t only about some steps from each other.

-We get out this one alive today and then what? Try our best tomorrow? And the day after? And the one after that?... Now that I have the chance to end all of this, I will do it…you wanting or not.

The more he heard her words, the more dread he felt, however, he couldn’t bring himself to interrupt her speech.

-…I know very well what you want to say now, but this is just how it’s. This is just where I stand.

With a frail voice, Chris could notice Midna’s sorrow thought her words as he watched her face forward one more time, knowing she wouldn’t go back anymore.

-So go home, Chris. This will not take long.

Leaving those few words for him, Midna ran, following the trail to the corridor it leads, but fell down on her way.

-Don’t worry, I’m fine!

She quickly got up and ran again, entering the corridor, escaping from his sight. After some time, he saw her head popping out of the corridor.

-Oh, and don’t worry about the mess! I will clean it up later, see ya later!

Waving for him, she retrieved her arm and went inside one more time.

After that, Chris just stood in the main hallway, pondering about what she told him. He knew her words made sense. There was no chance for him to argue back, even if he wanted to.

Still, her resolution wasn’t enough to stop him.

Even though he understood the danger, Chris ran after her.

There was no need to risk now.

There could be more of those things waiting.

There was no need to let her go.

He didn’t want to let her go.

So he arrived in that corridor and-

-Midna, wait!

He was too late to get her. The trail ended not very far from where he was and the girl vanished to a place he didn’t know where.

[][][][][]

He checked his smartphone.

15:48 on the clock.

Chris went home.

There was nothing else to do.

There was no more lead for him to follow.

The only remaining option was to return and wait.

So he did just that.

He returned home and just waited.

Waited for the time Midna would also return.

She would return.

She said she wouldn’t take long.

After all, it was her that he was thinking about.

Why would he worry about something that was certain?

[][][][][]

16:39 on the clock.

-It’s late…

He reached home one hour ago, never leaving the living room even once.

The sun was starting to paint the sky with an orange color.

But she wasn’t there yet.

The time needed to walk from the school to his house was twenty to thirty minutes.

But she could do it in five if she wanted to.

At least, that was what Chris thought she could do.

Maybe she was-

She was still there at the school.

She was definitely there.

There was no need to worry. It was she after all.

She was different than him. She could do it without problems.

That thing blood he saw in the hallway wasn’t hers. It was from them.

After all, if he wasn’t there, she wouldn’t be hurt that time.

Exactly, without him, she would do it easily.

With him here, why would he worry?

There was no need, right?

[][][][][]

17:27

She still wasn’t there.

He began questioning himself.

He should have listened to her advice.

He talks about risks, but he was the one who risked the most.

What stage of mind he was when he suggested for them to investigate the shadows?

They didn’t know what those were, but he insisted on going.

Seriously, what was wrong with him?

There was no need to do that.

Why did he do that then?

To know more about whatever happened in his school?

That couldn’t even have a connection.

It could have, that is why he did it.

But if he didn’t?

They would be home by now, doing whatever, but they would be home.

Still, why would he worry if he knew she was on the way now, right?

She was coming home now, right?

She was on her way, right?

…Right?

[][][][][]

17:46

He was at the window.

The streets were empty.

Still no sights of her.

But she would come.

[][][][][]

18:04

If she was coming home, he might as well prepare something for her.

She would be hungry when she comes back.

So he was making something for her.

[][][][][]

18:07

The kitchen was a mess and nobody was there anymore.

It was dark, the sun already set.

The only lights came from the living room.

[][][][][]

18:15

She still didn’t come back.

[][][][][]

18:19

She still wasn’t there.

[][][][][]

18:21

She wasn’t there.

[][][][][]

18:22

Where was she?

[][][][][]

He didn’t look at the clock anymore.

Time didn’t matter anymore.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the streets anymore.

Nobody walked there.

Not a single soul.

Not even her.

…

…

…it was his fault.

This happened because of him.

Because he wanted to fix things quickly, the girl wasn’t there now.

The only one he could count on suffered for his mistakes.

And now was fighting to fix them while he waited home.

However, what could he do?

He was normal, ordinary, common.

There were no superpowers or hidden abilities.

If he was, it would be nothing but one more thing to be on her shoulders, aside from the weight that was already there.

All he could do was thinking and that was it, but when it matters the most, she helped him even do that.

When they were surrounded, all he did was to wait for the inevitable, only to be saved by her in the last minutes.

Now he waits because he was not good enough to stop her.

No…it was because he was scared to be in that place anymore.

Compared to him, the girl fought head-on, not caring about whom she was going to face or how would it be the result of her actions.

And she even tried to sound fine for him to not worry about her.

He couldn’t see it up close, but there were more red colors on her clothes then it should be.

Rather, he couldn’t remember if there were any red colors on them in the first place.

How would she look like if-

How would she look like when she reached home?

He didn’t dare to imagine it.

There was an image fixed in his mind that didn’t allow it.

No, he didn’t want to not think about it.

-How could you smile like that…?

Even if the situation was harsh, she would be smiling to show him it was fine.

Even when she felt pain.

Even when he was confused.

Even when she was walking to the other side.

She would just…smile.

And now he would think of it to know it was fine.

[][][][][]

Why was she not there yet?

The streets lights were turned on for a while now.

However, none of them revealed her.

He just kept looking with no results.

He started to think if something happened-

He started to think if she had meet friends-

He started to think if she lost her way-

He started to think if…if she…

…If something happened to her.

There was no use of denying anymore.

She was hurt, wounded and maybe even worse.

He remembered the way she walked.

Her body was going back and forward without a balance.

Yet, she went there.

She knew how she was.

Yet, she had chosen to go.

There was no way knowing if there would be more of those things there.

Yet, she went.

Even if she could not return-

-That’s it.

With that one sentence, the boy finally moved from the window he was staring for nobody knew how long. But he didn’t care.

(I will go look for her.)

He got tired of waiting.

There was no clue to where she might be but he would give it a try. The school was closed at this time but there were some vines coming from the walls of the main gate that he could use to climb it. At least he thought he can.

Otherwise, he would just find another way. It’s not like his school was a prison nobody could escape.

The last time he saw the girl was on the first floor after she went to the corridor leading to where the library building was. It was a two-store building a bit far away from the main building, so he could just look for a way from there.

The only problem would be where Chris would look for Midna. After all, when he didn’t see where she went next. If she was inside one of those buildings, then he would need to look for a way in.

With those thoughts in mind, he went to the door and was about to place his hand on the knob, but he stopped.

He was trembling.

After all, this wasn’t his normal daily life anymore. If he went there, being caught by the janitor was the least of his problems.

Those things were too fast to be seen and strong enough to hurt the girl. It was the same as entering a hungry lion’s den, attacking the moment it saw him.

But she was alone inside that very den.

-It’s going to be fine.

He breathed until his trembling stopped and twisted the knob. The moment he stepped out of his house, he wouldn’t come back without the girl. He would find her, bring her back, alive, and wouldn’t give up.

He wouldn’t give up. He wouldn’t give up. He wouldn’t give up…

-Here I go.

Thinking like that, Chris opened the front door and stepped outside-

Meeting Midna when she was about to knock.

-…Eh?

-…Eh?

Their reaction was the same, surprised at the same time.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. Her bloody-clothes were tattered, to the point one would wonder how there were still in place. He could see from the rips of her clothes scars and bruises on her arms, belly, legs, maybe even more over her body in the places he couldn’t see.

But it was her.

-Chris, it’s embarrassing if you stare me like this…

Midna was fidgeting, misunderstanding the way he was looking at her.

-Can I please take a bath before-

-Midna!

The moment he heard her voice, he couldn’t hold himself anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a gentle hug as if she would break if he put more strength.

-I’m so glad!

Without knowing, tears were falling from his eyes as he continued to hug, not showing any signs he would stop doing it.

-Don’t you ever do that again…*sobs*…never…*sobs*...never…

Between his weeps of happiness, Chris kept repeating the same words for her to understand his feelings.

Midna was startled by him and what he was doing, but nonetheless she became happy, responding his hug with one of her own as she basked in joy.

(Ah…so I was that worried…)

Chris didn’t want to admit it but he couldn’t lie to himself. All the sorrows and regrets that he didn’t even know where inside him were gone like they never existed. But none of that mattered now, because finally…

-Chris, I’m home.

The girl was there.