I saw them when the sea’s waves crashed into the walls of the port below where I sat. The flickering between waves. I blinked and looked again—but they were still there. Dots of light flickered against the water, reflecting so much so that I shielded my eyes in case of streaks in my vision. They drifted and wandered around as if they were swimming in the water themselves.

Despite how odd and incredibly odd and impossible these lights were, seeing this illuminated sea was somehow as breathtaking as staring at the stars the nights before those Snow Festivals. Really, I had only wished I could’ve seen that spectacle again. It wasn’t the same without the snow brushing up against my nose and the anticipation of tomorrow’s festivity.

Who knows if I’ll ever see tomorrow.

Those lights weren’t just me hallucinating, rather they were real, and a sign it has started again. I turned my head to find another sea, flames in the shape of fish swimming in the air above the treetops. Koi whose fins radiated blue embers. An Aoi of someone who likely wanted to capture me alive.

But they kept coming.

Standing up, I took a sharp breath. “If they really say there are countless opportunities within the sea, then why can you so easily drown in it?”

I didn’t think they would take this much of a risk. Azure would only make their move when no other civilians could enter the crossfire and keep environmental damage to a minimum. To use their Aoi so close to a city and right above a grove of trees, flammable objects no less… was something out of character for an organization that wants to maintain humanity.

From my perspective, that notion was far from the truth. Having your life constantly on the line while running from Azure was utterly terrifying. No matter where we ran, Azure held far too many members to allow us any breathing room to rest. I lost count of the amount of times my ice was used to let us slip away—but that’s to say I’ve never used ice to take the life of another again. If I had, I wouldn’t be here standing on this port as a fugitive and instead, succumbing to guilt.

Even though it has been years since that incident made us fugitives... Everyday my mind rummaged and wondered how everyone was doing in Sappora. At this point we’re beyond the age where we are free to set off into the world without adults stopping our every move. Surely everyone including those at the orphanage are leading lives I’ve only heard stories of. Had I just waited, maybe I would’ve been like them, maybe I would be staring not at a wall, but the sea. Chloe... It really did feel like… I made the wrong decision that day.

Now here I was, about to be hunted down yet again. Not wanting to dwell any longer, I picked up my feet and dived into the wooded grove beneath the flames. The broad beams of sunlight casted through the foliage, which in turn guided me to see the koi still swimming along the treetops. Oddly, they didn’t seem to notice me. If they did, they only kept swimming without coming down near the tree trunks. Not a sound emerged as the koi flailed their tail fin to wander another direction.

The lack of noise couldn’t have felt more welcoming. As I dove further in, the place held an odd silence that really contrasted against my attempts to experience the city this morning. A silence that grew on me. Living on borrowed time made me feel pressured to experience joys faster, but seeing that parade cheering a brigade made me realize how much I enjoyed the stillness. Making it back to Kitzkirchen meant the peace and quiet will be over.

But as if to undermine the quiet time I had left, that was when I took notice of the sound, rather music. A wind instrument seemingly being played deeper inside this forest, its sound filled the space between the trees so it was hard to pinpoint the direction it was coming from. When I thought about it, it sounded familiar.

It sounds just like the xiao...

I, preoccupied both by the music and by the second guessing that I really was going crazy, had completely forgotten to be cautious about my surroundings. As a result, it was already too late by the time I saw her.

My line of sight met the face of someone enraptured in her own music. A girl stood against a tree with her eyes closed, her lips pressed onto the instrument in her hands and was playing the most gentle sounds I’ve ever heard. Indeed, it was the xiao that was creating the tune, and this girl was a pro at it. The pleasant melody she created allowed my tense shoulders to relax and my body lighten up for the very first time in years. It almost made me ashamed and a bit jealous considering she looked to be my age and her performance rivaled performers on stages.

It took me a second to realize I had stopped, standing there completely entranced like her. The reason why I had dived into this grove was to escape from Azure, but it seemed like I didn’t have to. This girl was not from Azure.

“—?!” Before I could back away, my foot had pressed on a tree branch on the ground, snapping it. The girl stopped and looked up.

“Ah… looks like I’ve been found out. Teehee~! You saw my koi flames haven’t you?”

So those were from her. Glancing up, those koi above the trees had already disappeared. Maybe she didn’t want to let others know she was using her Aoi and chose this grove as some sort of secret hideaway? But if that were true, what reason would she send koi shaped flames above the trees where everyone can see them?

“Oh…” Now that I thought about her xiao and with a closer look of her, her features reminded me of that first trek I’ve made outside Scandia. Although her faded dark purple hair tied up in twintails was a hairstyle I didn’t remember seeing much of, her looks and accent did resemble the people there. She was from Alkai, and of course, playing an instrument while creating flames shaped like the native fish originating there.

All that being said, it didn’t change the fact that I had interrupted her performance and was now staring right at me. “S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.” I bowed my head slightly. “Your playing was really beautiful.”

Upon hearing my compliment, her eyes widened. “Why thank you~!”

“What are you doing here in the middle of a forest anyways?” I asked, trying to lessen the aura of mystery she imbued that only grew after her thanks. “Were you practicing?”

She placed a finger on her chin and tilted her head for a second. “Probably the same reason why you’re parading through here. To escape from the crowd and get some alone time, am I correct? So yes, if anything, I just wanted to play in peace without having people breathing down my neck twenty-four-seven.” She held up the xiao. “These instruments are my prized possessions. My ma, pa, aunt, uncle, everyone says I’ve been practicing since I was a baby when my grandma first gave me this, and they might be right. Oh, this is called a xiao by the way.” she spun around and gestured to another instrument, this time a stringed one on her back. “And this—”

“A pipa.”

She smiled. “Nice job~! Where are you from by the way? I never met anyone that has a clue what these instruments are here in Kitzkirchen, let alone Chordia! The name of the pipa isn’t common knowledge as far as the curious looks of passersby tell me.”

“Um…” Was it really safe for me to mention Scandia? It should be, she certainly didn’t seem interested in taking me alive. But before I had time to open my mouth, she was already waving her hand to dismiss her question.

“Aa~ah! It’s fine if you’re not comfortable telling me! Just know that these two instruments are barely known outside my village. For that matter... Aoi too. I suppose one of the reasons why I’m travelling is because of my koi.”

“...Oh! I’m sorry about walking in on your performance. I promise I won’t tell anyone.” It really was a spectacle, and I preferred keeping spectacular things to myself.

“Say—!” Mary's eyes suddenly brightened. “I wonder, now that you’ve seen mine, how about you let me see what yours can do?”

“Mine?”

She ran up and practically pressed up against me. “Your Aoi! It’s only natural that you’d show me yours~!”

“I…” How did she know that I have one? I gulped and tried to ease the uncomfortable feeling that had surfaced. I guess I wasn’t questioning my own sanity. “Maybe not…”

She pouted. “Show me! Show me!”

This girl’s awfully persistent. After a few more rounds of exchanges, I eventually gave into her demands and raised my arm. From the ground came ice that embodied a humanoid shape with wings for arms. The Snow Fairy that I’ve sculpted time and time again now stood elegantly between us.

The girl’s eyes lit up at the sight. “Pretty…!”

“It’s... supposed to be a fairy of snow.” I said, a little surprised at her reaction. Her expression of awe—it reminded me of the feeling I had when I went out of Sappora for the first time.

But that expression immediately disappeared as she switched to the pipa on her back. “Allow me.” With a strum of a tune, out came a scorching heat. The air morphed as a bluish white light grew next to the fairy, eventually taking shape into a fairy of her own in the form of fire. The heat of which was far more blistering than those koi from before. It was a miracle that nothing in this forest’s nearest vicinity ignited just by sheer heat alone.

“Not quite the shape… It’s more like those souls you’d see rising into the sky in books. I guess we can call it a spirit instead, teehee~!” Her laugh completely juxtaposed the sheer heat of the spirit that she created. “Can I ask for your name? Mine is Mary by the way.”

Still being shocked by the flame, I didn’t respond right away. When I did eventually collect myself, she was already waving her hand a second time.

“Neeeeevermind. It’s also fine if you don’t tell me that either.”

I wasn’t sure why but this girl, Mary, reminded me of the time before all this fugitive stuff happened. That hyperness she was rubbing off, it was quite lovely honestly. “Your spirit... is also pretty, Mary.”

She curtsied looking pleased, but frowned immediately after. “No one ever called my flames pretty before.”

“I really doubt it. They really are pre—”

“Sweets are the uses of adversity.” Interrupting me, Mary lowered her gaze to the pipa in her hands. She allowed her fingers to glide against its strings, sighing as she did. “That’s what they say, but it’s hard. As a traveling musician, you have to make sacrifices in order to live even a frugal life. It’s not stable. Travel expenses are ridiculously steep. People may scoff at you for playing something they don’t have the taste for. I’m hardly interested in making money from my art, but that is the only choice I have. So I’m sure… you can understand it too.”

—Another strum of the pipa. The fire spirit rushed forward, eviscerating the fairy in front of it into vapor. That moment, my arm reflexively shot upwards and created a pillar of ice that encapsulated the flame. Yet it wasn’t enough. The ice melted as soon as it came into contact with the spirit’s flames. I willed myself, gritting my teeth to keep the ice alive and slowly turned the flames into cinders. When all that was left was steam, I was gasping for air—worse that the dryness of which didn’t allow me to recover in time for Mary’s next words.

“Hmm… Even your ice was enough to douse my flame.” A look of defeat spread over her face. “Are we... just going to have to brute force it, Take-san?”

I felt my whole body shudder. No… She’s also out to get me... I pivoted my feet and sprinted. No… No no no no no! I should’ve known! In order for us to stay together, for us to stay alive, she said it herself not to engage with anyone. So then, why did I just had to go and do it—

Before I knew it, another figure stood before me, one whose face I haven’t seen for years. Takeshi, holding that sword that glowed a deep red. All the memories that happened on that first exploration came rushing back to me.

What happened, just now? He suddenly just appeared right in front of me… No...

It was his Aoi that did it.

“Your fairy statue was really cute back there~!” Mary said, rushing by his side. “I’m sorry it had to melt so quickly…” Her attention quickly shifted to Takeshi, herself punching him in the arm as she did. “ね、Take-san, You shoulda told me her Aoi was that strong!”

“I did.”

“You did, but she doused my pipa’s flames with her ice alone!”

“She did.”

“You’re not being too helpful here…” Mary fidgeted with her pipa. “Compared to our mademoiselle here who showed me a new design for my flame while you probably spied on us like some kind of creep.”

Her friendliness rubbed me the wrong way knowing that she had tried to scorch me alive a moment ago. So Mary knows Takeshi. I thought Takeshi had no business with me now that the Kusa no Tsurugi is at the bottom of the sea, and there was no possible way he knew I was a fugitive. It had been years since then but… an unsettling feeling came that he did indeed know.

“Are you scared, Scandian?” Takeshi said, “Given the circumstances, anyone would be when faced with uncertainty.”

Scared?

“I don’t know.” I knew I should be scared. Those times that I was, it was dreadful. I was scared of following Keery and Tobias into the Eastern Forest. Scared leaving Scandia for the first exploration trip. Scared holding onto that sword as I was told to protect it. Scared when those three Azure members showed up to take Velma. Scared knowing that for the rest of my life, I will never be able to return home ever again.

So then, why am I so calm right now?

“I figured not. That look on your face, that isn’t the look of fear you had in that tomb. You certainly have changed since we first met.” Takeshi said, his prying eyes studying my face. “And that reminds me, didn’t you have a guardian watching over you? Not that scientist, but that Alkain, what was her name again?”

Her name? He didn’t even remember it? Did he not ask for it when we were in that inn, or was it the other way around? Whether or not he had done so, her name remained.

“—Velma!”

A shadow swept the foliage. From the rusling in the bush, a rock hurdled forward straight at Takeshi’s head. He shot his arm upwards, deflecting the projectile with his sword.

—As the rock hit the grass, a voice followed whose sound made me feel even more relaxed than from the sound of Mary’s xiao. “I swear Junior, I lose sight of you for one minute and you get caught up in some shady business. Maybe I am becoming an old hag…” That voice from behind now stood beside me. Velma glanced down at me with a grin before fixing her gaze at the two in front.

“Well hello. It’s been a while.” Takeshi said, fixing his own gaze towards us.

I looked up at Velma, expecting a snarky remark but… “Velma…?” She was not her usual self, far more rigid than I’ve ever seen her.

“Hello yourself. What brings you two here? Especially you, Takeshi?”

“The use of ice to kill those Azure members made it very easy to know it was the work of you two. That kind of combination couldn’t be the work of any other party. To answer your question, it didn’t take much effort to predict you two were gonna be here by process of elimination.”

“Haha! Gee, a nice brain you got there…”—Velma suddenly paused—“...How do you know about those Azure members?”

“It’s important to know the state of our comrades after all.” Before he allowed time for us to parse his words, he spoke again. “In short, I need the Scandian, rather, her Aoi.”

“...Junior?”

“Hm. I forgot that was what you refer to her as. It’s a rather amusing title to give her.”

“Well it's rather funny that you were looking to get that Sword in your hands back then and now you want Junior. Give me a break, are we six years old fighting over who gets the toy? For that matter, are you some sort of creep?”

“—Those officers that were killed in action. Wouldn’t you say they were senseless deaths that could’ve been avoided, yes?”

Velma lowered her gaze. “Is that your way of provoking us?”

“That incident was not the fault of you two, rather it was the fault of this world.” He clarified. “Do you want what happened to those officers happen to every single other person over the three regions? I’m not referring to ice alone. Fire, even. Tragedies. This world has changed. Aoi has changed it.”

“Nice words.” She made a slight scoff. “It’s almost as if some philosophy book hit you in just the right spot.”

“That’s a nice way to put what I’ve been thinking. I loathe Take-san’s philosophical speeches even if I get what he’s saying the morning after.”

“Mary.”

“—So your saying we should rid these power ups so that these types of stuff won’t happen. Sounds naive if you ask me.” Velma interrupted, “It’s like treating the symptoms instead of the source.”

“The source?” Takeshi repeated, his gaze followed a sunbeam that had casted itself between us. “There’s an intrinsic bias against those not familiar to us. Tell me not that there is a sense of discomfort when speaking to another with different customs and morales? This ‘us vs them’ mentality is seen when opinions, beliefs, values, even appearances differ. That is the source you are referring to. Aoi only furthers this divide. If someone possesses the ability to end your own life at the snap of a finger, would you not fear them?

“Hearing the lives of others is one thing, but to actually understand them takes effort most people aren’t willing to invest the time in. Even if we were to be whisked away in a train where countless other travelers ride, lending an ear is the best we can do. Aoi are like the river that divides us from the train station.”

That response only made Velma frown further. “Just... what are you two?”

Mary smiled. “They called us Stargazers.”

That was when the overwhelming heat purged the air. Three fire spirits formed in front of us with the strum of her pipa—their sheer heat causing ripples in the air. I raised my arm to counterattack, but Velma took that arm and dashed through the forest, dragging me with her. The flames didn’t stand motionless, bursting in our direction, gliding and weaving between trees as we did.

“Velma?! What are you doing?!”

“Escaping of course! We’re at a total disadvantage here.”

“What?! But I thought we’ve figured out how to counteract their Aoi…!” I bit my lip. “Maybe not Mary’s... but Takeshi’s, right?!”

“That bastard’s Aoi isn’t invincible, yes, we’ve figured out his weakness a long time ago. Keeping him distracted with something whose memory you don’t care about losing.”

“I can do that—!”

“—But so long as that Mary girl is there causing havoc, there’s nothing we can do to prevent her from keeping you at bay.”

“Then—”

“Junior!” She hissed in my ear, causing me to hold my breath. It was one of the few rare moments I’ve ever seen her raise her voice. “Keep in mind I lost my blade way back when, so our only means of attack is you. Merely fighting them is bar none impossible.”

Before I had time to respond, the noon sunlight once again washed over us as we rushed out of the forest. A steep cliff greeted us overlooking a grassfield which in turn overlooked the city. From behind, the heat followed. The three spirits glided out as fast as we did. As I gritted my teeth once more, a wave of crystalline icicles shot from me at a breakneck speed, stabbing the three spirits in their hearts. They squirmed for what seemed like forever until… they took on a white color and grew even brighter.

A release of energy.

“Tch—!”

Our feet caught air. We fell, tumbling down the cliff, our bodies striking against the rock in all directions. It hurt. My lungs wheezed, my ribs sent sharp surges of pain, my coughs cut my throat, my head was ringing. Dust that got in my mouth was immediately sent back to the ground. Eventually, we hit the grounds ourselves, tumbling until our bodies finally rested in the patchy field of grass.

“Urgh… That smarts…” I heard Velma utter beside me. “As expected, there’s no escaping them, huh.”

Icicles stained black with dirt laid on the ground everywhere I looked. When I gazed forward, the dust carved the path where we fell with the cliff utterly scorched by the spirits’ detonation with its surface blackened. Right, there’s no escaping that.

“That’s… what I’ve been trying to say.” After managing to get myself on my feet, I lent a hand and slowly pulled her up.

“My back… Guess I really am getting old.”

“You’re not getting old.” I reassured her, but the weak smile she made sent chills up my arms.

“Maybe not old old, but I’m not lying when I say you actually escaped my reach when you ran to see the ocean. When I did manage to reach that port, I was hella out of breath by the time I saw you already waltzing into that forest.” she pursed her lips. “It was my fault for thinking Chordia was going to be a safe haven for us, thinking this city can let us turn a new leaf… that was a bad call on my end.” After wiping all the dirt and dust off herself, she walked up to me. “Junior, can you close your eyes for a second?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just do it.”

I tilted my head. What was going on inside her mind? To make a really inappropriate request at a time like this… what was she going on about—

“Just do it.” she repeated.

“O-Okay…”

Doing so, I heard rustling followed by the feeling of fabric around my back and arms.

“Keep your arms to your side… Hey stop fighting me!”

・

“...There, open your eyes now.”

When the light poured in, I looked down to see a wave of cyan blue spread over my body. “Eh…?” The gift that I had given to her, it was now over my shoulders. Velma had taken off the cloak that I had made for her all that long ago and wrapped it around me...

“Why did you…”

She averted her gaze to the cliff’s charred edge where we had fallen. “Eh… I dunno. Guess I just felt like it.”

She felt like it? That could not have been the reason why. Velma had never taken the cloak off aside for washing or patching any holes up. She always wore it no matter what.

“It’s a good thing your gift didn’t get caught in the fire. You said it was cool-looking, right? You can keep it.” Velma looked back at me, smiling as she did. “And hey, now you’re really cool-looking yourself.”

I squeezed the cloak trying not to think of the worst. Whatever she had in mind, it better not involve us separating. “W-We can still do something about this…!”

But as soon as I said that, the two figures emerged into view over the cliff. Takeshi and Mary stood against the edge gazing exactly where we landed, and then began their descent down.

“Junior.” Velma spoke in a soft tone.

“Y… yes?”

“Run.”

“Huh?!”

“I said run. These people are not some folks who you want to cross paths with twice. And we just did unfortunately.”

“But—!”

“Listen, it’s clear at this point those two are dead set on getting in our way, and there’s no way around the fact we’re just short of a leg up on them. That bastard’s Aoi is already a bitch to deal with and coupled with that girl’s flames, there’s not gonna be a way out of this hell…” For a second, there was a look of peace on her face. “You keep going. So long as you keep moving forward, then no past enemy or organization will keep you locked up. I’ll stay behind and create some time for you to escape. Once you do, I’ll figure out a way for me to join up with you.”

She’s contradicting herself… She had just said there was no way out of this.

“Don’t lie to me! You said it yourself that fighting them is impossible! So why now, and why you?!”

Seeing Velma’s eyes fall slightly at my own shouts, I stepped back and restrained myself from shouting further.

“I know it’s a painful memory for you, but do you recall what happened in that glacier after that officer made those demands—actually, scratch that. Let me put it in another way. Do you know how roads sometimes end up with cracks when the seasons transition from winter to spring?”

I thought about it for a second. I have seen the ground beneath us cracked all throughout Chordia and Alkai, but never knew a simple change in season would be the cause of them. But that meant... “Don’t tell me…”

“Sorry Junior, but I have to make another request for you. Can you make the air colder? Like really cold. Drop the temperature a fair amount and also whip me an ice sword while you're at it. I’ll lure them here, have that Mary girl create one of those fire guys, and give them a taste of their own medicine.”

“That’s suicide! I can’t—!”

“Junior.” Velma pressed her hands on my shoulders. “If you don’t do it, we die. If we both die, the memories we made exploring together will disappear. But if one of us lives, then the memory that we existed will live on in them.”

“If so…! Then I should be the one to stay back!” That’s right. It was me who wanted to see the sea today and now we’re fighting for our lives again. This is entirely my fault. Now that I thought about it, on that day too, when I wanted to go to Kosmos Valley… I clenched my eyes, not wanting to remember. How many times am I going to repeat this mistake?!

As if to break my train of thought, I felt a sensation on my head—she had leaned forward and pressed her forehead on mine.

“I like to think, sometimes, that life is more than just following the status quo. Branching out and doing things that people would otherwise put off. For me, that meant traveling and meeting new people. I always thought it would’ve been something to bring me joy, and well, it did. But the years past and the streak of days not bothering became longer. In the end, it wasn’t until you that spurred me back into the world.” Releasing her hands from me, she sighed. “I told you that before. But maybe it’s best that you forget everything that I said.”

She’s contradicting herself again.

“I… I don’t wanna be alone...! If you leave me, then I won’t have a home to return to anymore...” My eyes fogged up. Feelings welled up in my chest. I didn’t even know what to say other than what I feared the most. “I don’t want to forget about you.”

“...Junior.”

“Don’t go.”

Before I knew it, I buried my head into Velma. It was one part not letting see the mess that was my face and one part trying to cling onto my final hope in the world. It was that hope that brought a hand to caress my hair.

“You’ve grown up. You might have not noticed that because you’re in your own body, but from my point of view, you grew a few impressive inches. Hell, you're almost standing eye to eye with me now. I’ve seen you with my own eyes over these past couple of years. You’ve changed and matured so much since we met in that forest for the first time.

“All that shit that bastard said about not embracing change? Throw all that straight into the garbage. A girl, dead set on exploring the world despite the universe pulling out every stop to not let that come to fruition? That’s the single most coolest thing I’ve ever heard. Nagi, be the change you want to see in the world. Make your life extraordinary.” It was then that Velma pushed me from her and rested her hand on my head, a smile spread across her face.

“Alright, enough with this sappy stuff.” she said as she straightened her back and faced Takeshi and Mary, who had already reached the bottom of the cliff. “What is it gonna be?”

My vision blurred, the tears rolling down my face. I wanted to speak but nothing came out. Only tears.

But they kept coming.

The music and heat came again. Velma grabbed the sharpest icicle she found as the next spirit charged in and drew a blue arc in the air, decapitating its upper body. The spirit split into two and slowly disintegrated into cinders.

“Rrrk…! That… stings…” The smell of blood instantly filled the air—the smell I never got used to.

“V-Velma…?! Y-Your… arm…”

It was seared from the shoulder down.

“Don’t you think it was a touch rude to just wander off without a goodbye~?” Mary’s voice shouted from afar, “Not to mention ruining one’s art!”

“Mary. Once we get close, I will execute my Aoi. That is your chance to use your pipa’s flame—” Takeshi slowed his approach, feeling the skin on his right hand, then his sword glowed red.

“Hey Junior?” Velma asked.

I couldn’t speak.

“Your response?”

There was only one thing that came to my mind as I stepped up. “You are cruel, Velma. I already told you.” The air sharply dropped in temperature, the tears on my face slowly freezed, and my whole body loosened as the grass below us formed frozen shards. In the palm of my hand formed a blade like the way Keery always had done so, the Kusa no Tsurugi, with all of its imperfect parts. As I opened my mouth, the breath poured out was shrouded white. “Let’s stay together forever.”

From there I felt the heat of the flames—until I felt the pull of the cloak’s collar and the chilliness of the sword leave my palm.

I looked back. “Vel—”

“Thank you. I’m rootin’ for ya, Junior.”

Velma smiled, and then the wind rushed against my ears. I heard a swing followed by the bright white light.

・・・・・

The voice disappeared. From the time that it ended, the everlasting feeling that weighed my heart kept that cage without a means of escape. ‘Run’, it said regardless. So I ran. I ran. I ran and I ran and I ran and I ran. Places. Different places. Any place that found its way in my path. And yet, the flames kept coming. The endless cycle that was running. I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t remember anything. All I ever knew was the flames that followed me everywhere. They were the bluest flames I had ever seen. Beautiful, yet oppressive.

But they kept coming.

Far away, the days which wouldn’t return. The time I had vowed to do everything to protect, but like ice in sunlight, would melt and evaporate. It’s a shame I couldn’t see the stars.

That was the last memory I recalled when I snapped back into reality—in the endless cold blizzard. A light flickered, but somehow its warmth was far more gentle than any ember. The light of a star. And that was when I saw him, carrying that light in the palm of his hand. As I watched him reach out his hand to me, I reached out mine. The touch of his hand, the warmest sensation I’ve had the pleasure to experience. That single most liberating feeling felt like seeing the rolling hills of the world for the first time.

He pulled me out of the cage with that same kind smile I still remembered.