The snow was falling steadily now, any southerner would think it was the middle of winter and not the end of fall. Axes and the sounds of wood splitting echoed throughout the prison's backyard.

"I don't understand why they make us cut wood at the worst possible time... Why not do it in the summer and have a reserve?" Ezer asks out loud as he tries to warm his hands with the steam from his mouth, taking a short break from the task.

“It's a prison, no one cares about our welfare. Also, winter makes it impossible for us to escape, which means fewer guards are needed to keep an eye on us.” Anjani responds showing the incredible physique he had and the huge pile of firewood he had accumulated in a short time.

“Ahh … Ahh … I no longer have the strength of youth…”

"Or the teeth! Hahahaha!”

"Shut up, we'll see if you even reach my age before they rot in this prison." The old man without front teeth yells at a couple of prisoners who were laughing at him.

Ezer also can't help but chuckle a bit at the exchange. However, his gaze instantly sharpens in search of anything that would serve to escape.

A wall three men high enclosed the prison, outside of which stood the city walls separated by a small alley. Even if the prison wall were to be breached, there would still be those in the city that were even higher.

"Did you find a way?" Ezer approaches Anjani and asks in a whisper. At this point, he trusted Nataña and the man of almost two meters in high.

“To escape? The idea is simple and can only be done this season. Although carrying it out is impossible.”

“The reason?” Ezer, upon hearing the answer, clings to the illusion that it generated.

“We stacked the wood from that shed.” Anjani points to the small roof supported by four poles that served as a store for firewood. “We just have to stack it on the opposite side, on the wall and jump over it. Simple right?”

“Yes, but they only take us out to the yard to cut the firewood and it's always with a lot of vigilance. As well as having this thing on our feet.” Ezer gestures at the chains that held the shackles on his ankles.

“Don't forget that afterwards you have to leave the city, there are only the gates to do so and they are always guarded. Suppose we neutralize all the guards, jump over the wall and even escape from the city… then what's next? Escape through the woods in the dead of winter? And then? How long could we last before they found us? It is because of all this that it is impossible… simply impossible.” Anjani finishes speaking with a slightly shaken voice and a trace of bitterness.

“I see, it really seems impossible.”

"Ha! It doesn't seem, it's impossible.” Anjani raises her ax and violently splits a piece of wood in two, as if venting her frustration.

“Hope is the last thing you lose. Also, I have a plan...”

“Yes? What is that wonderful plan?” Anjani laughs, not believing Ezer's words.

“I have someone outside, I just have to contact her and come up with a plan to escape from the two prisons, this one and the city.”

“What? Is there anyone crazy enough to help you and risk his own neck? Are you sure?”

“Yes I am. After all, I would do the same for her.” Ezer has no doubt that Lyaria was looking for him, he just had to point out his position and everything would be solved… at least he hoped so.

“Inside! There is almost no sun anymore!” A guard shouts the order, earning several sighs of relief from the prisoners.

“Finally!”

"Ah… I couldn't feel my fingers anymore."

Slowly everyone leaves the courtyard, the soldiers quickly and the prisoners roughly by the shackles on their feet.

“I'll tell you the details tomorrow.” Ezer whispers those words to Anjani.

The cell was the same, the smell was the same, the cold was the same. It seemed as if the passage of time stopped once one was between three walls and bars. Only the growth of nails and hair indicated its course.

Ezer was running out of time, he knew very well, the roots of his hair were already showing their original color and the rest was slowly losing its dark hue. It was time to escape.

"Here, you're going to need it more than me." Nataña pulls him out of his thoughts by handing him a white bread that gave off an aroma that he hadn't felt in weeks.

"I can't accept it... at least let's cut it in half."

“Escape requires strength and I'm not going to be able to eliminate any guard, this is the only thing I can do.”

Ezer doesn't insist anymore, his stomach won't let him, and he takes a big bite of the most delicious bread he's ever tasted.

"T-this... Is this meat?" Ezer asks incredulously when he sees what was hidden in the middle of the bread.

"Enjoy it, I don't think I'll ever get it again." Nataña smiles at Ezer's happy expression.

"How did you…?" Ezer tries to ask, but stops instantly when he sees Nataña's bitter face and the blow on her face that she was trying to hide.

At that time, his food feels like ash in his mouth. He hates himself for enjoying something that his cellmate had such a hard time getting. However, he continues to take bites determined to gain strength and get her out of that hellish pit.

"Anjani said anything useful to you?"

“Yes, you were right. He already had a plan, now we just have to carry it out and escape.”

“Only me arrived first before him. We are both the ones who spend the most winters inside the prison. I was sure he had an idea or two. Do you think she'll find you? Without her… we have no hope.” Nataña knew about Lyaria thanks to Ezer.

"She's looking for me, I just have to give her some sign that I'm in this place."

"Did you think about how?"

“It's simple and the only idea I have, to tell you the truth. I'll tie some of my hair to a rock and throw it in the alley after the walls.”

“What? I'm sorry to tell you, but... it's an absurd idea. It is practically impossible to find it.”

“I trust her.” He knew better than anyone how strong Lyaria's sense of smell could be, she relied more on it than sight to find traces.

“As you say, we have nothing to lose by trying.”

“The problem comes how to get rid of the shackles and the guards to escape.”

"I'll take care of the shackles. Last winter the key they used to lock them broke in two and they threw the halves in the room they use for breaks, they just made a copy and forgot about the original. I can pick it up when… when I'm called into that room.”

Ezer clenches his fist knowing what it meant for her to be taken to that place, but he has no choice but to accept it. It would be the last time, he promises himself.

“Okay, I'll explain it to Anjani tomorrow and we'll start with the plan. Now we just have to wait.”