Chapter 107: To Be Seen
The road had no end.
A dull, heavy ache throbbed in Lily's legs. The crowd, too, seemed to stretch into infinity. One after another, total strangers flickered like ghosts through Lily's frame. She couldn't feel them, but she knew they were there, their frantic energy washing through her existence.
Her stomach let out a hollow growl. She was so very hungry.
Anya was just a short distance ahead. She wore that same faded grey dress, her raven hair spilling over her shoulders as she moved with the mechanical rhythm of the displaced.
Lily called out to her. Anya didn't hear.
Lily reached for her. Her fingers found only empty air.
Lily felt a crushing weight of exhaustion. She didn't want to walk anymore. She stopped in the middle of the road and reached into her pocket, pulling out the flower crown. It was the one they had woven together in the secluded garden. The petals were wilted now, drooping and bruised.
She looked at the crown and remembered the garden. Back then, Anya could see her.
With a small, hopeful gesture, Lily placed the wilted crown upon her own head.
Ahead of her, Anya stumbled as if she had tripped over an invisible snare. She came to a halt and instinctively turned around, her eyes searching the chaotic tide of people behind her.
And then, Anya's gaze stopped.
Amidst the blur of panicked adults, a single little girl stood alone. She wore a flower crown that looked as though it were seconds away from falling apart.
Lily's heart gave a frantic skip.
"Anya?" she whispered.
Anya walked back toward her. Step by slow step, she maneuvered around the people charging past. She stopped directly in front of Lily. She stared at the flower crown, then up at Lily's face.
"Are you... alone too?" Anya's voice was a tiny rasp.
Lily nodded vigorously, tears pricking her eyes. "Anya! You can see me!"
A look of profound confusion clouded Anya's features. "How do you know my name?"
"You told me! In the garden! We promised to be best friends forever!" Lily explained, her words tumbling out in a rush.
Anya's expression grew more vacant. She scrutinized Lily, her mind clearly dredging through her memories for a spark of recognition, only to find nothing but smoke. Finally, Anya shook her head.
"I don't know you."
The smile on Lily's face died. "But... we were only apart for a little while..."
Just then, Lily's stomach let out another ill-timed roar. It was loud enough to be heard over the shuffling of feet. Anya's eyes drifted to Lily's midsection. She hesitated, then reached into a small cloth pouch at her side. She withdrew a hunk of bread that looked as hard as a stone.
She snapped it in two and handed the larger piece to Lily.
"Here," Anya said.
Lily took the bread. She brought it to her lips and bit down with all her might. It was incredibly tough, tasting faintly of vinegar and dust. But she forced herself to swallow it. The hollow ache in her gut eased just a fraction.
"It tastes bad, Anya."
Anya watched her, unsure of what to say. She looked down at the smaller piece in her own hand—her final ration. "I'm sorry... it's all I have."
Anya pointed toward a large boulder by the side of the road. The two girls moved to the rock and sat down, turning their backs to the river of refugees.
"Anya, I'm so glad you can see me again," Lily said, repeating herself. "I called for you earlier, but you wouldn't answer."
"I'm sorry," Anya whispered. "I didn't see you before. It was only when I turned back just now that I saw you standing there all by yourself."
Lily touched the crown on her head. "Was it because of this?"
Anya shook her head. "I don't know."
"It doesn't matter!" Lily cheered, her spirits lifting. "You can see me now! We're friends again!"
Lily took another large bite of the sour bread and asked through a full mouth: "Anya, where are we? Why are the houses so broken, and why is everyone running?"
"This is the Iron Fortress Territory," Anya replied. "The Undead are coming. Everyone has to flee."
"The Undead? You mean the Skele-uncles?"
"They're really nice! They help Hans-nii move heavy things and they always wave at us!"
Anya's face twisted into an expression of pure bewilderment. "Skele...uncles?"
"Yeah! They're great! Haven't you seen them?" Lily began to gesture with her hands. "They're tall and white and they go click-clack when they walk. They even wave when they see us!"
Anya stared at Lily, her voice failing her. She felt certain the girl before her had been driven mad by the terror.
"Skeletons... being nice?" Anya's voice was so soft she might have been asking herself.
"Of course! Look, like this!" Lily raised her hand and performed a stiff, mechanical wave. "They even teach classes! The teacher who taught us about plants? He's a skeleton!"
The piece of bread slipped from Anya's hand, hitting the dirt. She didn't even notice. She just stared. "The teacher... is a skeleton?"
"Uh-huh! He knows so many things! His voice sounds a bit funny, though." Lily giggled at the thought.
Anya leaned down, silently retrieving the dusted bread and brushing it off. She decided it was best not to argue with the "broken" girl about the nature of monsters.
"The Iron Fortress you talk about..." Anya whispered. "It sounds wonderful."
"It is! It's the best place ever!" Lily chirped. "Hans-nii's apple pies are the best in the whole world! When we get back, I'll make him bake one for you!"
"Who is Hans?"
"Hans is Hans! He's the hero of Sunflower House!"
"Sunflower House?"
"That's our home! Miguel-oniichan, Tom, Amy... we all live there together!"
Anya listened in silence. She was convinced that this girl in her clean dress and flower crown was a phantom born of a beautiful dream. How could such a place exist in Iron Fortress? How could the dead ever be kind to the living?
"I'd like to go to that Academy," Anya said, a sliver of longing entering her voice. "Just for one lesson."
"You can!" Lily said proudly, slapping her chest. "When we get back, I'll take you! The lessons are so much fun! I even know how to write!"
Lily looked at Anya. "Anya, why are you all alone?"
Anya looked down at her bread. "Because Papa stayed behind to fight the Undead."
"Fight them?"
"Yes. He's on the wall back there." Anya pointed toward the horizon, where the city's outline had shrunk to a tiny speck. "He told me to run fast and find a man with a big beard."
"Did you find him?"
Anya shook her head. "There are too many people. I can't find anyone."
"It's okay!" Lily took Anya's hand. "You have me now! We're best friends!"
Lily had a sudden realization. "Oh! I can teach you how to write!"
Lily hopped down from the rock and found a small twig. She knelt in the dirt, drawing strokes with careful, intense concentration.
[ A N Y A ]
"See? That's your name."
Anya crouched beside her, staring at the two words in the mud. "That... that is me?"
"Yup!" Lily puffed out her chest. "I study really hard! The teacher even praised me!"
Lily handed the twig to Anya. "You try!"
Anya took the twig, hesitating for a second. Beside Lily's neat handwriting, she began to draw. She moved slowly, her hand shaky but determined. Finally, two wobbly, caterpillar-like symbols appeared in the dirt.
[ A N Y A ]
"Perfect! Anya, you're a genius!" Lily clapped her hands happily.
Anya looked at the dirt and, for the first time, a small, genuine smile touched her lips.
"Lily... does that Academy really exist?"
"Of course it does! I would never lie to my best friend!"
Anya looked at the surging crowd in the distance, then at the darkening sky. "We have to move, Lily. Or we'll lose them."
Lily nodded, stuffing the last of the bread into her mouth. The two girls stood up, hand-in-hand, and stepped back into the river of shadows, following the tide of the desperate.
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you