The sun rose in the wide blue sky, spreading its light and warmth throughout that dark azure forest, chasing away the last remnants of darkness from the previous night. Its rays reached inside the cold, damp cave.
Inside, only Sol and the blue girl remained. Beside them was plenty of leftover wood—a lot of it. The fire still burned in front of them, and beneath it, piles of black ash scattered all around.
Those strange tapping creatures had left a few minutes before sunrise. They seemed to have an internal clock warning them of the approaching dawn, making them flee just before it arrived. Despite that, Sol and the girl hadn't gone out.
Sol wasn't naive enough to walk out immediately after the tapping creatures left. He had a habit of always thinking about the negatives without giving the positives any chance. So he considered that those creatures might be deceptive—waiting for him outside to fall into their trap, then pounce on the girl.
The sunlight grew slowly until it reached right in front of their feet, then stopped. Sol was already awake, and so was the girl. Neither had slept, even though Sol had calmed the girl down.
As for Sol, he wasn't scared—but he had to keep the girl safe, so he stayed awake all night making sure the fire didn't go out. Besides, he was already convinced that the very short time he'd spent unconscious after eating that poisonous fruit was more than enough.
Sol stood up, and the girl stood after him. Sol turned toward her and looked at her face—the fear was completely gone from her features now—then said:
"No... stay here... I'll make sure it's safe outside."
The girl raised one eyebrow looking at Sol, then said:
"q!n$@2fh#s*$^w"
Sol sighed without his gloomy, dark, tired expression changing, then said:
"Yeah... you don't understand me... okay, how do I get this across to you then?..."
He paused briefly, then remembered something. He looked directly into the girl's eyes, then raised his hands in front of her so she could watch. He moved his hands skillfully. It was sign language, and it meant: "Stay here a little while, I'll come back."
The girl looked at him with surprise and wonder, not understanding what Sol was trying to do with his hands. But she looked at her own hands and mimicked some of the movements Sol had made, a innocent smile on her face, and a small spark of pride in her sapphire eyes.
"It was worth a try..."
Sol simply pointed at her and said: "You..." then pointed down and said: "Stay here."
The girl looked down briefly, then raised her gaze back to Sol. Confusion and wonder showed on her face before she shrugged slightly as if wanting to protest something. But she nodded. It seemed she understood his meaning from that simple gesture.
Sign language was impressive, but it required someone who'd learned it to understand. As for Sol, he knew it because one of his brothers had learned it when his lover lost her hearing in an accident.
Sol headed toward the cave entrance, leaving the girl behind with the fire still burning.
When Sol stepped outside, the fresh, pure breeze hit him—mixed with a hint of trees and damp rocks. Inside the cave had been suffocating from the smoke rising from the fire, and with no wind to clear it, it had gathered around them.
Sol looked at the footprints those creatures had left behind—many of them, large, with four long claws.
"They're not the same..."
Sol said quietly, remembering the shape of the tracks surrounding that fat creature's corpse near the explosive substance.
He turned toward the girl still waiting inside the cave, then raised his hand and waved. She hurried over to Sol immediately, her features calm now that light had appeared.
Sol remembered immediately that this girl already knew those creatures—knew they fled before sunrise, which was why her fear had vanished moments ago.
Sol looked with his dark eyes into her bright sapphire ones for a few seconds, studying her, until the girl raised one eyebrow in confusion, then said:
"q!n$@2fh#s*$^w"
Sol shifted his gaze toward the trees, then back to the girl.
"Now that the path is safe, she can go back to her family... how do I tell her to return to her family?..."
Sol said quietly, before raising his right index finger toward the girl. The girl fixed her eyes on Sol's finger, then Sol pointed toward the forest. The girl's eyes followed his finger innocently—somewhat cutely.
She seemed to understand what he wanted, because she looked at the trees, then quickly brought her gaze back to Sol.
The corners of her mouth dropped slightly. She still had a smile on her face, but it had grown smaller. Sol noticed. She nodded in agreement, then left Sol and departed.
She reached halfway and stopped, then turned back toward Sol. Her eyes were fixed on the lower half of Sol. When Sol lowered his gaze, he found her looking at her coat.
"Seems she wants it back."
Sol raised his face, looked at her with those eyes, then shook his head left and right—refusing what she wanted. The girl pouted slightly, then smiled and waved at Sol before heading back to her family, while Sol watched her walk away.
After she disappeared behind the trees and bushes, Sol said:
"She's gone..."
That feeling of emptiness returned to him—the void echoing inside him like trapped air in an old, abandoned, empty vessel.
Sol turned around as if searching for something, before his eyes landed on a few logs he hadn't taken last night. They were on the cave floor. Sol said nothing, just looked at them for a few seconds, then exhaled and went to gather more wood.
***
Time passed quickly. It seemed to be noon now—the sun had moved and was in the middle of the sky. During this time, Sol had been gathering wood nonstop, stacking it inside the cave. He'd collected so much that he'd made pile after pile inside.
Sol sat near one of the wood piles he'd gathered inside the cave, catching his breath.
That gloomy look settled on his pale face, his dark eyes staring at the stacked wood in front of him. Dark circles stood out beneath them.
"I gathered so much... now what?..."
His features darkened further, and he leaned back against the cold, damp cave wall.
Nothing covered his back—the cold slowly penetrated his skin... but he didn't care.
He stared with tired eyes at one log, separated from the rest of the piles.
"I still feel this disgusting feeling... suffocation and loss... I feel helpless... like I'm drowning in a dark, suffocating ocean, unable to find my way in the darkness... and even if I found it, I couldn't follow it... truly a disgusting feeling..."
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, tracing a pained smile:
"Truly the best punishment."
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Sol heard a sound coming from the trees, and when he glanced toward it, he found the girl had returned again, carrying something in her hands while heading toward the cave.
The girl stood at the cave entrance in front of Sol. Her sapphire blue eyes were fixed on the quantity of sticks and wood Sol had gathered—astonishment clearly visible on her face. Then she quickly looked at Sol, sitting and leaning against the cave wall.
She spoke in that language again, but Sol didn't understand, and she herself knew Sol wouldn't understand—but her amazement got the better of her.
After the shock and awe, she looked back at Sol with that bright smile on her face, then raised what she was holding toward him. It seemed to be clothes, tied tightly with a somewhat wide belt decorated with embroidery and patterns.
Sol looked at the clothes with his tired, dark eyes for a few seconds, then stood up using the wall behind him, took the clothes from the girl, and placed them on one of the wood piles. Sol had no problem accepting clothes.
Sol removed the coat he'd been wearing as a skirt, becoming completely naked now. Behind him, the girl watched silently—only slight embarrassment showed on her face, as her blue cheeks flushed a little, but she didn't look away. Instead, a bit of curiosity showed. Sol caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye.
"Seems she's a pervert..."
Sol said sarcastically in his cold tone, before turning only his head toward her, then:
Ahem, ahem...
Sol cleared his throat, and the girl raised her head upward, finding Sol looking at her with his dark eyes. She smiled embarrassedly before turning and walking away, leaving him alone.
Sol didn't care if someone watched him naked—he didn't care about himself at all. But he didn't want to corrupt that little girl's mind. Despite being someone who cared about nothing in this world, he didn't want to spoil a rose before or after it bloomed.
Sol put on the warm, loose trousers—grayish-green in color. Then he put on a light long-sleeved shirt, the same color as the trousers but darker. Over it, a coat with a fur collar and short, wide sleeves, embroidered with matching, beautiful patterns. The coat was the same color as the trousers.
Sol took the belt—wide only in the middle, while thin at the ends to be easy to tie. It also had patterns and embroidery.
He leaned his leg on a rock to tie the leg straps, making the trousers snug at the bottom and loose around the thighs. Then he put on the long sandals—his toes sticking out. Then he tied his hair with a long ribbon that came with the clothes.
The girl's azure eyes moved restlessly—curiosity seemed to be killing her. She couldn't resist, so she turned her head slightly to sneak a peek at him. When she saw him, her eyes flew wide open and she turned toward him, slowly approaching until she stood in front of him.
Her eyes examined Sol completely—shock and wonder on her face. Then her eyes glistened slightly, and tears fell. She wiped them with her hand, then forced a faint smile that carried some pain.