Since the sisters now carried the memories of Lily and Mily, they immediately recognized the two people standing outside their gate.
It was Aunt Rose and her twenty-year-old son Sam—the same man Aunt Christine had mentioned yesterday, the one Aunt Rose hoped Sera would marry.
Eli frowned the moment she saw them.
Why were these people here so early in the morning?
And why was that round-faced man standing there with such a cheap and arrogant expression?
It was quite disgusting.
Sera, however, forced a polite smile.
"Aunt Rose… what can we do for you?"
Aunt Rose laughed in a fake, overly sweet way and pushed forward the plastic bag she was carrying.
Sera looked at the bag with confusion.
"These are some food," Aunt Rose said loudly. "I thought you poor children might have nothing to eat, so I brought you something."
Eli stood beside Sera and clearly saw what was inside the bag.
Bread.
But most of the pieces were already bitten or half-eaten, like leftovers someone had thrown away.
Her anger instantly rose.
Did this woman think she and her sister were beggars?
Eli forced herself to stay calm.
Sera looked at the bag quietly but did not reach out to take it.
"That is very kind of you, Aunt Rose," she said calmly. "But we have enough food. You don't need to worry about us."
Aunt Rose's hand began to shake slightly from holding the bag out for so long. Seeing that Sera had no intention of taking it, she slowly lowered her arm and pretended nothing had happened.
"Oh dear, I just want you both to live happily without worries."
Eli murmured under her breath,
"Yes… if you let us."
Luckily, Aunt Rose did not hear her.
Eli then looked at Sam.
"Aunt Rose, what is Brother Sam doing here? Doesn't he have any work?"
Aunt Rose quickly waved her hand.
"No, no, nothing like that. He was just walking with me. He is leaving for work soon."
Eli nodded lightly.
"Oh, I see."
Then she smiled brightly.
"Well, Aunt Rose, I heard you are arranging Brother Sam's marriage soon?"
Aunt Rose laughed proudly.
"Yes, very soon!"
Eli's smile grew even brighter.
"That's wonderful. Please don't forget to invite us. I really love wedding celebrations."
She paused deliberately.
"Unfortunately, my sister and I are still too young to get married ourselves… but at least we can enjoy Brother Sam's wedding."
For a moment, Aunt Rose froze.
Eli had rejected her plan without directly saying it, yet the meaning was perfectly clear.
Sam's face turned ugly.
"Mom, I'm leaving," he muttered before walking away.
Eli silently thought, Please do.
Aunt Rose, however, remained shameless.
"Oh dear," she continued, "you girls are not that young. Many girls your age are already married here and taking care of their homes and children very nicely."
Eli rolled her eyes internally.
Another person who thinks women are just maids and baby machines.
This time Sera spoke calmly.
"Aunt Rose, marrying underage girls is illegal. If the police find out, people can be jailed."
Aunt Rose's smile instantly vanished.
"Oh—oh! I just remembered I need to prepare lunch for Roger!"
Then suddenly her eyes brightened.
"You know how boys are. They must study hard. What can women understand? They only manage the house. The real burden always falls on sons."
With that, she quickly walked away.
Eli exhaled in frustration.
She wanted to say more but decided it wasn't worth wasting her breath.
Sera simply shook her head.
"Let's have breakfast."
After breakfast, the sisters picked up their baskets and joined the villagers heading toward the forest again.
While walking along the village road, they saw two students approaching.
A girl and a boy.
Both wore clean clothes and carried books.
The girl recognized them first.
"Oh, Lily! You and your sister aren't coming to school anymore?" she asked with a sarcastic smile.
The boy beside her didn't even look at them, as if they were beneath his attention.
The sisters immediately recognized them.
The girl was Mania.
The boy was Roger, Aunt Rose's other son.
Both were fifteen years old.
Eli crossed her arms.
"Oh dear," she replied sweetly, "I hope you're not living in the clouds and don't know what's happening in the village."
Mania looked embarrassed.
She usually tried to act polite in front of Roger, but Eli clearly wasn't interested in playing along today.
Roger simply said,
"Let's go, Mania."
They walked away.
Eli snorted.
"Stupid people. It seems the second day in this village is just for meeting strange idiots."
Sera laughed lightly.
"Come on. Let's go."
When they reached the group of villagers, everyone seemed to be discussing something.
"Did you hear?" one villager said.
"It seems people are searching through different villages."
Another villager nodded.
"Yes, I heard the same thing. They are looking for women who got lost or ran away from home."
The villagers murmured in surprise.
But Sera and Eli ignored the conversation.
They had too many things to think about already.
The path to the forest was easier to walk today. Yesterday's rain had turned the ground into mud, but now the earth had mostly dried.
Just like yesterday, the sisters collected enough forest food to last about a week.
Then they returned to the village with the others.
While walking toward their house, Sera suddenly stopped.
A strange feeling rose inside her chest again.
Then suddenly—
Her vision blurred.
A suffocating pressure surrounded her.
It felt as if something invisible was choking her.
Sera collapsed onto the ground.
"Sera!"
Eli immediately dropped her basket and removed Sera's basket from her back.
She knelt beside her sister in panic.
Luckily, they always carried water with them instead of relying on others.
Eli quickly grabbed the bottle and helped Sera drink.
Sera tried to control her breathing.
They happened to be standing in front of the Muller family's house.
Mr. and Mrs. Muller were returning home when they noticed the sisters sitting on the ground.
They rushed over.
"What happened?" Mrs. Muller asked worriedly.
By then Sera's breathing had begun to stabilize.
"She just felt weak," Eli explained.
Mrs. Muller and Eli helped Sera into the Muller house while Mrs. Muller carried their baskets inside.
They seated Sera in a chair in the yard.
Grandma Muller soon came outside as well.
Slowly Sera's vision became clear again.
The first thing she saw was Eli's pale face.
Then the others.
She nodded gently to show she was alright.
"You should rest here for a while," Mrs. Muller said kindly.
Sera agreed.
Eli pulled another chair beside her and held Sera's hand tightly.
"Sis… are you okay?" she whispered. "I was so scared."
When Sera collapsed earlier, a terrible realization struck Eli.
There were no hospitals here.
They had no money.
In this unfamiliar world, they had no protection at all.
Sera squeezed her hand.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "But I saw that girl again… the one from my dreams."
Eli's eyes widened.
"This time it felt like someone was choking me," Sera continued. "The feeling was so strong that I couldn't breathe."
Eli felt deeply unsettled.
Sera had experienced strange dreams before, but never like this.
Neither of them understood what it meant.
And it was not something they could tell anyone.
If people discovered the truth, they might think the sisters were crazy—or worse, take advantage of their vulnerability.
While they were talking, Sera suddenly turned her head toward the house.
Inside the hall stood a small cradle-like bed.
Someone was lying inside it.
Grandma Muller was weaving baskets nearby.
Eli followed Sera's gaze.
She noticed the cradle too.
The sisters exchanged a glance.
"I don't know why," Sera whispered slowly, "but I feel like we need to see that."
Eli nodded.
She also felt something strange since she had been holding Sera's hand.
It felt as if something was pulling them toward the cradle.
The sisters stood up.
Eli supported Sera as they walked slowly toward the hall.
Grandma Muller smiled warmly when she saw them.
"How are you feeling now, dear?"
"I'm better," Sera replied.
They chatted briefly, but the strange pull inside them only grew stronger.
Finally Sera asked gently,
"Grandma… who is in the cradle?"
A deep sadness appeared in the old woman's eyes.
"This is my granddaughter, Lisa," she said softly. "She is nine years old."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"One day she suddenly became very sick. After that she stopped walking and talking. Her body became completely paralyzed."
The sisters listened silently.
"Her body is very sensitive," Grandma Muller continued. "We don't take her outside much, but sometimes we bring her here to get a little sunlight."
Eli hesitated.
"Grandma… may we see her?"
Grandma Muller nodded.
The sisters stepped toward the cradle.
The Muller house was built slightly above the ground to prevent rainwater damage. Three or four steps led up to the hall.
As Eli stepped onto the stairs, she noticed something.
The cement holding the steps looked newly repaired.
But she ignored it.
Perhaps it had simply been broken before.
When the sisters reached the cradle, they saw that it was covered with a thin net cloth.
Slowly, they lifted the net.
And the moment they saw the child inside—
Both sisters froze.
Their eyes widened in shock.
It felt as if their souls had left their bodies.