The last light of the day had just faded. The night had covered the world before her. Good thing they got here before the deep darkness of the night consumed all.

Rume stood before the gates of her home, the air of loneliness leaking from inside the house. However, she no longer minded it that much, she was used to it. Lein behind her looked at Rume.

“Something wrong?”Lein asked.

There was nothing major that was bothering her. The events from earlier were still lingering in her mind. The blood, death, and mostly, the cries. But she was not all that distressed about it at the moment.

“... Nope, there’s nothing.”

Rume looked up to Lein, forming a slight smile.

“Are you sure? Does what happened earlier in the village fog your mind?”

“... Not really. But don’t worry, Miss Lein. I will be okay. See you tomorrow?”

Lein curled up a sweet smile and patted Rume’s head.

“Of course, your first hands on lesson starts tomorrow. Don’t you miss it okay?”

Thinking about learning magic, brought a sense of excitement into Rume. She wondered how she would learn it. What was the first step? Imagining what she could do once she learned magic made her look forward to it.

“I won’t miss it! Definitely.”

“Great. But prepare for a bit of challenge, okay?”

“I’ll face it!”

“Perfect. Then, I’ll come pick you up at the same time tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“Goodnight, little Rume.”

“Goodnight!”

They waved at each other as Lein walked away. Thankfully, the few torches by road were already lit up, so Lein wouldn’t have any problem walking in the darkness of the night.

Rume entered her house and was greeted by the cold air and suffocating darkness. With only the faint glow of the rising moon from the outside, she stepped forward.

As this was her home, she had already memorised the structure of the house long ago. Therefore, even in this darkness, she knew which direction to go. Needless to say she had to keep her hands forward to avoid any obstacles just to be safe.

A short moment later, she had reached the living room and walked over to the table. Right before the table, she walked left towards a small wooden shelf. She grabbed a small jar with some sort of mineral inside.

With a gentle shake, the mineral within began to gradually glow. The light was gentle and at enough brightness to not hurt Rume’s eyes. The entire living room was now lit up, the gentle illumination chasing away the darkness.

Rume smiled and held the jar of light tight. She thanked Lein in her heart. It was a struggle to light up a lamp when it was incredibly dark. This gift from Lein was truly a big help.

Rume looked towards the kitchen. It would be a good time to prepare dinner. However, somehow she had no appetite. Was she still full from the meals she had previously? Perhaps.

But it seems there was something more that was causing her loss of appetite. Perhaps it was what happened in the village.

Rume headed straight to bed. She placed the jar beside her rough textured pillow as she laid down. She looked up into the ceiling. She took a deep breath and heaved a heavy sigh. 

She closed her eyes.

She couldn’t take her mind off the village. The death did not bother her that much, but it was mostly the sorrow, and the cries of the people. She tried to shake it off, but to no avail.

The moment of her mother’s death flashed through her mind. She didn’t want to remember it, but it still appeared before her closed eyes as though reliving that moment once again. 

Her mother’s charred body.

Rume’s hands trembled.

The sound of crackling woods. The violently blazing flames. Her mother’s agonizing cry. She felt she could hear it as it was in that moment.

She covered her ears tightly as she could.

...Stop… Please stop…

She pleaded. Yet it didn’t stop. The memories still kept coming back.

She felt the warm of the flames as she ran towards the burning stake. The burnt remains of her mother falling limply to the ground. She was completely unrecognizable.

Why now? Why?!

Rume cried not through her mouth, but through her thoughts. She doesn’t want to remember it. She wanted to remember her mother, but not this way.

No more! Please!

Why? Why do people have to die? If death did not exist, no one would have to cry because of grief.

No one should have felt the pain of loss.

She wouldn’t have lost her mother. She would have still been by her side, gently patting her while singing the song she loved to hear every night.

She again felt the horror she went through as she witnessed her mother’s cruel death. Tears began to well up her eyes. She wanted it to stop.

She forced her eyes open.

The first thing she saw was the tiny jar given to her. She reached out for it and held it on her chest.

The terrible thoughts began to gradually dissipate. It was comforting.

There was one way she knew to get rid of these thoughts. It was to find distractions if there was an opportunity.

She recalled the wonderful moments she experienced.

The moment she suddenly got to an unknown place. Discovering something incredible and bizarre. She learned how it was to fly, it was a beautiful feeling. The way she flew through the floating islands as she pierced through the wind. It was one of the best experiences she ever had.

She learned the history of the floating islands, leading to the knowledge that a flying city exists out there. It widened her imaginations.

She interacted with a giant bird with pretty feathers. Touching it was on a whole nother level of pleasantness. She saw its big eggs. It made her want to see what its chicks would look like.

Then she arrived at a village. She made friends. She remembered the name of those five. Kovil, Aden, Kiran, Reto, and Kariya. She also remembered their faces well.

It would have been great if she talked with them more.

She was sad for Reto who lost his father. It made her want to cry for him.

Then, there was Kariya. She was planning to come to the continent. Rume didn’t know how far their land was, but she imagines it was incredibly far that no other could easily find it. But perhaps, they can find each other.

Yes, that would be great indeed. She hoped for the day that they met again. She didn’t know when, but someday. Someday, there must be a chance.

Still, even with those thoughts, the idea of death still came to her mind.

Death always comes so sudden. It was proven by her experience through the loss of her mother. Never in her entire life could she ever think of it happening.

If there was no death, everything in this world would have been better.

However, death will always be there. That was just the way the world was. There was no changing it.

The words of Galeila came into her mind.

Cherish, relish and savor… every moment we have… Say what I want...

As those words echoed in her mind, she made a decision.

She should visit someone in the morning tomorrow.

The moment of clearness in her mind came from the fatigue that came after the adventure. Then she closed her heavy eyes. For sleep was not easy, it took a long time before she fell into slumber.

***

Morning came and Rume immediately went outside the moment she saw Lein. She locked the door and came out of the gate with a bright smile.

“Good morning, Miss Lein!”

Lein blinked a couple of times, taken by surprise at Rume’s sudden excitement.

“You look to be in good spirits today.”

“I am? I don’t think so.”

Rume was indeed a bit excited, but she wouldn’t go as far as say she was in good spirits. She was excited of course of learning magic, but she also had another goal in mind. She was a bit reluctant at first because she thought it was a bit embarrassing to do so. But Galeila’s words yesterday made her do it.

“You think so? Well, the way you’re acting now is called being in good spirits, Rume.”

“Really?”

She thought the phrase meant that someone was very happy. But perhaps she was just wrong.

“Yes. So, let’s go?”

“Wait!”

As Lein was about to turn, Rume asked her to wait. She was surprisingly forceful about it.

“Something wrong?”

Rume looked up at Lein, her eyes had a look of conviction.

“Can we see Mr. Esmon before we go?”

“We can. But what are you going to do?”

“... It’s a secret.”

Rume was embarrassed at sharing what she was planning. Therefore, she decided not to tell what it was. Lein contemplated, it appears there was some sort of conflict inside her mind.

“If we go see him, there would be some difficulties, but it’s minor, I suppose. But if you want to go there, then let’s go.”

Rume couldn’t determine which difficulties Lein was referring to. Did she overlook something? She didn’t know. But if Lein thought it was fine, then it must be.

“Thank you!”

“You don’t have to thank me for something like that. Alright, lead the way.”

Rume led Lein to Esmon’s house. It was early in the morning, so luckily there were a bit fewer people. Even so, it was incredibly uncomfortable for Rume. But she persevered, she was already used to it that she will be able to endure something like this.

Esmon’s house was not that far from Rume’s. Thus, it only took several minutes for them to reach it. Rume took a glance at Lein, she was glaring at other people for some reason. But when her eyes came across Rume, she smiled and the fierce gaze vanished completely.

Seeing it was fine, Rume didn’t press into the matter. Rume stood before the door of Esmon’s house.

As she was about to knock, she halted. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. She couldn’t understand why she was nervous. Something like this shouldn’t be something to be nervous about. She was just to say words after all.

But the beating of her heart still quickened. Judging that it won’t stop, she went ahead and knocked on the door.

“M-Mr. E-Esmon!” She stammered a bit as she shouted. “It’s me, Rume. I’m entering. Oh, I’m also with Miss Lein.”

There was silence for a moment, then an old man’s voice came from the other side.

“Yes come in!”

Rume slowly opened the door. She felt like retreating, but that was purely unreasonable to do so. When they entered, they saw Esmon sitting by the table.

“Greetings, Mr. Esmon,” Lein greeted first as Rume failed to greet first.

“Ah, good morning, Miss Lein… and Rume.”

Rume averted her eyes for a moment as she rubbed both her hands. She appeared restless given by the way she was fidgeting around.

“You’re surprisingly early. What brought you here?”

Rume didn’t respond. Lein squinted her eyes in puzzlement. Rume was acting a bit weird. She was just cheery a moment ago.

“Rume wanted to visit you,” Lein answered in Rume’s stead.

“Rume…?”

“Rume, is something wrong?” Lein whispered to her.

“... Um…”

Rume turned her eyes towards the puzzled Esmon. She tightened her lips. It was now or never. If she wouldn’t do it now, she didn’t know if she could do it next time. Being reluctant was unreasonable here. Therefore, she steeled herself.

She suddenly ran towards Esmon with all her might and instantly hugged him tight. Lein was dumbfounded at the sudden progression of events.

“ — Rume? What’s wrong?” Esmon asked in surprise.

Rume buried her face unto Esmon’s stomach, and her hug tightened by the second. She never hugged him this way.

“T-There’s nothing wrong. Nothing at all.”

She said with a trembling voice. Tears came out of her eyes. Esmon became confused. What reason could there be to cause the little girl to cry all of a sudden?

“Then…?”

Rume was unable to say what she wanted to say. She already thought of the words. However, the words did not come out that easily. But she had to say it. It was just simple words, there was no need to hold back. Therefore, she gathered the resolve and forced the words out of her throat.

“I just want to say… Thank you!”

Everyone fell silent at Rume’s sincere voice.

“Thank you for everything! Thank you for being with me, all this time!”

“R-Rume?” The old man seemed to weaken also as his eyes trembled along with his voice.

“When I was alone, you were there... When it was hard for me, you were there.”

Yes, he had always been there. When her mother died, he stayed by her side until she was better. He was there when Rume didn’t know what to do. He was there to help when she struggled. 

He was there when she felt lonely and scared. He was there to support her in times of need. His warm touch and soft voice would comfort her when she was sad, and she would feel happy whenever Esmon was by her side. 

He was always there for her. And she would always feel safe.

Rume sobbed as she was unable to control her tears. She let every single one go, holding nothing back. She didn’t even rub them off. 

She didn’t care anymore, all that mattered was that she could express her feelings through her words.

“Thank you so much! For everything...”

“... Rume.”

Unable to bear it, Esmon began to shed tears and hugged the little girl tight.

“I love you so much! Mr. Esmon!”

She expressed all the feelings she was keeping. The words she wanted to say. 

She expressed her love for the old man. 

To the man who was like a grandfather to her. 

This was a moment that Rume will cherish for the rest of her life. The moment that she will always remember.

The moment and the memory that will be more valuable than any treasures that would exist in this world.