I opened the door and what greeted me was a timid looking girl. A contrast to the Alina I have grown up with.
"Hey, Alina"
"Hey... Casuro..."
Her eyes are looking away from me. Her face is visibly upset. A rare expression to see as I often see her smiling and being a beacon of joy. Something must have happened. Did her mother scold her? Has she been lonely for too long?
No, it's something else more serious.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you... do you want to play?"
She stuttered...
Cynical, I decided to see where this go.
"Sure. Where do you want to go?"
"Well... we're not allowed to go into the forest... Can we play inside?"
"Hmm... sure, but I don't have any toys with me. Are you sure?"
She smiled faintly at me.
"That's fine... so... can I come in?"
"Sure, come inside"
As I led her in the house, Alina talked to me.
"How's your mother doing?"
I was stunned by her question.
Is this really the Alina I know? Why is she asking such a question? Usually she won't ask anything about my parents.
"Are you a shapeshifter?"
"Huh?"
Alina looks at me with a baffled look.
"I asked. Are you a shapeshifter?! What did you do to my Alina!"
"Y-Your Alina?!"
Her cheeks slightly blushed.
"Yep! So who are you?! Are you a demonic fiend? Here to take my soul!"
"W-What! No! I'm not! And I'm not YOUR Alina! You're not my... my..."
She stopped her sentence midway.
Her expression changed from embarrassment to a sorrowing expression.
I wanted to tease her a bit more, but the mood wasn't appropriate.
"So something did happen... come on. You can talk to me"
Her eyes darted away.
"Hey, little girl. When someone talks to you, you have to respond. So... what happened?"
Silence filled the room. An unusual and dreadful silence.
Then, she spoke with a low volume like a whisper.
"...My father is dead..."
A faint voice, but I heard it.
"...What..."
I felt a cold shiver down my spine as I turned pale from the news.
"My father is dead..."
She repeated herself, still looking away from me.
I don't know what to say.
After my mother and the other herbalists got infected, a lot of people panicked. The desperate tried to storm into the herbal chests, some succeeded but a lot of the thieves would die from overdose because they didn't know which herbs could kill them if used too much. Herbs such as poppy, Bellod berries, digilatis, and Icedrop flowers were abused by them to help their sick family, friends, or themselves.
To avoid anymore thieves, the chief sent the herbs to his own storage and ordered a few trusted people to aid the sick. One of those people were Alina's father.
However, despite his strengths and will to help, 5 days ago he fell ill. He knew it was bound to happen, that's why he stopped dinning with his family and avoided Alina while he was nursing the sick.
Even though I expected it to happen I was still stunned by the news, I tried to convey words.
"... Are you okay?"
"I... I don't know... I feel like... I've been hit. It's... odd"
I remain quiet. Struggling to structure my next sentences.
"Hey... Casuro... you're older than me, right? So... is this normal? To feel like this?"
"I..."
Her amber eyes emit a slight blue hue as she speaks over me, and corners of her pupil slowly turn a dark electric blue. It's a subtle change, but noticeable.
"Is it normal to feel... like I've been hit? Like having a cramp, but it's everywhere. Is this normal?"
Small drops of tears fall from the edges.
What should I say?
I've been to many funerals. I've spoken to new widows, spoken to parents of the death of their children, and spoke to relatives of the death of their sibling.
But not children.
My thoughts were disturbed by a grab on the edge of my sleeve. Awaken away from them, I see Alina holding back her tears, but small droplets leak from the edge.
"Hey... why aren't you talking? You're... more mature right? Mommy always said that I should act more like you... so... is this normal?" she spoke in a calm manner.
At this point, her eyes have fully changed color. A slight uneasiness is felt as she locks eyes with mine. Her dark electric blue eyes emitting a hue of blue, cuts deep as if staring into my soul. I tried to look away, but a odd force compels me to look.
"I... I don't know... maybe... it depends..."
"It depends..."
She looks away and chuckled lightly.
"I see... so I'm the only one who feels like this..."
What?
"What?! No! It's normal. It's fine to feel what you're feeling"
She timidly looks at me, watching my face or something else (?) before looking away once more.
"But... you said it depends, right? Are... are you lying to me?"
I bit my lower lip and, for the first time, looked away from her.
"Can... can we not talk about this... it's... uncomfortable"
"Oh... right... your mom..."
Hearing her mention my mom hurts my heart.
I know she's sick.
I know she's given up hope.
I know... she's dying...
But... please...
I don't want to hear it.
Seeing my expression, Alina realized what she said.
"Oh! I'm... I'm sorry..."
I took a deep breath then smiled at her.
"It's fine... I know..."
Her round doe-like eyes have stopped being blue and has reverted back to its joyous amber orange.
"Are... are we still friends?"
I sighed then faintly smiled at her.
"Yes, Alina. We're still friends"
"Really? You... don't hate me?"
I chuckled lightly.
"Of course not!"
She looked at me with a cynical look.
"You're... you're not lying... right? To make me feel better?"
I sighed then patted her head.
"Have I ever lied to you before? Now, are we still going to play?"
She looked at me with wide eyes.
"You... you still want to play?"
"Yep"
"After all this?"
"Yep. Is there a problem?'
She faintly laughed.
"No... well... yes... but alright. What do you want to do?"
I crossed my arms and looked at her, perplexed.
"What? You came here to play. It's your decision"
"Oh! Yeah... I did..."
She pondered for a moment.
"Hmm... I'm not sure... Do you have something in mind?"
"Well, we can try cooking"
She then stared at me with a worried look.
"Cooking? Really?"
"What's with that look?"
She pouted.
"Hmm... the last time we cooked, you nearly cooked a cat in the oven..."
"How would I know it would just wander inside!?"
"You say that... but you also nearly burned down the bakery as well..."
"Well... that was just one time! It won't happen again... hopefully"
She still stares at me with suspicion.
"Why are you so stubborn?"
"Well... I just want to make you something... to make you feel better"
Her eyes then seemed to lighten a red hue.
Again... must be my imagination... yep, I'm definitely seeing things.
"Really?"
"Yep! So come on, I already have the ingredients in the pantry. I just need your help in breaking into the bakery"
I then began walking to the pantry to gather the ingredients for an apple pie. Alina followed behind me, staring at the ingredients.
"Did you... steal them?"
I coughed.
"What? Why would I steal?"
"They look expensive. Especially that one"
She points at the red threads.
"That's saffron, but since it's only a handful, it's not that expensive"
"What's saffron?"
"It's a spice, but you shouldn't concern yourself over it"
"Hmm... So what are we going to cook?"
"Apple pie"
I then handed her the bag.
"Apple pie? What's a pie?"
"Hmm... a pie is a pie"
She looks at me perplexed.
"A pie is a pie?"
"Yep"
She then smiled.
"You're so silly"
"Me? Silly? Since when? I'm pretty sure you're just imagining things"
"So I'm the silly one, huh?"
"Yep! Now come on!"
I then held her hand and dragged her with me.
"I just saw Mr. Vax left his bakery this morning and headed into the forest. He'll be gone until noon... hopefully"
"You saw him? But I just passed his bakery before I came here? I didn't see you anywhere..."
She then pouted with suspicion.
"Oh... well... um... I have really good eyesight!"
"Do you?"
"Yep!"
"Then why did you miss your stone during our little hunt last season?"
She remembers that?!
"Um... well.. The sling was bad! Now no more questions, let's go"
Despite her suspicions, she smiled.
"Alright, lead the way!" she says with a giggle.
