Parto 2: La Taglibro. 20: La Mano

Osiris wasn't one for idle chatter. Their silence was a constant, almost as much a part of them as their connection to the forest.

They spent almost all their time outside the Kerno, blended into the shadows of the trees. They knew every path, every hidden clearing. The forest was a part of them.

Between lessons, group exercises, and assigned chores, the day stretched on forever. It wasn't until the late afternoon that we could meet.

Gabino led us to a third blind spot, this time under the slide in the playground.

"This point is not visible to the cameras, but it is prone to interruptions," said Osiris. "Can I see the map?"

Gabino rolled their eyes, took out the map, and spread it out on the floor. Osiris pointed to a marking on the garden, near the vegetables.

“The tool shed? And just how are we going in there without the key?” asked Gabino.

"There is a way," Osiris replied.

"Decided," I said. "Tomorrow we will follow Osiris. Now, can we focus on the diary?"

But, instead of taking out the diary, Gabino stood in front of Osiris.

“I’ve been thinking. If Arakil only told you to help Kanako and you only followed us once… how did you know about the diary?”

"Gabino!" I exclaimed. "Are you going to do this? We have made zero progress with the sketchbook!"

Osiris shook their head.

“I understand the concern. Let me explain: Arakil asked me to assist Kanako, without specifying how. I found the diary in the heating unit.” They paused, recalling. “Two days ago, it was gone. I assumed you had it. Yesterday, an arrow led me to the forest, where you found me.”

"Happy, Gabino?" I asked.

“No, not really. Everything is just too convenient.”

"Osiris is only trying to help us, as Arakil asked them to."

“And I don’t remember voting to choose a leader,” scoffed Gabino, then looked at Osiris. “How come you are now deciding for us?”

Osiris said nothing.

“That’s better,” Gabino muttered. “I like them better when they don’t talk.”

“Gabino!” I yelled. “What the heck?! Osiris is our friend. Don’t be such a jerk!”

"Kako!" Abrajm's voice, alerted by my shout, drew us out from under the slide.

"You found me!" I said, returning a hug. Gabino’s expression remained unchanged as I looked at them. "Tomorrow we will follow Osiris and resolve this."

Osiris nodded and left. Gabino remained by the slide, watching me, as Abrajm pulled me towards Medusa, who was tending to an exhausted Serena.

Medusa's eyes lit up when they saw me. They ran to greet me.

“They’re fine. Just experiencing a severe case of Abrajm-induced exhaustion. It’s a common ailment around here,” said Medusa, giving me the diagnosis.

“Are you sure you're okay?” I asked Serena while Abrajm hung off my arm.

Serena looked at me from the floor and nodded.

"Kanako, Kanako!" said Medusa. "I'm trying to make a strategy game, but I think I have a problem with the rules. Will you play with me?"

I hesitated. I didn’t feel like I had time for games. Medusa frowned.

“You're always with Gabino!” they exploded. “If you don't play with me, I won't team up with you in La Konkurso!”

I glanced back, but the playground was now empty. I sighed, dreading the inevitable argument. Then, I met Medusa’s gaze. Their eyes held a stubborn intensity, refusing to back down.

“I'm sorry, Medusa. You're right, let's play.”

Medusa took my hand and led me to their room. We settled onto the floor, arranging hexagonal tiles into a growing honeycomb pattern.

“I call it ‘Konektu Ses, a game of making a chain of six pieces’,” said Medusa. “I'm open to suggestions for a better title, though.”

We experimented with different board layouts, playtesting until Medusa succumbed to sleep. I tucked them into bed and left.

The next morning, Osiris left the breakfast table and headed towards the garden. After a brief pause, Gabino followed, and I trailed after them to the tool shed.

Osiris reached into the bushes behind the shed and, after a moment of rustling, pried loose a section of the back wall, revealing a gap.

"Gabino," I whispered, tugging on their sleeve as Osiris slipped through the opening. "Can you please just try to be a little nicer to them? Arakil trusted them, and we need their help."

Gabino crossed their arms, a stubborn look on their face.

"Fine," they mumbled. "But I'm still watching them."

We heard a scrape and a thud, and then the opening in the wall widened as Osiris pushed the wood from the inside.

The shed was cramped and cluttered, but we found a small space to sit. Gabino gave me the sketchbook, and I opened it on the floor, where we could all see it. This time I went page by page.

The first seemed to be only drawings of life in La Nesto. A landscape of the garden, a squirrel, a rough sketch of La Kerno, a stylized flower. Then, the drawings shared the space with the three circles, the eyes of La Metalpolpo, more marked as I turned the pages.

Almost halfway through the book, there was a message, this time without encoding, but not any less cryptic.

“If your eyes are locked, I will open them. Even if I have to carve the key myself.”

“Maybe it’s about opening a treasure, one Arakil couldn’t open,” said Gabino, their eyes gleaming.

"Perhaps a passage," Osiris stated.

“I think it’s some kind of introduction,” I said. “Let’s see what else is here. We can figure out what it means later.”

On the next page, there was another message.

“A silent beacon remains my only guide. if it fades, I shall rekindle it.”

These seemed like messages meant for someone else. I flipped through several pages.

“Hey! I didn’t even finish reading that!” said Gabino, grabbing my hand to stop me.

“I don't think this is relevant. It seems too... personal,” I said, huffing.

The two looked at each other, confused, but said nothing.

After a couple of sketches, we found the next encrypted message.

jaeikn
orrmej
ctesso
uniant
roktje
kmssar

Now, this was for me. I started copying it.

“Come on! I thought we wouldn’t have to deal with more puzzles!” exclaimed Gabino.

Osiris looked at me with anticipation.

“I'll take care of it,” I told them.

I finished copying the puzzle, but before I could turn the page, Gabino closed the diary and shoved it into a pocket. They held up a hand, silencing us.

Footsteps approached.

We held our breath, the silence in the shed thick and suffocating. I noticed Osiris’s jaw tighten, a slight tremor in their hands, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest.

The footsteps passed by, then faded into the distance, leaving only the quiet ticking of some unseen insect within the shed.

“We should come back later,” Gabino suggested. “When there are fewer people around.”

They crouched down and pushed against the loosened board to get out. Osiris grabbed their tunic, stopping them. Gabino frowned and looked at them, but couldn’t say anything.

A sharp, metallic scrape tore across the shed’s wooden roof, then a dull thud echoed from outside.

We froze. The silence stretched into an eternity before Gabino moved again, pushing at the board. Osiris remained huddled against the wall, eyes wide. This time they didn’t intervene.

I scrambled out after them, then recoiled, hitting my head on the low frame of the opening as Gabino shouted.

“What the—?!”

I emerged into the daylight to find Gabino staring, mouth agape, pointing at something on the ground. I followed their trembling finger.

Lying on the ground was a metallic hand, its three fingers splayed out.