Parto 2: La Taglibro. 21: La Disiĝo

The metallic hand shifted. I saw its fingers widen just a fraction. Then, with a faint click, one detached and fell off.

I hesitated, but seeing that it no longer moved, I approached a little. I crouched down to inspect it. It was a small hand, smaller than my own. Each of the three metal fingers was different. One was thin, like wire. Another was segmented, like a tiny metal spine. The one on the ground was like a tube, hollow. Underneath the hand, the earth was already absorbing a puddle of what I assumed was blood.

“This has gotten way out of hand, Kanako!” Gabino spoke at last. “We have to tell la instruistoj… We don’t even know what this thing is!”

“La Vizitanto won’t hurt us. It only watches us and maintains order,” said Osiris. They had just come out of the shed and were dusting themselves off.

Gabino looked at them, their hands in fists.

“How. Do. You. Know. That?”

"From what I have observed, its presence has always been associated with balance, not harm."

“But it had Arakil,” I thought aloud.

“When?” Asked Osiris.

“Kanako dreamed the thing was carrying Arakil around. It was the day they left to La Granda Ekstero,” explained Gabino.

“Then it couldn't have been Arakil,” Osiris said. "Regardless, no damage was done, right?"

That was true. La Metalpolpo was only moving them.

“Then what do we do?” said Gabino, exasperated.

"Let's try to catch it," I said.

They both looked at me, surprised by my suggestion. Gabino then lowered their eyes, considering it.

“I would advise against that plan…” Osiris began, but I interrupted them.

"Think about it. Arakil told Osiris to help me with something. And at the end of the diary, they drew La Metalpolpo. This is the mystery we have to solve!"

Osiris sighed, then nodded. Gabino, however, shook their head.

“This is insane!” they shouted. “Arakil is going to get us killed and you’re blind if you can’t see it, Kanako!”

Then they strode away. I tried to follow them, but Osiris stopped me.

“The hidden cameras,” they said. “After dinner.”

I spent the rest of the day with Medusa. My mind consumed with Gabino, La Metalpolpo, and the question of how to catch it. We played Konektu Ses, but I moved the pieces without thinking. Medusa seemed tired of me when I lost for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Looks like it's not your day," they said to me, a tone of disappointment in their voice. "Let's play tomorrow, okay?"

And they went to their room. I also wanted to go after them, but it was almost dinnertime and I would have had to abandon them afterward, so I let them go.

We had dinner and Osiris gestured for us to follow them. We returned to the shed. Gabino followed, looking around with a worried expression. They were the last to enter, but the first to speak.

“I’m so not doing this, guys,” they said, then glanced at the four walls of the shed. “Ugh, why did we have to come back here?!

"It's the best blind spot," Osiris said.

“Sure, whatever.” Gabino's gaze stopped on us. “Look, I won’t tell anyone and I won’t interfere. You guys do you. But I’m out.”

They thrust the diary into my hands without a word. Then they turned around, pushed the board, and left.

Alone, Osiris and I found it impossible to concentrate on the diary for the rest of our session.

The next morning, the dining hall was noisier than usual. I sat next to Osiris, wondering about the commotion. Daidek approached our side of the table.

“Ready for today’s humiliation?” he said to Gabino.

Gabino stared at Daidek for a moment, a blank expression on their face. Then, as if a switch had flipped, they grinned.

“La Konkurso. Right. I almost forgot you were even taking part.”

Our investigation had made us forget about the first Konkurso of the year.

“I’ll make sure you won’t forget again,” Daidek said, smirking. Then he returned to Ĉelo Tri’s table, where they received him like a hero.

Gabino approached me, worried.

“I haven’t practiced at all,” said Gabino. “I wanted to try and win this year.”

“It’s okay, Gabino,” I said. “Don’t put pressure on yourself. It’s no big deal if we don’t win.”

"There are more important matters at hand," said Osiris.

Gabino looked at me. Then they nodded and walked away. However, after a few steps, they stopped and turned back, their face flushed.

“Are there, really?” They started shouting at Osiris. “More important to whom? You’re just playing a stupid game!”

Everyone looked at us. I tried to defuse the tension.

“You know Gabino! Always so full of energy! Come on, save some of it for the obstacle course!”

Gabino looked at me and sighed before shaking their head and leaving.

I couldn't remember a worse Konkurso for Ĉelo Kvar. Gabino lost in both of their competitions against Daidek, a child from Ĉelo Nulo won the memory grid, and I couldn’t solve my puzzle because I was thinking about the one in the diary.

Only Medusa won the rapid calculation challenge. But we lost the last event, the strategic challenge, because of me.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” they said. “With practice, we can win next time!”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I managed to respond.

Medusa didn’t seem annoyed, but worried.

“If I can help you with anything, tell me.”

I smiled and ruffled their hair.

“Don’t worry. We will not lose next time,” I said.

Medusa bit their lip, unconvinced, but didn’t press the matter.

Later, in the common room of Ĉelo Kvar, Gabino approached me.

“Look. I don’t want to fight with you,” they whispered. “But this whole thing is crazy. I just want things to be like they were before.”

“I wish we could. But what about the diary? And what Osiris said and,” I lowered my voice even more, “La Metalpolpo… Are we just going to ignore all of that?”

“Look. You need to separate your facts from your guesses. Yes, there’s a thing we know nothing about. But we don’t know if Arakil just saw it once, like you did. Everything in the diary could be nonsense, and you’re going to get hurt…. We should just tell an instruisto!”

Their dismissal shocked and upset me. I felt a surge of hurt and disbelief.

“So you think everything that Arakil wrote about was a lie?”

“Arakil this, Arakil that! Maybe they wanted to prank you, knowing you’re super naive!”

We were in public, so I had to stop myself from crying.

“I thought you didn’t want to fight with me,” I said, pouting.

Gabino sighed.

“I’m sorry, Kanako. I don’t want to be rude. This is just taking over our lives… And we get stuck every time. We have all these ‘clues’ and puzzles, but do they even have a solution? What if Arakil was just playing…”

“I solved it,” I said.

“Solved what?”

“The puzzle.”

I showed them the answer.

Krucoj montras kie restas miajn sekretojn

“Crosses show where my secrets lie.”

They looked at me, unable to hide their excitement.

“It must mean the X’s on the map!” they said.

“Right? And look! There’s one X inside the shed!”

Gabino’s smile faded. They looked away. I shouldn’t have mentioned the shed.

“No,” they shook their head. “Arakil was just messing around. And you won’t find anything.”

“Okay, whatever,” I said. It felt like a waste of time. “I'll show you what I find, and then maybe you'll believe Arakil.”

“I’ll be waiting,” they said, standing up, their expression still troubled. “Just… stay safe, will you?”

And then they left to their room.