Bond of the mind - part one - chapter 5

They began to descend cautiously, taking care not to touch any cobwebs. Apart from the tremors of the ground beneath their feet, that would be the first thing to alert the tarantulas to their presence. They passed through many abandoned rooms where nothing remained. Then they came across an elven weapons store. There were still plenty of weapons there. Moreover, elven weapons were valuable and normally only accessible to elves. It was widely known that their weapons were among the best in the world. They decided to search the place. May immediately noticed a bow displayed on the wall of the room. It was covered in cobwebs, but it was likely that the ancient elves had made even better weapons than the current ones. She walked over to it and began to clean it of cobwebs. It was a beautiful weapon. It was covered in elven writing and was so light that she could hardly feel it in her hands. The bow also seemed to radiate life. After a while, Senna joined May. 

"That looks beautiful. Can I see it?" she asked. May would have given it to her anyway, so she immediately placed it in her hands. As soon as Senna held it, small flowers appeared on the surface of the bow. Even in the dim light, May noticed Senna's eyes light up. Senna decided to keep it. She put away her old bow, which was quite worn out, and took this one. Bows made of wood could tell if their elven owner was good or bad, and they would change their shape and appearance accordingly. At least that's how it worked with the traditional bows of the ancient elves. Today's weapons were lifeless and made for one purpose only: to fight. 

They found nothing of value worth taking with them, so the group continued on. Soon they came across another entrance. This time it looked like a prison. There were cells locked with padlocks and, strangely, a few people inside. This really took the group by surprise. They didn't expect the tarantulas to have prisoners. Several of the handful of people inside were dead, either from exhaustion or starvation. However, one woman and one man still appeared to be alive. May immediately ran towards them. She whispered quietly at their cell, "Are you okay?" There was silence for a moment.

Then both of them lifted themselves almost imperceptibly and turned their heads toward her. They both nodded. From their clothes, May guessed that they were two hunters.

"We'll get you out of here. You just have to hold on. Then we'll come back for you. Do you know how we can get you out?" she asked them.

"Tarantulas aren't the worst thing you'll find here. The ones who locked us in here are much worse. They're the real monsters," said the woman in a weak voice. She paused and then added, "The only way to get us out of here is to get the keys from them." 

"Okay. Anyway, try to hold on until we come back for you," May concluded. She and the others then returned to the path. It seemed they would be at the bottom soon. 

But the cobwebs kept growing and were now everywhere. They knew that as soon as they touched one, it would signal to the tarantulas that they had uninvited guests. But they had no choice. They had to keep going. In the distance, they noticed a large cocoon on the ground, which was apparently so heavy that it couldn't hang up there. It looked very bulky. May pointed to it. 

"Don't tell me you think Tragir is in there..." Senna looked at her questioningly. 

May stared intently at the cocoon. She didn't know where else Tragir could be, as they hadn't come across any other clues yet. But there wasn't just a cocoon in the distance. Behind it, threads of cobwebs converged densely in the center and twisted somewhere deep inside. At the entrance to the deep giant web were four tarantulas, but they were not like any they had seen before. 

These tarantulas had the upper part of their bodies human, but from the waist down they were spiders. This must be what the two prisoners were talking about. With two human hands, they could undoubtedly operate the locks. Something was also hidden inside the large web, but it was impossible to see inside. A plan was already forming in May's head. 

"Senna, can you quickly take care of the tarantulas that will start approaching the moment we touch the webs?" she asked. 

"I'll do my best. I won't let them get to you," replied Senna.

"Mirthana, you'll need to help Senna with your magic as much as you can so she can cover me from a distance," May continued. Mirthana thought for a moment. 

"Okay. I'll do my best," she replied with a smile. May leaned down to Spark and scratched her. She knew she would need her to come with her.

"Can we go?" she asked before it started. Senna and Mirthana nodded in agreement. Spark was ready to run with her. May drew her sword. She took one last deep breath and then ran into the webs. At that moment, all the threads of the web began to move and the tarantulas started to descend. Senna had already managed to fire a few arrows and the tarantulas were now falling to the ground. The four half-tarantulas immediately turned and ran towards May and Spark. Senna managed to hit one of them in the head.

Three remained. The one closest to May immediately lunged at her. However, May was faster and cut it in half at the waist with her sword. Meanwhile, the remaining two appeared in front of her and jumped at her. Spark barked. The same thing happened as before. It was as if gravity had ceased to affect them and they were unable to descend on May. May sliced one of them from below with her sword. Spark immediately lunged at the other. She sank her teeth into its body and jerked it to the side so that the tarantula flew limply and crashed into the wall, while Spark still had a piece of its body in her teeth. Spark was no ordinary female, so May didn't even pause to consider her maneuver. She just smiled at her and continued toward the cocoon. Meanwhile, more and more tarantula bodies fell to the ground. 

May ran to the cocoon with Spark close behind her. She carefully cut it open. Her guess had been right. Inside was indeed Tragir. He looked as if he was still dazed, but he was breathing. She tried to figure out how to revive the dwarf quickly, and in the end, she simply did what first came to mind. She slapped the dwarf a few times. Surprisingly, it actually worked, and the dwarf opened his eyes with a frightened expression.

"What's going on?!" he shouted.

"Hurry, we have to get out of here," May commanded, standing up. The dwarf tried to free himself from the cobwebs. It took him a while, but soon he was also on his feet. May turned to Senna and Mirthana. Senna continued to shoot arrow after arrow with superhuman speed, but some of the tarantulas had already gotten very close. Suddenly, tree roots emerged from the ground and pierced the tarantulas. May was glad that the two of them were able to work so well together and take care of everything. But there were still countless tarantulas. More ran towards them. Under these exceptional circumstances, the dwarf ran so fast that May was completely surprised. She would not have believed that dwarves could run so fast. She stopped at the bodies of the half-tarantulas they had killed. She searched for the keys to the cells. The last one Spark had thrown against the wall had them. 

Meanwhile, the dwarf caught up with the others. 

May staggered. The web beneath her suddenly shook so violently that it felt as if the ground itself was shaking. She looked back. Something was beginning to crawl out of the dark depths of the web. The first things she saw were mandibles and eyes. She immediately realized what was happening. This must be the queen. Now she was completely out. She had a huge abdomen, and May estimated that she must be about ten meters wide and at least five meters tall. She was truly a sinister monster. May had never seen anything so big. Not even the shark they had to deal with was that big. May couldn't move. The queen's authoritative presence completely overwhelmed her.

The other tarantulas withdrew from the chase and only blocked the way up. The queen let out a terrifying hiss that echoed throughout the room. Then she looked at May with all eight eyes. She didn't know if she could really see her, but it seemed like she was staring right at her. The queen attacked May with her pedipalps. She managed to dodge at the last moment. She felt she had to get the situation under control and free her senses from the disarming tension. 

Suddenly, two arrows flew in and hit the queen directly in her two outer eyes. She let out that loud hissing sound again, but now there was pain in it. Tragir had also come to her aid.

"Let's get rid of these disgusting insects," he muttered as he ran past May. 

The queen tried to strike him, but roots sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around her legs. Tragir ran between the tarantulas and took a swing. He hit the queen squarely in the jaw with his hammer. There was a loud crunch, and the queen's body sank to the ground for a moment before rising again. This enraged her even more, but at the same time, it was clear that she was now seriously injured. 

Now the tarantulas were no longer standing aside to avoid getting in the way. They ran towards Senna and Mirthana again. But they didn't hesitate and got rid of one tarantula after another. May knew that now they couldn't focus on the queen, so it was up to her, Spark, and Tragir. 

The queen recovered and prepared for another attack. But May didn't wait. She ran towards her and stabbed her in the body from below with her sword. Now, however, she had to quickly jump back again. It was a close call. The queen tried to stab her with her spinnerets, which were as sharp as two swords. 

Meanwhile, Tragir attacked her from the sides, repeatedly striking her legs with his hammer. She could barely stand on some of them. May, who had fallen during the previous attack, was getting back up. The queen lunged toward her. At that moment, Spark barked. This time, however, it was different from before. The giant tarantula fell to the ground with its entire body. Some force was pulling her down so powerfully that she couldn't stand up. May and Tragir were already at her side. Another blow to the mandibles with the hammer followed. This time, the hammer went right through. May jumped on its head and drove her sword as deep as she could. The queen tried to get up and escape, but it was futile. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get off the ground. Tragir and May struck her again and again until she let out a final squeak. The giant tarantula lay motionless on the ground. This, of course, enraged some of the remaining tarantulas. Others, however, fled back to their webs, as far away from them as possible. Without their queen, the tarantulas were no longer as coordinated as they had been. After winning the battle, the whole group reunited. They began to make their way back up, getting rid of the tarantulas along the way. 

They stopped at the cells where, fortunately, both hunters were still conscious. May took the woman on her back and Tragir took the man. Then they moved as quickly as possible out of the lair. Finally, they emerged back onto the surface. They could still hear the tarantulas chasing them up above. Mirthana stabbed her staff into the ground, and it blossomed again. After a moment, the entire entrance was blocked by huge roots, and silence fell. They were finally out and safe. Everyone was still gasping for breath. 

Unfortunately, this is not the end - this thought flashed through everyone's mind when a gate of dark flames suddenly appeared a few meters in front of them. Two witches stepped out of it. One had white hair and the other black. At the same time, each of them had only one eye - one on the left, the other on the right. They were both hideously ugly and hunched over, looking exactly like the kind of scary witches May had read about in stories.

Their appearance was truly terrifying. The group prepared to defend themselves. 

"How dare you kill our pets?!" both witches shouted at the same time. "You will pay the highest price for this!" 

Then one of them cast a spell at May, but before it could touch her, Mirthana threw herself in front of her. The moment she came into contact with the curse, she collapsed to the ground.

It looked like the witches were preparing to cast another spell, but something seemed to distract them.

"You're lucky this time, but next time we meet, there will be nothing left of you!" they shouted, then stepped back into the fiery gate, which closed behind them immediately. May didn't understand what had deterred them. She began to look around, but saw no one. Then she looked up. Above the entrance they had just blocked, Yin was now sitting, staring ahead with her golden eyes. 

"I see you made it," Yin said, but no one paid any attention to her. 

Everyone rushed to Mirthana. She was breathing, but she didn't move. Black skin began to appear where the spell had hit her, slowly spreading across her body. She immediately broke out in a cold sweat, and it looked as if she was suddenly suffering from a high fever. It was a cruel curse of slow death. Nothing else could help her here. Everyone was now at a loss, not knowing what to do or if there was any chance of saving her. They tried to rouse her and talked to her, but Mirthana just lay there motionless. May noticed that the flowers were slowly falling from her staff, which was still stuck in the ground. 

She looked at Yin, who was still sitting there, staring directly at them.

"Please help her. At any cost. Just make sure she's okay," May pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes. Tears slowly began to roll down her cheeks.

"Why should I? And why do you think I can help her?" Yin asked. It seemed as if she had no sympathy for the others. May continued to look at her imploringly and repeated her plea. 

After a moment, Yin raised her head. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again and looked defiantly at the others. 

"I'll take her with me, but only this once. And I can't promise that she can be helped," she snapped. Everyone nodded and stepped away from Mirthana. Yin jumped down to her and looked her over carefully. Then she grabbed her hand and snapped her fingers, and both she and Mirthana were gone. 

The others sat there for a while, dejected, with their heads bowed, staring at the spot where Mirthana had been lying just a moment ago. Almost all the flowers had fallen from her staff, and it seemed to be losing all the life that was in it. The first sounds of various birds gradually rang out through the forest. However, they paid no attention to them. Senna finally got up and hugged May. 

"We have to go. We still have wounded hunters here who need to be taken to Arnu," she whispered.

It took a while before the group finally started moving. This time, Senna and Tragir carried the hunters, while May walked ahead with Spark. It really seemed as if life was returning to the forest. In contrast, however, they looked as if they had lost their lives. They moved more slowly than usual and were silent almost the entire way. It was as if none of them had anything to say. May's mind was filled with dark thoughts. She wondered if it would have been better to leave Mirthana in Osten with the other hunters. Maybe then everything would have turned out differently and she would be okay. 

She felt a mixture of regret and sadness. The others felt the same way. After all, she was part of their group and their friend. But her fate was now in someone else's hands, if anything could be done at all. 

"Don't blame yourself... We did everything we could," Senna said grimly. Even her voice betrayed her remorse and doubts. Then she continued, "All we can do is wait. We can't change anything now."

"I should never have let the spell hit her instead of me," May replied in a trembling voice. Her head was still bowed, and she wiped tears from her eyes. 

"Everything will be fine, we can't do anything now," said Tragir, trying to cheer the two girls up. "When she comes back, we'll laugh about it," he added.

Then silence fell again. No one responded, and the group continued onward. This time, they did not wander through the forest, because by resolving the situation at the former elven king's residence, they had probably also neutralized the curse that had confused them when they entered the forest. The group left the forest and continued on toward the city of Arn. It was slowly getting dark. They met the guards patrolling outside the city again. The guards joined them and escorted them to the city. 

The group arrived in the city and headed straight for the guild. As soon as the guild masters saw them, they immediately called the local healer to look at the two wounded and weakened hunters. According to the mission records, the two belonged to the group that had attempted to complete the mission before May's group accepted it. However, only the two of them had returned from the original six members. 

There was no doubt that May's group had completed the task. They were paid their reward immediately.

"If I may ask, were you by any chance a group of five?" asked the guild administrator as she handed them their reward. No one in the group answered. They looked so dejected that she decided not to ask any further questions. Senna took the reward and they all sat down at a free table. They sat there silently for a while, without anyone saying a word. Their silence was broken again by the same guild administrator when she came to ask them if they would like anything. 

"Just water, please," Senna replied after a short pause. Tragir suddenly began to get up from the table.

"I'm going for a walk around town," he said, turning to leave. Again, no one objected or said anything.

Only May, Senna, and Spark remained at the table. The female dog rested next to May as the deathly silence continued. Only the boisterous voices of the other hunters could be heard from the surrounding tables as they enjoyed themselves. In contrast, the three of them sat there with dejected expressions, as if they had lost everything. Here and there, passing hunters stopped to ask if they were the ones who had completed the task, but they received no answer, so after a while they moved on, preferring to ignore them. It must have been clear to anyone who looked at them that the circumstances of the task had not been easy, so they understood and fortunately left them alone. Senna moved over next to May and after a while took her hand.

"These things happen here often. It's not your fault. None of us are to blame," Senna whispered. 

May knew very well what this world was like. She had faced death several times herself, but now she couldn't shake the feeling that Mirthana, if she was still alive, was suffering because of her.

Of course, she wasn't the only one facing such feelings. She knew that many people in her reality were struggling with similar feelings. After all, things happen in our lives that we blame ourselves for. And it hurts, even though we couldn't influence them in any way. That's exactly how May felt now. It wasn't something that would pass in an hour. Right now, she needed to avoid contact with others. She knew very well that loss hurts a lot at first. 

"It's late. Let's go to bed," said Senna. Then she stood up, still holding May's hand. May didn't seem to want to get up, but she finally stood up when Senna refused to let go of her hand. She walked closely behind her, with Spark beside her. Her head was still bowed. They reached their room. There, Senna placed the stick on Mirthana's bed. Only one flower remained on it. 

They both took off everything they didn't need and blew out the candles. Now they lay there, back to back.

Silence continued to reign between them. Then Senna heard May crying softly. It was the only sound in the room, apart from the sounds of nightlife and people outside.

"I'm sorry. I'm just scared... I'm afraid that something might happen to you next time because of me," May said suddenly, then gathered her strength and continued, "I couldn't bear it if something like that happened to you. I'd rather die myself than lose you." She began to cry again.

After that, Senna turned to her and hugged her.

"Don't be afraid. We'll always be together," Senna whispered softly, but May heard her clearly. They were close together now. Then Senna continued, "I'll never leave you, even if you're on the other side. You really don't have to be afraid. After all, we only have each other." 

Then they both cried together. It didn't take long before they finally fell asleep. They had said what they needed to hear, and that eased their pain. At least enough for them to relax and rest. 

When they woke up in the morning, they both felt better. May woke up when Spark licked her cheek. It brought a smile to her lips.

"How are you feeling today?" asked Senna, who was still lying behind her, while May was now turned away from her.

"I still can't get it out of my head, but I feel better. You helped me a lot yesterday," she replied, turning to face her. Senna was smiling now. 

"We should go out. The fresh air will do us good," suggested Senna.

May nodded, and then they both got out of bed and started getting dressed. They definitely had no plans to prepare for another task today. They weren't ready for that yet. On their way down to the guild hall, they stopped at Tragiro's room. They tried knocking, but no one answered. After waiting for a while, they gave up and headed to the hall. There, they ate enough breakfast so they wouldn't be hungry later. After all, they didn't know where their feet would take them today. 

First, they headed to the center of Arnu. That was where most of the merchants from all countries gathered.

They looked at what everyone had to offer. Some things seemed bizarre and mysterious. There were even items that Senna and May had never seen before. The selection was truly diverse, ranging from the most exotic fruits and vegetables to the strangest household accessories.

When they had seen everything, they headed for the town administrators' houses. However, they couldn't get right inside. All three houses were separated from the rest of the town by a high wall, which was constantly patrolled by guards. There were also guards at the entrance gate to these houses. May felt like these were the same guards who guarded the residences of rulers in her world. This was probably the same everywhere.

It made her feel as if the rulers were deliberately separating themselves from the rest of the people and considering themselves some kind of "superhumans," but at the same time, she understood that the local administrators were important to the city and therefore needed to be guarded. 

Nevertheless, it reminded her of the behavior of kings and queens in her world. Yes, even in her world, such rulers still existed, although the country was usually governed by prime ministers or other similar figures. However, she had always found stories about blue blood absurd. After all, they were people like everyone else, and their blood bled just the same. So there was no reason to elevate themselves above others. 

But in Arnu, things were better than in the rest of the kingdom. Here, all three families sat on every court, so decisions were never made by a single person.

Once they had seen the stewards' houses from a distance, they set off eastward. They had heard that there were hot springs not far away in the mountains. Neither of them had ever been to such springs, so they decided to go there. After almost an hour's walk, they began to climb up into the mountains. It wasn't long before they came across a huge house. It was surrounded by a palisade . Two men stood at the entrance. They were probably mercenaries who enjoyed such work. They asked them about the purpose of their visit and they directed them further inside. 

In a moment, they were at the huge entrance to the house and stepped inside. 

A young woman was sitting behind the counter.

"Good day. Welcome. Have you come for a bath or for another reason?" she asked them. Senna immediately replied that they had come for a bath. They paid the woman a total of fifteen gold coins. After all, there were three of them, including Spark, and surprisingly, they had no problem letting the dog in with them.

The woman then directed them to the changing rooms where they could leave their things.

Shortly thereafter, they were getting ready in the changing room before their bath. Senna stared at all the scars May had. Of course, she knew about them because they had gotten most of them together.

The difference was that Senna's scars didn't stay. Thanks to being an elf, her wounds always healed perfectly, leaving no trace behind. 

"Sometimes I wish my body didn't heal so perfectly. At least I'd have some memories of everything we've been through together," Senna said.

May understood what Senna meant.

"I don't know if scars are something that should be remembered. It's definitely impractical that I always have to change clothes alone so that no one notices," May replied. "Besides, it reminds me that I wasn't skilled or quick enough to avoid those wounds."

"At least you have motivation and a reason to keep improving," Senna concluded the conversation. Then they both laughed. It was important now to laugh at the little things to push the bad stuff out of their heads.

Then all three of them set off for the springs. It looked very nice there and everything was beautifully landscaped. The springs were lined with beautiful stones, so they looked more like built-in baths. Flowers were blooming all around, probably carefully tended by someone. They perceived and felt the pleasant and calming atmosphere with all their senses. They both got into the water and settled down so that the water was up to their shoulders. Spark stretched out in the shade. 

They rested there silently for a while. 

"Do you have hot springs like this in your world?" asked Senna.

"Yes, we do, but they're not everywhere and not in every country," replied May. Her thoughts now wandered back to her own world. 

"There really aren't many things that aren't there, are there?" Senna continued, asking more questions out of curiosity. It had been a long time since they had had such a peaceful moment to themselves. 

"It's true that humanity is much more advanced in my world. And basically, there are only humans and animals, no other races," said May. "But in the end, all of that is contributing to the end of my world. The growing population, wars, technology, the depletion of natural resources..."

"I couldn't imagine living in a world like that. From what you've told me about your world, ours seems more like a fairy tale you tell each other," Senna replied, laughing sincerely. She wasn't far from the truth. In the world May belonged to, people often dreamed of fantastic worlds.

They rested there for a while longer. Then they decided it was time to head back to Arnu. So they climbed out of the water and headed back to the changing room. There they dried themselves off and got dressed. Then they finally left the mountains and headed back to the city. 

"I wonder if we'll run into Tragir on the way back," Senna suggested. May just shrugged. He probably had to come to terms with what had happened in his own way. 

Soon they arrived back in Arnu. The sun was slowly but surely setting. Where the merchants had been standing earlier, there were now only empty stalls. They continued on to the guild building. They went inside and looked around the hall to see if they could see Tragira sitting at one of the tables. However, he was still not there. So they sat down at a free table and ordered food. Of course, they also ordered something for Spark. During dinner, they talked about Maya's world for a while. Later, they headed back to their room. On the way there, they stopped again at Tragir's room, but still no one answered their knock. They waited there for a while to see if Tragir would show up, but no one came, so they finally headed straight to their room.

There, they got ready for bed. They discussed various things that came to mind for a while, but tried to avoid any mention of Mirthana. It wasn't that they had forgotten or weren't interested in her health, but after last night, they both wanted to sleep peacefully, at least for today. Besides, Senna didn't want May to leave feeling guilty. She would feel guilty anyway, but there was no need to make it worse. She knew she would blame herself for a long time, no matter what she said. Spark was already lying next to May as usual.

"I'll wait for you like I do every day. Come back soon," Senna whispered and smiled.

May didn't say anything this time. She just smiled back. Then she took her hand and closed her eyes. Soon she was back in her room.

Today, May had school again. Fortunately, she had prepared everything the night before so she didn't have to do it in the morning. The first thing she did after waking up was to cuddle with Spark, as always.

Then she took her to the garden. It was raining outside today, so she put her in the kennel. 

This was followed by the usual trip to the kitchen. Her siblings and mother were already having breakfast there. May quickly spread some jam on a piece of bread and disappeared back to her room. She got dressed for school, brushed her teeth, and quickly ran downstairs to prepare a snack. Then she left the house and went to the bus stop to wait for the bus. There were no interesting classes for her at school today. It was all theory and long lectures by teachers. Still, today wasn't one of the worst days. Right after school, she went to the local sports center for kendo practice. It was one of the few things she enjoyed in this world. That was why she only used a sword. After years of training, she was used to it. The only thing she didn't like about training was that the coaches repeatedly forced her to practice fighting with others. She knew her body and her strength well, so she always refused. Fortunately, after a bit of persuasion, the trainers always gave up. So she spent most of her time training alone. The trainers would show her something or explain something if she did something wrong. Lately, however, that hadn't been necessary. After all, she was no longer a newcomer there. 

Today, she had one more stop to make. As soon as she left the sports center after training, she headed for the housing estate. Her grandmother lived in one of the prefabricated buildings there. For May, she was basically the only person who really understood her and paid attention to her. 

She knew she could talk to her about anything that was bothering her or making her happy. Her grandmother always listened to her. She often described things from the other world and her troubles. Of course, she always phrased it so that it sounded like she was talking about circumstances and people in this world. 

Today, she talked to her about what had happened to Mirthana. She told her that she was worried about her sick friend and didn't know if she would make it and live.

"Sometimes there are things in life that we can't influence, no matter how hard we try," said her grandmother, adding, "You shouldn't just hope. You have to believe that she'll be okay, and then she will be. Above all, don't forget those who are alive and always by your side."

It seemed to her that her grandmother always understood her feelings and knew exactly what to say. It helped her tremendously. 

Of course, she didn't just leave her sitting there. As always, she made her lunch and didn't let her leave until her plate was empty. May then said goodbye to her grandmother and thanked her for everything.

She returned home much later than usual. Still, she made time for Spark and took her for at least a short walk. During the walk, she told her everything she had done that day. She enjoyed talking to her like this and telling her what had happened. Even though Spark didn't respond or react, she always felt relieved after getting everything off her chest and was immediately calmer. As soon as they got home, May cleaned Spark's paws and then took her upstairs to her usual spot in her room. 

Her grandmother fed her so much that she wasn't hungry anymore, so she started getting ready for bed. She also had to get her things ready for school the next day. She didn't like school and didn't pay much attention at home, but that didn't mean she went to school unprepared. As she was about to lock the door to her room, she noticed her youngest sister standing in the doorway.

"May, will you read me a bedtime story?" she asked. At first, May just stared at her, but then she nodded. So she followed her to the room she shared with her other sister.

She was the second oldest in the family after May. Next year, she would be starting high school. 

Meanwhile, the youngest, Tara, had crawled under the covers and was waiting. She had short hair, but it was the same light shade as May's. Her eyes were blue. Tara was very small for her age. She was always the smallest and skinniest among children her age, even though she could actually eat quite large portions of food.

"Which fairy tale do you want me to read?" May asked her. 

"Anything. Just make it pretty," Tara said. So May picked one of the books from the shelf above her bed. Then she lay down next to her and began to read. 

When she got halfway through the book, little Tara was already asleep. May got up. She stroked her hair and turned off the lamp. Then she headed back to her room. It wasn't often that one of her younger siblings asked her for something.

Now she was in her room and finally locked the door behind her. She hugged Spark and wished her good night. She lay down in her bed. Today had been a harder day than usual, but it was one of those days that was at least bearable compared to the bad ones. However, she couldn't wait to see Sennu again.

So she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.