Blinding Truth

Snow is a silent killer. It dazzles you with its beautiful appearance, and while you're admiring it, the cold air seeps into your lungs, killing you from the inside.

Ren didn't like snow. His sister had to be hospitalized every winter. He hated seeing her there, that tiny body in the large hospital bed, as she gazed longingly out the window, watching the other children on their way home from school. Then, when she saw him, she would wipe her eyes and smile, as if nothing had happened.

Ren walked along the mountain to reach Haku and Lily. At the hole, a group of Snow-dusted people, dressed in thin furs, chanted with their hands raised. The air filled with fragments of magic as they tried to create a new illusion to hide their land from unwanted eyes. A deeper shade of red returned to Haku's face as she saw the boy. Her too-big clothes made it harder for her to walk, forcing her to waddle like a penguin as she dusted herself off and moved toward him, her eyes sparkling with excitement. A chuckle escaped Ren as the girl reached him, and he gently adjusted the scarf around her neck. Her nose looked redder than her skin, as it was exposed to the constant cold air.

"How was the climb? Did you find any flowers?"

Ren nodded. Haku grabbed his hand and pulled him to a quieter spot, away from the prying eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face down to hers. Then she moved her lips tantalizingly close to his. Ren, blushing, looked around to see if the whole thing was a bad joke, but the red-skinned girl just leaned closer to his ear. Her warm breath tickled him, giving him goosebumps.

"Give me some!" Ren leaned back slightly, flashing a weird look. "The flowers! Hurry!"

Like a dealer, she opened her coat, waiting for him to load her with the goods. He sighed, opened his bag, and handed her a few. She smiled to herself contentedly, as if she had done a good job. But when she looked up at the boy, her face turned to terror, and she pointed frantically at the top of his head.

"Sen! I think you caught an infection in this godforsaken place! The top of your hair is black!"

"Oh, that? My roots just grew out."

"Grew out?"

"Blue isn't my natural hair color."

Haku looked devastated, as if she had been betrayed. With tearful eyes, she cried out. "First, these boring snow peas who don't even talk and walk around like the living dead, and now your betrayal! I hope Lily had a better day!"

"No one said it was my natural hair color. And where's Lily?"

She pointed to the hole. "On the other side."

A strange feeling came over Ren as he now walked on foot through the quite high tunnel. The smell of stone hit his nose. It was completely dark; light only filtered in where he had entered, and leaving it behind, he blindly fumbled around so he wouldn't fall on his nose. It seemed they had already created the illusion because he couldn't see the end of the tunnel. He flailed his hands in front of him, but it didn’t help. He just walked out to the sun, almost blinding him. The sun's rays mischievously sneaked in to him, first grabbing his hand and then covering his body.

The strong contrast surprised him again. The green color of the clearing seemed to have already left his mind. He didn't have a problem with the snow itself, but he subconsciously associated negative feelings with it. Coming out of it, it felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart. The Snow-dusted people looked at him like he was some unpleasant bug, but they didn't comment on his presence. He walked around a few times, but couldn't find the orange-haired girl anywhere. He darted his eyes here and there, already thinking of asking someone, when he saw her wandering among the trees. She seemed lost. He went closer to her, and although she looked at him directly, the flame of recognition didn't light up in her eyes. It was as if she didn't recognize him.

In a muffled and slightly scared voice, she spoke. "Ren?" The girl's face changed as she leaned closer and, with a sudden movement, lifted his chin. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing. You worry too much." He pushed her hand away and ran his hand annoyedly along his chin, then switched to a softer tone. "Are you okay? Maybe they're making you work too hard?"

"Now who's worrying too much?" She put her hands on her hips, pouting, which highlighted her childlike features. Only now did Ren truly feel how much she and Haku influenced each other, mirroring some movements.

Lily began to twist her hair, as if she were embarrassed. "Actually... I feel really good. It's like I'm a new person. I worked a lot to finish on time and see you two and look at me!" She gestured over herself and twirled like a model. She was right; aside from the drops of sweat on her face, she looked completely fine. He remembered the image of her lifeless body in front of him and swallowed hard. Was she really okay?

As they stepped out of the tunnel, Lily grabbed the bottom of his sleeve. He stopped. She silently linked her arm with his. It surprised him, but they continued their way like that.

"What's going on here?" Haku appeared behind them, smiling mysteriously, but something unexplainable was hiding behind it. "Did something happen between you two?"

"Obviously no!" he said defensively.

"Then why is Lily so attached to you? Unless..."

"I like Ren!" Lily squeezed his arm tighter to her chest. Her white skin turned a faint pink as she looked at Haku with a serious, straight face. Ren's heart hammered in his chest, and his cheeks flushed a deep crimson. His mind went completely blank, and he could only stutter something incoherent. Haku's red skin became even brighter as she put a hand to her mouth.

"Wha-what are you talking about? Since when?"

Lily put her hand on her heart and closed her eyes. "Since I first saw him."

Ren and Haku listened with their mouths agape, both of them embarrassed.

"O-Okay, let's go!" the oni trotted forward. Nervousness could be heard in her voice.

Ren didn't know what to think. He felt quite committed to his girlfriend, who was waiting for him at home, but the girl attached to him had definitely made his heart beat faster with her previous statement. He didn't even notice, but he was walking a little faster than he should have, so the girl pulled him back.

"Ren! You're too fast. Maybe... you want to shake me off?" She fluttered her long eyelashes as she looked up at him with huge eyes, as if she were about to cry.

"I-I'm sorry." He slowed his pace, and with a prophet stuck to his side, the two of them walked to the chief, who waited and invited them inside.

Inside, Haku didn’t hold back. She fixed her gaze on the old woman and said forcefully.

"Now spit everything out!"

The woman held out her hand expectantly. "First, the flowers, Hakuka!" Haku began to whistle, as if she didn't know a thing. "I'll admit you're talented at making potions, but I can't let you take anything out."

The red-haired girl rolled to her knees, pushing her face terribly close to the woman's. "Oh, but why? What if I can make things you couldn't? More perspectives, see more!"

The gray-haired woman nodded in defeat, which made the oni start to cheer.

The chief started giving the cold shower as if it was nothing.

"Segawa, your pain comes from the other world. You have a connection to that, and this something is slowly killing you."

The blood in Ren's veins turned to ice. A thousand questions raced through his mind, but he couldn't form a single one.

Without waiting for the others' reactions, and without taking a breath, she continued, turning to the orange-haired girl who was sitting disciplined on her heels. "Lilith. I assume you didn't know that your body is full of poison." The air froze. Haku stopped cheering, and Ren also straightened up. "Did you have a problem using your magical power? Did you feel like you got tired very quickly?" Lily nodded, holding her breath. "Someone poisoned you. Not once. Repeatedly, constantly. Not enough for you to die, just enough to weaken you. We've started the detoxification process, but such a short time is not enough to eradicate it."

Leaving them to ponder and digest in silence, she broke this atmosphere by loudly slurping her tea. Then, she moved closer to the prophet and placed her hand on hers, as if in sympathy. It was strange to see emotion on her face.

"I'm sorry. You've probably already figured it out, but we couldn't save your sight."

The last piece of information in particular was like a punch to the gut. The events of that day made sense: how Lily didn't recognize him and how she was wandering around, lost. Why hadn't she said anything?

"But we'd be happy to take you in here. We'd have great use for your power."