Lord, hear my cry! Do not let me fall into the hands of evil... wrap me in your light, I beg you.
She clutched the Bible with trembling hands against her chest, as if it were the only thing capable of protecting her at that moment as tears streamed down her face.
When she opened her eyes, she saw him there — standing in front of her, with his hood thrown back and a huge sack at his side.
"It's okay!" he said, leaning on one knee and extending his hand towards the girl.
She quickly retreated, crawling backwards with a pale and horrified face as she tried to control her tears.
"I understand" completed, pulling his hand back slowly, realizing that the proximity only increased her fear. "Yeah... this must all be too much for you, huh?" he added as he looked at the scene of destruction that surrounded them.
The girl stared at him, her eyes filled with tears, still in shock, not knowing how to react.
Even though she was so closed off from her reactions, he insisted.
"Can you stand up?"
No answer. Silence hung between them, broken only by the hot wind, spreading the ashes. In the background, the crackling of the flames and the crackling of the woods left the village in ruins.
"I'm sorry for what happened to you and your village... but we can't stay here."
He cast a careful look at the forest around him, as if expecting something to emerge from the shadows.
"It's already getting dark... and the next village is over an hour's walk away" he added, standing up.
She listened to him in silence, wiping away her tears while her eyes, still hesitant, fixed on the blood-stained scythes attached to the boy's waist.
Noticing the young woman's attention, he pulled up his coat, hiding them.
"I know I'm a stranger, but I'm not here to hurt you." whispered, trying to ease the weight of the moment.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment.
With a hesitant movement, she stood up, her body trembling, her dirty hair falling over her face as she supported herself on her left arm with her right hand, in an attempt to steady herself.
He then gave a smirk, threw the bag on his back, and then they both headed towards a path on the edge of the forest.
After a few moments, the narrow path disappeared into the forest shrouded in darkness. The cold breeze touched their faces, and only the crickets broke the silence as their footsteps sank into the cold earth, disappearing under the still gaze of the imposing trees.
"Marie!" the young woman exclaimed. "My name is Marie!"
The young man arched an eyebrow spontaneously.
"Well, it's a pleasure, Marie" he replied, quickly ending the subject.
"And yours? What's your name?"
"My name? After everything that happened, i didn't imagine that would be your first question."
"Of course, I have many other questions, for example, what are you carrying in that stinky bag! But I need to start by knowing who you are, if I want to try to understand all this madness."
The young man let out a smirk.
"My name doesn't matter... and honestly, the less you know about me, the better. And what about the bag? I don't think you want to know."
"No, don't come with that" Marie replied, her voice breaking. "Those creatures... they killed everyone..." she finished, clutching the Bible to her chest, feeling the weight of the pain.
"Yes... I'm sorry about the village. I didn't get there in time..."
"No! I mean... it wasn't my village, I was just passing through, but all those people..." Marie stopped for a moment, her eyes filled with tears. "That's why I want you to tell me who you are!"
"Those things... they were demons, weren't they?" She could barely breathe between words.
"And that place...? Where did you take me?" The words came out jumbled. "We... disappeared! All dark... full of people..." A sob escaped, interrupting her speech as she put her hands to her head. "And then, out of nowhere, we came back, somewhere else!"
"This… isn't normal!" she stammered.
"Hey, calm down… breathe" the boy stopped in front of her, took the bag off his shoulder and gently rested his hands on her shoulders, with a serene expression, trying to calm her down.
"We're fine and that's what matters. But right now, we need to focus on getting to the next village as soon as possible, okay?"
Marie nodded, wiping her tears with her own hands.
They walked in silence for a few minutes.
"And that Bible there? Is it religious?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood, without looking back.
Marie smiled as she turned her attention back to the Bible in her hand.
"It's important to me, I like to keep it close. But yes... I come from a religious family."
"Religious family, huh?" Him curiosity was piqued. "Do they force you to go to church and stuff?"
"What? No! I go because that's where I really feel at peace... It's like, for a moment, the world becomes clearer, you know? Like I can feel that I'm connected to something bigger... and, somehow, protected."
The boy raised an eyebrow.
"Protected? Well, the people of the village probably wouldn't share that view."
Noticing the sarcasm in his speech, he questioned him:
"It's funny you should say that, because, thinking about it... To do everything you did, you would be a user of faith magic, wouldn't you?"
The young man listened in silence, without reacting, as if he already knew that question would come at some point.
As he walked, he thought to himself:
Magic... that would be the simplest explanation. There are two forms: that of faith, which comes from devotion and connection with the divine, or even through sacred artifacts... and that of darkness, fueled by pain, fear and corruption, usually awakened by pacts with demons. Both have a price, but the latter consumes the soul of whoever uses it.
"So?" Marie insisted after his silence, looking at him expectantly.
"It's complicated..." he answered, hesitantly.
"Complicated?"
She looked away for a moment, before changing the subject.
"Speaking of complicated... when we disappeared and reappeared near that tree, you looked at me like you'd seen a ghost. What happened?"
The young man stopped when he heard the words, closing his eyes for a moment as he took a deep breath.
"I thought it was someone else... someone I knew. That's all." His voice was low, almost as if he wanted to end the subject there.
The girl simply nodded silently, respecting the end of the conversation without insisting.
After walking for a while longer, they saw a sign with the name of the village: "Satigny".
The town was surrounded by vineyards and the night air was filled with the sweet smell of ripe grapes. The lamps along the path cast a soft light, which illuminated the terrain to a nearby grape field, creating a cozy and peaceful atmosphere.
As they passed through the field, they saw a beautiful lady being helped by a man to get out of her carriage.
Marie immediately stopped and narrowed her gaze, recognizing something in the distance.
"Father Louis?" she called, her voice full of surprise.
The man, upon hearing the familiar voice, turned around until his eyes finally settled on Marie.
"Marie?" he asked, his face instantly blushing.
"Father! How nice to see you here! It's been so long!" she exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear.
She ran up to him and hugged him with a rush, almost as if she didn't want to let go.
"Marie, what happened to you? You're all sweaty and dirty!" the priest exclaimed, worried, gently holding her face, as if trying to analyze the signs of fatigue and dirt.
"Oh, don't worry about it, I'm fine! I just got lost while looking for the way to Geneva..." she answered quickly, trying to divert the focus. "And you're here to buy grapes again, aren't you? I know you love them!"
The priest, still surprised, returned the hug.
"Yes, my dear, grapes" he confirmed, scratching the back of his neck with a shy smile.
"Speaking of which, here's the money."
Louis turned to the lady, handing her a sum of coins. Without hesitation, she carefully put the money away in a velvet pouch.
"It was great to do business with you again… Father" the lady said with a slight smile. She then gave the young man a quick glance before turning and continuing on her way, with elegant steps.
"Oh, Father! I want you to meet the… uh…" Marie began, gently pulling the young man by the arm until she approached him.
He did not hesitate and extended his hand naturally.
"I am a friend of Marie's. She got lost in the forest, and I just helped her find her way here" he added, greeting him.
"Ah, yes… then I thank you, from the bottom of my heart" he replied, returning the greeting" I was here closing a deal with the farmer and, as you can see…" he nodded towards the bags in the wagon "I ended up taking some good bunches of grapes."
"Yes. I can see that" the boy whispered. "In fact, how lucky we were to find you here…"
"Indeed. Here, without a doubt, are the best grapes in all of Europe, I dare say. And the best part: it's only thirty minutes from our city, if we go by carriage.
He paused briefly, then took out a small pocket watch and checked the time.
"And speaking of which…" he continued, putting the watch away "we need to go, Marie. It's already quite late. Once again, thank you for your help."
He gently touched the boy's shoulder, with a cordial nod, before starting to walk towards the carriage.
The young man approached Marie, still watching the priest climb into the carriage.
"So… that's it." he said, letting the bag he was carrying fall to the ground with a soft muffled thud.
"Yeah, I guess it is." she replied. "Hey… I guess I haven't really thanked you yet. Thanks for saving me."
Her eyes shone with unshed tears, but she quickly wiped them with the sleeve of her blouse, trying to maintain her composure.
"No need to thank me." he whispered in response. "I'm not very good at goodbyes."
He held out his hand, helping her climb carefully into the wagon.
"Take care on the way to town, okay?"
There was firmness in his voice, but his gaze was soft and almost protective.
Marie just nodded and settled down next to the bags of grapes.
As soon as the priest gave the signal to leave, the young man took a step back, lifted the sack back onto his shoulder and added:
"By the way… my name is Kant."
Marie looked up in surprise and smiled sincerely. She waved to him one last time before the cart began to move slowly.
Kant remained where he was, silent, watching as her silhouette moved further and further away until it disappeared down the road.
She seems like a kind person... he thought, giving a discreet, almost melancholic smile.
"I hope she has a better fate than me," murmured in a low voice, as if speaking more to the wind than to himself.
He sighed deeply, as if releasing something stuck in his chest, and then turned around, walking alone down a damp and silent cobblestone street, the lamps casting soft shadows around him.