Continuation of previous events) The old man asked Nicolas and his mother to follow him. Then he began walking among dozens of women and men crowded in the place. While they were walking, he said to Nicolas, "Do you see all these people, little one?" Nicolas replied with a nervous voice, "Yes." The old man replied, "The same reason that brought you and your mother here. This is the only safe place once you disobey the Catorans' orders. As soon as you leave here and the Catorians find you, your fate will be death in the most horrific possible ways." Nicolas looked toward his mother to find expressions of fear and sadness dominating her face, which made him feel regret for being the cause of all this happening to her.
The old man stopped in front of a small empty space and asked them to sit in this place, then left. The mother sat down and Nicolas sat in front of her. Nicolas felt disgust and discomfort because of the cramped space and the foul smells around. He began looking at the people present, finding people with expressions of despair on their faces, unable to do anything but sit and wait for their fate. Others were crying, regretting their disobedience to their masters while being yelled at by others to be quiet.
Nicolas directed his gaze toward his mother to find her sleeping. He kept looking at her with a face full of sadness while feelings of regret took over his heart. Then he said to himself, "I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry, mother. You don't deserve any of this." Then he put his head on her arm and fell asleep.
After several hours passed, Nicolas woke up startled because he received a blow to his face. He found the old man in front of him looking at him with a sharp gaze, asking him to follow him. Nicolas followed him without any word or complaint about the punch he received because he didn't want to cause another problem that might harm his mother.
The old man stopped in front of the same wall that Nicolas had entered through the previous time. Before he could speak any word, the old man said in a calm tone, "Listen to me well, child. Don't think we'll accept you staying here without payment. If you want to stay, you and your mother must work for it." Nicolas replied with a somewhat angry voice, "Hurry up and tell me what you want from me."
Expressions of annoyance appeared on the old man's face and he said to him, "As you know, your case is still new, only a few hours have passed, so most likely no one has noticed it yet, and even if they noticed it now, only people close to the incident would know about it. So all I want from you is to change your appearance a little so they don't recognize you at first and search for some food or water to feed the people here."
Nicolas replied, "Fine, I'll do that, but why me specifically among all these people? Shouldn't you send many of them?" Expressions of anger appeared on the old man's face and he replied with an annoyed tone, "Stop questioning, child. Of course I sent other people. Do you think I'm stupid to send only one child? Now I'll shave your hair and give you new clothes and you go out to do what I ordered you to do."
The old man took out a rusty iron scissors from his pocket and began cutting his hair. Nicolas felt some pain from that but remained silent for his mother's sake. After finishing cutting Nicolas's hair completely, he gave him a white shirt and blue pants, then took him out of the hut. Nicolas quickly put on the clothes to find they were bigger than him, but he didn't care.
He left the empty alley to find himself in front of a group of stone huts and began walking through them while remaining afraid that they might recognize him. As he advanced, he noticed there weren't many people around, which made him think they might be gathered at Narcissa's house.
After some time passed, Nicolas arrived in front of a shop selling bread and sugar. He approached it slowly, ready to pounce on one of the loaves, but was surprised that the shop owner wasn't there, which made him feel a mixture of relief and happiness. Nicolas jumped inside the shop and began carrying everything he could of bread and sugar. Since his clothes were loose, he was putting everything he collected inside them.
After finishing and before leaving the shop, Nicolas spotted a knife thrown on the ground, so he picked it up to be able to defend himself in case one of the Catorians attacked him. He took it and put it inside his clothes, then left the shop and set off to return to the hut.
The place was empty so he didn't worry much in case someone saw him. After several minutes, he reached the alley without any problems, then began heading toward the hut. While advancing, he heard a man's voice screaming angrily, "I will kill this damn one who killed Narcissa," which made him freeze in place from terror and tension.
He could hear the loud voices of men and women in front of Narcissa's hut while he stood motionless with expressions of worry dominating his face. After several seconds, he decided to move quickly to the hut before anyone spotted him. He headed quickly toward the old hut while trying not to make any noise.
With every step he took, he could hear the voices of those present in front of Narcissa's house: "What happened?" "Did Miss Narcissa die?" (Sound of crying) "Yes, her skull was almost broken, in addition to her nose being blocked with blood." "She was a good woman, how did this happen to her?" "(Sound of crying) She was my favorite friend, why did this happen to her?"
Nicolas felt strange and annoyed: "These damn ones did worse things than this to us while they are now mourning over her." After reaching the hut, he knocked on the wall hard. A hole opened for him to enter. After entering, he began dropping everything he brought from his clothes. The people present began pouncing on the bread as fast as they could.
Everyone gathered toward Nicolas to take their share of food, and everything Nicolas brought disappeared in seconds. Nicolas looked at his clothes to find them empty - they had taken everything he brought. Expressions of sadness appeared on his face.
Nicolas went to the place where his mother was located, then sat in front of her feeling frustrated. After sitting, he felt something behind his back. He put his hand back and pulled that thing out, surprised to find it was a loaf of bread. Expressions of joy appeared on Nicolas's face and he quickly woke up his mother.
After she woke up, he divided the bread in half and gave one to his mother while eating the other. When they finished eating, the mother closed her eyes and returned to sleep while Nicolas remained absent-minded while thinking: "We can't always stay in this condition. I need to know a way to get out of this. Should I climb the walls and escape? No, they'll see me climbing and kill me. So should I disguise myself?... No, they'll discover me easily. There's no black Catorian."
After several minutes of thinking, an idea came to Nicolas's head: "Oh right, escaping by making a hole to the outside. Why didn't I think of that from the beginning? I can make a hole and advance inside it, and after I make sure I've moved far enough from the colony, I'll dig outside and escape with all I have. The only problem with this plan is what will I dig with? And where will I find it in the first place? Damn, I hate thinking too much, but I have nothing else to do but that.
"Well, it's clear that that damn old man will make me go out daily to get food. So while I'm searching for food outside, I'll have to search for anything useful I can dig with. Like... a spoon. Well, I think I can dig with it and at the same time not make noise while digging, but that will take me a lot of time and effort, but I think this is the best thing I can do. As for the hole, I can cover it with anything. Well, I think this plan will serve the purpose. I can go to sleep now."
(The next day) Nicolas woke up in the same way as the previous time by the old man, then left the hut with two others. Nicolas began walking among the huts like the previous time, but unlike the previous time, the place was full of people, which made Nicolas be cautious.
After a period of walking, Nicolas spotted a medium-sized skull of one of the creatures. He thought it might be useful for digging, so he quickly picked it up and put it inside his shirt while continuing to walk.
After an hour of walking, Nicolas spotted a roasted chicken on one of the tables where one of the women was sitting. He began approaching the table while walking normally as if he were one of the passersby while looking at the chicken, waiting for the right moment.
After several seconds, the woman turned her face away from the table while she heard one of her friends calling her. Nicolas immediately stole the chicken and ran away with it. The woman didn't realize the chicken had been stolen until several seconds passed, then began screaming loudly: "You slave, bring back my chicken!" But Nicolas had already disappeared from her sight.
Nicolas put the chicken inside his clothes even though it was hot, but he endured it. Then he continued running among the huts while changing directions every moment so no one could follow him. After making sure he had moved far enough from her, he put his hand inside his shirt and tore off a piece of chicken and put it inside his pants, keeping it for him and his mother, then began walking slowly toward the alley.
After arriving and making sure no one was watching him, he headed toward one of the places far from the entrance leading to the alley. He sat on the ground and took out the skull he found on the way and began digging using it.
After a full hour passed, he managed to dig a small hole deep enough to put his entire arm in. After finishing, he took a deep breath and said in a low voice: "Well, this is enough for today. It's still small, so there's no need to hide it." Then he went to the hut and gave them the chicken while eating part of the chicken piece he hid and gave the other part to his mother as usual and went to sleep.
After that, Nicolas continued doing the same thing every day: waking up, going out to bring food, digging the hole, returning to the hut to deliver what he brought, eating with his mother, and sleeping. For a year and a half, every day repeating the same routine.
Sometimes he couldn't find anything, so he had to stay without food for the whole day, or he couldn't find enough food for him and his mother, so he would give what he found to her. The skull he was digging with broke, but he continued using his arm until he found something else to dig with. He became quite thin because of the lack of food, while his mother became like a corpse because of hunger and not being exposed to sunlight for a long time.
They tried to take her outside so she could breathe some fresh air and touch the light, but she became unable to walk. The situation in the hut was bad to the extreme degree. Most of the residents in the hut died, so Nicolas had to take them out to avoid the spread of diseases or foul smells. But because food wasn't always available, Nicolas would cut some parts of the dead bodies and cook them for him and his mother to eat.
But even with all these problems, Nicolas continued digging day after day without stopping. His clothes got dirty from the soil and his hands were damaged from digging. They were full of wounds and caused him continuous pain, but that didn't prevent him from continuing until the awaited day arrived.
While Nicolas was inside the hole after extending it for a long distance during all those months of effort, he noticed that he had moved far enough to be able to get out. He took a deep breath, then gripped the spoon he was using for digging tightly and began digging upward.
His hands were causing him terrible pain while digging, but that didn't matter to him now. Neither pain nor fatigue would hinder him from achieving his goal. Nicolas continued digging and digging and digging. A few moments separated him from his goal, from his freedom.
He continued digging until suddenly the soil above him began to collapse, letting sunlight in. Nicolas closed his eyes because of the sunlight: "Ahh, my eyes, that was sudden... (opened his eyes slowly) Huh?" Expressions of shock appeared on his face, quickly changing to expressions of happiness. His pupils dilated strongly while saying in a voice full of happiness: "Finally! Finally! Finally! I did it! I did it!"
He began advancing quickly out of the hole, and with every second that passed, feelings of happiness, achievement, and hope increased inside him. Finally, after all those years of pain, slavery, and contempt, Nicolas finally came out to the outside world, falling to the ground in front of the hole. The sun's rays touched his smiling face and the cold air refreshed his tired body.
Nicolas felt unparalleled happiness, happiness he had never felt in his life. Nicolas screamed loudly from the intensity of his joy, then said: "I did it!" Nicolas turned his head to the right to find a giant river in front of him. He got up from the ground, then headed toward the river and began drinking from it.
After refreshing himself, he fell to the ground and began moving his hands and feet randomly from the intensity of his happiness: "Finally! Finally! I can't believe myself, I did it. I got out of that damn village, hahahahahaha..." He took a deep breath, then closed his eyes to relax a little from all this fatigue.
But suddenly he opened his eyes forcefully, then said in a tense voice: "My mother! How could I forget her?" He got up from the ground with difficulty, then headed toward the hole to return. But before entering, he froze in place as expressions of sadness slowly appeared on his face.
After several minutes passed, he said in a low voice: "Oh right, the hole is small. My mother won't be able to enter it. In addition, she can't walk, so I think she won't be able to walk through it." Nicolas looked at his swollen hands for several minutes with a face devoid of emotions, then directed his gaze toward the hole and said in a rough tone: "I'm sorry, mother, but I'll leave you alone for some time, but I'll never abandon you. I'll prepare myself first, then I'll come back to you again and free you from there. Just wait for me a little. I promise I'll come back to you when I'm ready."
(Return to reality)
Nicolas opened his eyes slowly to find that darkness had already fallen. He got up from his bed, then went to the clay jar and began drinking water with a tired face while talking to himself in a low voice: "Six years... Six years have passed since I escaped from that place... I wonder how my mother is now... Yes, she must be in a bad condition being in that place... How could I do that... How could I leave her alone all those years while she's in that bad condition? What kind of son am I?"
He began to feel feelings of regret and annoyance: "But I had no choice. I couldn't save her before... But now I have a strong body and enjoy good health thanks to the support of this village, and I can equip myself with weapons. I have no excuses now. I must do it."
Nicolas put the cup on the jar and directed his gaze toward the table that had his mission money. He went to it and put 30 anro in his pocket, then headed toward his bed to sleep so he could search the next day for a store that sells weapons... But before lying down on the bed, he spotted Joseph with the corner of his eye walking around alone at night, which aroused his curiosity: "What is this fool doing at this time?"
Joseph continued walking until he turned right and disappeared from Nicolas's sight. Nicolas remained standing in his place with expressions of curiosity on his face. After several seconds passed, Nicolas felt some curiosity, so he decided to follow him to find out what he was doing.
He left the hut and began walking in the same direction Joseph went. The place was empty of people and very dark, which made him more curious about what Joseph was doing. Suddenly, Nicolas felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned around quickly with shocked features, only to find it was Jenny.
Nicolas's expressions changed to curiosity and he said to her in a low voice: "Seriously, what are you and Joseph doing in the middle of the night?" Jenny replied in a low voice: "Lower your voice so Joseph doesn't hear us. Even if I explained to you, you wouldn't believe me, so it's better you see for yourself." Jenny moved forward and said to him: "Follow me."
Jenny continued walking until she stopped behind one of the huts in the same place where Joseph had turned. Nicolas kept looking at her with looks of curiosity and tension and said in a low voice: "What do you want me to see?" Jenny turned toward Nicolas and said to him in a low voice: "Take a look behind that hut and try to hide yourself as much as possible."
Nicolas was surprised by her words but did what she told him. He went behind the wall and began looking with the corner of his eye toward the place Joseph had headed, and expressions of shock and terror appeared on his face. Joseph was in the same place he had been the previous night, talking to the same creature.
Nicolas quickly pulled his head back and directed his gaze toward Jenny with a mixture of shock and curiosity and said to her: "What is Joseph doing? What is that thing?" Jenny replied: "Lower your voice, man. I don't know either. I'm as surprised as you are." Nicolas replied: "Well, let's continue our conversation somewhere else before he hears us."
Nicolas turned around to walk back to the hut while Jenny followed him. After reaching the hut, the two sat on the ground, then Nicolas directed his gaze toward Jenny saying: "What is Joseph doing with that thing?" Jenny replied in a tense tone: "I told you I don't know, but I saw him with the same creature the previous night."
Nicolas got up a little, then took a quick look through the window to find Joseph coming out of that alley and heading toward their hut. Nicolas quickly pulled his head back and looked at Jenny with a tense face, saying in a low voice: "Shut your mouth, he's coming toward us."
Silence filled the place for several seconds until Nicolas and Jenny began hearing Joseph's footsteps approaching them slowly. Jenny's heartbeat began to accelerate because of tension. The sound of footsteps began to get closer and closer, and with every step he took, it increased the feelings of tension and confusion in Jenny until the sounds began to be heard in front of their hut.
Expressions of tension appeared on Nicolas's face while he began tightening his fist in preparation for any sudden event. After some time passed, the sounds of footsteps began to move away little by little until they disappeared completely.
After Joseph moved away from them, Jenny felt some relief and took a deep breath. Nicolas headed toward the door, sticking part of his head outside to monitor the situation, to see Joseph moving away from them slowly. He put his head inside, then looked at Jenny saying: "Well, no need to worry, he's gone." Jenny replied: "Excellent, I thought he knew about our presence."
Jenny got up from the ground and left the hut, saying in a tense tone: "Well, I'll go to my hut. Good night, Nicolas." Nicolas replied: "Well, good night. See you tomorrow."
After she left, Nicolas headed toward his bed, falling on it. He covered himself and closed his eyes to fall asleep with his mind attached to one thing, one thing:
"I'm coming, mother."
(The End)
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