❖ Chapter 2: She Didn't Say Thank You
The man didn't talk for the first two days.
Jio gave him water. Shared half a piece of stale bread. Wiped the sweat from his forehead when the fever came.
No one else helped.
People gave him looks, though. The kind that hang heavy, like smoke after a fire. Not angry, exactly. Just tired. Resigned.
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It wasn't until the third morning that she spoke.
"I didn't ask you to save me."
The voice was low. Rough. Could've been a boy's. But something in the way her eyes held the world — sharp and quiet — made Jio stop.
He didn't respond right away.
Then he shrugged.
"You were dying," he said. "Didn't think I needed permission."
She sat up, slowly. Her shoulder was wrapped with strips of cloth torn from Jio's blanket. Badly done, but it held.
"…You're from this place?" she asked, glancing around at the cracked buildings and dusty roads.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
He blinked. "I was born here."
She gave a dry laugh. Not a real one — more like something forced out of habit.
"Well, that sucks."
Jio smiled a little. "Yeah. It does."
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She wouldn't tell him her name.
Not at first.
She said she was heading for the cliffs, got caught in a storm. That was it.
Jio didn't push.
He just kept showing up with food when he could find it, and water when he couldn't.
Sometimes they didn't talk.
Sometimes she asked strange things.
"Do you believe in anything?"
Jio paused, sitting with a stone in his hand, tossing it between his palms.
"I believe people should rest when they're hurt," he said finally.
She snorted. "That's not what I meant."
"I know."
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On the seventh day, she stood on her own.
Didn't ask for help. Didn't thank him either.
But she sat next to him that night, beside the dead tree. Said it had a stupid shape.
He told her he liked it.
"Because it keeps trying," he said.
She didn't say anything for a while.
Then:
"…Havella. My name's Havella."
Jio didn't say anything either.
Just nodded once.
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That night, she stole bread from the merchant's stall.
Jio saw her do it. She didn't try to hide it.
Later, she handed him half without a word.
They ate in silence. The dry wind passed between them like a second language.
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Things didn't get easier.
But they didn't get worse either.
And in the Wastes, that was something.
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End of Chapter 2
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