Inside a run-down room near the classroom, where Hector had just studied, he gently rested his cane on a student's desk and looked around with pale, vacant eyes as he slowly sat down.
At that moment, sunlight streamed through the glass door, casting light on his face and revealing pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes — the marks of sleepless nights filled with nightmares.
His body was gaunt, to the point where much of his muscle had wasted away, exposing his collarbones beneath the thin uniform.
"Where are we going?" Hector asked softly, giving Violet a blank, distant look.
Seeing Hector in such a ruined state, Violet's eyes welled up with tears. She whimpered, her voice trembling with worry and care.
"W-What happened to you? Y-Your eyes… and your whole state?"
She tried to hold back a wave of emotion. If she hadn't, she probably would've thrown her arms around him like a child right then.
