After a while, Lena and Eva were sitting on the bed while Ringo sat back down in the chair.
-Well... where to start. - Lena said, rubbing her chin a little embarrassed.
-From the beginning, preferably. - Ringo rolled his eyes.
-It's not really a very long story. - Lena shifted a little uncomfortably. -My dad was a mechanic. He worked for the government, so we moved around a lot because of his job.
-It was about 10 years ago when we moved to the capital for a while. My dad knew your mother, so we met when he came to visit her. - She looked up, seemingly lost in memories.
Beside her, Eva was also listening curiously, it was the first time she'd heard about it.
-Back then, I was very shy. We moved around a lot, so I didn't have any friends. Instead, I played building things with my dad. He seemed worried, but while he suggested sending me to boarding school, I refused. I really loved my dad and didn't want to leave him alone, especially after the loss of my mom. - Lena sighed with a sad expression.
-It was that year that everything changed. When I saw you, as always, I was too shy to make friends, but I saw you all sad because a stupid toy your mom gave you had broken. My dad suggested I help you fix it. I didn't want to, but he still pushed me to go. - Lena laughed lightly at the memory.
Ringo remembered the memory he saw of the robot in Lena's dream, seemed to recognize the event.
Lena didn't notice, too focused on her story.
-After I fixed that toy, you looked at me like I had superpowers. You were so excited, showing it to your mom and practically putting me on a pedestal. I was so embarrassed... - Lena scratched her chin with a finger, her face slightly red.
After that, you always showed up at my house with something broken, sometimes toys, sometimes an old gadget you'd found lying around on the street.
-At first, I found you a little annoying, but your fascination with my skills made me very proud. We soon became friends. We'd hang out together every day, I'd teach you how to fix things, and we'd even go to the junkyard to look for "treasure." - Lena laughed lightly. - Our parents were really mad because it wasn't a safe place, but with the guards around, it wasn't really that dangerous, not that either of us knew about them at the time.
-We spent the next few months together. Every day was a happy day for me. I didn't want to isolate myself anymore, I didn't want to just build things around the house anymore. I waited for you every day, so we went on adventures! - Lena opened her arms wide, her face full of happiness, but soon her happiness faded slightly. -So... as expected, my dad had to move again.
Lena was silent for a long time, but whether it was Eva or Ringo, no one rushed her, just let her ruminate on her memories with empathy.
-That day, my dad offered to stay. He assured me he could manage, that I could stay and grow with a friend. - Lena laughed painfully. - You don't know how much I wished for this, but when I was on the tightrope between you and my dad, I decided to ask you.
Lena looked at him gently and said. - You seemed very sad at the time. Apparently, I wasn't the only lonely one, but even so, you said: "I never knew my father. My mother said he died in the war. I wish I had known him."
Lena began to cry as Eva approached to hug her. Ringo looked at the duo in silence for a moment, unsure of what to do. Finally, he let out a long sigh. He was truly too weak. He stood up and hugged her from the other side. Lena leaned against him, still crying.
-I remember leaving shortly afterward. I didn't see you until many years later, I won't say I never regretted that decision, I even hated my father for a while because of it, but it was just a childish tantrum and today I'm still grateful for having stayed by his side. My father needed me. But then you disappeared., it was the first time I truly thought about what would have happened if I had stayed. - Lena laughed, crying and sniffling, clutching Ringo's shirt.
Ringo just listened in silence, stroking her head. After a few minutes, she pulled away, wiped her eyes, and looked at him. Eva gave him space and stepped back a little.
-I know it seems silly, loving you for something that happened in childhood, but those were the happiest years of my life. All the effort in the years that followed, while I learned from my father, I thought about seeing you again. When I finally met you again, it was such a happy day, so happy. I had finally become a Super E Grade and enlisted in the army so I could go to you. My father got me to stay over your mother, he told me you would enlist too... well, it didn't turn out as expected, but you were still around at least. - Lena chuckled softly.
-It wasn't the same as when we were kids, but we soon became friends again, we got closer, but you... you always seemed to have something on your mind, it was only later that I understood, it was her... now I can see how important she was to you, you forgot me, but not her. - Lena seemed bitter at this point, but soon perked up again and hugged him tightly, her eyes red from crying staring at him with pain and longing. -But it doesn't matter, I choose to persist, I choose to walk this path, even if I might regret it in the future, just... just don't leave me behind.
Ringo didn't know what to say. He didn't let go of her, but he didn't say anything. What should he say now? Should he accept? But he doesn't even know her! Should he refuse? After seeing that kind of affection, could he stand aside again?
Ringo could only hug her and sigh. -I don't know what will happen to us, I don't promise anything, but... for now, you can follow me. - Lena looked a little sad, but soon gave a happy smile and waved. She knew he had lost his memory, but she didn't care. For now, it was enough.
After the pair hugged for a few minutes, Eva finally couldn't take it anymore and coughed loudly.
Ringo looked at her, and she looked a little embarrassed, before saying. -My turn!
Ringo chuckled softly, Lena laughed too, before pulling away and standing up, sitting in the chair this time.
Ringo looked at Eva curiously, wondering what kind of story she had with the original.
Eva looked away a little embarrassed, but finally sighed. - Actually, it's not as sad as Lena's story. - She shrugged and drew her legs up, hugging her knees.
-I don't have any parents, they both died in the war. Eva began and Ringo thought: "Isn't that sad enough?"
-I was just a brat living wandering through the camps in the territory of Hesla, at that time the war had not ended for a long time and there were fights between warlords recurrently, I didn't even look like a girl at the time, dirty, begging, eating what I could, when I could.
Lena looked surprised as Ringo listened attentively.
-Then one day, while I was wandering with some refugees, your mother showed up in a military convoy. I was starving. I wanted to steal some of the supplies. At that point, the risk was worth it, the risk was worth it even if I died. So, of course, I got caught.
Lena lifted her head and looked at him. Her story was much more difficult than Lena's, but Eva didn't seem to care.
-The soldiers wanted to kill me. Maybe your mother saw something in me. I don't know, I never asked, but she didn't kill me. She opened a packet of dry biscuits and handed them to me. I didn't think twice. I didn't mind dying, but I still clung to life like a wild animal. I ate it all. She handed me a bottle of water. I drank it, and finally, after satisfying my hunger, I was able to look at her.
-The look didn't mean anything. I just stared at her, as if I were a zoo animal, trying to understand its behavior. She seemed to see it, because she laughed and didn't leave after doing a good deed to feel a little better about herself. She picked me up, dirty as I was, took me away with her. - Eva laid her head on her knees, her expression unchanged, looking thoughtful.
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+10 chapters of Jugo - Father of Devils on P_treon.
+21 chapters of The Legendary Mechanic - Triple Six on P_treon.
P_treon: March_Rain