Dawn still hugged the sky with cold, dark fingers as the first shades of a violet blue began to bleed on the horizon, a silent announcement that the sun would come, though its light was still trapped behind the curvature of the world. The earth was suspended in that spectral transition between the end of night and the beginning of the day, a limbo where shadows seem to have weight and shape.
The forest, dense and impenetrable to ordinary eyes, exhaled the moist and primordial perfume of turned earth, decaying leaves and icy dew. The silence there was not the absence of sound, but a living, heavy entity, which drowned out even thought.
In the heart of this green ocean, cut off from mundane reality by invisible barriers, the cabin stood as a monument to oblivion. Its wooden planks, blackened by time and humidity, creaked under the weight of the years. Cracks drew maps of decay on the ceiling, and cobwebs hung in the corners like silk tapestries abandoned by dead weavers.
The faint light of the moon, pale and about to be swallowed in the morning, invaded the space through the irregular cracks of the walls, cutting through the gloom of the interior with beams of dusty silver.
In the center of the floor, sitting on the cold, rough wood, was Cael.
His body remained motionless in the lotus position, a statue of flesh and blood fused to the stillness of the forest. Her black hair, long and disorderly, fell like silk curtains over her shoulders and part of her face, subtly undulating with each breath of wind that dared to pass through the half-open door. Her fair skin, almost translucent under the lunar illumination, seemed to absorb the surrounding shadows, creating a ghostly contrast with the darkness of the environment.
His eyes were closed, but not relaxed. His hands rested on his knees, his long fingers slightly curved in tension, digging into the fabric of his pants. He breathed slowly, rhythmically, trying to force the air to calm the chaos that inhabited his chest.
But not all the meditation in the world, nor all the silence of that sacred forest, seemed able to tame the storm that roared within him.
The weight of the last few days was not on his shoulders; It was inside his ribs, crushing his lungs. The memories were sharp blades, spinning on a merry-go-round of guilt and fear. The heated argument with Maya and her look of rejection. The justified fury of Aurora's sister in the hospital. The bright red of the blood on the gray asphalt.
And, above all, the promise made to Nina.
"Why?" — The question echoed in his mind, a critical and rational voice that he could not silence. — "Why did I promise? I don't even know her well... I'm broken."
But in the depths of that mental abyss, he knew the answer. He knew exactly why, a truth that his conscience was trying to bury under layers of cold logic.
And that's when it came. The intruder.
A voice. It was not an external sound, but a whisper that seemed to be born at the base of his skull. Profound. Cold. Moist as the earth of a newly opened grave. It was the sonorous manifestation of his silent guilt, the echo of his greatest fear.
"You'll only lose her... just like Rose... Just like mom..."
The word "Mom" pierced her chest like a stake of ice.
Cael opened his eyes abruptly.
The air fled from his lungs. His entire body shuddered, a violent spasm of rejection of that whispered truth. His breathing, previously controlled, shot up at an erratic and desperate pace. Her pupils dilated, swallowing the brown iris, trying to find threats in the empty dim light.
A drop of cold sweat ran down his temple, tracing an icy path through his skin like the cut of a razor.
He stood there for a few seconds, paralyzed, the sound of his own panting filling the hut. Panic rushed up his throat, a metallic taste of bile and fear.
Until, moved by a purely animal reflex of self-preservation, he stood up violently.
His feet, shod with flat-soled sneakers, creaked loudly on the dry wood. The stillness of meditation had been shattered.
He needed to get out of there. Now. The hut, once a refuge, now looked like a coffin closing.
Cael pushed the door open. The old wood protested with a sharp creak, like a cry of pain. He crossed the threshold and broke through the boundary of the invisible force field that surrounded the area. He felt the telekinetic barrier give way to his passing, a film of energy that kept the world outside and its demons inside.
As soon as he crossed the line, the pure smell of the forest was contaminated by the odor of the distant city. Ozone, asphalt, smoke.
He walked. Firm, fast steps, almost a military march to escape from himself. His shoulders were tense, his head bowed, the hood of his mind held high against the world.
Cael advanced like a walking shadow, sliding through the alleys, sidewalks and streets that were beginning to awaken. A displaced figure, a flaw in the matrix of everyday reality.
The sky above was beginning to bleed in shades of gold and orange, wounded by the sunrise. The city woke up with the usual mechanical laziness. The orange lights of the lampposts flickered and died, one by one, giving way to the light.
Workers rushed out of their homes, heads bowed, dark circles under their eyes scarred gray faces, disposable coffee cups in trembling hands. Children yawned on street corners, hunched over under the weight of backpacks larger than their torsos, waiting for the yellow school buses. Cars were idling, exhausts spewing smoke and boredom in the cold morning air.
Cael stopped. He looked around, blinking, as if waking up from a sleepwalking trance.
"How did I get here?" He asked himself, his voice a hoarse whisper that barely stirred the air.
He was in a neighborhood he didn't frequent, far from his usual route. It was as if his body had taken the reins, guided by a subconscious magnetism, while his mind was still trapped in the dark hut. The "why" was a mystery that made her stomach turn.
He resolved to keep walking, confusion clouding his rational judgment. The voice of the cabin still echoed, an annoying background hum. Doubts and insecurities orbited his subconscious like vultures, consuming his peace.
Until a different sound tore him out of his mental labyrinth.
As he turned a corner, his eyes caught an unusual movement at the entrance of a narrow alley between two exposed brick buildings.
Three boys ran into the shadow.
They were not ordinary boys. Their clothes screamed money: uniforms from an elite private school, caps from imported brands, sneakers with shock absorbers that cost more than the rent of many families in that region.
They didn't run for sport. They ran like predators. They persecuted someone.
Cael slowed down. His brown eyes narrowed, focusing on the scene. A physical discomfort, an icy tightness, settled in his stomach.
Something about him, an intuition forged in pain, a sixth sense of someone who knows cruelty, screamed for him to look. Not to ignore. Its protective nature, so long dormant under layers of indifference, emerged like an animal waking up in its burrow.
Silently, without making a single step, he turned in the direction of the alley.
And there they were.
The scene was a classic picture of human cowardice. Three boys surrounded and beat someone huddled against the dirty wall. One child, visibly smaller and more frail, was crouching, hugging her knees, arms crossed over her head in a futile attempt to shield her face from the punches and kicks raining down on her.
The sound of laughter echoed off the narrow walls, a cruel cacophony mixed with cursing and the dull sound of expensive sneakers against flesh and blood.
The leader of the trio was a blond boy, about six years old, with a rounded face and full cheeks, pink with effort and well-nourished health. Her light blond hair was short and spiky with gel, and her small, upturned nose gave her a perpetual air of disdain. Her full lips were curled into a smug, sadistic smile, and her big blue eyes shone with a malice that shouldn't exist in a child of that age.
Next to him, a brown-haired, sharp-faced boy was kicking shy but steady kicks, following the rhythm. The third, a boy with black hair and a bored expression, seemed to participate only by the inertia of collective cruelty.
"Shitty mob!" The leader shouted, his high-pitched voice cracking with excitement.
"Disgusting! Insect!"
"Inferiors like you should disappear from the world!"
Cael's blood boiled. It wasn't a gradual warm-up; It was an instant boil. But on the outside, his face remained an ice mask. There was no apparent anger, no frown. Just a blank, dead, terribly cold stare. The impassive expression of someone who has seen the worst of humanity and is no longer surprised.
Without saying a word, without making a warning sound, he raised his right hand. His fingers were relaxed, as if holding an invisible plume.
And then, the gravity in the alley changed.
Suddenly, the three kids were pulled from the ground. There was no warning. They floated, lifted half a meter in the air like rag dolls suspended by invisible ropes.
The screams of derision turned into squeals of panic. They struggled, kicked the air, swung their arms trying to grab something that didn't exist.
But it was useless. Cael's telekinesis was an iron claw.
With a gentle flick of his wrist, Cael shifted them laterally, throwing them away from the crouching child, depositing them on the ground firmly but without excessive violence. He didn't hurt them. He just pushed them away, as one moves garbage away from the sidewalk.
When one of them, the blond leader, opened his mouth to protest, Cael just looked up.
His brown eyes met the boy's blues. There were no words. There were no verbal threats. Only the silent and absolute promise of a restrained violence that made the surrounding air freeze.
The three instantly paled. Blood drained from their pampered faces.
They ran. Stumbling over their own feet, bumping into each other, they ran as if the devil himself had emerged from the shadows of the alley to collect their souls.
"You're going to see my big brother!" The blond boy shouted, his voice trembling and tearful, as he looked back only once. "He's very strong, you hear?"
Cael did not respond. It didn't move. Their world was irrelevant.
He turned slowly toward the fallen child. The small figure still trembled, huddled against the wall, waiting for the next blow.
When she finally plucked up the courage and lifted her face, Cael's heart missed a beat.
It was Nina.
His face was dirty with dirt and tears, a red scratch marked his cheek, but his eyes... Those big, brown eyes lit up with desperate recognition.
"Brother!!"
She jumped up and ran. She slammed into him, hugging his legs with full force, burying her face in the fabric of his pants. The tears rolled uncontrollably, wetting the dark clothes.
For a few seconds, Cael was paralyzed. His arms hung at his sides, useless. His inability to show affection was a physical barrier. He looked down at the top of her head, not knowing what to do.
Until his hand, betraying his rational mind, moved on its own. Almost automatically, it landed on the little girl's messy black hair.
It was an awkward, rigid gesture, but loaded with a sincere attempt at comfort. A slight caress disconcerted in the midst of chaos.
Time seemed to dilate.
The sun was already kissing the horizon more strongly, dyeing the clouds a burnt orange. The morning wind blew gently, sweeping across the square beside the alley, bringing the comforting smell of warm bread from the corner bakery, mixed with the acrid smoke from the exhausts.
On a worn wooden bench, with the paint peeling, two very different but absurdly similar bodies sat side by side.
Cael kept his posture rigid, his cold and expressionless countenance turned forward, his eyes half-closed filtering the light. Beside him, Nina was curled up, her knees pulled against her chest, her eyes still swollen and red.
She wore her school uniform: a white short-sleeved blouse, now stained with dust; a loose navy blue tie; and a long blue pleated skirt. Her black hair, straight and long, swayed in the wind, partially covering her dirty face.
Cael watched her sideways. To a casual observer, he seemed uninterested. But her Superhuman eyes scanned every detail: her breathing, the trembling in her hands, the small scratches, the defensive posture.
"Now that it's all over..." He broke the silence. His voice came out deep, hoarse, dragged, like stones rolling at the bottom of a river. "Why were they doing that to you?"
Nina clasped her hands in her lap, her fingers intertwining tightly until the ends turned white. She looked away, fixing it on the dirt floor beneath her feet.
"... Because I'm poor..." His voice was a thread, flawed and brittle, but charged with a painful resignation. "And... inferior... that's what they said...
Cael's jaw locked with a crack audible only to him. He took a deep breath through his nose, keeping his impassive gaze focused on the horizon line, where the buildings touched the sky.
"Poor... You are." He said. Dry. Direct. Brutally honest.
Nina widened her eyes, turning her face to him, surprised and, for a millisecond, hurt.
"... But inferior?" Cael added, turning his face to face her. "No. That, you're not."
The hurt on her face melted into confusion. She blinked, trying to process.
"You were holding back. I noticed." He continued, uncrossing his arms and resting his elbows on his knees, leaning towards her. "You could have finished them off."
Nina shook her head frantically, a mixture of shame and fear stamped on her face.
"But... I can't. The teachers said that Superhumans can't beat Humans... which is a crime... that's wrong..." Her voice was decreasing, fading into her throat, as if she was physically shrinking into her own words. The fear of using his power was palpable, an invisible current.
Cael held her gaze. Brown eyes reflecting brown eyes.
"And they know that..." He replied, his voice serious, without condescension. "They take advantage of that. They play by the rules because they know you're going to follow them. They hide behind their own weakness. But one of them... it was not Human."
Nina lowered her head again, embarrassed, squeezing her knees.
"... There's one more thing." Cael continued, analyzing her. "Your eyes... It must have been very difficult to hold, right?"
Nina froze. Her body became rigid. She took a deep, trembling breath, and very reluctantly, shook her head affirmatively.
"My power..." She bit her lower lip, looking around paranoia, making sure no one else heard her shameful secret. "I shoot laser through my eyes... but... it's very strong... Every time I use it... I'm thrown back... it hurts my neck... I hit a tree once... It hurt a lot..." Her voice tuned, choked by the crying that threatened to return. "My power is useless..."
Silence.
For two full seconds, the only sound was the wind rustling in the leaves of the tree above them.
Then, a dry rumble tore through the air.
A line of pure light, neon blue and crackling, burst from Cael's eyes. It swept across the floor of the square with the speed of a thought, vaporizing the earth and leaving a scorched, smoldering trail nearly six feet long on the ground.
The smell of ozone and scorched earth filled the air instantly.
Nina widened her eyes to the limit. He jumped on the seat, his hands flying to hold his own chin, his mouth open in a perfect "O" of absolute shock.
She looked at Cael. He stood there, his expression unchanged, but his eyes still emanated a bluish afterglow, like electric embers that slowly went out. He acted as if it was as casual as blinking.
"It's not useless." He sentenced. He crossed his arms again, his tone heavy, definitive. Of those who speak little, but when they do, they close the subject.
The shock on Nina's face transformed. First, in unbelief. Then, in a trembling smile. And finally, in a blinding glow of hope.
It was as if she had completely forgotten the beating, the cursing, the fear.
She literally jumped on the bench, grabbing Cael's arm with both small hands.
"YOU CAN DO IT TOO, BROTHER?! CAN YOU TEACH ME??" He asked, his voice almost a cry of euphoria, his eyes shining like beacons in the night.
Cael looked away, slightly disconcerted by so much energy. He ran his hand through his hair, pulling the strands back, and let out a long sigh.
— ... I Can." He replied, reluctantly in his voice. "But there's one condition. You can no longer say that your power is useless. Never again."
Nina nodded so fast that it looked like a spring doll about to break her neck.
"Yes, yes, yes!! I'll never say that again! Promise!" She said, bringing her pinky finger to her mouth and extending it to him, sealing the sacred pact.
Cael looked at the tiny finger, took a deep breath, and straightened his posture. Instead of intertwining his finger, he ran his hand lightly over her head, wiping away the dust that soiled her black hair.
"Okay. But now, you'd better go. You'll end up being late for school." He said, standing up.
Nina immediately jumped off the bench and grabbed his hand, pouting adorably blackmailing.
"You're going to take me!" She declared, looking up at him, as if that were the only immutable truth in the universe.
Cael blinked. He looked at the little hand holding his. He took a deep breath, defeated.
"Okay." He replied. Simple as that. Accepting your fate.
And off they went.
The scene was, to say the least, curious: a bouncing little girl holding the hand of a tall, closed-faced man in dark clothes, practically dragging him along the sunlit sidewalk.
Along the way, Cael's silence was filled by her voice. Nina spoke. He talked about everything. She told fantastic stories that her mother used to invent for her to sleep, described the dramatic intrigues of the school playground, talked about her favorite cartoons.
Cael just listened. He didn't interrupt, he didn't judge. He listened with the silent attention of a guardian, absorbing every word like a father discovering his daughter's world.
After a while, the school building emerged. It was a simple building, with walls painted a light blue that time and the sun had faded, and white gates where the paint peeled off in rust wounds.
At the entrance, posted as a welcoming sentinel, was a young woman. Tall, about 1.75m, with brown hair tied in a stripped bun that let loose strands frame her face with slightly tanned skin. His green eyes were attentive, sweeping the street.
It was the gatekeeper. She exuded a charismatic energy, an aura of someone who sees everything, but welcomes everyone.
Upon seeing Nina, her face lit up in a genuine smile. She nodded.
"Good morning, Nina! Come on, come in, before you're late!" He said, his friendly voice echoing on the sidewalk.
Nina reluctantly let go of Cael's hand, but waved back with renewed energy.
"Bye, brother!" She screamed, running towards the gate, her backpack dangling on her back.
Cael remained still, his hands in his pockets, watching the small figure disappear into the sea of other backpacks, laughter and hurried steps.
He was about to turn around and disappear, when the woman at the entrance approached. She crossed her arms, a curious smile on her lips.
"You must be Nina's brother." She said. "I'm Lilia Verdanis, the school gatekeeper. Just to let you know... Her departure time is 12:00 PM, okay?"
Cael stared at her. His face showed no emotion, recognition, or interest. Just a brief, dry nod, a mute and efficient thanks.
As he turned and began to walk away, Lilia followed him with her eyes, biting his lower lip, intrigued.
"They look so alike..." — She thought, analyzing her posture, her hair, her eyes. "The resemblance goes beyond being something of brothers... It's visceral. I've never seen him with her mother before. Did he live abroad? Or... Can he be her biological father? No, that would be impossible... Be? He looks my age." — Lilia is flooded with speculation and theories.
Oblivious to speculation, Cael continued on his way, being swallowed up by the morning crowd, a shadow dissolving into the daylight.
The sound of the city became a muffled hum in the background. Cael's footsteps echoed rhythmically over the concrete of the sidewalk, a metronome for his thoughts. The morning wind played with his black hair, throwing it over his eyes, but he didn't bother to push it away.
He walked. And he walked. Lost in a mental labyrinth, wandering aimlessly, letting his feet make the decisions.
He didn't even notice when the landscape changed. The gray concrete gave way to well-kept flowerbeds. The smell of exhaust was replaced by the sterile odor of alcohol and cleanliness.
When he found himself, he stopped. It was there. In front of the hospital.
The same place where, days ago, Aurora's fate had been sealed. The same place where he had met Nina.
Cael frowned, confusion creasing his pale skin.
"Why...?" — The question popped into his mind once again. "Why am I here again?"
He had no answer. His feet had betrayed him, or perhaps obeyed a deeper order that his logic refused to process. They carried memories and desires that he did not understand.
But the trance was broken.
Sitting on a wooden bench in the hospital garden, bathed in the soft, healing gold of the morning sun, was a woman.
She appeared to be between 30 and 35 years old. Even wrapped in the obvious fragility of the disease, her beauty remained ethereal, touching.
About 1.65m, his figure was delicate, visibly consumed, like a dried flower preserved between the pages of a book. But her features still screamed the essence of a beauty that had once been vibrant and overwhelming.
She wore the standard hospital clothes: white, baggy, shapeless, which could not hide the worrying thinness of her body.
But what stole the show was her hair.
Black as the starless night, absurdly long, smooth and dense. It was a cascade of darkness that spread over the wooden bench and trickled down until it touched the green and impeccably trimmed lawn, swaying gently with every breath of the wind, as if it had a life of its own.
Her skin was white, pale in the extreme, almost translucent, making the contrast with her black hair even more dramatic. The oval face, with fine and delicate features, preserved a nobility marked by emaciation and chronic fatigue.
Her pale brown eyes were large and deep, wells that carried the weight of all the pains in the world, but also the absolute serenity of an empath who accepted her fate. Her lips, thin and dry, curled into a soft, almost sad, but infinitely gentle smile.
She noticed Cael's presence immediately. There was no scare. There was no surprise. Only that soft smile widened slightly, as if she had been waiting for him for a lifetime.
"You're... exactly as Nina described..." she said. His voice broke the silence of the garden, so serene that it sounded like an old lullaby. "I confess that I thought she was dreaming when she talked about you. But... I never saw a lie in her eyes."
Cael stood still, tense. He furrowed his brow slightly, analyzing it.
"... You are an empath." He said, his voice cold, analytical. "And... is Nina's mother."
She smiled, confirming with a delicate nod that made her hair dangle.
"You got it right." She replied. "And... thanks. Really. For relieving, even if only a little, the weight that my daughter carries. No child should carry the burden of seeing his mother... disappear little by little."
Without knowing exactly why, moved by an invisible gravitational force, Cael approached. He said nothing. He just walked to the bench and sat down next to her. Keeping a respectful distance, but there, present. A very rare gesture for someone who treated social contact as a contagious disease.
She watched the horizon for a few seconds, letting the silence settle between them, before turning her deep eyes to Cael's face.
"You know... I don't feel evil in you. On the contrary." She spoke slowly, savoring the perception. "I feel... something profound. A connection... between the two of you, you and Nina. Something written. Something... inevitable."
She took a deep breath, the air squealing slightly in her tired lungs.
"By the way, my name is Isobel."
Cael looked away, suddenly uncomfortable with the intensity of that emotional analysis. He stared at a distant tree.
"Nice to meet you... I'm Cael." He replied, a little shyly, his voice low. "But... I feel like you didn't call me here just to thank you...
Isobel hesitated. Her thin hands tightened on the thin fabric of her hospital gown, her knuckles turning white. The mask of serenity cracked, giving way to something raw and vulnerable.
"Cael... I know it's too much to ask... and that may seem absurd, given the short time we've known each other, but..." Her voice cracked, trembling with the imminence of crying. "Nina has no one but me. No relatives. No support. Her father... is not reliable. And..."
She held her breath, fighting back tears.
"... I trust you. Nina trusts you. My gift has never failed... So..."
She reached out, pale and frail, and took hold of his hand, large and calloused, which rested on the bench.
"Please... Take care of Nina. For me. For her."
The icy touch of her hand met Cael's warm skin. It was a thermal and emotional shock. And, interestingly... He didn't push it away. He did not shy away. He did not erect the telekinetic barrier that he used as a shield against the world.
He just accepted. As if it were natural. As if an ancient voice inside him told him to let her touch him.
He turned his face and looked her in the eyes. And in her eyes, he saw something rare. Hope. A liquid and pure hope.
And hope was something Cael hadn't seen, and hadn't felt, in years.
Something made him look away again, disconcerted. His heart beat in an abnormal, unbalanced rhythm. And, for the first time in an eternity, she felt the heat rise up her neck and take over her face. His cheeks warmed in a rare blush of genuine emotion.
Isobel noticed. She smiled from the side, a little shy, and even blushed a little too, infected by the innocence of his reaction.
"I'm sorry... I got carried away..." He tried to retract, shrinking his hand, not knowing where to hide his face.
Cael took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second to regain his ice composure. But when it opened, the decision was made.
"I do that." His voice sounded deep, firm. It was not an attempt; It was an irrefutable promise.
Isobel widened her eyes, her mouth half-open, almost in disbelief of what she heard.
"Really...? Are you serious?"
He nodded, staring now at the ground, unable to sustain the glint in her eyes.
"... Yes. For Nina." The last part came out lower, almost a whisper lost in the wind, tinged with shame but brimming with meaning.
And before he could react, prosecute, or flee, Isobel moved with surprising speed for someone so weak. She threw herself on him and hugged him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said, her voice muffled against his chest, squeezing him with all the strength that that frail body could muster.
Cael... Froze. His body became rigid as a board. His face, already red, burned in an even more intense tone. His heart raced, beating against his ribs like a trapped bird.
"You're just like your daughter..." he murmured, letting out an almost imperceptible chuck at the corner of his lips, a strange sound to his own ears. A new trait of humanity that, apparently, only Nina and Isobel had the key to awaken.
"She's just like me." Isobel joked, letting out a slight laugh, moving just far enough away to look at him, but without letting go of him completely. "But, there's something else I need to ask you..."
Cael looked at her, curious, his guard down.
Isobel's expression changed. Joy gave way to a melancholy shadow.
"I don't want Nina to see me... die." The word was heavy in the air. "Make up an excuse for her not being able to come on the day. Of course, before that, bring her here, after school. I don't want to simply disappear from her life without saying goodbye. But the end... the end she cannot see."
Cael nodded, the weight of responsibility resting on his shoulders.
"No child deserves to be away from their mother in a situation like this." Cael said, seeing Isobel lower her eyes. "But you also don't deserve to see your mother die. Seeing the lifeless body of the most precious person in your life is a trauma that marks deeply. I know that. I can't promise that I'll be able to lie well, but I'll try."
The moment was cut short by a professional and intrusive voice.
"Excuse me..." A nurse was standing near the bench, holding a clipboard to her chest. "Sorry to interrupt the moment with your boyfriend, Mrs. Alden, but... It's time to go back to the room. The exams."
Isobel held back her laughter, covering her mouth with her hand. She looked at Cael, who stared at her with his face on fire, paralyzed, not knowing whether to laugh at the confusion or pretend that the word "boyfriend" had not been said.
She held her long hair with one hand, standing up with difficulty and accepting the nurse's help. Before leaving, he turned and winked at Cael, a mischievous smile on his pale lips.
"Our time is up, love. Thank you for visiting."
He just... Waved. Mute. Speechless.
While the nurse took Isobel back to the building, holding the end of that infinite hair so that it wouldn't drag on the ground, Cael stood there, standing in the middle of the garden.
He followed her figure with his eyes until she disappeared at the corner of the glass-enclosed corridor.
Then, he took a deep breath, releasing the air he didn't even know he was holding. He got up from the seat, adjusted his black jacket and thought, stunned:
"... What did I just do...?"
But, deep down, in a place where logic didn't touch... He knew exactly what he had just done. And he knew there was no turning back.
Time seemed to run at a different frequency. Cael was sitting on the cold metal bench at the bus stop, his body present, a physical anchor in the real world, but his mind wandering miles away. Far away.
His gaze was lost in the grooves of the floor, focused on nothingness, chewing his own thoughts.
"Why did I accept? Why I... Did I let my guard down like that?" — He wondered internally, doubt eating away at his usual logic.
He considered, for a few analytical seconds, the possibility of external influence. Was it some kind of psychic manipulation? A subtle mind trick? But he quickly discarded it.
"Empaths don't invade minds... only hearts." He thought, and almost snorted at the bitter irony of his own conclusion.
The contemplative silence of the morning was interrupted by a shrill and biological sound.
Her belly complained loudly, a vibrant protest against fasting, as if it had a built-in megaphone. Instinctively, he reached into his pants pockets, fumbling for his wallet.
Empty.
"Of course. No wallet." He sighed, bringing his eyes to the pale blue sky, as if asking the universe: "Really?"
From the position of the sun and the color of the sky, he knew it was about nine o'clock in the morning. He didn't need a watch; he could tell the time just by looking at the firmament, a subtle detail that reinforced his survival and observation skills.
The bus arrived, snorting compressed air. Cael boarded, crossing the city in silence as the world began to gain movement and color through the window.
He got off in front of the house. He walked to the front door, his hand reaching out to the doorknob, only to stop halfway.
He forgot the key.
He sighed again, rolling his eyes with human exhaustion.
"At least I left the window unlocked..." He muttered to himself.
He went around the house to the back. With a subtle thrust, his body defied gravity. He floated up to the second floor as if physics were optional, landing on the railing without making a sound and sliding into the room itself through the window.
The atmosphere was quiet. He took the wallet carelessly on the desk, checked the money and, this time forewarned, left through the bedroom door.
As he went downstairs, the scenery in the living room made him stop.
He came face to face with Hana, lying on the couch, fresh from duty. She looked like she had been unplugged, sporting that classic look of a doctor destroyed by fatigue.
"Good morning..." She said, half sprawled, her voice pasty.
"Good morning." He replied. Leaving soon after.
She blinked, surprised, straightening herself minimally.
"Hey... Is he leaving home again? Second time in a row?" — she thought, almost open-mouthed.
And, as if life had a script of its own, Maya appeared at the top of the stairs at that very moment, descending the steps.
Hana didn't even wait. His keen perception connected the dots instantly.
"Are you up now? This is not normal... You argued with Cael, right?" It was direct, without a filter.
Maya widened her green eyes, caught in the act.
"How do you...?" She began, but soon her shoulders droop. "He let out a defeated sigh. I don't understand! I just wanted to help him, but he pushes me away! It always pushes me away!"
Her voice trembled, oscillating between anger, frustration, and raw pain, revealing her deep hurt and desperate desire for reconnection.
Hana remained silent. But his look... ah, that look. Maternal. Full of a welcome that did not need subtitles; that kind of look that embraces the soul.
Maya, unable to contain the emotional dam, threw herself into her adoptive mother's lap, shoving her face into her belly. Hana automatically began to caress her daughter's fiery hair.
"I know I made a mistake... That I exchanged him for... by status, by... school people... I abandoned him when he needed it most..." Maya's voice came out muffled against Hana's body. "But... I'm trying, Hana... I swear... I'm trying to be better! For him! For us! Doesn't he see that...?"
Hana took a deep breath, pulling Maya closer, as if trying to glue the girl's broken pieces together.
"Look... I don't know exactly everything that happened between you. I... I was a very absent mother. Work has always swallowed me." Hana admitted, her voice soft. "But if there's one thing I know... it's just that Cael is like a wounded cat. Suspicious. Skittish. And it will scratch you if you try to get too close too fast."
She paused, choosing her words.
"If you want to win him back... There is only one way. You have to stay. Even if it hurts. Even if he scratches you. Is. Until he understands... that you don't want to hurt. That you... it is a home."
Maya's eyes watered. She understood. Everything. Hana's wisdom resonated in her chest as an absolute truth.
Meanwhile...
Cael walked through the city, now decided. He no longer wandered aimlessly. He knew exactly where he was going.
When he realized, he was near the school. The bell rang, a high-pitched sound that cut through the morning air. Children began to go out in droves, running towards their parents, school vans, bicycles.
And then...
"BROTHER!!" The sweet, excited voice pierced the roar of the crowd.
Nina ran up to him, ignoring the stream of students, and threw herself into his arms with that smile capable of melting entire planets.
"Let's go." Cael said. Short and to the point.
She held his hand firmly, confidently.
"I have to visit mommy!" She recalled.
"Okay. But first... We're going to eat something." He decreed.
They walked to the restaurant. It was a simple place, but neat. Clean, smelling, pleasant.
Cael pulled out a chair with telekinesis, gently sliding it back to invite Nina to sit down. The girl let out an amused, delighted giggle.
"You should use this for everything, brother! Imagine, opening doors, picking things up at the market, crossing the street..." She said, chattering in that half-chatty, half-cute way.
Cael arched his eyebrow.
"I already do that." He replied, dryly.
But he couldn't hide a barely invisible smile on the corner of his mouth, a new sign of his ice heart softening.
The waiter arrived. They made the request: simple food. An artisanal burger for Nina and a plate of grilled chicken with rice and vegetables for Cael.
When the food arrived, Nina practically buried her face in the burger, and Cael just watched... perhaps... with a micro trace of peace in her eyes.
In the end, the attendant brought the bill.
"They're participating in a promotion! Give me your cell phone number, sir. We're giving away a day of free meals!" She said, sympathetic.
"I don't have a cell phone." Cael said, impassively.
The attendant widened her eyes. Nina almost choked on the juice.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" Nina exploded, lifting her cell phone, which was all messed up, with the cover torn and the film cracked. "Brother! Cell phone is essential!"
"I never thought it was necessary." He replied, at the height of indifference.
"Go buy one NOW." Nina decreed, banging her tiny fist on the table like a mini mafia leader giving an order.
Even the attendant tried to hold back her laughter.
"There's a store around the corner... sell top-of-the-line cell phones." Suggested the girl, all helpful.
"Okay." Cael said, simply accepting. "Let's go quickly, since we have to go to the hospital."
They drove to the store and, when they arrived, it was... Futuristic. All white, glass, neon. It looked more like the inside of a spaceship than an electronics store.
"Welcome! Can I help?" Said an attendant all smiling.
"I want a cell phone." Cael replied. Short and straight.
The guy started showing the models. Nina was practically drooling over the counters, pointing, commenting, jumping with excitement. Until the attendant decided to show a more "futuristic" model. It did not have a physical screen and used a unique 3D projection technology, causing information to be projected into the air, without the aid of surfaces.
"This is the Hypertech Z20. The newer, more powerful uses a liquid cooling system leaving the processor at negative temperatures." The attendant explained.
It was a different cell phone, its construction was silver-colored metallic with gold details, the screen was vivid and very large, in addition to being extremely thin.
"I'll take it." Cael fired, in the dry.
"Are you sure? It's twenty thousand credits..." The salesman asked, turning a little pale with the quick decision.
Cael looked at Nina, who was all enchanted by a model similar to his, only a smaller version.
"And the one my sister wants too." He added.
After a while, Cael had two bags in his hands. A bouncing Nina was next to him. And the two walked to the hospital.
As soon as they entered the room, Nina was already screaming:
"MOMMY!! The brother bought me a cell phone!!" She jumped on her mother's bed, euphoric.
"Really? How incredible, daughter! Have you thanked your brother?" Isobel replied, with that sweet and affectionate tone.
"Thank you, brother!!" Nina said, turning to Cael, who waved awkwardly.
"Thank you, Cael... I hope it wasn't too expensive..." Isobel commented, smiling.
"It was nothing..." He replied, looking away, a little flushed.
The atmosphere was light, relaxed. They talked, laughed... or rather, they heard Nina talk non-stop, excited about the present, full of stories and dreams.
At one point, Isobel proposed, out of nowhere.
"How about... Do you spend a few days with your brother, Nina?"
Silence. The proposal caught everyone off guard.
Nina looked at her mother, with that look that mixed desire and concern.
"Will you be okay...?" He asked, his voice soft.
"Of course I will, my little one. You need to rest, eat right... and take a shower, because I know you've been running away from the shower." Isobel pricked, making Nina blush with embarrassment at the time.
Cael watched everything. Knew. You've seen this movie before. And he knew... That would be the last hug.
Nina threw herself into her mother's arms, hugging her tightly. And when Cael approached to say goodbye, he said in a low voice:
"... Goodbye."
Isobel looked him in the eye, and replied, with a smile... Beautiful, full of love:
"... Goodbye."
When the door closed, she looked out the bedroom window. And for the first time in a long time... Smiled. A smile of peace. Of relief. Mission accomplished.
At the reception, Cael left his newly acquired number with the attendant, asking her to let her know "if something... happen.", of course, without using the word death in front of Nina.
Afterwards, they went to Nina's old house to pick up their things. She collected old clothes, toys, physical memories.
"We're going to buy new clothes. That's all old." Cael commented, looking at the worn belongings.
"Are you rich, brother?" Nina asked, a little surprised.
"No. I just don't spend it. And this accumulates." He replied, at the height of simplicity.
When they finally arrived at their destination... were there. In front of Cael's house. Stopped. Observing.