Amity and Enmity

Chapter 16

Several Years Ago

Rin was still undecided on what to do next. The letters were unclear on the location for the meeting point nor on how long ago this meeting was organised. She could have already missed it, and the other person, Rin or Corinna, could have been long gone and given up.

With no other choice besides being alone and likely attacked by monsters, the young woman chose to remain with Nasim and Sumit for the time being. Finding out who she was before the memory loss was still, however, her top priority, though, at the moment, it seemed that she was out of clues.

Nasim and Sumit seemed nice enough that Rin did not feel unsafe staying around them. However, their constant puns and jokes almost made her want to leave and face the Abyss alone. Once, she made the mistake of smiling slightly after hearing one of these jokes, and the two did not let her live it down. From then onwards, Nasim and Sumit made it a challenge to see who could make Rin laugh first, their jokes and puns increasing. Rin did not share their particular sense of humour; she found that she was a natural at sarcasm and snark and equipped with a devastating death stare.  Despite the mild annoyance of puns, Rin became quite attached to the odd couple and was glad that they were the ones that rescued her when they did. Nasim and Sumit's positive attitude also helped Rin's reluctant acceptance of the reality of her situation, that she was a convicted murderer imprisoned in the Eternal Abyss. It made her almost believe in Sumit's words, that she was a different and new person without her memories and not the murderer.

Nasim and Sumit did not have a particular location or goal in mind and would wonder based on whim alone, whilst Sumit drew out a crude map of their explorations, but that suited Rin just fine as she felt defeated on ever finding out about her past with what little clues she possessed.

Whilst Rin enjoyed her time with Nasim and Sumit, she often felt like she was an awkward third wheel in the group. Nasim and Sumit seemed to be joined at the hip, always finishing each other's sentences or speaking in unison, laughing at one another's silly jokes, playfully nudging and shoving each other as they walked and then there were the soft looks they would steal whenever they thought no one was looking. Rin wondered if she was getting in the way sometimes; perhaps they would want more privacy. Maybe they might even have preferred that she left altogether.

One night, when the trio had set up camp, Rin finally brought up the courage to ask. Rin waited until Nasim had left to fetch some firewood before asking Sumit, "are you two... are you and Nasim a couple?"

Sumit froze for a moment before he bowed his head, his lips pursed as if withholding a smile. "No," he laughed slightly. "We're not a couple. We're just friends."

Rin frowned. She had been so confident that they were with how they both behaved, though she just passed this mistake off as her lack of memories and thus experienced in such matters. "Sorry, I just thought you two were. It seems like you like each other. Sorry once again, I don't think its my place to say-"

"I do like them." Sumit's smile faded. "I do like Nasim."

"Then why are you not together?"

Sumit laughed. "I don't think they see me like that."

Rin wasn't sure if she believed that. "You never know until you ask."

Sumit paused. He glanced down, his fingers fidgeting. "Nasim's sentence will be over soon. But mine... I've still quite a considerable amount of time before I'm free."

"How long?"

"About twelve years." Sumit winced, letting out a short laugh before returning to that forlorn expression and low voice. "By the time I leave, Nasim will have found someone else, settled into their new life; I would just ruin that."