Reaper's Crown

Ch. 123

"Do you know who wrote these letters in the end, Koyote?" Olala asked, presenting both sheets of paper. One was of this eggshell white colour, while the other had this beige, but familiar tint.

"Still no clue to this day." she picked them up. "Although, you don't have to be a genius to know which one was made out of wood that only grows in Harabara."

"When you leave for the country, are you going to search for that answer?"

"Why should I? I don't think it matters, at least, not to me."

"Really?" Olala raised an eyebrow. "You don't care for why the Morians came here?"

"Well." she breathed out. "It was what I was tasked with, and I don't think I could've just said no."

"Why?" she continued.

"I didn't know myself either, back then. Now I think I found an answer, but it may sound a little farfetched." she glanced to the side for a bit. "You know how parents will go to any length to protect their children?"

"What?" Olala moved back. "Are you-"

"No, you idiot." she furrowed her brows. "None of them are my children."

"S-Sorry."

Koyote sighed. "I remember watching the stars with Nassin, before heading to sleep. But our peaceful slumber was short-lived. My mother desperately shook both of us awake and threw us out of the window before we could come to our senses and realize what had happened. The house was almost burnt to a crisp, and everything around the village stood in this sinister, red colour. I turned left, wondering where my dad could've been. Their house was engulfed too, and then I saw Mom looking out of the window."

"I still recall the pain in her expression. It wasn't of particular hurt but of sorrow. Everything happened so fast that I was flabbergasted. Yet, if I didn't want to die, I had to move. One step forward, one shaky after another, and everything that surrounded us was just firewalls. It's like they were chasing after us, for whatever reason, all up until I saw one silhouette through my tears. Dakarai, obviously distraught, extinguishing the flames with a few water buckets."

Olala raised an eyebrow.

He breathed, in and out, as heavily as the wind would come.

"I'm sorry." he hugged me, then Nassin. "I'm so sorry."

"He too, spoke through pouring streams of tears, while his black eyes met mine." Koyote continued. "Your mother's eyes were red, right?"

"They were the last thing I saw before she..." Olala's lip shook.

"You didn't take them after Dakarai." she shook her head, putting a hand down on the floor.

"The rain fortunately came pouring a few hours afterwards, but everything that we had was lost to the flames. The three of us were the sole survivors, with your father's library being the only building that somehow stood the test. Through the shock, and countless days that I spent with a gulp I couldn't let go of, I only questioned why something like this would've happened. It wasn't unfair, and... when life treats you poorly, I reckon there might be someone out there who'd benefit in your place. Namely, Dakarai."

"Of course, there's a reason he apologized. Dabbling into Wakon, following his own fucking words-" she rolled her eyes. "He must've done something to prove his worth, but that escalated too far, as I'm guessing." she stopped for a second. "Or, perhaps, it wasn't enough to satiate his hunger."