Sakura Eyes

Chapter 30

I stepped in after Jake and looked inside, bracing myself for the worst, but I couldn't even find Curt at first. Right when I was about to ask Jake, my eyes caught a lump in the corner of the house. I edged a little closer and realized it was Curt.

"Curt?" I narrowed my eyes towards the boy.

He raised his head slowly, and I flinched away from the emotionless eyes. His hair was a complete mess, and his face had sunk like a deflated balloon. The clothes hung over his body like they were too big for his size, and his eyes kept on sliding over me.

"Curt?" I asked again, edging towards him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry," Curt mumbled.

I frowned. "What?"

"I'm sorry."

I turned towards Jake who shrugged. "That's all he's been saying."

"Do you have an idea about who he's sorry to?" I asked.

"No clue," Jake shook his head.

I looked around the pitch-black room. All the curtains and windows shut out the sunlight making it stuffy and gloomy. Reaching over, I pulled a curtain open. Sunlight streamed in, and Curt crawled away from it like he was a vampire. Then I opened the window all the way up. The village was silent, not a sound to be heard. It was almost as quiet the first time we arrived at this village.

"Close the window," Curt shook his head. "Close it."

"I'd rather not," I crossed my arms. "It's too stuffy and dark in here."

"I like it," Curt muttered. "Close it."

I was getting annoyed with Curt's short and clipped responses. They were getting us nowhere. I turned my head towards Jake. "Have you tried talking with him?"

"No..." Jake shook his head.

"Why not?" I demanded.

Jake flinched away from my tone. "B-because I-I just don't know how to talk to him..."

I realized I was being too impatient and lowered my impatience down a knot. It made sense for Jake to be this way. He never expected this to happen.

I observed Curt's expression very carefully while Jake was talking. Curt didn't move, but his eyes did. They flickered up to Jake's face when he was talking so quickly that if I'd blinked, I wouldn't have caught it.

"Curt," I said. "Answer me. What does your village normally sound like?"

Curt didn't answer. Jake glanced at me curiously.

"Loud and lively," Curt said hoarsely after a moment.

"Really? What does it sound like now?"

"...Quiet," he answered.

"Why do you think it sounds so quiet?" I asked.

"Because they are afraid of me," Curt mumbled.

My eyes flickered to Jake's; realization dawned in his eyes before turning into guiltiness. Jake was worried that Curt didn't want to be in this village anymore, so he was stressing over having to carry the burden himself. But that wasn't the case. Curt wanted back in, but even his best friend didn't trust him.

"That's right," I said, nodding my head. "You betrayed your village, got people hurt. including yourself, and lost the trust of many people in your village."

Jake let out a cough.

"People like you should definitely be banished far away from here," I approached Curt. "And to be completely honest, I don't really like you either. You got all of us in a big heap of trouble, you know? Do you think you should still be leader of this village?"