Burial

The night passed without any incidents, like any other night. When I awoke, I got out from under the blanket, converting the rest of Riley with it, and went to go and check on Amelia.

When I got to my room, I found her wide awake, just sitting in bed while looking out the window. Where does this girl get this energy?

"Good morning Amelia."

My greeting snapped her from whatever far off world she was in, bringing her back into reality. Once she came back, she gave a small smile and waved hello.

"Good morning Estelle."

"Say, are you hungry?"

"Not really. Your soup last night was really filling."

Yeah, I did make a large portion for the both of them, so I understand.

"Well, what do you want to do then?"

She looked down for a moment, taking a few seconds to think, before finally looking back at me with a serious expression in her face.

"I want to bury my parents."

Wow, what a serious answer for such a little girl. Trauma really does force someone to grow up, I just wish children didn't have to experience it.

"Okay. Get dressed in here. I'll be waiting."

I accepted her request, as this was something important that she shouldn't be denied, even if she is a child. She deserves at least some sort of closure, even if it's just burying a bunch of bones.

While I waited for her to get dressed, I woke up Riley, informing him of the situation.

"Wow, how sad. She's so little, too. What a cruel world."

A sympathetic expression overtook his face, showing just how sad he felt for Amelia. I feel the same way.

"Anyways, I just wanted to let you know before we left. Will you be okay staying here? I get the feeling that the less people that are there, the better this will go for her."

"Yeah, I can stay here. I didn't want people to watch me as I buried my parents, so I understand how she feels. You two go ahead. I'll be here."

"Thank you."

You didn't want people watching as you buried your parents? Do you mean to say they're dead? Damn.

As I thought about what Riley had said, Amelia came out of my room, dressed and ready to go, even though her clothes were a little too big for her since they were mine.

"You ready to go?"

"I'm ready."

With that, we both left the house. Once outside, I began to lead the way to the former goblin camp, where she had been kept.

As we walked, I silently observed Amelia. Despite only being a twelve year old girl, she was rather calm given her situation. Sure, she did fidget a little, and yes, she did seem to be in another world, but it could definitely be worse.

We walked together for around an hour before finally arriving at the goblin camp. Smoke still rose from the remnants of their base when I had set it ablaze, and the horrible stench of their corpses had gotten much stronger than yesterday. It is a known fact that even flies won't touch goblins as their stench is so horrible.

Despite everything I had just described, Amelia wasn't fazed in the slightest. The smell of their corpses didn't bother her, the evidence of their battle seemed useless, and the only thing she paid any attention to was the pit.

The pit sat in the center of their camp, and inside was the skeletons of every person that the goblins had eaten. The pit was over twelve meters deep, yet it was filled up halfway. So many lives stolen by such horrible creatures.

Amelia walked right up to the edge of the pit, staring down at the remains beneath her feet. She stayed like that for a long time, probably remembering fond memories of her time with all of the villagers. A single tear slid down her face after a while, and once the tear fell from her face down into the pit, she finally looked up at me.

"I don't know which ones are my parents."

Who knew that a single sentence could hurt so much?

"Why don't we bury all of them together?"

"Yeah, they would all appreciate that. There was a custom in my village to bury the dead in the spot they died. If they died in their house, they would remove the flooring to make room for them. I never understood, not even now. Maybe I will one day."

What an odd tradition.

"Would they mind if I used my magic?"

"No, they wouldn't. They always said that if they had magic, they would use it for everything they could."

Okay, that makes things faster.

Using my magic, I begin to gather the nearby dirt into the hole, filling it right up to the top. It didn't take longer than a minute, but Amelia didn't blink for a single second, instead keeping her eyes almost pried open so as to see everything.

I don't know if I can do this.

When I finished, I made sure to leave a nice, small mound to show that this place was used as a burial site. It wasn't much, but most people with common sense would probably steer clear.

I turned to look at Amelia, who had managed to keep a straight face the entire time. Even though we were so close to being done, her feelings were starting to leak through, showing themselves despite how desperately she attempted to hide them.

First, it started with a sniffle, then her face slowly began to show how bad she was hurting, then the tears began to fall, and finally, the crying. At first, it was hardly a whimper, but it quickly grew into a loud and uncontrollable sobbing.

I picked her up and off of her feet, holding her close as she sobbed into my shoulder, and began to walk us both back home.