5. How much do we owe them?

I hesitated as I reached for the door handle, a sense of unease prickling at the back of my mind. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and stepped out. The creak of the old wooden door echoed in the narrow hallway, and I winced at the sound, half expecting someone to scold me for making noise.

Before me stood a very old, worn-out staircase. The wooden steps looked like they had seen better days—decades ago, maybe. Each step was weathered, the wood darkened with age and scuffed from countless footsteps.

I gripped the almost broken railing and began my step-down mission, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. I really can not afford one more injury.

The stairs groaned under my weight, and I held my breath, praying they wouldn't give out beneath me.

As I reached the bottom, I found myself in a small, dimly lit room. The faint smell of soup hung in the air, mingling with the scent of old wood and something I couldn't quite place—something almost comforting.

The room was humble, to say the least. A simple table stood in the center, not looking too shubby by two broken chairs that looked like they might collapse if anyone so much as breathed on them. Along one wall, there was a narrow shelf filled with mismatched pots and pans, a tiny stove, and a few other cooking essentials.

On the table, a modest meal awaited: a loaf of bread that had seen better days and a pot of steaming soup. The sight tugged at my heart. It wasn't much, but it was clear that someone had put effort into preparing it.

"Morning, sister!" Evan's voice rang out cheerfully as he entered the room, a slight flush coloring his cheeks. He looked almost embarrassed as he gestured to the meal. "I'm sorry… This is all we can afford right now. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

I managed a smile, touched by his sincerity. "Evan, don't worry about it. This is more than enough. Besides, I've always been a fan of bread and soup," I added with a playful wink, trying to lighten the mood.

He grinned, a little of the tension easing from his shoulders. "Well, you always did have strange tastes, sister."

I chuckled, appreciating his attempt at humor. The warmth of the soup spread through me as I took a sip, and I felt a little of the unease from earlier begin to fade.

As we ate, I couldn't help but glance at Evan from time to time. His youthful face was full of determination, but there was also a hint of weariness in his eyes that didn't belong to someone so young. I decided to break the silence.

"Evan, can you tell me how I got injured?" I asked, keeping my tone gentle, though curiosity gnawed at me.

Evan's expression darkened for a moment, and he hesitated before answering. "You got hurt trying to protect me," he said quietly, staring down at his bowl of soup. "There were these… loan sharks. I tried to reason with them, but they wouldn't listen. You stepped in, and… well, they didn't take kindly to that."

A wave of protectiveness surged through me, but it was mixed with frustration. "Loan sharks? How much do we owe them, Evan?" I pressed, sensing that there was more to this than he was letting on.

He sighed, his shoulders slumping as if the weight of the world rested on them. "It's… a lot, Rain. More than a hundred commoner households could earn in a lifetime."

The number he quoted made my head spin. How had things gotten so bad? I tried to keep my voice steady, though my heart was pounding. "And what about our family? Our parents… What happened to them?"

Evan looked up at me, his eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and something I couldn't quite place. "They disappeared, Rain. It's just us now. We do have one relative—a certain uncle—but trust me, we should never meet him."

I frowned, puzzled by the warning in his voice. "Why not?"

He shrugged, forcing a small smile. "Let's just say he's the kind of guy who makes the loan sharks look like saints."

I couldn't help but laugh at that, despite the gravity of the situation. Evan's attempt at lightening the mood worked, at least a little. But as the laughter faded, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered in the back of my mind.

Evan looked at me with a grin, his youthful face masking the deeper worries that hiding beneath. "Don't worry, Rain. We'll figure something out. We always do."

I nodded, trying to absorb his optimism, even as a sense of determination settled in my chest. I didn't have all the answers yet, but one thing was clear: I wasn't going to let this world, or whatever challenges it threw at us, break us apart.