Discoveries and Consequences

Marie's team arrived in the town of Arnoldstein. They got out of their vehicles and began asking people if they had seen the boy from the image on the tablet. The locals paid them little attention, as they were busy preparing for the annual festival taking place that very day. Everyone was occupied finishing their harvests for the contest, decorating the town, setting up the stage, organizing the band, selecting the music, and preparing the animals, among other things.

Marie instructed Lidia and Rino to take the right path to ask around, while she and the others would take the left. They split up, and each group set off in search of the boy.

Frustrated because no one was paying attention, especially Rino, they sat for a while by one of the fountains in the center. Lidia was looking at her tablet with a smile, chatting with Tecro, the forensic artist she had met at the police station in Styria. They had been texting throughout the entire journey to get there. Apparently, neither his teammates nor Chief Jeff knew anything about this. Rino tried to approach to see what made his teammate smile and blush, but every time he did, Lidia shot him a warning glance that made him back off immediately.

Meanwhile, Maria and Billy were inside the agents' vehicle, watching from the back as the agents rested by the fountain. Billy felt hungry, as they had been in the car for a long time, and he also needed to eat and use the bathroom. Maria told him to hold on until they made sure Aiden was safe, but her stomach also began to growl. Desperate, they started searching for something to eat inside the car, but all they found were a couple of water bottles. After drinking two or three bottles each, their need to use the bathroom became more urgent.

They opened the door carefully so Lidia and Rino wouldn't see them. No one noticed how they slipped out. Once outside, they began blending in with the crowd and went to a small market to ask for the restrooms. Once inside, each of them went to the bathroom. When they finished, they met outside and still felt hungry, as they hadn't eaten since the start of the trip. Billy said, "I can't take it anymore; I'm starving. I feel like I'm going to faint," and he collapsed on the sidewalk, regretting having accepted Maria's proposal to follow those people. Maria also felt a bit bad and lay down beside him.

Suddenly, they saw a tall and large figure, the size of a hill—or so they thought. They were a little scared but couldn't move due to their hunger. As the figure approached, they realized it was an elderly man. The man said, "I see you're hungry, and that's why you can't move." Immediately, he pulled a bag from his waist and took out a thermos. He approached Maria first and said, "You need to drink this quickly if you want to regain your strength." The girl nodded and drank some of the liquid from the thermos. She looked at the man with a disgusted expression because of the taste, and he said, "It's a special medicine; I know it's a bit bitter." Instantly, the girl began to feel better; she couldn't believe how quickly that awful concoction had worked for her.

The man then approached the boy, who, before drinking, looked at Maria, and she gave him an approving nod. The boy drank and instinctively reacted by closing his eyes and furrowing his brow, saying, "Ugh, this tastes terrible!" "I know," Maria replied, "but you'll feel better." The boy gave a thumbs up and, with one eye half-closed, signaled his approval.

Once they had recovered, they both thanked the man, who asked them where they were from, why they were in such a state, and where their parents were. Maria explained, "My name is Maria, and this is my little brother Billy. Our parents went to the festival, and we're from Styria." Billy looked at her, somewhat surprised by what she had said.

"I see," the man remarked. "My name is Eduard, and I live on that hill over there. A couple of days ago, there was another child who came from that place... what was his name?" Eduard began to think, and after a moment, he said, "Ah, yes, his name was Aiden." Both children stared at him with joyful expressions and told him they knew him and wanted to know where he had gone.

Eduard looked at them and asked why they wanted to know. "Didn't you say you came with your parents? Did you two run away like him? Wow, that orphanage should have better security," he said, catching Maria's lie. Maria felt bad for lying to Mister Eduard, who had been kind to them. She lowered her head and apologized for the small lie, also bowing to Billy's head as a sign of remorse.

"You seem like good kids, and I'm sure you're looking for your friend," Eduard said. "Well, I'll tell you that your friend left with an old friend of mine for Italy." Eduard shuddered at calling Adia old, imagining how she would glare at him with a very stern face. After shaking off the thought, he told them that Aiden had left with Adia and that they were likely in Milan.

The children stood there, pondering where Aiden might be. "So, Italy, huh?" Maria remarked. "I never thought he'd manage to leave the orphanage, let alone the country." "That Aiden is fulfilling his dreams of seeing beyond a single window and not spending his entire life in a cage," Billy added. "Well, look who's talking," Eduard commented with a chuckle.

The man handed them his bottle and said, "Take this with you; it'll come in handy if you run into that little problem again." He also pulled a pack of cookies from his bag for the road. The children thanked him and headed toward the agents' van.

"Wow, kids these days want to do everything so quickly. Back in my day, we had to ask permission before diving into an adventure," Eduard remarked, watching the children sprint down one of the streets.

Meanwhile, Marie and Ezequiel continued asking questions on their side of the town, but no one gave them any answers. One person mentioned they thought they had seen the boy at Adia's house. They pointed out the location but quickly left, as they were in a hurry. The two followed the directions and arrived at Adia's house. They knocked on the door, but no one answered. Then Marie instructed Ezequiel to use his ability. He removed his glasses and began using his skill, revealing a vision of a woman, the boy Aiden, and a dog boarding some kind of vehicle. When the vision ended, he said, "I think I know where they went."

Before leaving the area, a tall man appeared behind them and shouted in a loud tone, "Why are you snooping around this house?" Ezequiel turned around, ready to explain who they were, but before he could speak, the tall man, with his large and long arms, struck the ground where they stood, sending both of them flying several meters backward.