Chapter 8 : First Flicker Before Wife

That night, Kanan couldn't sleep.

The stone lay tucked beneath the cloth near his chest, warm despite the dry chill of the room. He didn't dare look at it. But he could feel it — like a breath, steady and patient.

Nilo lay beside him, arms and legs sprawled, snoring softly. Even in sleep, he smiled. It made Kanan ache.

Outside, the wind scratched at the wooden slats. Somewhere in the corner, their mother muttered in her dreams, voice broken and hollow, like wind rattling through glass. Kanan tried not to listen. The bruises on her arms, the wildness in her eyes — they weren't dreams anymore.

He turned over.

But the warmth of the Vilakku-stone drew him again. A pulse — faint and low. Like it was waiting for something. Or someone.

He held it in his hand beneath the blanket. It didn't glow. Not really. But for a second, the air shifted. The dust above the floor curled gently away in a perfect circle, like breath blown from the earth.

It stopped as quickly as it began.

Kanan sat up.

Nilo stirred. "Huh? Time for bug hunting?"

"No," Kanan whispered. "Go back to sleep."

But Nilo blinked, rubbing his eyes. "You okay?"

Kanan didn't answer. Not right away.

"…Do you ever wonder," he began slowly, "if there's more than this? Not just food… but a place where the world doesn't feel like it's choking you?"

Nilo yawned, scratching his head. "Sometimes."

He rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling.

"Sometimes I dream of a tree. Really tall. Like, stupidly tall. And I'm sitting on the top branch eating something warm. Tastes like… not beetle."

Kanan cracked the faintest smile. "Not beetle sounds good."

Silence stretched between them.

Then Nilo turned his head and said, softly, "We're not gonna stay here forever, are we?"

Kanan didn't know how to answer. But the stone pulsed again, just once, and for the first time — he thought he felt the wind answer.

It pushed against the walls like a whisper urging forward.

He clenched the stone in his palm.

"…No," he said.

Nilo grinned.

"Good. 'Cause I already packed my adventure stick."

Kanan looked at him, brow raised. "Your what?"

Nilo held up a crooked branch with a beetle shell tied to the top with string.

"Official. Hero stuff."

Kanan shook his head, lying back down.

But the warmth of the Vilakku-stone stayed with him.

It didn't demand. It didn't push.

It simply waited.

[To Be Continued...]