a strange easiness

"How can you keep living like a normal person after everything that happened?"

Deep down, only one question haunted Enor: where would the days take her now?

She never meant to hurt anyone, not even Ruby and her gang. And yet, for some reason she couldn't explain, she felt nothing. No sorrow. No guilt. Just... emptiness. Heavy and silent.

Everything around her felt stripped of life. The air was still. The ground swallowed the echo of her steps. Even her breathing was barely audible. It was like the world had paused... just to watch her.

Ahead, Ar walked with steady steps toward an unknown destination. She didn't fully trust him, but she didn't have a better option.

She watched him for a long time. Still calm... maybe even calmer than ever. She wondered... Was he unaware of how dangerous things had become? Or did he know exactly what was waiting for them?

Since they'd left the city walls, silence had ruled. Neither of them spoke, and neither wanted to. Maybe that was for the best. She wasn't in any state to talk about what happened.

But still... did he see her as a bad person now? Did he believe she lost control? The question burned inside her, but fear of the answer kept her silent.

Then, a face from the past crept into her mind. Her parents. Did they hear the news? What would they think of her now? Would they abandon her again this time? Without hesitation?

Questions stacked in her head like falling stones, but she shoved them aside and kept following Ar.

The farther they walked, the dimmer the lights became. Storefronts faded from polished to broken. Sidewalks turned into narrow, crumbling alleys that led to nowhere familiar.

Then, finally, a small house appeared in the distance. Simple. Isolated. Hidden enough to vanish into the shadows of the alley.

Ar stopped at the door, glanced behind him, then knocked three times in a rhythmic pattern.

A moment of silence... then the sound of locks clicking. The door creaked open slightly.

A boy stood there, dark eyes ringed with sleeplessness, but alert. He didn't flinch, didn't hesitate. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Finally. I thought you got lost or decided to crash in the other district."

He glanced at Enor briefly. No recoil, no awkward stare. Just a calm, curious look.

"Hey. New friend?"

Ar ignored him, as usual. "She needs a place to stay."

"Sure," the boy said, stepping aside and motioning them in. "Come in before the cold eats you alive."

Ar walked in without looking back. Enor hesitated at the threshold.

The house was small, but strangely warm. Nothing about it looked like a hideout... No alarms, no weapons, no fear. Just the smell of bread and light curtains dancing with the breeze.

She stepped inside carefully, like her presence might ruin that fragile peace.

"Gonna stand there all night?" the boy teased lightly. "Waiting for a red carpet?"

She didn't reply.

Everything here was... calm. Real. As if she hadn't spent the last few hours running, soaked in blood and curses.

"I'm Cedrik, by the way," he said, heading toward the kitchen. "And you are?"

"Enor," she murmured.

"Nice name. Want some tea?" His voice was so casual, it annoyed her.

How could he act so normal? How could a place feel this... safe? Didn't they know who she was? What she'd done?

She glanced around again. Nothing here felt like it belonged to her world.

"Ar... you live here?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Welcome to my humble home."

"Right... thanks," she mumbled, then added cautiously, "Is anyone else living here?"

"Just us and my grandfather. I'll introduce you. Come on."

"Wait." She raised her hand, her gaze sharp. "Look, I really am grateful for what you did. If it weren't for you, I'd still be trapped... or worse. But this? It's reckless, Ar. You didn't just risk your own life! You dragged two innocent people into this. You know what the Academy does to those who help the marked. They treat them like traitors."

Ar let out a short laugh, slicing through the tension. "Seriously, Enor... you think I'd risk my life for you? Just like that? If I wasn't sure we're safe, I wouldn't have brought you."

"Funny," she muttered, unconvinced. "And what makes you so sure? You have no idea what happened back at that school. Even if the Academy doesn't find us... what if it happens again?"

Her voice dropped, her eyes heavy with guilt. "I couldn't live with myself if someone got hurt trying to help me."

Silence followed, until a calm voice drifted from the hallway.

"Sorry to interrupt. Has the war ended, or should I come back later?"

A white-haired man stood at the corridor, dressed in a simple house shirt, holding a cup of tea and wearing a faint, amused smile.

Enor blinked in surprise, caught off guard.

"Grandpa," Ar said flatly. "Was about to introduce you."

The old man stepped forward with a warm smile.

"Welcome, Enor, right? Don't worry. This house has seen much worse arguments."

He handed her the cup gently. "Thyme tea. Clears the mind. Trust me, you'll need it."

She took it hesitantly. His hands were strangely warm. Steady.

"Thanks..." she whispered.

He nodded, then turned to Ar. "Did you set up her room, or do I need to do everything myself?"

Ar sighed. "I was just about to."

"Then get on with it." The old man looked back at Enor. "Make yourself at home, girl. No one here's gonna judge you for being marked."

He walked away slowly, leaving behind a sense of calm... that didn't fade.

Enor stood still, tense. But something inside her... began to settle. For the first time in a long while, she didn't feel rejected. Just... different.

Even the cup in her hands felt like more than warm tea. It felt like a fragile promise, that things, no matter how broken, could find balance again... even for a moment.

That moment didn't last long.

As she stared at the rising steam, a different smell caught her nose... sticky, metallic.

Blood.

She looked down. Her sleeves were soaked in dark stains, some dry, some still damp.

She gasped, turning her face away.

How did she not notice? How did no one else?

Suddenly, the weight of everything sank to her gut, making her nauseous.

Ar noticed and moved to the cabinet, pulling out clothes.

"Here. First door on the right. Take a shower, you'll feel better."

She took the clothes quietly, head lowered.

"Thanks..." she whispered, slipping past him.

The bathroom was simple, but clean. Warm. She sat for a moment at the edge of the sink, staring at herself in the mirror.

Pale face. Tired rose-colored eyes. Messy hair. Bloodstained clothes.

But still alive.

She peeled off the layers slowly, like shedding pieces of what she'd been through. Then stepped into the water.

It wasn't just warm, it felt like it washed more than her skin. It washed the fear. The tension. The scent of horror that had clung to her all day.

For the first time in ages, she let herself breathe.

She stepped out wearing Ar's clothes, they were a lil' big, but clean, with a faint scent of soap and aged wood.

She dried her hair quickly and walked back to the living room.

This time, warmth greeted her, not just from the air or fabric, but from the smell of food.

In the kitchen, Cedrik was setting plates on the small table.

"Ah, the princess returns!" he said with a grin, waving a wooden spoon. "Perfect timing."

Ar was already seated, as if waiting for her.

"Sit," he said simply, nodding at the chair across from him. "We made something light."

"Don't expect a royal feast," Cedrik added, placing a small pot down. "But this soup's a secret recipe."

Enor sat quietly. Still feeling like she didn't belong.

The soup was hot, filled with vegetables, with steam rising and slices of toasted bread scented with thyme and oil.

She lifted the spoon slowly. One taste was enough.

Simple... but filled with warmth. She closed her eyes, letting it settle in her chest.

"You like it?" Cedrik asked.

She nodded, giving him a curious look.

He and Ar... looked strangely alike. Same dark hair. Same black eyes. Even similar expressions.

But where Ar was like a shadow, silent and still, Cedrik was the bright, teasing echo of that shadow.

"Everyone thinks they're brothers," came a voice from the hallway.

"He's the older sister," Cedrik said with a grin.

"Your jokes suck," Ar muttered.

Then, after a pause:

"By the way," the old man said as he poured himself tea, "they're saying what happened at the school was intentional. A hate crime."

Enor's hand froze. Her eyes widened, then dropped back to her bowl.

She had no answer. Just pain. Guilt. And a storm of fears inside.

He wasn't judging. Just stating it.

Cedrik stayed quiet, but didn't look surprised.

"We stopped believing the official stories a long time ago," the old man added, sipping his tea.

Enor blinked slowly. Did that mean... they believed her? Did someone actually believe she didn't mean to do it?

She looked at the old man's face, searching for something. He said nothing. Gave no verdict.

Just silence.

But not the kind that accuses.

Not pity, either.

A strange silence. Like... respect.

She lowered her head, almost ashamed for expecting more.

The only sounds left were quiet sipping and her own unsteady breaths.

For the first time, the world didn't chase her with judgment.

Just a table. Three plates. And steam rising from a simple soup.

Then, in a low voice, the old man said:

"Every marked one I've met was just a kid. Reckless? Sure. But never evil. They just needed guidance."

Enor looked up sharply. The words hit her like a stone.

"You knew... others? Like me?"

Ar finally looked up, eyes sharp on the old man, who answered without pause:

"I knew many. Studied them. Watched them. Ran more tests than I can count."

He turned to her, a sad smile in his eyes:

"I was one of the lead researchers at the Academy."

A shiver ran through her, but he continued gently:

"I thought we were helping you. Understanding you. Then... no one asked 'why' anymore. Only 'how.' How to control. How to suppress. How to turn a person into a file."

He took a deep breath, staring into the steam like it held ghosts:

"I left when I realized we weren't scientists anymore. We were guards. Watching over glass cages."

Ar's eyes held something new now, a mix of respect and something heavier.

Cedrik looked away, poking at his food.

Enor, who had thought she was safe for a moment, felt the ground shift again.

This man, the one who gave her tea, who spoke so kindly, was once part of the very system that hunted her. That ruined lives like hers. That poisoned the world against the marked.

She whispered, as if to herself: "You were... one of them?"

He nodded, eyes on his hands like they still held stains that couldn't be washed.

"At first, I believed we were protecting people. Saving the world from chaos... from itself.

But truth is... we were just scared. Scared of what we didn't understand, so we made it the enemy. Put it in a cage."

Another silence fell, but this one felt different. Not frozen. Not crushing. Just... recalibrating.

He smiled faintly, pain in his voice:

"I couldn't save everyone. But I swore... I wouldn't lose anyone else."

Enor, after a pause, asked:

"Why... now? Why help me?"

His gaze met hers, voice firm:

"Because they'll devour you, Enor. Turn you into a story, not a person. A lesson, not a girl. And I... I can't watch that happen again."

Something inside her trembled. Fear, maybe. Or gratitude. Or something nameless in between.

Cedrik cleared his throat, trying to lift the weight in the room.

"Gods, Grandpa... you almost made me cry. Did you rehearse that?"

The old man chuckled, sharing a look with Ar.

That night, Enor sat with them until the end.

Silent, mostly.

Listening.

Eating slowly.

There was fear.

But for the first time, it wasn't the heaviest thing in her heart.