— The Letter

The red seal cracked beneath Evelyn's thumb.

For a brief moment...

Neither of them breathed.

The paper inside was old.

Its edges were worn, as if it had traveled a long road before finding its way to this house.

Evelyn unfolded it carefully.

The moment her eyes landed on the handwriting...

Her fingers froze.

She knew those letters.

She had seen them countless times.

On birthday cards.

On little notes left beside breakfast.

On the first book her father had ever given her.

It was his handwriting.

Ariel noticed the sudden change in her sister's face.

"Eli...?"

Evelyn didn't answer.

She kept staring at the paper.

There was only one sentence.

Nothing more.

"Our battalion has fallen. Death awaits us."

Silence.

The wind slipped through the broken window again, making the paper tremble ever so slightly.

Ariel's voice came out as barely a whisper.

"...Dad?"

Evelyn slowly lowered the letter.

Her lips parted...

But no words came.

Her father never wasted ink.

He never wrote things he didn't mean.

If those were his last words...

Then there would never be another letter.

Ariel reached for the paper with trembling hands.

She read the sentence once.

Then again.

As if reading it differently could somehow change its meaning.

"It... can't..."

Her voice broke before she could finish.

Tears blurred the words.

She shook her head over and over.

"No..."

A sob escaped her chest.

"No... they're coming back..."

Evelyn stepped forward without thinking and wrapped both arms around her younger sister.

For the first time...

She realized how small Ariel felt.

Neither of them cried loudly.

The room was filled only with quiet, broken breaths.

Minutes passed.

Or maybe only seconds.

Neither of them knew.

Then...

Evelyn's eyes slowly lifted toward the front door.

Toward the windows.

Toward the silent street outside.

A cold realization settled in her chest.

"...We're alone."

Ariel looked up at her.

"What?"

Evelyn swallowed hard.

"If the neighbors find out..."

She couldn't finish the sentence.

She didn't need to.

Both of them already knew.

Since the war began...

Children without families disappeared.

Some were taken by gangs.

Some were sold as servants.

Others...

No one knew where they ended up.

People whispered about slave markets.

About children who were traded like sacks of grain.

No one dared to stop it.

Because everyone was trying to survive.

Ariel's face turned pale.

"You... you think they'd..."

Evelyn looked directly into her frightened eyes.

"Yes."

The single word drained the last bit of hope from the room.

Ariel instinctively grabbed her sister's sleeve.

"What do we do...?"

Evelyn closed her eyes.

Only for a second.

When she opened them again...

The hesitation was gone.

"We leave."

Ariel blinked.

"...Tonight?"

"We don't have until tomorrow."

The wind rattled the window once more.

Somewhere outside...

Another explosion echoed across the city.

Dust drifted from the ceiling.

Evelyn folded the letter with careful hands and slipped it inside her coat.

Then she looked around the little house that had once been filled with laughter.

It no longer felt like home.

It felt like a trap.

She turned back to Ariel.

"Start packing."

Ariel didn't move.

She simply stared at her sister.

"...Are we really leaving?"

Evelyn nodded.

Her voice was quiet.

But unwavering.

"We're choosing between something terrible..."

She reached for Ariel's hand.

"...and something we know nothing about."

A faint, bitter smile crossed her lips.

"I'd rather face the unknown."

Outside...

The wind carried the smell of smoke through the empty street.

And inside the small house...

Two sisters quietly began preparing to leave behind the only home they had ever known.

End of Part Two

———

Here are two parts for my dear readers⁦ (⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+⁩

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