The Girl Who Came from Afar

You wanted to run, but you couldn't. You had no strength. Just making it to the courtyard left you gasping for breath, and climbing a wall took everything you had. Every time you got close to the main gate, you were dragged back.

He was playing with you. You knew that. Like a cat toying with a mouse, he played with his prey until they were utterly exhausted, until they lost the will to fight and stopped resisting.

You couldn't give up. Absolutely couldn't—you warned yourself.

But...

The sounds of children playing outside made you yearn for them. The curses from your friends beyond the door hurt even more.

They didn't understand why you wouldn't obey Priest. If you did, they would suffer a little less. If you did, they wouldn't have to hurt so much.

You stayed silent, not knowing how to answer. Even if you wanted to say something to them, your weak body could no longer support the effort.

Seeing no response from you, the children began venting the resentment in their hearts without restraint—whether it was toward you, Priest, or this church.

All you could do was listen quietly and accept their complaints.

At dusk, the fading light squeezed through a narrow crack and gently licked at your wounded face, pulling you from your haze. You moved your arm and instinctively wanted to touch the paper-thin gold cast across the floor. But soon, children's laughter rose outside, and the golden patch on the ground slowly, little by little, shrank back until it disappeared.

You knew the playful children were at it again, using mud to seal the window's only crack. You could feel their gazes through another gap—innocent gazes, without malice.

They only saw it as a game.

In the end, you gave up. You stopped chasing that faint light and merely rested as much as possible, hoping you could endure the torment of the night.

Tonight, as always, hurt terribly.

And as always, Priest took out medicine afterward to treat you, whispering by your ear in that same gentle voice, like the murmur of a demon.

At this moment, only Priest's attitude toward you carried even the slightest hint of gentleness—though you knew it was merely an illusion.

You had grown used to the lingering pain in your body and the bloody smell that never left your nose.

The children's laughter, their complaints, Priest's whispers—you had already... grown used to them.

I want to agree.

I want to surrender.

It hurts. I don't want it to hurt anymore.

I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten in so long.

Maybe this isn't such a big deal? Priest gave me food and shelter. Giving a little in return shouldn't be a problem, right?

And there are so many people. It won't be my turn every day, will it? Just once in a while. I only need to endure it. It's nothing serious.

I'm so hungry. So sleepy. But I can't sleep, or the pain will wake me again.

I want to agree...

But I can't agree...

This is wrong, so don't surrender... Wait. Keep waiting. Someone will definitely save me.

You believed that one day, light would shine upon this place.

Hold on. Wait with hope in your heart, just like your name—you told yourself this, though you no longer knew how many times you had done so.

In the silent depths of night, a small body curled up in the corner, quietly shedding tears in the darkness.

The Girl Who Came from Afar

"Hehe..."

Through the haze, he heard children playing outside again.

"Is it... morning?"

Forcing his eyes open, Xi Wang looked at the only small patch of illuminated floor left in the room. He barely managed to prop himself up and move beside that tiny beam of light, carefully reaching out to feel the warmth of sunlight in his palm.

Thanks to the food Priest had brought yesterday, he had a little strength to move today—after all, Priest regarded him as private property and couldn't let him die outright.

But in exchange, tonight... might be especially difficult.

"..."

At the thought of the pain he might face tonight, Xi Wang pressed his lips together. Still, he withdrew his hand, curled into a position that was a little more comfortable, and began to rest... hoping to have more strength to face the torment tonight.

Trying to get through it by passing out was impossible. In the end, he would only be awakened by icy water being poured over him, or by coarse salt being rubbed into his wounds.

He unconsciously touched the arm that still bore scars. A faint pain came again—Priest had left those marks with a knife a week ago, but they were now nearly healed.

Perhaps because he was still a child and his metabolism was fast, or perhaps for some other reason, Xi Wang's wounds healed quickly. They would mostly recover in about a week, and given a little more time, not even a trace would remain. Priest had noticed this too, and even seemed particularly fond of it, because it meant he could be even more "unrestrained."

Even after the wounds healed, phantom pain remained... But Xi Wang had gradually grown used to it, to the point where his sense of "pain" was almost becoming numb. Still, it hurt.

How long had it been? How long had it been since he was locked in here?

How much longer would he have to live like this? Could he still be saved?

"..."

When Xi Wang thought of such a hopeless future, an indescribable grievance welled up in his heart.

I want to go out... I want to eat properly... I want to sleep peacefully...

His body instinctively curled into a ball, hiding the tears he could barely hold back.

I don't want to be beaten anymore... I don't want to be scolded anymore... I don't want it to hurt anymore...

I really want to agree...

"Hehe..."

Outside, the children's play had not stopped. Something good seemed to have happened today, because they all sounded excited.

It simply had nothing to do with Xi Wang.

After a few minutes, Xi Wang seemed to have vented all the grievances he had accumulated over the past few days. He wiped away his tears, steadied his breathing, closed his eyes, and tried to slowly fall asleep.

Tonight would be difficult. He needed to rest well.

But accidents always came when least expected.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Hello~ Is anyone in there~"

A crisp voice rang out together with the knocking.

"Hello~ Is~ any~ one~ there~"

It was the unfamiliar voice of a little girl. A unique liveliness carried through her words, enough to make one imagine an energetic and adorable girl.

But Xi Wang did not answer. That would waste too much strength, and if Priest found out, tonight might become even more difficult.

"Stop knocking. He won't answer you. If you want to see him, come over here."

He heard a familiar voice. It was one of the children who lived here.

Then came the familiar sound of things being moved. Before long, the sunlight shining on the floor shortened by a section.

"He's there! Hurry, come look~"

A fairly familiar voice came from the window. Apparently, after confirming through the gap that Xi Wang was within view, the child hurriedly called to someone nearby.

The sunlight on the floor returned to its original size, then quickly shrank away again.

"Ooh~ So there really is someone here?"

She spoke in a cheerful tone.

"Hello~"

"..."

"Huh? Didn't you hear me? Um... Hey~ Can you hear me~ There's a cute girl calling for you over here~"

"..."

"Stop calling him. He won't talk to you. And it's better not to talk to him much. He's a bad child."

"A bad child? How is he bad?"

"Um... I... I don't know either. But Priest said so, so it must be true!"

The child was clearly stunned by the question as well and shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

"But he's been locked in here ever since Priest brought me back, so he must be a really, really bad child. That's why Priest keeps him locked up."

"Huh~ No matter what he did, there's no need to lock him up for so long, is there?"

She did not seem to understand. After all, how bad could a child possibly be to deserve being locked away forever?

"There's nothing to be done. He refuses to correct himself. Priest said he could be let out as long as he turned over a new leaf, but he's always refused. Even though Priest talks to him every night."

"...Talks?"

Her gaze shifted in surprise toward him inside the room. The dimness within could not block her sight, and so she saw the scars covering his body.

If they were only talking, would he really end up like this?

Knock, knock—

She lightly tapped the wooden board sealing the window, trying to get his attention. But he did not react. He only remained curled up quietly to one side, as though asleep.

"Let's go, let's go~ If we stay here too long, Priest will scold us."

"...Okay."

She hesitated for a moment, then smiled and left with the child.

After all, she was only passing through this city. Seeing that this place seemed to take good care of children, she had chosen to stop here and rest. But now, it seemed there was something not quite right about this place...

"..."

She turned back and looked once more at the warehouse. It stood in the church's backyard, beside the cemetery. Almost no children liked coming near it. Even during the day, only sparse sounds of play could be heard here, completely unlike the noisy front courtyard. At night, this place would likely become as deathly silent as the cemetery beyond the wall.

And in a place like this, a child lived... No, a child was imprisoned. No matter how she looked at it, something was wrong.

The girl decided to come back later and take another look.

"..."

They left... That was great.