IWS Chapter 06

Chapter 06

 

Creak.

In the darkened room, swallowed by the night.

Curled up in a corner, Abel lay still, quietly scraping at the scabbed-over wounds on the back of his hand with his nails.

Whenever darkness fell, his anxiety grew stronger than usual, compelling him to repeat this action almost like a compulsion.

Each time the cold from the stone floor seeped into his body, he felt as though he had been abandoned by the world. And if he didn’t do something, he wasn’t sure he would be able to endure it.

‘I hate this…’

The moment he closed his eyes, the nightmare returned.

Screams shattering a peaceful afternoon.

Raindrops pounding against his scalp.

The stench of burning ash.

The sight of his family, brutally murdered before his eyes.

Everything felt like a nightmare.

Why had this happened to him?

Why was he the only one who survived?

Why did his family have to die?

The sheer terror of it all welled up inside him, pressing against his throat so tightly he could barely breathe, let alone sleep.

‘If only…’

After enduring countless nights like this, Abel often found himself thinking—

That perhaps, it would have been better if he had died with them.

The thought refused to leave his mind, circling endlessly inside his head.

The sight of rain pouring from the sky.

The echoes of his family’s voices.

The dry, gritty feel of ashes.

If only he could forget it all…

If only he could erase everything…

“Oof.”

At the sound of a quiet grunt nearby, Abel’s closed eyelids twitched.

For a moment, his body froze at the presence he felt nearby. He instinctively held his breath, keeping still so as not to betray his surprise.

Then, something warm and soft draped over him, making his tense body flinch.

“…..”

The unfamiliar warmth reminded Abel of something he had almost forgotten—the cold.

Before he realized it, he had curled himself further under the blanket. His face twisted slightly when he felt a warm hand gently press against the back of his hand. A sticky sensation spread over his wounds, followed by a sharp sting.

‘Herbal medicine…’

It was a scent he had smelled before.

Whenever he returned home with scrapes from falling, his mother would apply this same ointment.

Abel tried to guess who was tending to him.

But in truth, the answer wasn’t difficult to figure out.

The child who had gone in his place for education.

The only person in this room who could have brought medicine.

‘Why…? Why is she putting this on me…?’

Abel instinctively shrank into himself.

If she hadn’t received much medicine, she should be using it for her own wounds—so why was she wasting it on him?

Why bother covering him with a blanket?

‘She could’ve just left me alone… Someone like me… Just…’

As the gentle touch moved carefully over each wound, the person finally seemed satisfied and slowly withdrew their hand.

Then—

Rustle.

The sound of crinkling paper.

Something was placed into his hand.

“You’ll be okay now.”

A voice filled with certainty.

No—more like a promise.

Had she noticed he was awake? His eyelashes quivered slightly.

But it didn’t seem to matter. A warm hand lightly patted his head.

After a few soft strokes, the hand hesitated before withdrawing. The presence then quietly moved away.

“…..”

Listening to the fading footsteps, Abel hesitantly opened his palm.

His eyes widened in shock.

Wrapped in paper, a handful of colorful cookies lay in his hand.

A strange sensation surged within him, making his stomach churn. Without thinking, he buried his face under the blanket.

His eyes stung, and before he knew it, silent tears began spilling down his cheeks.

“Ugh…”

The emotion that surged like a flood was completely beyond his control.

As tears trickled down his face, he bit his lip hard, afraid that even the smallest sound might escape.

The warmth of the blanket shielding him from the cold floor.

The faint crinkle of paper in his palm.

The lingering scent of herbs on his wounded arm.

He couldn’t understand any of it.

But even as his chest tightened unbearably, even as tears kept falling, Abel found that he couldn’t let go of the cookies.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

This place was a high-end slave shop.

To promote emotional stability and social development, the children were given an hour of free time each day in an open space.

Thanks to this, we were allowed 60 minutes of freedom in this clearing, surrounded by lush grass, flowers, and towering trees.

“Mary, what are you thinking about?”

Lizzie and Cecil loved this time.

But as someone who had lived in the modern world, I couldn’t see this place in a positive light.

‘It feels just like the recreational time given to prisoners.’

To me, it was no different from the outdoor exercise time granted to criminals.

Still, sitting under the shade of a tree, I had to admit—it was better than being locked inside all day.

“Mary, look at this.”

Lizzie, who had been growing more talkative lately, sat beside me under the tree, fidgeting with something.

Then, suddenly, she placed something on my head.

“Ta-da~”

Lizzie spread her arms like an artist presenting her masterpiece, proudly showcasing her creation. She had woven a flower crown using dandelions and forsythia and carefully placed it atop my head. Seemingly satisfied with her work, Lizzie beamed a sunlit smile and clapped her hands in delight.

“It suits you so well, Mary! You look so pretty!”

Look who’s talking about being pretty.

I couldn’t help but smile, my lips curving upwards against my will. As a token of appreciation, I patted Lizzie’s head.

Ah, this is bad. I might get used to this.

“Thanks. I’ll treasure it.”

“I-I can make one too. I’ll make one for you! W-will you k-keep mine too…?”

Perhaps envious of Lizzie receiving praise, Cecil, who had been quietly sitting beside us, suddenly started plucking flowers from the ground, clumsily weaving their stems together.

Haha. Is it just my imagination that those flowers resemble the human heads and spines that Cecil will extract in the future?

“Sure… I’m looking forward to it…”

I couldn’t bring myself to stop her from making it, nor did I have the heart to save the poor flowers that were being ruthlessly plucked. Since they were having fun, I figured I’d just leave them be. Leaning against the tree, I turned my gaze to the side.

Not far away, Abel was watching us. The moment our eyes met, he flinched and quickly turned away.

For the past few days, he had been hovering around us like this. Whenever our eyes met, he would always look startled and avert his gaze.

As expected, bribing kids with sweets is the best tactic.

At least he wasn’t curled up in a corner refusing to leave his room anymore. That was progress. Giving Abel my share of the cookies had been the right choice after all.

My supply of medicine was running low, but fortunately, Abel’s wounds no longer seemed to reopen. His habit of scratching at them with his nails was also fading.

Of course, my cheek was still covered with gauze. The scab had just started forming recently, so I figured I’d leave it alone and let it heal naturally.

“Aagh!”

“…?”

Suddenly, a sharp cry shattered the peaceful silence, making me turn my head.

Not far away, two children were rolling through the flower field, seemingly in the middle of a fight. One child was on top, relentlessly throwing punches at the other. Even as the nearby caretakers rushed in to separate them, the attacker, consumed by rage, refused to stop.

“Stop this at once!”

One of the caretakers forcefully twisted the child’s arm behind their back, pinning them to the ground. Then, as if to make sure they wouldn’t get up, he pressed his foot down on the child’s head.

“Haa… damn it. Hey, how’s the condition?”

As if the rage had vanished like a lie, the child suddenly fell silent, unnervingly calm. The caretaker, looking at him as if he had just witnessed a lunatic, clicked his tongue in irritation and ran a hand through his hair before turning to check on the other child.

The beaten child seemed to be in a bad state, lying collapsed on the ground, bleeding.

“They’re still breathing, but they won’t be of much use anymore.”

“Take him away and check his condition.”

As one caretaker left, carrying the child like a bundle, the remaining caretaker instructed the children to return to their rooms. The children who had gathered around as spectators began to leave one by one following the caretaker’s instructions.

“L-let’s go, Mary.”

Lizzie tugged at my sleeve, but I couldn’t move.

Because the child pinned to the ground had caught my eye.

His striking silver hair, now tangled in the trampled dandelions, stood out even amidst the mess.

No matter how disheveled he looked, his ethereal beauty remained untouched.

That child was…

The worst disaster of all.

‘Michael.’

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Thank you for reading! ♡