The day passed without any problems.
With the new arrivals in the North, where there was nothing, I thought things would be a little more lively than before.
Of course, the reason they came here was not good, but I also understood that after hearing their story and circumstances.
Anyway… it’s an ownerless object.
Of course, I might come back again, I thought… maybe this place would become more vibrant again.
-Wheww~~
The sound of the strong wind outside the window seemed to be speaking to me.
[That I will never return to the fallen land.]
No one will return from the cold and harsh weather, soaked in someone's blood.
Why? I won't come back here.
The reason the North itself has been holding it back is because it has been replacing people.
Of course, it wasn't lacking right away.
Overall, it was at a level where it could have collapsed in an instant due to a single shortage of supplies, but we managed to prepare for it somehow, so we have endured it well so far.
“The sand castle collapsed.”
No matter how solidly you build it, it's just a sand castle in the end.
“What are you worrying about again?”
“Rio.”
Rio, who I thought was sleeping, blinked and looked at me.
“………….”
“Don’t worry about it alone again… Just go to sleep and think about it when you wake up.”
“I want to do that too.”
Only Rio, who knew the details… stayed by my side and became my ally.
Someone who is weaker than me… and frailer… but whose heart is as beautiful as a flower that no one can beat.
You were by my side, supporting me every time I fell.
It was like that before… and it is like that now.
“You have to take one step at a time. If you try to take two or three steps, you’ll just end up wasting your time.”
“……….”
“So, go back to sleep. Don’t make any noise.”
"ah."
I thought Rio was just giving me some warm words of encouragement, but the real message was that he was sleepy and that I should stop whining and go to sleep.
“…….”
Oh my... this is too much.
***
-Bang bang bang bang!!
-Bang bang bang bang!!!
“Hmm……?”
Just as I was about to close my eyes and fall asleep, I woke up to a loud knock on the door, which was so loud it felt like it was going to break, and opened the door.
“I… I… I… I… I…!!”
“…….”
“Ugh… Ugh… Oops… Oops… Oops!!”
As soon as I opened the door, I saw a homeless child shivering all over.
And that child was the smallest among them.
“Speak slowly. I’m not running away, so take a deep breath and speak slowly.”
“Th… th… th… th… all, the legs… the legs….”
“Your legs? What happened to your legs?”
Are your legs sore from walking for so long? Or maybe you got bitten by some bug?
“Sister… Sister… Sister’s da… legs!! Legs!! New… new new new… color……!”
“Legs… color??”
The homeless child is beyond speech.
I can feel that you have come to me for help, shedding the tears you have been holding back.
A hand smaller than Rio's was trembling as he grabbed my collar.
“Let’s go right now.”
I didn't know what was going on until the bridge, but the color that followed made me feel a little uneasy.
The hastily prepared plan is certainly warm.
I opened the door and went in, and the child who was leading the children was lying down, clutching his two legs.
“Ha… no….”
As soon as I saw the real situation, I was speechless.
Was it because I didn't take proper care of my body that it became the cause?
Both legs were scratched with fingernails, leaving bright red blood stains, and the color was gradually changing, showing signs of frostbite.
In the meantime, there were traces of the children trying to figure out something among themselves, wiping the blood with the people's clothes and trying to prevent them from scratching any further.
In one corner, the embers had died down, but only a pile of ash remained, still warm.
“Everyone, don’t be bothered, just stay away and fill the cauldron with snow and boil the water first!”
The homeless children, who didn't know what to do about the situation, quickly ran outside at my words.
“I’m sure you were told to take a bath in warm water… why didn’t you?”
I first prepared warm water and soap for them to wash the smelly ones, and while washing them, I could clearly see that there was a problem with their legs… … .
“You… didn’t wash.”
The smell I smelled earlier still remains.
The other children had washed to some extent, but the smell remained faintly, but this child was different.
“It’s not something even a fool would do to endure it until your legs are in this state… May I ask why you did it?”
“That… ugh… ah… it hurts… it hurts… it hurts…….”
“Of course it will hurt. But the pain will soon begin to fade.”
“Really… Really… Really……??”
He looked at me when I said that the suffering would disappear, but all I could say was despair.
“Okay… when the pain starts to go away, that’s proof that your leg itself is starting to malfunction.”
“Eh…? That, that… A lie…!!”
"No matter how much everyone takes care of them, it's nothing short of a miracle that they made it this far without even being able to take care of themselves."
If it had been even a little later before we met, the leg would have been cut off even sooner.
But fortunately… …it’s not too late.
At this point, it can be reversed.
***
“When you are told to wash, wash on time.”
"……yes."
“And your legs won’t be back to normal right away, so don’t push yourself too hard and just rest here in the house.”
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”
“Did you really think you could survive here if you lived your whole life as a cripple?”
“Oh, no…….”
After all, rest is something that people need the most.
Ignore that and take care of the children who follow you.
Eventually, I reached my limit without getting enough rest.
Because he had been ignoring the signs of illness, he didn't even realize that his legs were frostbitten.
“For now, I can only say that I was lucky.”
As I soaked my legs in moderately warm water, the color gradually returned.
"It'll sting a little. It's proof that your dead skin is coming back to life, so enjoy it to your heart's content."
“……….”
“And you have nothing to say?”
"sorry……."
He bowed his head to me and said sorry,
“You should apologize not to me, but to the children who followed you. How scared must they have been to come to me, shaking with fear, and beg for help?”
He muttered a small apology to my words and shed tears, and his body swayed slightly as if he had now relaxed a bit.
"The apology goes to the children, not me. Right now, it's an absolute rest. It's an absolute rest until I say it's okay, so understand that."
"……yes."
“And finally… what is your name?”
"yes?"
"A name. A name. Have you even forgotten what a name means?"
“Ah… ahahaha… hahaha….”
When I asked him playfully to ease his tension, he bit it and let out a weak laugh.
“Hey, Ellie! My name is Ellie.”
“Ellie… hmm, that’s a good name.”
That's a good name... a name that rolls off the tongue
***
As soon as I left the room, leaving Ellie behind, the children waiting outside rushed into the room and a loud noise was heard.
I could hear the sound of sad crying, but I didn't bother to go in.
How surprised would you be in the middle of the night?
At best, they're still just little kids.
“Hmm… It’s already way past morning.”
It was already close to noon, and the sunlight was shining brightly today.
A warm day that comes once in a while in the north.
“Ah… good.”
“Yes. It’s really good.”
“That’s right… In weather like this, I wish I could take a nap while basking in the sunlight and doing something like photosynthesis.”
Since I've always lived in the order of work->sleep->work->sleep, I've only heard that this kind of weather happens occasionally, but honestly, it's been a really long time since I've seen it with my own eyes.
“Then shouldn’t I just take a nap?”
“Hmm… that wouldn’t be so bad.”
I couldn't sleep properly because something like that happened in the middle of the night.
Well, it's a body that doesn't necessarily need to sleep, but it still sleeps at night to maintain human dignity.
“But… Rio?”
“Why are you calling me, Carnelian?”
“Would you allow me to ask you a question about why you are angry or why you ask for permission to do so?”
“I really don’t know why I do this every time.”
I just tried to let it go quietly because Rio was a little upset, but of course I failed.
It wasn't until Rio's hand struck my back painfully that I heard why he was angry.