The earthen path, once as familiar as breath, now stretched endlessly under a thick blanket of snow. In the distance, tiny thatched roofs barely peeked through the mist, from which wisps of kitchen smoke curled into the cold winter air, signaling the warmth of shared evening meals.
The carriage stopped at the crossroads near the village as the sun, already tilted westward, its faint light diffusing through the dense snowfall like hazy smoke. As I stepped down unsteadily, my legs faltered, not from the cold, but from the fear still gripping me. The fear of facing reality, of confessing the cruel truth soon to unfold, of seeing the worry etched deep in his eyes.
Pausing before the snow-covered gate, my breath turned into fragile wisps of vapor in the air. Then, just as questions still echoed in my mind, a thick column of black smoke suddenly rose in the distance beyond the pine forest, cutting sharply through the evening haze.
My heart lurched, then raced wildly. Suddenly, my legs moved as if winged, I sprinted toward the smoke, heedless of the pine branches whipping my skin or the thorns shredding my sleeves. I felt nothing. Just a single thought, blazing through me with every heartbeat.
When I arrived, the horror before me was straight from a nightmare. Our small wooden house, the only home we had ever known, the place that holding all our love and hope, was engulfed in flames.
The flames crackled like the wails of tormented souls, devouring plank by plank, tile by tile, erasing every cherished memory we had made. Villagers scrambled in chaos, buckets of water flung in futile arcs. Amid hoarse shouts and fragmented orders, sweat rolled down their weathered faces, but they were powerless against the inferno's fury, its hunger to consume everything.
Then, in the midst of the madness, I saw Kian.
Not far away, he stood frozen, a water bucket trembling in his hands like an autumn leaf. Tears streamed down his pale cheeks, eyes wide reflecting the flames in sheer horror. But what terrified me most, though, were the bruises marring that young face, one cheek swollen, his lower lip split at the corner and a jagged gash across his small forehead.
"Kian!"
"S-Sis..." He spun around, his ashen face grotesque with agony.
Lunged forward, I wrapped my arms tightly around him, a wave of uncontrollable dread washing over me at the sight of the tangled wounds covering his body.
"What happened?!"
"Th-They came...looking for the Torbica flowers..." He burst into uncontrollable sobs. "...I-I said we didn't have any more..."
Torbica. The mere mention of that name lacerated my soul. Yes, I'd gotten into trafficking them, those forbidden blooms coveted by high society for their decadent elixirs. I'd flattered myself as cunning, believing I could profit unseen. Yet here I stood, confronted by his battered visage, seeing the wounds carved deep by my own terrible choices.
"...They beat me and robbed us of all our belongings. Th-They even set it on fire..." Hot tears streamed down his cheeks. "...I-I don't know what to do...I..."
These things...I should never have done that...
The horrifying crack of collapsing beams jolted us both. When I looked up, our roof, that witness to countless starlit nights and whispered dreams, was crumbling into ruins. The books Father left us, Mother's hand-knit sweater, our sole remaining family portrait.
Nothing left but smoke and cinders.
This was my doing. My idiotic greed. My reckless decisions piling up like kindling. I knew the dangers, yet I still burned our future to the ground.
And Kian, the only family I had left in this world, now bore the pain and wounds inflicted by others because of me.
"Kian..." I uttered, my voice shattered. "I'm so sorry...I'm truly sorry..."
In that sea of hopelessness, I crushed Kian against my chest. My tears kept flowing, dripping onto the ground, mingling with cold ashes and crusted bloodstains. How could I look into his eyes without seeing my own reflection as a sinner? How could I ever close my eyes in peace, knowing it was my own hand that had delivered her into the claws of these merciless beasts?
"...H-How foolish I've been..."
The crackling roar of flames echoed as thick black smoke billowed into the sky, carrying the acrid stench of burning wood. Each splash of water erupted into ghostly plumes of steam, like the last breaths of a vanishing world. Rooted to the damp soil, I remained still while thoughts whirled violently. They urged me to rush in, salvage what remained, to join the fight, yet my limbs stayed locked, unable to move even a finger. Sweat mingled with tears, streaming down my face, each salty drop infused with the bitter taste of despair.
Useless. All was useless now.
Time stretched unbearably until, at last, the sunset claimed the final embers. But what remained before us was no longer our beloved home. Only a heap of blackened ruins, a few charred beams still smoldering and the stubborn smoke that clung persistently to the air.
Amidst the smoking ashes, my heart hammered violently while my mind stayed numb with cold emptiness.
Gone. All of it gone.
Then a sudden crunch of heavy footsteps broke the oppressive quiet. Steady. Purposeful. Whirled around, terror surging through me as a middle-aged man stood rigid before us, his face hardened with indifference, his eyes like endless voids. His gaze fell upon us, not observing but calculating with transparent appraisal.
"Serves you right!" He hissed. "Serves those troublesome thieves right!"
"What are you talking about?" Taken aback, I looked up, my bewildered stare locked onto the figure before me.
"I'm talking about you troublemakers getting what you deserve!" He jabbed his finger at Kian. "Thought yourselves cunning, thought your thievery would remain a secret!"
What's this insane accusation?! We may be destitute children without shelter, but Kian has never, would never, commit such shameful deeds!
"You have no right to talk about my brother like that!" I bolted upright, my body shaking with anger. "Kian didn't do anything wrong!"
"Did nothing wrong?" He scoffed loudly, his laughter dripping with derision.
Silent as death, his arm lashed out, gnarled hands clamping onto my necklace. The cold metal garroted my throat unexpectedly, forcing me to choke-step backward. Then came a savage jerk, the fragile silver chain shattered at its weakest link. Sapphire beads exploded outward, skittering across the ground with dry, porcelain-like cracks.
"This necklace was stolen by your little brother from my shop!" He roared. "And that's just the beginning, he constantly wreaks havoc in the village, pushing people around and making a mess for everyone else! You ought to be grateful because the sole reason the villagers showed up to douse the flames was to save the forest, not because we're oblivious to your true thieving colors, mind you!"
No...it can't be...
"Stop spouting such rubbish! Kian is absolutely not like that!" I cried out, shielding him. "How have we ever wronged you to deserve such accusations?! Everything we do, no matter how hard, no matter how little we have, is just to make a living. These few coins, though not much, are ours, earned by our own hands. So why are you spewing such malicious words!?"
"Ha! Where would a bunch of penniless wretches like you get money to buy things like that?" He pointed down at the stones scattered among the ashes. "You're truly delusional! You can barely feed yourselves, yet you aspire to wear jewelry!"
The jarring noise ripped through the silence, sucking in every gaze. Prying eyes swiveled toward us as footsteps slowed to a halt. My ragged breaths echoed as I realized every exit was sealed. Every stare bored into me, thick with nosy judgment. My hands began trembling uncontrollably, cold sweat dripping onto slick palms.
By what right? By what depraved right did he slander Kian thus?! For what sin did we commit to warrant such cruelty?
"You!" My fists clenched till they ached as I turned to Kian. "Tell them now!"
But that look betrayed everything. As Kian stood silent, head bowed low, his whole body trembling in waves, unable to meet my eyes. The tears staining his puffy cheeks now carried the weight of something beyond bodily hurt.
"Kian..."
"Go on, tell your sister what kind of person you are!" He snarled, his hand lifted in a menacing way.
There she remained, body drawn tight, fingers clenched together until the joints blanched pale. The dancing firelight painted her ashen face in shifting hues, heightening the panic visible in her widened eyes. Then, the slightest nod, barely perceptible, shattering every truth I'd held sacred.
My surroundings blurred into meaningless shapes. The pendant I'd worn with pride, the birthday present I'd believed symbolized his honest toil, was merely ill-gotten gains.
So all that food she'd brought home, all those proud stories about her work, just another layer in an endless deception?
My throat constricted violently, every unspoken word turning to ashes. The despair resurged with terrifying force, but now a hundredfold heavier. For I realized with crushing clarity, this wasn't just about breaking laws, but about a sister's unforgivable indifference, blind to her own brother's suffering and descent into darkness.
How could I not have known? How could I have missed it? Kian had resorted to stealing. What had driven him to this? Had our relentless poverty finally broken him? Had our gnawing hunger become too much to bear?
And what value do apologies hold now? Can they heal the bruises on his face? Resurrect our home from these smoldering ruins? Reverse time to undo my catastrophic choices?
I crumpled to the ground, eyes locked on the scattered lapis stones cooling on the ground. They still retained traces of warmth, yet now weighed heavy as boulders of guilt, crushing the breath from my lungs. Scalding tears fell relentlessly, blurring my vision, distorting their once-beautiful glimmer into something grotesque in the dying light. In the end, I could only press them against my heaving chest and let the tears come.
Wept for my own foolishness.
Wept for my brother's suffering.
Wept for every irreparable mistake.