The biting cold wind of the northern territory whistled through the old wooden cabins of Frosty Village, carrying the scent of frozen earth and the despair of mortals.
That night, under a starless sky, a child was born.
In one of the most distant cabins of the village, a woman with straight black hair and a gentle smile looked at her only happiness in this world.
"He's a beautiful boy, that's good. His name will be… Kyrian. Just as his father wanted." The woman said with a gentle smile, but at the same time, small tears began to fall from her face.
Her labor was done without any help. She was alone in the room, looking at her baby in her arms while trying to calm her breathing. When she saw him open his little eyes.
Then, that frightened her. From her eyes, the tears started to fall even more.
The baby, in her arms, looked at her attentively while blinking. Without any crying, as he should have. But that was not what mattered to her.
"My… baby… Kyrian. His eyes… Is he blind? No, no. Why? God," she said as a terrible pain arose in her soul. It was sadness, guilt, pain.
When her son opened his eyes, they were white as snow. There was nothing, no pupils, no life.
That immediately made her feel like a terrible mother. She knew how hard life was for those who lived in this region. Crippled children were discarded early because only the strong would survive and be of help to the village in the future.
She felt guilty. Guilty that her son was not born with the health necessary to survive. Pity for the life he would have to live, the hardships he would have to endure. Her tears would not stop falling until they dripped onto the baby's face.
"Forgive me… Kyrian." She said it one last time before taking the deepest breath she could and wiping her tears.
"It's just you and me. So no matter what happens, I won't let anything happen to you. I will protect you from everything. My baby." She said with a gentle smile as she ran her hand over the baby's head, who soon closed his eyes again, seeming to fall asleep.
…
Three months passed quickly, and the village and the situation in Frosty Village remained the same. Kyrian's mother, Liora, hid her baby deeply at home.
Kyrian's father was someone important in the village, and because of that, even after his death, Liora still had a good stock of food. Furthermore, the village chief sometimes appeared and delivered some food to her.
She hid her baby as much as possible, only letting the leader visit once when Kyrian was asleep. That way, he did not see Kyrian's eyes.
If the chief knew her son was blind, he would never bring resources to her, as it would not benefit the village in the future.
So, more time passed.
…
Today was Kyrian's birthday.
Liora woke up suddenly with something touching her face with a cold finger.
"Mommy… Wake up, I'm hungry." An extremely cute voice sounded from a baby lying on Liora's bed.
She quickly woke up, pulling him to her chest and kissing his head.
"Good morning, my son!" She said with a bright smile.
In recent months, Liora's initial worry about her son had completely disappeared.
Kyrian, in fact, never cried or complained.
While she heard other children in the village screaming for milk or attention, her son always remained quiet, watching everything with those big, pupil-less eyes.
Liora noticed this after a while. In fact, her son seemed to follow with his head wherever she went, as if he could see her. She thought he might be following the sound. So she tested without making noise. And again, Kyrian followed her everywhere. As if…
"Kyrian… my baby… you… you can see, right?" She whispered to him as tears welled on her face.
Kyrian smiled at her, as if saying yes, even though he didn't understand what she was saying.
But she was right. Kyrian, in fact, was never blind, since birth his vision was completely normal. But there was something different, something no one there would understand.
Everywhere Kyrian looked since birth, particles danced in the air, intertwining absolutely everywhere. Something no mortal in this small remote village would know existed. But Kyrian could see them perfectly, and whenever he could, he instinctively tried to grab them with his small hands before trying to throw them into his eyes.
When Liora saw him doing this, she didn't understand but knew her son was different. Yes, she felt he was special.
And she was right. Kyrian quickly began to crawl and shortly after learned to walk. Before he was one year old, he could already speak and converse with her. She talked to him every day and every hour since he was born. Kyrian, gradually observing his mother, managed to speak and imitate what she said. And little by little, she taught him the meanings of words.
"Mommy… I can't breathe." The little baby Kyrian shouted with his head buried between Liora's breasts.
"Oh, sorry, I always do that. Hehe, my baby. How did you sleep—
Suddenly, when Liora let go of Kyrian, she saw his eyes.
"Kyrian. Your eyes, your eyes. How? They changed." She said, holding him while staring deep into Kyrian's eyes.
At that moment, Kyrian was also surprised. Because besides what he had always been able to see, the particles, he now could feel something strange around his mother.
Was that… worry?
…
When Kyrian turned one, a faint circle, a ring, appeared in his completely white eyes. As if it were a sketch of a pupil.
But not only that, Kyrian could now also feel the emotions of the people he focused his gaze on.
Anger, fear, disgust.
Those were the feelings he had sensed the most. Why?
After turning one year old, Kyrian's mother thought she could now show him to the others. After all, her son was a genius never seen before in the village. And his pupils seemed to be appearing, despite him having been able to see normally since birth.
But Liora realized she was wrong. Instead of people thinking Kyrian was amazing or praising his intelligence, all she heard were murmurs, weak insults from scared people.
Mainly because as soon as the other children saw Kyrian, they started crying or running to their parents, saying he was an eyeless monster.
Moreover, coincidentally, shortly after she tried to introduce Kyrian to the others, children in the village began disappearing suddenly without explanation.
And then.
A whisper spread through the village.
"It's his fault. Since that abomination appeared, five children have disappeared."
"It's his fault, yes, he is cursed, he must be expelled from the village."
Liora heard these words from people who once respected her. She felt abandoned. From that moment on, no one helped her with food, work, or anything else.
It was then that Kyrian, seeing his mother suffer, tied a band around his eyes. Despite the band, he could still see perfectly well.
'Maybe if I hide them… Mommy will suffer less.'
But, unfortunately, nothing changed.
…
Kyrian never forgot anything.
He remembered the face his mother had when he opened his eyes for the first time. The extremely gentle smile on her face was his best memory in his mind.
He remembered the names of all the children in the village who called him cursed every time they saw him.
The band no longer made others afraid of his eyes. But still, no one wanted to get close to him. Not that Kyrian cared, the only thing that made him happy was to stay by his mother's side.
One day, while exploring the village alone, Kyrian found a hunter, one of the few in the village. He watched him as he trained with a rusty sword while snow fell on his head.
His eyes focused on every movement of the guard. For some reason, he found it interesting, and when he returned home, he perfectly showed the movements to his mother using a stick.
He was able to imitate perfectly.
"Kyrian, where did you learn that?" She asked, extremely surprised. She remembered her husband's training, and it was so similar, it was impossible, how could her son…
"I saw the guard dancing strangely like that. Isn't it fun? I liked it a lot, but what is this dance?" Kyrian asked with an innocent smile to his mother, who laughed at his joke.
But inside, extreme happiness arose.
"If you're really that genius, I worry less. You will be someone strong, yes. You have to be."
Liora thought while stroking Kyrian's head and explained what the guard was doing.
…
Now, Kyrian was three years old, and the band was still on his head. He had gotten used to it covering his eyes. He didn't want his mother to be sad hearing what others thought of him.
One day, when Kyrian returned home after looking for food, he saw Liora lying on the edge of the bed. He saw she was in terrible pain and quickly ran to her. He tried to lift her, but with his small and weak body, it was difficult. But he managed to somehow help her sit on the bed.
After that, everything got worse.
A dry cough consumed Liora every day. And her body was completely weak, unable to walk more than an hour a day.
And then, little by little, time was shrinking.
In the village, there was no doctor, the only one had died years ago. And even with Kyrian asking for help, besides the village chief who tried to look at Liora, no one tried to help.
But the village chief couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.
From that moment, Kyrian began stealing food, mainly for his mother, who could no longer get up. To keep her alive.
"Forgive me, my baby… I won't be able to protect you." She cried while hugging him every night. Perhaps thinking he was asleep.
At those moments, Kyrian clenched his fists tightly.
…
Kyrian's fourth birthday came quickly.
Liora's condition was worsening more and more. Now, she couldn't even sit on the bed anymore.
Kyrian sat on an old wooden chair in front of the bed. Liora looked at her son's face, with the band he never removed in front of anyone.
Liora's voice was weak today. And he felt it. Looking at her, she was suffering terrible pain at that moment. But on her face was a gentle smile as she looked at him.
"Kyrian… take off the band." Liora said in an extremely weak voice.
He did immediately.
At that moment, Liora looked directly into his eyes with the same smile, the same one from when he opened his eyes for the first time.
Now, Kyrian's eyes were different again. A pupil finally existed. It was completely gray, but there was still no iris, not even a sign that the iris would appear.
"As I thought… my son. I know you hid them because of me." Liora's voice sounded like a weak sigh as her eyes seemed to be losing their light.
"But… please, don't hide them anymore. Your eyes… are the most beautiful things I have ever seen."
And then, she was gone. Her last words were so weak that Kyrian couldn't hear them. But he understood completely by seeing the movement of her lips.
And in the last moment before leaving, Kyrian saw there was no pain or sadness in Liora. But a spark of happiness and pride looking at her beloved son.
At that moment, tears began to fall…
No one knows for how long.
The room seemed silent, lifeless, with the only sound being drops falling on the aged wooden floor.
After having no more tears to shed, Kyrian held his mother's hand one last time. Just to feel something trapped in his palm.
He quickly grabbed it, it was a piece of yellowed, old paper that Kyrian quickly opened.
"This… is a letter?"