The night was denser and darker than usual. A mantle of thick clouds completely devoured the shine of the moon.
In the middle of that gloom lay the inert and lifeless body of Alexander.
Beside him, Mei wept inconsolably, clinging to his hand with a desperate force, letting out heartbreaking screams that broke the sepulchral silence of the building. The apothecaries arrived as fast as they could, but their efforts were in vain; when they crossed the threshold, Alexander's heart had already stopped forever.
The rest of the group remained motionless, dumbfounded, with their minds incapable of processing the blow. Time seemed to freeze in that blood-stained room.
Shortly after, Novius organized a funeral in Alexander's memory. It was a lavish and monumental event, the kind anyone would envy for their farewell. But that display lacked meaning for someone like him.
Mei would have preferred an intimate ceremony, a small goodbye surrounded solely by her closest loved ones, and not a farce full of hypocritical faces who only attended to protect their image before the public eye.
Even so, by protocol, she had to take the stage to say a few words.
—Thank you very much to everyone for accompanying us today... —Mei began, feeling the weight of the gazes upon her.
Aiko stayed by her side, squeezing her hand hard, while the rest of the group observed in silence from the front rows.
—Today we are here to remember my husband, a kind and noble man who... who... —her voice cracked abruptly and her eyes flooded with tears—. Excuse me... it's just that...
She couldn't continue. Mei collapsed to her knees on the floor, overcome by an absolute and physical pain.
Immediately, Novius appeared at her side to assist her and take her away from the scene.
—Excuse the inconveniences. We conclude the speech and will continue with the event —he announced coldly to the attendees.
Later that same day, Novius approached the quarters to offer his supposed help to Mei.
—Do you feel better already? —he asked.
—Yes, thanks... —she responded in a murmur.
—If you didn't want to speak on the stage you should have told me, no one was forcing you.
—No, I wanted to do it. I did it for my husband.
—Speaking of which... he had a certain weight and power within the new republic. Upon passing away this way, all the matters and obligations he had pass to his closest relative; that is to say, to you. If you want, you could cede them to me so you can carry out your mourning in peace and...
—Don't fuck with me! —Mei shouted, swatting his hand away to push him off—. My husband just died and the only thing you think about is the power he had! Damn it, Novius! I know you weren't that close, but have a little respect! —she scolded him with her voice trembling from anger and tears.
—You're right, sorry. I crossed the line —Novius said before turning around.
As he walked toward the exit, he clicked his tongue, noticeably annoyed.
The next day the burial took place. A pulley slowly lowered Alexander's casket into the grave, under the sad gaze of everyone present.
As the box descended, little Aiko gently tugged on her mother's sleeve.
—Mom, Mom... why is Daddy inside that box? Isn't he going to come back home with us? —she asked with her innocent voice.
Mei remained petrified, completely destroyed inside, while the rest felt their hearts break upon hearing the girl.
—Mom! Answer me, please!
The burial ended in a frozen and heavy silence.
—Mom! —Aiko shouted at her again when they finally arrived back at the tent—. Why did we leave Daddy there alone?! He promised he would come with us!
Aiko clung tightly to Mei's shirt to stop her dead in her tracks just as she crossed the door.
—MOM! —the girl shrieked, breaking into tears.
—SHUT THE FUCK UP! —Mei shouted at her all at once, grabbing the first thing she found—an old ceramic vase—and throwing it in desperation. It didn't hit the girl, but the vase impacted against the floor and shattered into pieces.
—Sorry... —Aiko whispered, backing away frightened.
—Are you going to revive your father with an apology? —Mei demanded with a broken voice.
—B-But he promised me he would never leave me alone again... He promised me! —Aiko insisted, taking a trembling step toward her.
—HE IS DEAD! —Mei screamed at her out of her mind, grabbing another vase and throwing it without thinking.
This time the ceramic hit Aiko straight on the forehead. The girl fell abruptly to the ground, in shock, with a trickle of blood sprouting from her forehead.
From the floor, Aiko looked at her mother terrified. Mei was breathing heavily, with a blank stare, and began taking slow steps toward her. Scared, the little girl tried to crawl backward to get away.
Mei took one more vase from the shelf and, just as she raised her arm to throw it, a hand held her wrist firmly.
It was Kio.
Upon seeing her, Mei's fingers loosened and the vase fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.
—Alex died, Kio... —Mei murmured with a broken voice, letting herself fall onto her friend's shoulder—. He died while you were away...
—I already knew —Kio said, lowering her gaze and turning her face away—. That's why I came to see you.
—Did you travel from so far as soon as you found out? Wow... you shouldn't have bothered —Mei said, surprised—. Thank you, you truly are a great friend.
Mei wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly, seeking refuge in the middle of so much misery.
Kio, upon seeing Aiko bleeding on the floor, gave her a subtle nod of the head to leave the tent. The girl didn't think twice and escaped toward the street.
Meanwhile, Kio remained rigid. She didn't return Mei's hug, didn't say anything, nor made the slightest attempt to comfort her.
Suddenly, Kio pushed her away with a certain roughness.
—Kio?
—I didn't just arrive... I've been here on the island for a while now —Kio confessed, clenching her fists and avoiding Mei's gaze at all costs—. I'm so sorry...
—What?
It took Mei a second to process the meaning of the words, but as soon as the message clicked in her head, rage exploded.
—If you were already here... why didn't you do anything to help Alexander? —Mei shouted, distraught—. Did you already know what was going to happen?
Kio remained completely motionless, without articulating a single syllable.
—You knew, DIDN'T YOU?! —Mei reproached her, grabbing her tightly by the collar of her shirt—. You knew he was going to die and chose not to lift a finger! Your damn god warned you they would kill him and even then you chose to stand by with your arms crossed! Because you're incapable of doing a single damn thing unless he gives you the order!
Kio didn't defend herself nor turned her gaze away.
—Are you even a living being?! The only thing you do is obey that bastard's orders! Can't you disobey him just once to save someone you care about?! Do you really care about us at all?! LOOK AT YOU! You don't have a single damn trace of pain! HE WAS YOUR FRIEND, your companion...!
Mei collapsed, falling to her knees in front of Kio, who only observed her from above with rigidity.
—And it seems you don't care... Tell me the truth: do you hold any affection for us? I know that sooner or later you're going to forget about us, but... at least pretend you care! —she screamed at her, throwing another relic from the shop at her in rage.
Mei curled up on the floor, breaking into an inconsolable cry.
—Mei, I... —Kio tried to say, stretching her hand to touch her shoulder, but Mei swatted it away with a violent slap.
—Get out... —she spat against the floor.
—Let me at least help you pick up...
—I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT, WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND DAMN IT?! —she shrieked out of her mind.
Kio didn't open her mouth again. She clenched her fists tightly, turned around, and walked out of the tent.
From the floor, with her vision blurred by tears, Mei managed to look outside. Aiko was standing a few meters away. Their gazes crossed for an instant, but as soon as they did, the girl cowered and hid terrified behind Kio's back.
Mei made no movement to hold her back. She remained sitting there, alone in the gloom, drowning in tears and surrounded by shards of broken ceramic.