Chapter 8: Encounter

Arriving in Sanjo, the trio take the time to relax a little bit. Despite not looking for it, David meets a couple of strangers and Nova finds some trouble to cause at the inn.

After a few days of hiking through the dense forest, the trio of misfits made their way to Sanjo as the sun was entering its 16:00 position. Much to Carthy’s pleasure, David began to request for fewer breaks as the days went on. He brought them down to about one for every few hours, which allowed the group to reach their destination a day ahead of schedule. Nova helped guide her team to the commerce town with the help of the map Carthy packed before they left Noam. She was amazed at how advanced and large Sanjo seemed compared to the previous villages she had visited in the past.

              

The property of the town was clearly distinguished by a main street of stone that extended and winded throughout the area. There were many small houses scattered along the road, with businesses such as a flower shop and a bank located on the street’s corners. Nova could smell various pastries being baked long before entering Sanjo but she was able to identify them as sourdough and cinnamon buns upon stepping on the stone path. The town was situated next to a shoreline and a dockyard had been constructed so the residents could ship their baked goods and the fish they caught from the large body of water across Magraan. When the tide was out, it was possible to walk along the wet sand before the waves came back in. Near the dockyard was an inn, where tourists or visiting authorities could stay. Carthy was quick to point it out. She didn’t want to admit that she wanted to rest after the hike she had been on. She missed formalities such as beds when she slept on the hard ground.

        

The group entered the lobby and Carthy took care of the check-in as Nova eagerly examined all of the knick-knacks lining the front desk. David was looking out the window, watching the residents walk around the plaza as seagulls circled them from overhead. He didn’t know that these kinds of towns existed before. He was so used to the smaller villages such as Amxie in the Outer Brim. It was almost too much for him to take in all at once. Nova’s giggling brought him back to reality as he turned around to see his partner flicking a seagull-shaped bobble head, her wide eyes fixated on its spastic motions with wonder. Carthy rolled her eye and tugged at Nova’s sleeve, letting her know it was time to go, but Nova wouldn’t budge from her position. She was too focused on her new discovery. Carthy then took hold of the collar of Nova’s green cloak and began dragging her away from the distraction towards the stairs to their room on the third floor. David followed them and was asked to walk behind Nova so she didn’t scramble back down and play with the bobble head again. Nova crossed her arms and stomped the rest of the way up.

              As Carthy opened the door to their room, they were welcomed by the fresh ocean breeze coming from the open window on the far side. There were two large beds against the back wall, made with clean red sheets and lined with four pillows in white pillowcases. Separating the beds from each other was a nightstand. A lamp sat on it and hanging above it on the wall was an analog clock. A wooden desk was situated near the window, with a notepad and pen on its surface. David put the pack down on the floor and leapt onto the closest bed, arms spread as he bounced into the air, landing on the soft mattress a second time.

“Well, guess we all know who’s taking that bed,” Carthy said as she turned on the bathroom light and checked the inside. Everything was white except for the blue and green goop inside the tiny shampoo and conditioner bottles. Nova sat on the far bed and ran her hands up and down the fabric of the sheets. The seams felt funny against her palms but she didn’t mind. Carthy poked her head out from the bathroom. “You two act like you haven’t seen a bed in years.”

“We haven’t,” Nova replied as she evaluated the firmness of the pillows on her bed. “It’s been at least six years since we’ve slept in one of these.”

“That’s nice and all, but don’t think you’re sleeping in that one,” Carthy was pointing to the bed Nova was sitting on. “I have seniority over both of you, so I get a bed to myself.”

“That’s not fair,” David groaned from his resting place.

“Life isn’t fair, sunshine.”

“Stop calling me that!”

              Carthy stuck her tongue out and sat on the same bed as Nova.

“How old are you, anyways?” Nova asked as she finally picked the pillow she wanted. She liked the softest one the best. “You never answered that question yesterday.”

“If you have to know,” Carthy told her, sighing. “I’m twenty-four. Which means I’m older than both of you. And that also means I get this bed to myself.”

“Five years isn’t that big of an age difference,” Nova pouted, holding her chosen pillow against her chest.

“That is true and it’s smaller than the nine-year gap he’s got. But, it’s still a difference so…kindly scoot yourself over to that side of the room, little missy.”

              With some encouragement in the form of a light push on her back, Nova got up and put her pillow on the bed David was lying on. He turned so he was on his back, looking up at the pale ceiling. Stretching his arms, he lifted himself from the mattress and went to the window. He looked out upon the shoreline, the sun’s rays brightly reflecting from the ocean. He felt more relaxed in the room. Perhaps it was a mixture of the view and the freshness of the air that made him feel at ease.

“I’m going to look around the inn for a while,” Nova spoke while opening the door. “I’ll be back by the 19:00 position so we can all eat together!”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Carthy replied in a mellow voice that threw David off. He turned around to see Carthy lying on the bed she took over, her hands behind her head. She exhaled as she closed her eye, preparing for a nap. Not wanting to disturb her, David crept towards the door and carefully opened it, unaware of the creak it made from its rusty hinges. He quickly looked back to see Carthy staring at him, her hand on the weapons she left on the nightstand.

“I’m just going to explore the town for a bit,” David said, chuckling a bit. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“It’s fine.” Carthy then put her weapons down and rolled over, using two pillows as a support for her head. “Have 

fun.”

“Thanks, have a good nap.”

              David saw Carthy raise her left hand to give him a thumbs-up as he closed the door. He walked down the hallway lined with green wallpaper and tables with vases of various flowers. He got lost for a bit until he finally found the stairwell and walked down. On the final set of stairs, he sat on the railing and slid down, almost tripping over himself as he landed. He regained his composure and walked into the lobby. As he walked towards the entrance, he saw Nova at the front desk, repeatedly tapping the head of the wobbly seagull from before. Her face lit up with each hit, her gaze watching every movement that it made. The front desk agent tried his best to ignore the young girl but his hands were now over his face as he leaned over the desk. He clearly wasn’t happy to see Nova again. David decided to slip through the front doors unnoticed. He took a sharp left towards the plaza and walked quickly so he couldn’t be seen from the windows.

              The plaza of Sanjo was fairly busy, with a constant flow of people moving both ways on the sidewalks. David was stuck in the middle of the stream of people headed into the shopping district. He took the time to take in his surroundings. The ocean breeze carried many scents throughout the area, with the smell of cinnamon catching his attention. David escaped the crowd and headed to the source, which was the bakery half a block down. His pace picked up as the smell grew stronger. He eventually found the bakery and peered in through the front window. On display were various types of pastries such as cookies and cakes. There were also round pieces of dough David didn’t know the name of that were slathered with chocolate. All of it, however, looked delicious. He watched the person working there pull cinnamon buns out of the oven in the kitchen. David felt his heart pound as the worker turned around.

              

Her red hair fell to her shoulders and had a white apron on over her black top. She was handling the tray of pastries with care in her orange oven mitts. The cinnamon buns themselves were baked to perfection and their aroma seeped into the streets where David watched. She placed the tray down and took the mitts off, setting them aside as she wiped her brow with a flour-covered cloth, leaving some of the substance to stick to her forehead. David smiled as it happened, holding in laughter. The girl’s attention was directed to the door, where a man in a tan trench coat and wide-brimmed hat entered the establishment. They exchanged words and David got jealous as the girl laughed at whatever the man was saying. The man purchased some of the freshly baked cinnamon buns and left just as quickly as he entered. He sneered at the young boy as he passed him, his red eyes locking with David’s own blue irises for a brief moment before the man continued to walk down the street. David growled to himself briefly as he looked back into the bakery, seeing the girl giving him a welcoming smile, waving at him to come in. David panicked as he frantically weighed his decisions in his head before running away from the building. He wasn’t ready to talk to her yet so he continued to run as fast as he could.

              David eventually stopped a couple of blocks away, sitting on a bench to catch his breath. He was leaning over his knees, panting and sweating from his sprint. He leaned back against his seat and looked into the sky. The sky was beginning to shift to an orange colour. The colour reminded David of the girl’s oven mitts. This thought sent guilt coursing through his mind, as he knew he shouldn’t have run away like that. He started to think about whether the girl hated him or not because of that. Trying his best to suppress his feelings, David got up and took a scenic route back to the inn. He walked along the sidewalk built next to the coast line with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. 

The ocean looked even more incredible than earlier, the new shade of light reflecting off the water’s surface and scattering around the town. David smiled and began to relax from his earlier encounter. He went down to the beach made from the absent waves and sat on driftwood, staring at the horizon. He began to lose track of himself and of time as he threw pebbles into the water. David heard footsteps in the sand until they stopped behind him, the smell of cinnamon buns returning in the air. David’s mind immediately thought of the bakery girl and he turned around, expecting her. He was disappointed and angered to see the cloaked man from earlier behind him, holding a brown paper bag stained from icing in his right hand.

“It truly is a lovely sight, is it not?” The man asked, opening the bag to pull out a cinnamon bun. “The sunset is one of this nation’s greatest views. It is universally seen by all residents, making it all the more special.”

“Yeah,” David said, flustered by the man’s presence. He looked up under his hat to see the same eyes as before, with a hint of blue hair poking out from under the brim. “It looks pretty nice, I guess.”

“Brilliant observation,” the man chuckled, splitting the pastry in his hand in two, holding one half out to David. “I noticed you left the bakery without making a single purchase. Would you care for a taste?”

“I’m fine, thanks,” David refused as he turned his attention to the sunset.

“As you wish,” the man said as he took a bite from the now cool pastry.

              The two men stared at the ocean in silence until David remembered what Nova said before she left to the lobby. He checked the position of the sun to see it approach the 19:00 position. He quickly got up and looked at the man one last time, watching him take a bite from the final half of the baked good.

“Thanks for the offer, sir. It was nice meeting you,” David said as he ran off along the beach, leaving a track of footprints in the sand.

“Likewise,” the man spoke to himself. “But do not worry, I feel as though we will see each other again. Quite soon, as a matter of fact.” The man chuckled as he walked the opposite way of David, finishing the cinnamon bun. He looked back at David, grinning as he tipped his hat to the boy.

              After running for a few minutes, David quickly opened the doors to the lobby of the inn. He was about to scale the stairs before he saw Nova and Carthy from the corner of his eye at the front desk. He took a deep breath and walked towards them, panting as he began to overhear Carthy’s conversation with a man in an important looking suit from behind the desk. His grey hair was slicked back and his hands were behind his back.

“…just don’t let it happen again, okay ma’am?” The well-dressed man stared down at Nova, who was looking at her boots as she twirled her right ankle.

“Don’t worry,” Carthy told the man. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t disrupt the other guests. You have my word.”

“What’s going on over here?” David cocked his head to the left as he approached the group. The grey-haired man and front desk agent looked at him as he walked beside Nova. Carthy turned to him and leaned against the desk.

“What happened was little miss sunshine over here ran down when we weren’t looking to play with the bobble-head.” She flicked the seagull to demonstrate her point, Nova’s eyes immediately gravitating to its motions. “Not only did that cause a distraction to everyone in the lobby but she also got a little too excited over it. I guess people aren’t too eager to be interrogated by an overly-stimulated teenager so she’s being put under room arrest until we check out.”

“I still don’t know what that means,” Nova said quietly, tapping the tips of her index fingers together.

“It means, ma’am, that you’re to remain in your room and not disturb the other guests as long as you’re staying with 

us,” the suited man spoke.

“That sucks,” David said. “So we can’t go somewhere to eat together?”

“You can,” the front desk agent responded, his long brown hair in his face. “But she’d have to go straight to the room as soon as she comes back.”

“At least those plans aren’t ruined,” Carthy said, letting out a slight laugh. Nova continued to frown and David didn’t look too pleased about the situation either. Thinking quickly, she changed the subject. “Where should we go for dinner?” She tried to sound enthusiastic.

“There are a few good diners around here,” the front desk agent replied as his higher-up walked into the back room. 

“However, since you’re only here for one night, I would recommend eating at the Klure Bakery. It may not be the most ideal for a dinner but they have some of the best pastries in all of Magraan.”

“I smelt the cinnamon buns earlier today,” Nova looked up at the front desk agent. “They did smell pretty good.”

“I think that’d be nice,” Carthy added. She reached into her pocket and tossed David twenty Dertics. “I’ve got a craving for something sweet, get me something along those lines.”

              David caught most of the money, only dropping a few of the coins on the ground. As he picked up the change, his mind began to think about the girl working there. He started to panic, not wanting to go back.

“A-are you sure y-you don’t want to go?” David was stuttering. “I-it seems like you know what to ge-get and…”

“I think it’s best if I stay here,” Carthy teased Nova’s hair. Nova continued to frown as she fixed her bangs. “I told the manager I’d make sure she doesn’t get into trouble again. Besides, didn’t you see the bakery on your escapade earlier?”

“I did, but I don’t know what’s good there.”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Carthy turned to the front desk agent. “Anything that you recommend?”

“Everything there is excellent,” the agent stated. “You could get anything and you’ll love it, I guarantee it.”

              Carthy turned to face David, her eye rolling from the attendant’s indifference. David scratched his head nervously, wincing as the bandages tugged at some of his hair. The woman sighed as she walked towards the stairwell.

“I’m sure you’ll pick something good,” Carthy shrugged, her back to David. “Just don’t take too long, I’m starving.” 

She placed her foot on the first step and looked at Nova, motioning her to the stairs. Nova looked at her and then at the bobble head, reaching for one last flick at the seagull. The front desk agent covered its head with his hand and Carthy walked up to the girl, grabbing her collar to drag her once again. Nova’s heels skidded across the wooden floor of the lobby, leaving large black marks. David gave the front desk worker a quick smile then left towards the bakery.

              Despite being a block away, David’s heart was thumping against his chest. He was excited to get the chance to talk to the worker but he was also nervous as to what she’d think of him. For the past six years of his life, Nova and Carthy had been the only people he really talked to so socializing wasn’t his forte. He should’ve spoken up and told Carthy he’d stay in the room with Nova. It was too late, however, and he was turning the corner leading to the bakery. He took a series of deep breaths to calm himself down until he stood in front of the building. The girl working there was now sweeping behind the counter with her back towards David. He adjusted his jacket and fixed his hair, using the reflection from the window to see himself. He took one last deep breath and opened the door to the bakery.

              As he entered, David was overwhelmed by the smells of all the different baked goods in the shop. The girl looked up, her hair bouncing as her green eyes fell onto David, who was examining all the displays. She leaned the broom against the back wall and stood in front of the cash register.

“Hi there,” the girl addressed David. “What can I do for ya?”

“Uh,” David nervously spoke, his eyes locking with the worker. “I, uh, I’m getting some stuff for me and " sorry, my friends and I.”

“It’s alright. What did you have in mind?”

“I-I’m not sure…anything you suggest getting?”

“Well,” the girl pointed at David with both index fingers. “The best way to figure out the perfect pastry for someone is to know what they’re like. Is it just you or are your friends outside?”

“It’s just me,” David cleared his throat.

“I see. Well, tell me about your friends then. We’ll figure something out for them.”

“Alright,” David put his right hand to his chin. “Well…I guess I’ll start off with Nova. She’s…pretty nice and optimistic. Her and I have known each other ever since…ever since I was nine, and she’d do anything for the people she cares about.”

“Wow, she seems very kind,” the girl said as she put on a glove to pick up some chocolate-covered dough balls from the display next to the register. “I think she’d like these Choco-Balls, then. They’ll be as sweet she is.” She then put the seven balls of dough she selected into a bag and folded it, placing it on the counter. “Who else is there?”

“There’s also Carthy,” David chuckled a little. “She’s definitely something else. She doesn’t talk much about herself. She’s also kind of mean, but I’m sure she means well.” David scratched his head. “Even if she does show it in some…interesting ways. I’ve only known her for a week, though.”

“I see…I’ll be right back.” The girl walked into the back and David felt a bit of a chill move its way into the bakery. The sound of a slamming door came from the kitchen and the girl returned with an armful of circles wrapped in paper. “These are our Ice-kies, a Klure Bakery specialty. There’s ice cream in between the two cookies and we keep them in the freezer. So, it’s a soft inside with the ice cream and a hard outside with the frozen cookies, kind of like your friend.” The girl then placed four of them in a separate bag next to Nova’s treats. “What should I know about you?”

              David froze in place as the girl brushed her red hair with her hand. He couldn’t think of anything to say about himself, or at least anything that didn’t make him sound egotistical.

“Uh,” David chuckled nervously. “There isn’t really much to say about me…I’m just kind of normal, I guess.”

“Oh, come on,” the girl leaned in from over the counter. “Don’t be so modest, I’m sure there’s a lot to you. Just start talking.”

“Where do I even start?”

“Wherever you want.”

              The girl smiled and David blushed. He wanted to make a good impression on her. The only issue was that he had nothing to go off of to make himself look good.

“Well, uh, I guess I’m nice,” David rambled on. “I’m pretty quiet, also. I don’t have a lot of stamina, I’m not the brightest either. I’m also really awkward when it comes to talking to other people, especially cute girls like you and " “

              David stopped as soon as he realized what he said. He quickly put his hands over his mouth and his eyes grew wider. The girl returned his shocked expression with one of her own, her mouth slightly open. She quickly looked down at the counter and tapped her nails against its surface. David cleared his throat.

“What I meant to say was that I " “

“N-no, it’s fine,” the girl quickly said. “I asked you to talk and you did…that’s good. I think I know what you need.”

              

She made a swift exit into the kitchen and David leaned on the counter, his hands over his face as he shook his head.

“I blew it,” David whispered to himself. “I blew it, I blew it, I blew it, I blew it…”

              He stood up straight when he heard footsteps coming closer from behind the counter. The girl was carrying a large cupcake with an ornament of a green cat on top of the black icing. She put it down on some tissue on the counter and slid it to David.

“I think you’d like this one,” the girl said quietly.

“Wh-what makes you say that?” David regretted asking that. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear why she chose that specific item for him.

“It’s one of the less popular items we sell,” the girl continued as she brushed her hair again. David’s heart was beginning to sink. “Not many people pay attention to it…but those who do never regret it. It’s an under-appreciated pastry that deserves more credit than what people give it.” She pointed to the green cat ornament in the icing. “I also think this is really cute…like you.”

              David’s heart skipped a beat. He began to laugh nervously and the girl covered her face with her hands.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” David quickly said. “I-I mean, I think we both were pretty blunt.”

“Yeah,” the girl snickered a tiny bit as she extended her hand towards David. “I’m Olive Eryu. What’s your name?”

“David Clarx. It’s nice to meet you, Olive,” David gently grasped Olive’s hand and shook it. Her hands were very soft, David noticed. The two of them smiled at each other as they released their grasp, Olive running her fingers across David’s palm. She then pushed some keys on the register.

“That all comes to twelve Dertics,” she said happily. David reached into his jacket’s breast pocket and pulled out the exact amount and handed it to her. “What are you doing tomorrow evening?”

“Oh…” David looked at his boots. “I’m probably going to be gone by then. My friends and I are on our way to Taplica.”

“Oh yeah?” Olive seemed disappointed. “Why’s that?”

“We’ve been asked to ki-“ David couldn’t tell her what he was asked to do. Even he wasn’t pleased with his mission. He couldn’t imagine what she would think. “We were asked to do something really important.”

“I see,” Olive moved the other bags of treats towards David. “Could it be possible…for you to stay…for one more night?”

              David took the bags into his arms.

“I-I can see. I’d like to say I could for sure but…I’d have to ask the others.”

“Alright, just let me know what happens, okay?”

“Yeah, for sure.” David smiled and waved to Olive as he walked out of the bakery. He began running down the street, jumping into the air and hitting his heels together. He had a smile on his face all the way to the inn. Despite running for a couple of blocks, he still had enough energy to run up the stairs to his room. He put the bags down next to the door and reached in his jacket pocket for the room key. However, he forgot that he was never given one. He knocked repeatedly until Carthy came to the door.

“Do you mind?” Carthy sounded annoyed and leaned against the doorframe.

“I come bearing gifts,” he smiled as he motioned towards the bags of goodies. Carthy’s face lit up as she reached for the bags, took them inside, and closed the door. David began to knock again.

“I think you forgot something,” David called out.

“You’re right,” Carthy’s voice was heard from outside the room. The door opened once again and Carthy reached into David’s pocket and took out the remaining Dertcs, locking the door as she closed it for a second time. David began to knock his head slowly against the door.

“Come on,” David said. “I really need to talk to you two about something important. Just let me in.”

“No boys allowed,” Nova giggled from inside.

              David groaned and rested his head against the door. He was surprised when the door suddenly opened, leaving him to fall to the ground face first. Carthy stood over him, holding the door open. Nova made her way towards David and helped him to his feet.

“Are you okay?” Nova was quick to ask.

“Yeah, nothing’s broken,” David said.

“So what were you wanting to talk about that’s so important?” Carthy walked over to the farthest bed and sat on it, looking through the bags and finding the Ice-kies. She unwrapped one and took a bite out of it, nodding her head as she chewed.

“Well, I was thinking on the way back that since we arrived in Sanjo a day early, maybe we can use tomorrow as a vacation and just stay for another day?”

“You really are new to the whole “Mercenary” thing, aren’t you?” Carthy finished her bite and swallowed. “As much as I don’t want to do it, we have to get to Taplica sooner rather than later. If we waste another day here, that’s one less day we’ll have to complete the mission.”

“I know, I get that. But can’t we just relax for a day? We’ve had a pretty rough hike so far and I think we could all use a little bit of a break.”

“I’m not sure, David,” Nova spoke up from behind him. “We really should put the mission ahead of relaxing. What made you think of this?”

“I just thought that it’d be a good way for us to bond more, you know?”

“Yeah, like we don’t get enough of that during the hikes,” Carthy said as she handed the bag of Choco-Balls to Nova. She put David’s cupcake on the nightstand.

“Does it have something to do with a girl?” Nova leaned in, nudging her partner. David froze in place and Carthy almost choked on her Ice-kie.

“You? And a girl?” Carthy sputtered.

“Wh-what makes you say that, Nova?” David was quick to question Nova, trying to get away from that subject.

“I picked up her scent from your hand,” Nova threw a dough ball into the air and caught it in her mouth. “So, what’s 

she like?”

“There was a girl working at the bakery, but it’s nothing like that.”

“That’s a load of crap,” Carthy pointed to David. “Just look at your face. It’s more red than the bedsheets.”

              

David tried to hide his face. Nova was laughing as she ate another one of her treats.

“That’s so cute. David’s never really talked to a stranger before so it’s even better to hear it was a girl.”

“What’s her name?”

“Olive Eryu.”

              Carthy looked puzzled.

“Pardon?”

“She’s Olive Eryu.”

“She’s never met me.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“How can she be all over me if I’ve never met her?”

“No, her name is Olive Eryu.”

“Really? That’s her name?”

“Yeah, that’s her name. Olive Eryu.”

Carthy started to laugh. “Her parents have a sick sense of humour to want to name her that.”

“I think it’s a cute name,” Nova said as she crumbled the bag her pastries were in. She put the garbage into the waste bin under the desk. “Do you have any dates planned?”

“No, but she was wanting to meet up tomorrow night to do something…”

“Ah-ha!” Carthy stood up and pointed directly at David. “So that’s why you want to stay the extra night!”

“Yeah…” David clasped his hands together and looked at Carthy. “Could we? Come on, it’s just one day and I won’t ask for another one, I promise.”

              Carthy sat back on the bed and took a bite out of the final treat from her bag. David picked up his cupcake and began to eat it, placing the green cat ornament on the nightstand for last. Nova paced the room, bobbing up and down with each step, humming. Carthy licked the fingertips of her glove clean from drops of melted ice cream and looked at David, who just finished taking a large bite out of the cupcake.

“I have a feeling that an opportunity like this may never happen again for you,” Carthy said as she lay on her bed. 

“So I guess we can extend our stay for another night. Just this once.”

“That’s awesome!” David spoke through a mouthful of pastry. “Thanks, Carthy! I owe you one!”

“You certainly do,” Carthy replied, resting her head on two pillows.

“You better get some sleep then,” Nova chimed in. “You need to be well rested if you want to woo that lucky lady.”

              Carthy was already under the covers, moving them up to her chin. David nodded, removed his jacket and boots, and climbing into his bed. Nova followed suit by taking off her cloak and hanging it in the closet near the door, revealing her bright yellow tank top. As David adjusted the sleeves of his green t-shirt, Nova placed a pillow in between herself and David so neither one of them hogged the whole bed. Nova turned off the lights and got onto her side of the bed, laying on her back.

“Good night,” she said as she lay on her back.

“Good night, you two” David responded, his arm hanging over his side of the bed.

“Sleep well,” Carthy replied, shuffling to her right side so she was facing away from the two Mercenaries.

Nova fell asleep almost immediately. David took a little longer as his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Olive and their date the next day. Neither of them noticed the faint red light coming from Carthy’s side of the room. On her side, she was looking at the photo of the happy family, fixating on the siblings. The faint red glow coming from under her bandages was enough to illuminate the picture slightly. The red light dimmed until it went out when Carthy fell asleep holding the photo, her thumb over the right side of the little girl’s face.   

Author's Note

Character interaction is very important to this story. Please let me know what you think of it, I would greatly appreciate it.