*Luca*
The week has passed by quickly in rushed footsteps, whispered plans, and tired faces. One by one, I’ve guided families out of the bathhouse’s dark sanctuary, through winding paths, and far beyond Toledo’s grasp.
Each family I send away carries a fragment of hope that the holy officers won’t find them, that their children will grow free beneath a sky untouched by fear.
I tell them firmly, again and again, “Keep moving. Don’t stay too close. The Crown’s oppression will spread like wildfire, faster than any man can outrun.”
At the edge of a quiet village where the road forks into the hills, I watch the last group disappear into the trees, shadows swallowing their shapes. My heart clenches, knowing I may never see some of them again, but their safety must come first.
The journey ba
