Chapter 27: A Night Without Answers
844 Words
Night settled over Greenhollow.
The village no longer echoed with cries of pain.
Instead...
Small campfires burned gently throughout the square.
Families sat together beneath blankets.
Children, exhausted from fear, had finally fallen asleep.
For the first time since dawn...
The village breathed peacefully.
Yet...
No one truly felt at peace.
---
Echo sat on the roof of a storage shed, staring toward the dark forest.
The moonlight painted the distant trees silver.
Everything looked calm.
Too calm.
His wooden sword rested across his knees.
For the first time...
He wasn't thinking about becoming stronger.
He was thinking about the melody.
"...Who are you...?"
The question disappeared into the night.
---
"You'll catch a cold."
Echo turned.
Mira climbed onto the roof carrying two steaming cups.
She carefully handed one to him.
"It isn't tea."
She smiled.
"Master Dorothy's herbal medicine."
Echo laughed weakly.
"...So it's medicine pretending to be tea."
Mira giggled.
"...Exactly."
For a few moments...
Neither of them spoke.
The silence wasn't awkward.
It was comforting.
---
Echo looked down at his hands.
"...I froze today."
Mira looked at him.
"I wanted to fight..."
"...but when I saw everyone injured..."
"I didn't know what to do."
He lowered his head.
"...I wasn't useful."
Mira quietly shook hers.
"You crushed herbs."
Echo blinked.
"...That's all."
"You carried water."
"You comforted children."
"You helped the healers."
Echo remained silent.
Mira looked toward the sleeping village.
"...Do you know why those people are alive?"
Echo slowly shook his head.
"Because everyone did..."
"...what they were able to do."
She smiled softly.
"If you had tried to do everything..."
"...you would've helped no one."
Echo thought about her words.
Then...
A small smile appeared.
"...I never thought of it like that."
---
Not far away...
Dorothy sat alone beneath the ancient oak at the edge of the village.
Her walking stick rested beside her.
She looked toward the stars.
Edric quietly approached.
"...Master."
She didn't turn.
"You recognized the melody."
It wasn't a question.
Dorothy remained silent for a long while.
Finally...
"...Yes."
Edric hesitated.
"...Was it..."
She gently raised one hand.
"Not yet."
He lowered his head.
"...Forgive me."
Dorothy smiled faintly.
"There is nothing to forgive."
"The time simply hasn't come."
---
Across the square...
Kodie walked silently around the village.
One lap.
Then another.
One of the guards frowned.
"...Does that boy ever rest?"
Another guard chuckled.
"He probably sleeps while walking."
As if hearing them...
Kodie calmly answered without looking back.
"...No."
The guards burst into laughter.
Even Kodie couldn't hide the tiny smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.
---
Inside the temporary clinic...
Mira carefully organized herbs.
She separated dried flowers.
Wrapped fresh leaves.
Checked every medicine bottle one by one.
Dorothy quietly entered.
"You should be sleeping."
Mira smiled apologetically.
"...I know."
"But if another emergency happens..."
"I want everything ready."
Dorothy watched her student for a moment.
Then gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"A healer who never rests..."
"...will one day become another patient."
Mira lowered her eyes.
"...I'm still learning."
Dorothy nodded.
"And that's exactly why..."
"...you must learn to trust others."
For the first time that day...
Mira stopped working.
---
Meanwhile...
Echo wandered through the village.
As he passed one small house...
An elderly woman called out.
"Young man."
Echo turned.
"...Me?"
She smiled warmly.
"Come here."
Confused, Echo walked over.
The old woman placed a freshly baked piece of bread into his hands.
"...For helping today."
Echo's eyes widened.
"...I barely did anything."
She chuckled.
"My grandson is alive."
"He smiled again today."
She gently patted Echo's shoulder.
"Never say you did nothing."
Echo looked at the warm bread.
For some reason...
It felt heavier than his sword.
---
Later that night...
Everyone finally gathered around a single fire.
Echo.
Mira.
Kodie.
Edric.
Dorothy.
For a while...
They simply listened to the crackling flames.
Then Echo couldn't hold back anymore.
"...Ma'am."
Dorothy looked up.
"...Yes?"
Echo scratched the back of his head.
"...Who was singing?"
The fire crackled softly.
Dorothy stared into the dancing flames.
"...A long time ago..."
"...there was someone who believed every life deserved a second chance."
Echo leaned forward.
"...Who?"
Dorothy smiled.
"...Someone."
Echo sighed dramatically.
"...You really don't like giving straight answers."
Even Dorothy laughed quietly.
"...Not when you're asking the wrong question."
Echo frowned.
"...Then what's the right question?"
Dorothy looked toward the forest.
"...Why..."
"...would someone who disappeared years ago..."
"...return now?"
Everyone fell silent.
Even Edric looked troubled.
The warmth of the fire suddenly felt much smaller.
---
High above the village...
Hidden among the branches of an enormous tree...
A lone figure quietly watched the flickering campfire.
The moonlight revealed only long silver hair dancing in the wind.
The figure smiled gently.
"...You've grown, Dorothy."
A soft breeze carried the words away.
Before anyone below could notice...
The branches became still once more.
The watcher...
Had vanished.
---
End of Chapter 27
«Some mysteries are solved by asking questions...
Others wait patiently... until you're ready to hear the answer.»
- Writer
