10. Black inks

As Amara spun the clay between her hands, her eyes unconsciously wandered to the bakery across the street. The sticky and wet feeling of mud under her skin wasn't enough to keep her mind on it. 

Her feet continued pumping the wheel, but because her eyes left its focus, the clay she was working on became taller and thinner, until it broke in half and fell on her hand.

"Oh, no!"

Another failure. Amara sighed.

She abruptly stopped spinning the wheel and caught the clay. Cursing herself for being too occupied; she shook her head and stood. She kept the clay back on the pail and already decided to clean the wheel.

It had already been days after she met Azer. 

However, after that, even when she bought bread in their store, he would no longer talk to her but he would entertain other customers. Though she didn't brood over it the first few days, she realized that he was avoiding her when he acted the same the following day.

Amara bit her lips as she wiped the wheel. Did she do something wrong? 

She felt like she was being avoided. Even though it had always been that way when it came to other people, she couldn't help but feel a little bit disheartened when Azer acted the same as well.

Did he finally realize that she was just a waste of his time? 

If that is truly the case, then, is there a need to finish the gifts she's making? 

She threw another glance at the shop across, and her chest unexpectedly tightened when her eyes caught Azer talking with the beautiful girl she met before. 

"They look good together." She mumbled to herself. The girl was clearly enjoying herself and looked happy while the man, on the other hand, looked the same as ever. Talking to anyone with those deadpan and unreadable faces.

She went into the corner and washed her hands. Rather than brooding over those things, she decided to pay Vida a visit.

It was strange, but she suddenly felt lonely.

As if those years of living alone and the feelings of being ignored and avoided by other people just came crashing down at her, and she felt helpless and sad. 

After hanging her apron on the wall, she locked the glass door and flipped the sign over. She then walked to the back door while untying her hair bun. Passing in the mirror on the corner of her shop, she fixed her wavy auburn hair into a single ponytail.

Some locks were hanging loosely on her left side, obscuring the tiny mask she wore. From the mirror, her eyes moved lower as they noticed the old necklace she only had an accessory. 

She caressed it unconsciously as her mind wandered to the beautiful girl wearing a set of jewelry with a simple design. Simply it may be, she knew it was expensive. 

The girl must be a noble lady or perhaps a daughter of a rich merchant. Amara shook her head, erasing the bitterness she felt inside.

What's happening to her? It's only been more than a few weeks after her heartbreak, and yet it seemed that her heart was already up for another one. Just because he was kind doesn't mean she should like him.

She'll just get hurt in the end. It's better to deny and kill any growing feelings within her.

Amara took her parasol and opened the backdoor. 

She hadn't even stepped out of the narrow alley between buildings when someone grabbed her arm suddenly, forcefully dragging her to a corner.

"Let go!" Amara shrugged the person's hands and kicked him to the knee.

The man tumbled on the ground with a grunt. He looked up and pleaded, sending shivers down her spine as she finally recognized who the man was.

"A-Ara, it's me."

Gerard's appearance was beyond unrecognizable. His head was wrapped in bandages, though some strands of his hair were showing meant he wasn't burned. His lips were chapped and the edges of the bandages were stained with blood.

"What happened to you?" She couldn't help but utter. Wasn't it only a few days after Vida told her that she bumped into him in the plaza? Was he already like this back then?

But judging from the bruises on his arms and the dried blood on the bandages, those wounds must have been new. 

"H-Help me, please…" Gerard cried as he tried to crawl to her. Amara took a step back unconsciously. 

She felt uncomfortable.

"I don't know what happened to you. But seek help from another. I can't help you." She answered firmly. She was already betrayed and hurt; so, how could he be so shameless to ask that from her?

Gerard quickly crawled and clung to her, begging her nonstop.

"Please, Ara! I was wrong. I'm sorry. I-I'll return the golds to you, just please help me!" He clung to her leg tightly, even when she shrugged or pushed him, he wasn't budging. 

"Gerard, let go! I can't help you! I don't want to!" She kicked her leg with her might. The guy was shaken off to her, but as soon as she tried to run away, he lunged at her from behind. 

They stumble on the ground. Amara's back hit the rough ground while Gerard was on top of her. Choking her. 

"I said help me!" He yelled. His eyes were bloodshot and hazy. As though he wasn't himself.

The guy was wounded, so Amara was able to keep his hands from choking her completely. Her fingers dug into his wrists as she tried her best to push them off. Her knees continued kicking his body. 

"W-Why…are y-you d-doing this…?" Amara asked. Her eyes were beginning to get teary and her arms were starting to get numb. 

"Help me. Get rid of them," Gerard answered, his eyes lost focus. 

Amara looked at him with confusion. Her struggles were halted when the bandages that covered his face slowly slid down, totally revealing his visage to her.

Her eyes widened and her hands froze.

"W-What…"

Gerard seemed to realize that his face was now naked, he jumped away from her, frantically fixing the bandages around him again. 

He kept mumbling, "No... not this…take it away. Get rid of it! Get lost! Get lost!" 

He stomped his feet and started slapping his face, then he began to scratch it nonstop as if it was itchy. As though something was crawling on his face. 

Amara backed away in the corner. She lost her strength to stand again, thus she dragged her body as she moved. 

The blood on the bandages had probably come from the bruises on his face after he scratched them. His face was covered in claw marks, from his own nails. But what horrified Amara the most was the thing she saw on his face.

There were black inks painted on his face, almost comparable to her scar. The difference was, that the black inks were in the shape of a centipede, and its legs were moving, crawling under his skin. 

She remembered the image again and her stomach lurched. She mistakenly made a sound that caught the man's attention again. 

Her eyes widened when he slowly stopped scratching his face, and like someone ready to run from the sound of the signal, he lunged at her again.

Fortunately, she was able to stand in time. She ran without looking back, and her eyes brightened when she saw the end of the ally.

She thought that Gerard wouldn't pursue her if they were on the main street already. 

With that in mind, her legs became quicker and she managed to reach the street without him grabbing her again. 

She hated the crowd and being stared at, but she was relieved when people looked at her and murmured on themselves. She glanced down and found her clothes had been dirtied. 

She patted her clothes and quickly moved away from the ally. Her knees were trembling so much that she collapsed at the curbside of the road as soon as she felt safer.

She caught her breath as she held on to the necklace tightly. 

Some people passing by looked at her without empathy and regarded her as a beggar, but some were kind enough to ask and check on her, and then they would go on their way after she told them she was fine.

But Amara knew she was not. She was afraid. She clenched her trembling hands on her chest and fought back the tears that peeked at the corner. 

She was alone. She must learn to be strong. But deep inside her, she was exhausted.