[24.3] A Piece Gone Missing

Della looked out of the window with a strange look on her face. I had been shoving a large spoonful of soup in my mouth as I gazed at her in admiration.

She really is beautiful…

I placed the spoon down, "Is there something wrong?"

She shook her head slowly, "Ah… No, it's probably nothing… It's just that… Patty should have been back by now. Usually, when we escort them to the location, we send a letter back."

That's true…

This time we didn't receive anything.

I shrugged, "He probably forgot."

She let out a sigh, "He is usually the responsible one though… Maybe I should ask some of the neighbors to see if they received any letters."

As she stood up to leave, hurried knocks pounded on our door.

We glanced at each other and she hurried to the door to open it up. Outside were several of our neighbors whose loved ones had also taken part in protecting the caravan.

All of them had worried expressions clearly on their face.

My usually quiet heart started to thump.

One of the elderly women spoke, "Della! Have you heard from Patrick?"

She shook her head, "I haven't… Have any of you heard from your loved ones?"

A cry rang out, "WE HAVEN'T!"

Della turned white, "W-What…"

The elderly woman grabbed onto her desperately, "Della! Can't you go look for them!? You're the only one out of us that possibly could!"

She nodded quickly with a firm look, "I will leave right away."

The group cried, "Thank you Della! Our Angel…"

Della returned back to the room to grab some things.

I forced myself up and grabbed my cloak, "I'm coming too."

She shook her head, "No way. I can't endanger you."

I scoffed, "And I can't endanger you."

"B-But Reika. It is far too dangerous for a child of your age, regardless of your adult mind."

I stayed firm, "Patrick is just as much part of my family as he is yours. I'm going whether you allow me to or not."

Her eyes widened, "R-Reika… Did you just say-"

I walked over to the door, "Let's go before it gets too late. I've gotten better at walking so you don't have to carry me."

A soft smile crossed her face as she gently picked me up and walked outside, "We don't have to walk. It's an emergency so-"

She pulled out her wand, "Appareo~"

A chunk of ice manifested under her feet and raised us into the air.

My eyes widened, "But isn't that a waste of mana? Won't you get tired?"

She gave me a wink, "Ice is my attribute. It doesn't tire me out at all. Now hold on~"

She sped off quickly in the direction the caravan was going, covering plenty of ground that would have taken hours on foot. I clutched her clothes tightly as the wind blew past my face, whipping my hair and causing my eyes to water. I pulled away from her eventually and looked past her in the direction we were going.

A strange smoke permeated the air stirring up a nauseating feeling from within my stomach.

I grabbed onto her desperately, "Stop…"

She glanced at me, "Huh?"

"STOP!" I screamed as my eyes widened in fear.

She slowly came to a stop and carried me off of the ice block which then disappeared. I trembled as I stared past her at the smoke so thick I couldn't see what was inside it.

She looked me over, "What's wrong?! Was it that scary?"

I slowly shook my head and raised my hand to point.

She followed my finger and froze, "I-Is that… The caravan?!"

She sprinted to the overturned caravan without wasting another moment. My legs trembled in fear as if trying to warn me not to approach.

But I forced my feet forward regardless.

Once I entered into the eerie smoke only visible to myself, I could see the caravan flipped over with many items strewn about. It was clear it had been attacked several days ago and that no one had tried to steal the contents.

But then why would they attack it if it was a burglary?

Della's shrill scream shattered my thoughts, "PATRICK!"

I looked over to where she had run and saw countless bodies on the ground.

Their bodies had shriveled up as if all their moisture was sucked from their skin. Black veins protruded in a sickening and unnatural way. Their eyes were turned completely white and a permanent scream was etched onto their face.

Della grabbed onto a body wailing in agony, "PATRICK! PATRICK!"

My gaze locked onto his body.

Ice spikes shot up around Della uncontrollably as her wailing pierced my ears.

My feet staggered back in shock as my eyes unwillingly stayed on his corpse. My back hit a tree as my breathing quickened.

Why…

My nails dug into the bark.

WHY?!

Smoke lifted from my fingers.

I had finally gotten a family!

The wood beneath my hands started to burn.

Why would he be taken from me?!

What did I do to deserve this!?

The smell of smoke from the tree snapped me out of my shock.

My eyes moved to Della who cried violently at his body. I pulled my hands away from the tree slowly, leaving behind a hand imprint burned into the trunk.

I need to be there for her.

I need to be strong…

…For her.

I moved over to her slowly, embracing her from behind.

I forced my tears back as my voice cracked, "I'm here…"

I'm here.

….____....

...It was a day I would never forget.

The rain poured down unforgivingly as we all stood around caskets.

...So many bodies were buried that day.

So many friends and neighbors were only left with tears.

After the funerals concluded, everyone left…

…Except for Della.

I held the umbrella over her crumpled-up body which lay against his unremarkable casket. Her pitiful sobs stirred up a painful memory from deep within myself.

The rain now drenched me, allowing for my own tears to run with it.

I tugged on her sleeve slowly, "They have to bury him now…"

She sobbed in agony, "It's all my fault… It's all my fault…"

My face twisted in pain.

Her fingers dug into the casket, "I should have gone with him… I shouldn't have let him go alone… Maybe… Maybe if I would have gone then-"

She broke into a painful wail.

I stared at her with dull eyes.

She isn't blaming me?

She's just…

Blaming herself…

I slowly embraced her and whispered into her ear, "It's not your fault…"

Her sobs tore my heart in ways I didn't think were possible.

I squeezed my eyes shut, "If… If anything… It's my fault."

Her sobs grew louder.

I continued as if to convince myself, "You both left the church because of me. You both worked so hard because of me… So it's my fault. Not yours. If I had never come into this world, Uncle would still be here."

That's right.

Just blame me.

It's easier that way.

She wrapped her hands around me, pressing me into a tight embrace. Her voice was soft, "Don't ever say that. Your Uncle would never blame you for this… And neither would I."

My bottom lip trembled and I quickly buried my head into her shoulder.