The young man let out a silent sigh. All around him were things that held authority over his life. The plague. The mayor. The need for money. And the worst thing about it all was that he could do nothing to change the situation.

Nikolai turned slightly to look at Lana. He studied her shoulder-length brown hair that reflected the late noon sunlight, and watched as she shifted a long streak behind her ear.

In the past, whenever she was relaxed, her right ear would twitch. He would give it a light flick whenever it happened. She would then proceed to give him a chase around the village, attempting to smack him over the head with whatever she'd be holding at the time. But ever since the tragedy, it never occurred again.

When they were younger, she had always insisted that she only followed him around because he was the better navigator and hunter. He knew of course that she'd be entirely fine if she was on her own.

But what if she left him? What if the plague were to take her...

"Is there something on my face?"

Nikolai blinked. Lana was now looking at him.

"I was just thinking," he said.

"About?"

Nikolai pulled out his pocket watch. Its golden surface reflected his frowning face as he studied it. "Any one of us could go at any moment," he muttered.

Lana stared at him but remained silent.

"Instead of sending help," Nikolai continued, "the countries around us boxed us in. They have influence and resources, but they chose to contain us. Now that there's a cure, it's Oswald who made it. Again, it's somebody with influence and resources. Instead of sharing it, he sells it at a stupidly high price. It's just so unfair..."

Lana still did not say anything. But he knew she was thinking the same thing.

"If we had even half of what they have," Nikolai muttered, shaking his head slowly. "If only we were the ones in charge... Nobody would have to suffer."

*

When the evening came, Nikolai and Lana returned to the village, parting ways for their respective homes, but Nikolai didn't go back to his hut immediately.

A small graveyard for the villagers was built some distance west of the village itself. It was dark and seldom lit since traffic wasn't all that frequent in this part of Brymlight. Strange as it was, no animals came by either. It was as though they knew too that it was a place to be respected.

Nikolai saw that the old sign nailed to the rotting wood of the fence was in need of replacement. It was barely readable now. He would change it himself if he didn't already have so much on his mind. No, someone else would have to do it.

The young man strode over to a tombstone that sat in the center of its row. Its smooth rounded stone was still fairly new and the writing on it was still clear compared to the other moss-covered graves. He squatted in front of it and patted the lump of soil just before the stone. The earth had sunken; perhaps from the occasional rain during the past month.

Nikolai took out his golden trinket and gazed at the mound. He sighed. Lost for words, he gazed around.

To make room for future generations, the villagers had chosen to burn their dead. The ashes would then be collected and placed in an urn, and then buried. A small tombstone would be placed to mark where they were laid. Gaps between the graves served as walkways so people could visit their past loved ones without accidentally treading on others' resting place.

But since the plague happened, space declined rapidly. It wasn't the priority thought on everyone's minds. There were about a dozen or more slots remaining before the cemetery was completely filled. Perhaps he was reading too much into it, but he couldn't help feeling that it symbolized their end.

Maybe Oswald would finally grow a heart and waive the price of the antidote for everyone.

"Fat chance of that happening..." Nikolai whispered to himself.

Upon closer inspection, the tombstone carved with Kane Freydon's name on it was layered with thin moss. Without thinking further, Nikolai raised his free hand and brushed them out as best as he could. As though looking for an excuse to stay quiet while he stuck around, he collected some dead leaves from someone else's grave and tossed them over the fence.

"It hasn't been the same since you left," Nikolai finally said after some time of staring at his father's grave. "I can't go for minutes without worrying that one of us is gonna get sick. What happens if all three of us fall ill at the same time? Who's gonna look after us?"

The young man flipped the watch in his hand absent-mindedly. "Lana's become a lot quieter. She's alone... but she's strong."

Nikolai scoffed, scratching his chin, from the sweat that was forming. He was running out of things to say, but he didn't want to leave. There was something soothing about being in the cemetery which he couldn't quite explain, though it did feel a little creepy knowing birds never actually nested in the area.

"A cure's been found," he said, now moving to scratch the back of his head. "I dunno if it's good news or not... It's five hundred Silphs. We've never been able to keep even a third of that kind of money."

A shriveled piece of leaf detached itself from a branch overhead and fluttered down. Nikolai managed to catch it before it touched Kane's tombstone. He crushed it up and held it in his fist.

"I'm sorry I haven't been visiting," Nikolai whispered. Taking a deep breath, he sighed. "We're doing all we can to find the source. But I know you wouldn't have wanted me to give up the search just to see you."

He didn't know if it was just him or if the particular evening was getting hotter. The lump in his throat was disturbing his speech, but he didn't know if saying the things he wanted to say in his head would get through to his father.

"I don't know what to do..." Nikolai muttered, feeling his hot eyes tear up. He wiped them away quickly. "But I know what has to happen." The young man held the golden pocket watch in front of Kane Freydon's grave. His knuckles whitened as he pressed his fingers onto its body.

"I will get that antidote," Nikolai said through gritted teeth. "I'll protect mother. I don't care if we're completely powerless. Even if I have to steal it... Whatever it takes," he whispered. A single tear trailed down his cheek, but he maintained composure -- just as how Lana would have done. "From son to father. From me to you."

Nikolai squeezed the watch even tighter. "Freydon's promise..."