"I think..."

"Let me tell her, Master Ruzorh," Nukaya intervened in the babbling speech of her circus teacher, noting very well that he had no comfort in telling something so complicated to a young child, although he could be one sometimes. "Xarcondra..."

Nukaya reached for her friend's hands, looking at her with a worried face.

"People are suffering in the same streets and squares that we have presented ourselves with the circus," Nukaya chose words carefully because she knew that it was not easy to hear the raw truth. "Some verozeans are... bad... and hurt others for real, without pity and mercy. They leave them starving, dying in pain, forcing them to do things they don't want... and as much as your grandfather Rozen helped the city a lot, he can't take care of everything that happens around...

"But... I have seen many happy people..." sad to hear that, and a little confused from what she had already witnessed, Xarcondra was distressed. "How can they smile? Were they... sad too? Grandpa Rozen... is he... mean?"

Ruzorh immediately embraced his daughter cautiously, fearing that she was misunderstanding the subject.

"No... no, my daughter," Ruzorh closed his eyes on the link. "Dad is a very kind and charitable figure. As much as I don't like him judging me... as he always did... he is an idol to be followed by everything and everyone."

"So... why did you get mad at him... like that?" Xarcondra hugged his father back, hiding her melancholy face. "I just... don't understand..."

"These are complicated matters, my sweet little desert flower," Ruzorh, while welcoming her daughter's face, looked at Nukaya with some regret, and soon she returned the same face.

Nukaya knew that she should explain better how it all fit together.

"It is not your grandfather's fault, Xarcondra," placing a hand on her friend's back, Nukaya tried again. "There are evil people who take advantage of the goodwill of High Master Rozen... like they take of everyone else's. You know... as much as we try to do our best so that others can do their best too, that's not how it ends up happening. There are those bad guys who just want to receive and give nothing in return. They want to use... abuse... and then move on to the next toy. It's unpleasant, I know..."

"But why..." more and more scared to hear that, Xarcondra started to cry in distress, allowing her voice to break in her father's arms. "Why... would they do that?"

Feeling completely horrified that his daughter was so upset, Ruzorh reinforced the embrace in a tighter bond. Not only did he feel an enormous weakness in seeing his descendant like that, but he could also completely hate who he once was in the past: someone who did not notice how much he could hurt others with his own desires.

"Sorry... my daughter..." Ruzorh cried only with his eyes, feeling remorseful for what he had done. "I didn't know... I didn't know... I'm sorry..."

Xarcondra did not even understand very well what her father meant, but she imagined that it was that specific demystification of reality, which both Nukaya and Ruzorh told at the present. The two sought parental comfort in that beautiful family union, feeding the warmth of their bitter hearts in each other's graces.

Nukaya was looking at the scene with some emotion, but just as the situation could be distressing to someone else's eyes, for her it was something extremely beautiful and fortunate. She was touched by the struggle of a father and a daughter in wanting to overcome that adversity in a harmonic and affectionate way. A tear came down from her eyes, as it danced through her smile in the most silent testimony of a soul condemned to loneliness.

It was a huge pity that her destiny had denied such an enviable gift.

At that moment, Nukaya preferred to leave them alone, taking care for them not to notice, and she soon got up and directed her steps away from that place. She knew she could never have that, and no matter how hard she tried to belong, she could never admit that she fit into a world as beautiful and cozy as that of a hopeful family.

She knew the cold of the night, the darkness of the shadows, and the screams of those who were once her affections. She should feel nothing but the gratitude of having her malefactors eliminated by her true master.

To return to the streets of Verozys was to wear her mask of disgust - her veil of bitterness - but also a way of returning the vengeance that was once offered to her.

Hesitant on leaving, Nukaya was delighted with a glimpse over her shoulder as her smile finally disappeared.