“Nayla, Nayla! Wake up, quick!”

The girl, shaking and startled by the screams, awoke, and found her brother watching her, his eyes wide and frightened. Seeing that she was looking at him, without saying anything else, he took her out of bed, put her jacket on her sleeping clothes and lowered her to the ground floor of the inn. The girl, shy, pressed Mr. Bear, with whom she had been sleeping, against her chest.

The atmosphere was tense and different people could be seen moving around. The air no longer gave off that sweet smell of the previous day's dinner but smelled of smoke. Noises came from the street, sliding, screaming and the creepy sound of guns hitting wood, metal and flesh.

As soon as the mother saw the little girl, she ran to look for her and wrapped her arms around her in a long hug. She was trembling. The girl did not understand what was going on, she was scared and stuck, she did not know how to act. Ordinary people, the smell of smoke, his mother's worry, his brother's anxiety… A feeling of anguish began to rise in her chest, moistening her eyes.

A little further on, the father was talking very seriously with the hotel owner. Whatever was going on, it must have been serious. Nayla did not remember ever seeing her father with that expression. He turned his head for a moment to where they were and motioned for his son to approach him. Nayla was a little disappointed to see that he did not take a look at her. He said something to the boy and he nodded. He then headed for the kitchen.

When the two men had finished reasoning, the father approached Nayla. The mother stepped aside so he could talk to her. He squatted remarkably close to her and spoke very seriously.

“Now you have to do everything we tell you, okay?”, despite being a question, due to the severity of the tone of his voice, he made it clear that there was no alternative. “If you do so, nothing bad will happen, okay?”

The little girl nodded and instinctively grabbed her mother, who protected her again with her arms. The father kissed each other on the forehead, trying to reassure them, but despite the appearance of security he was trying to prove, Nayla could feel his fear.

After a few seconds, the brother returned from the kitchen with a few butcher knives, a handful and a half long each, with a wooden handle. Two were left and the rest were given to the owner of the place.

"Thank you, son," his father said, as he passed the knives. “Let’s get moving before it’s too late.”

They said goodbye to the owner with a handshake and followed the father to the door, where, before leaving, he dedicated a few words to his son and his wife, as he did not expect Nayla to understand what was happening.

“From what I've been told, it looks like a group of people are attacking the village”, paused to let them internalize the message. “They do not know who they are… or they did not want to tell me, but they are killing everyone; men, women and children, offer or not resistance”, the mother lost the color of her face, and the brother clenched his fists. Nayla, frightened, tried to understand what was happening, but the noises and screams that came, muffled, from the street, distracted her. “We cannot afford to stay; we have to do everything we can to get out from here. We cannot waste time”, paused for a second and looked at the blades of the knives he was holding.
     » “We will have to run a lot, so someone will have to carry Nayla”, he looked up to look at his son. He nodded, separated the girl from her mother, and took her in his arms. She let herself go, confused and frightened. He looked at the knives again and then at his wife. “I would rather not have to use them, but there might be no other chance. Take.”, he handed her one of the knives, holding it by the blade. “I know that if the case arises, you will know how to be smart”, she took the weapon with trembling hands, nodding her head and swallowing saliva to try to undo the awkward knot that had been made in her throat. “Pay attention to me at all times and do not separate from me.”

The tension in the air made it difficult to breathe. The apparent courage of the father and the fact that there was someone to think for them gave enough value to the other members of the family to be able to act. Still, Nayla was very scared, clinging tightly to Mr. Bear and her brother's neck. Part of the outside was visible through the window. The storm was no longer as strong as the day before, but the water pounded hard against the glass, which vibrated with the wind. It looked like the sun must be rising as the sky was going from black to gray at times.

The father swallowed and opened the door. At that moment, a carriage raced past them. Several arrows were nailed to the wood and one of the two horses, whose face was disfigured, and it snarled in panic. There were several people on top of the cart, one of whom tried in vain to control the animals. Finally, one of the wheels of the carriage slipped into the river that ran in front of the inn and dragged the rest of the vehicle, animals and people into the river that was ruthlessly swallowed.

For a second the father was paralyzed. One thing was to know that death was turning round the corner, and another different was seeing it.

He looked at his family, as if he wanted to remember why he needed courage. Crossing his gaze with his wife he stopped hesitating and nodded. Both the woman and the son did the same, and, following the father's leadership, ran out of the inn.