"Seriously, I think you are fueling the fight," Sophie said to Eldric.

"Umm… Noh." Eldric replied. "I just wanted to say that we don't have a choice to make." Moreover, we kept them for almost a month, and we are known to run out of resources. I'm sure Mr. Frank doesn't want to abandon them. He promised them shelter and free food."

"Is that you, Eldric?!" Sophie narrowed her eyebrows. "Are you the person who spoke against Mr. Hass?"

"I was…" Eldric was not sure how to tackle Sophie.

Sophie gave a very confused smile. Dieter left the scene, and Sascha had her eye on him. He was busy fixing his uniform. Sascha didn't wait for a moment either. Eldric was left alone.

He toddled down the Yungdorf Forest, alongside groups of hanging birches, standing tall enough to hide the sunshine. The image of that red-haired girl as a ghost behind the trees, probably playing hide and seek with him, However, her eyes were bothering him. Those neat, innocent eyeballs had a distinctive red lining around them. She even had her comb on her plums. Her stare constantly disturbed Eldric with the ridiculous thought of what if she could have a better place to live. What if she had a father with her who might help her with her long, stubborn hair? Wasn't Sophie right? or would it be better for him to become selfish?

After a few beats, the vision of that little girl faded away. He stopped for a while, looking at her, then disappeared until she was blurred. Even he was disappearing too. The green forest soon turned black for him. He could hardly stand on his own two feet. He lay near the tree immediately.

                              *****

The moment he was able to open his eyes, he could feel his pulse rate bouncing. He hardly recalled the wild run he might have had just a second before. He had a white paper roll tied with red ribbons. He was more bewildered to know where he was on the ground. He was in another city, and the sun had left its final mark on the land.

"Dut, dut," two bullets just landed right in front of Eldric's foot. His adrenaline rushed out of fright. He started panicking after a pair of horse boots eavesdropped on him. He scurried off instantly. He didn't mean to run when he didn't know what he was doing. Where the hell had the paper come from?

"Lass ihn nicht entkommen!" Soldiers yelled at him. However, he was sure soldiers couldn't see him behind the woods. Bullets soon shot wild and crazy at him.

"Jesus!" Eldric screamed. "What the hell am I supposed to do?" Another bullet banged near his neck when a black, oily-haired young man pushed him into a burrow. Eldric couldn't slow down his speed, which caused him a huge injury. He could barely stand up, panting on the ground. Eldric looked at the squinting black eyes, set dreadfully within their sockets, peeping upwards, and waited for the sounds to disappear. Eldric hadn't a choice but to wait alone, lay still with the unbearable pain in his back, and wait for the death tolls to leave the scene.

"WHO ARE YOU?" Eldric questioned him furiously after everything stayed calm.

"So…" The stranger opened up. "You are young Eldric, then, right? I want you to take a deep breath and somehow, I don't know, just somehow try to keep your heartbeat low."

"WHO ARE YOU?" Eldric repeated his words again. "Why am I running, and why is this paper with me?"

"You will soon find it." The man replied steadily. "But for now, it is safe if you give it to me."

"Noh! I am not giving this to you." Eldric grunted. "The soldier will have this."

The man ambled towards Eldric and sat at his feet.

"Look… I know you are confused, but this will not be a good idea if you hand these papers to them. They will not spare you and even accuse you of the trait." He whispered to Eldric. "Just go to them and tell them you’re a student at that school if they ask you. I hope they haven't seen you running."

Eldric handed the paper over without thinking twice. He was seriously panting from the bullets he had taken.

"Don't worry, you will be all right." The man tried to aplomb him. "And you don't have to know my name." After that, he quickly fled in a matter of seconds.

Eldric couldn't believe what had just happened to him. He went straight home. None of the soldiers stopped him in his tracks. Probably because of the uniform he was wearing. However, Eugene did stop him after he arrived way too late at home. He excused himself by saying that he went to see his aunt in the café and went straight to his bed. He placed himself squarely on the bed so that he wouldn't get more back pain.

After some moments, he got to his desk and took a pen to note down what he might have seen on the paper. The Enchanted April book stared at him as he went blank on his notebook. He never read the book, but he turned the pages to recall his mother's blurry memory. He did the same act and was bewildered by what he saw next. Very messy handwriting of his version, written vividly on the first page,

"Just a little bit, Eldric. I have found a way to come in front of you!"