My hands must be dirty, since I was rolling around on the ground. Damian couldn’t help thinking about the grime on his hands while Ellie dragged him away. All of this still felt like a dream.

I’ve never seen her get mad before. But why was she angry? Was it because he was weak and bothersome after all? Or perhaps all of this was just another dream.

Then Ellie stopped abruptly, causing Damian to come to a halt as well. “Damian.” She turned to face him with a fearsome look in her eyes. She looked angry, but also like she was trying not to cry. “Why didn’t you do anything?”

He didn’t know what to say.

“Why didn’t you fight back?” she asked, her voice full of sorrow. She seemed about to burst into tears. Damian reached out to her but then stopped. He couldn’t touch her with his filthy hands.

“Do you...” He didn’t know if he should ask. He hesitated, but then he made up his mind to do it. “Do you feel sorry for me?” His words weren’t a good answer to Ellie’s question. He knew this, but he couldn’t help saying them. “Are you looking out for me out of pity?”

Now it was Ellie’s turn to be silent.

“If that’s the case, you don’t have to do that.” He looked down, swallowing down the sobs fighting to escape him. “I’m used to this, so it doesn’t bother me at all—”

“Damian.” She cut him short. “You thought I felt sorry for you?”

He bit his lip in response. Only the icy wind and drifting snow filled the silence between them. He closed his eyes tightly.

But then she said, “I’m sorry that I made you think that.”

He hadn’t expected her to say that at all. Not trusting his ears, he looked up at her in disbelief. She was looking at him, holding back her own tears. His eyes widened.

“I’m sorry that I called you weak. I should have apologized on the spot.” She paused. “I was wrong. I’m so sorry, Damian.”

The apology was simple, but it didn’t feel like an act. He could feel her sincerity.

For Ellie’s part, she genuinely didn’t think of him as weak. This boy had endured all those hardships and survived. Damian was stronger than anyone else she knew.

“I-I didn’t want an apology. I just...”

He couldn’t find the right words. It was strange. Those words weren’t fit for someone like him. He didn’t deserve them. But still... still... A tear fell from one of his eyes and ran down his pale cheek.

“Oh...” Damian touched his face, looking surprised. He didn’t want to cry, but he couldn’t help it. He tried to wipe his face, but once the tears started falling, he couldn’t suppress them any longer. Startled, he scrubbed at his cheeks, but a cool hand stopped him.

“It’ll hurt if you rub that hard.” Ellie was standing right in front of him now. She took his hands.

Once more, he felt it: that feeling, like being under a warm blanket after drinking a stomachful of hot water. It was so unfamiliar that huge tears started rolling down his face again. Following his eyes’ lead, his mouth disobeyed him and spoke of its own accord. “I-I thought you thought I was a bother.”

“Really? Why?”

“I...” All the sadness that he’d borne in his heart finally burst out, though he’d never once opened up to anyone else before.

“Damian, you need to stop crying. It’ll make your wounds hurt more.”

“Do you hate me?” Damian asked.

Ellie was taken aback by the question. His blue eyes were full of tears as he looked up at her. She could feel him grabbing her hand tightly, stronger than any child should be able to. She shook her head. “Why would I hate you? I don’t hate you.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I promise.”

“But why wouldn’t you look at me?”

“Huh?” Ellie blinked, puzzled by the strange question.

He sniffled. “You said my eyes were bad for your heart...”

“Ah, that’s...” That’s because your face is too pretty! But she couldn’t say that. Ugh. Now her face was starting to turn red as well. “That, that wasn’t because I hate you. It’s just, you know...” She struggled, searching for the words. Damian’s lip was beginning to tremble again. “I won’t look away from you! I promise!”

“Really?”

“Of course. See? Pinky swear.” She hooked her pinky around his and shook it. “So no more tears.”

Damian sniffled hard at Ellie’s words but couldn’t stop crying right away. “And, we’ll keep holding hands.”

“Okay, we’ll hold hands.”

“And... I want to eat next to you.”

“Okay, okay.”

She had to make a few more promises before he finally calmed down.

“Look at you, your pretty face is a mess!” Ellie scolded lightly, looking at his reddened eyes and his face full of cuts and bruises. “From now on, don’t let them beat you up. Fight back, okay?”

“Okay.”

“No one gets to treat you like that. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“And if something’s bothering you, ask me about it right away. Don’t keep it to yourself.”

“Okay...”

The last “okay” came a beat slower than the rest. She smiled helplessly at him and stroked his hair. He tamely yielded to her touch, even as he kept sniffling. “Let’s get back inside. We need to treat your cuts.”

He nodded and followed after her like a duckling, feeling warmth spread in his heart once again.

“There’s someone out there who’ll help you. I know it.”

“And that person is someone you can trust.”

“Then you’ll be happy.”

Ellie had been right. What he was feeling now was happiness. There was no other reason he’d feel so good even though his tears kept falling.

The wall in his heart fell to the ground, just like the falling snow.

* * *

“All done.” Damian’s body was full of cuts and bruises. I treated them all and gently swiped my thumb over his reddened eyes.

It was already late, and the kids were fast asleep, but Carsen and his gang hadn’t returned. Well, it’s not my problem.

“Let’s go to bed.” I was putting away the ointment when I felt a tugging at my sleeve. I turned and saw Damian holding the end of it. “What is it?”

“Can I sleep with you again?”

“With me?” I blinked.

He nodded, blushing. “I-I keep having nightmares and I’m scared...”

“But the bed’s too small for us both...”

Damian blinked his sad puppy-dog eyes up at me as I trailed off. “I can’t...?”

I just couldn’t say no to that face. It’s not like it’s a hard thing to do. I helplessly nodded yes, and his face lit up in a beaming smile.

I got into bed, and Damian quickly lay down next to me. There was no more loneliness in the eyes he turned onto me. Maybe I’d managed to ease the burden of his sadness, if only by a little bit. Not bad for an insignificant extra. I combed out his ruffled hair with my fingers as I thought about what I’d overheard earlier in the director’s office.

The director definitely mentioned Duke Schuetz. Once the duke heard the news, he’d be arriving as soon as possible. In other words, my time with Damian was already coming to an end. The thought of it made me a little sad. It had been only a few days, but it looked like I’d already gotten attached.

“Ellie, what are you thinking about?” Damian asked, lifting his head to peek at me.

“Nothing much, I just thought that being together like this feels like you’re my younger brother.”

I didn’t know why, but that comment made him clam up.