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They walk for quite a while before they stop seeing any houses, and the last ones they’ve passed have been even more decrepit than the rest, some even had trees start to grow out of them, the forest quickly reclaiming the abandoned soil.

So far, they haven’t met another soul.

Clematia can’t be the only one that finds that to be odd, right?

“We're... close...”

"how closeee??"

"Only a few... miles away..."

. . .

She eventually bites the bullet, it is too intriguing.

"Is the town always quiet like this, if I may ask?" Clematia pipes up, slithering her way to the front of the group, to the side of the woman leading them.

Cyrus takes a breath of relief now that someone finally asked. He was itching to know as well, but was too tired to entertain a conversation.

"Ah the town... was once lovely....."

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The town was always full of laughter and chatter. Even if the sunlight could barely reach, we kept our houses and paths illuminated with torches and candles, and their warm glow painted our streets a joyous orange. The fishermen would come back in the afternoon, and they would put down their catches and distribute them among us, we were poor yes, but our union was rich…

But oh if only we knew how fragile love is against fear...

That day, I was out on a picnic with my husband in the flower fields beyond the ravine. When we were heading back through one of the bridges, we met up with some neighbors. Turns out, they were preparing for a festival, and they believed a change of environment would be just perfect for it, that we should hold it beyond the ravine while the flowers are still in full bloom.

…Maybe if we didn’t spend so long talking… maybe if we didn’t meet on the bridge... No… If only we didn’t go on that picnic at all.

We heard rumbling and the earth shook. Bubbles came up from the puddles in the ravine below, and cracks began to appear. We watched as the stagnant water quickly drained and half the bridges snapped as the cracks spread and tore through the mud and rock, stretching impossibly far along the ravine, until the ground fully opened its maw, and what was once an old and dried river suddenly turned into a gaping abyss right below us.

The bridge we were on also shook and we became unbalanced, so I turned to my husband to find comfort in his eyes, yet all I saw was the terror in them as he fell backwards from the edge... I ran to him, I reached out, I screamed out his name. But his hand was far from mine. The darkness swallowed him whole, and my heart stuttered as I waited for a thud that never came.. instead, what came from below were demonic screams that split the air…

I should have went with him... at least then, we would have been together forever, just as we promised...

Unfortunately, my husband wasn't the only family lost that day, many others were with us and many fell as well... It was heartbreaking and shocking enough to have some of us pass out.

But it wasn’t over. Before we even pulled ourselves together, another voice echoed from below, and it wasn't human. It thundered words I couldn't make out at the current state of my mind, my knees gave out and all I managed to process was to give it a sacrifice every other week, or it will eat us whole as punishment for waking it up...

I ran back home the moment my legs allowed me to, the others had already ran away when they were given the chance, and I locked the doors of my bedroom, wondering how I'm supposed to live from now on, and how I'll take care of another life soon aswell...

From then on, things only went downhill. The story spread like wildfire throughout the town, and people had already started discussing what to do for the sacrifice...

They started off nice and sweet, by throwing baskets of fruits, bread and meats in the hole despite their hunger. But of course, things were doomed to take a dark turn the moment fear was instilled in our hearts and became our main drive...

First were the supposed "criminals", then the “useless” elderly, and then the powerless children...

The union we once had was shattered in the blink of an eye, replaced by a suffocating tension, and so I quietly gave birth on my own... She was a blessing I never imagined would be bestowed upon me after the loss of my love... She has his eyes, and even if she's always been a quiet girl, her smile whispered a thousand sweet words to me.

Then came the day no one weak enough was left to sacrifice, and only those who could fight for their lives remained. We locked our doors, and slept with knives under our pillows…

Three months passed without a sacrifice.

..Nothing happ.. ened...

The silence was sharper than a blade.

And so, everyone hid away in shame, never spoke, rarely ever got out of their homes, until our town became worse than empty... I wish that monster demolished it instead...

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“..and that... is why it's... so empty... but.. the bridge is .. safe now..."

“…”

Clematia’s curiosity was sated, but she was left feeling unsteady. She falls silent for a while.

“How long ago did this all start?” Mito asks.

“I’ve… lost touch on.. time….” Has it been two years? Five years? Fifteen?? She can’t really tell, at some point, time froze and it stopped truly mattering.

‘It must have been four years ago.’ Mito thinks. He had been out of town when it happened. An earthquake that shook Imalnatir to its core, thankfully, the constructions were on a steep climb from the water line, so the resulting waves did not do too much damage, the small dock was rebuilt in the matter of days. When he came back home, Mrs Evanthe sent him to investigate, and the ravine had indeed opened up… Poor people, to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

“My condolences.” Cyrus says.

After hearing him, Clematia remembers her manners. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I’m also sorry for your loss.” Mito joins.

“golly it must’ve sucked!!” Konran hops up next to the lady and looks up at her.

The woman smiles back.

“Yes… but it is alright… I should… move on… so I can give my child… a better chance at life…”

“oh yyyyeah that’s the spirit!!” She fist bumps the air with her other hand on her bicep.

‘Konran-!’ Clematia really hopes the woman understands how she is by now, and doesn’t feel too offended by her attitude…

The woman… chuckles at Konran. She’s heard the same phrase over and over again back before everything went downhill, the same apologies, the same learnt sentences.. It’s not necessarily unappreciated, but perhaps her heart hardened to those words from how much she’s heard them.

“Thank you… dear…”

“I've gotchu~!”

Mito smiles at the sight, Konran is so direct and honest, it's heartwarming. It takes a tad of gloominess out of the atmosphere too, so he asks again.

“You said the bridge was safe now, what changed?”

“Well... when I cross it... I sometimes hear stones falling... but otherwise... it's silent... and almost peaceful... as if nothing happened at all..."

Mito's surprised any of the bridges are functional at all. But,

“You still cross the chasm..?”

After everything that happened? What could possibly impel her to do such a thing?

“I visit… my husband… every once in a while…”

Mito couldn't hold back a disapproving hum; no matter what state the bridge is in, it is still too risky, can’t she mourn her husband from the edges?… Oh. Maybe she really doesn't care for her life anymore. Is it okay to follow a possibly suicidal woman on a suspended bridge?

Clematia scowls at him. Why is he suddenly interrogating her? Can't he wait for a bit later? Has he no tact??

Cyrus on the other hand was listening intently, they’re all important questions, so this is the third time he's thankful Mito is socially… unaware.

Then Yohei's eyes fall upon the lady's weak frame, from what little he can see of her limbs and face, she is sickly skinny. Hmmm…

"By the way, you seem pretty light, have you seen anyone heavier cros—"

He barely finishes his sentence, and a hand comes down on his head, hitting mercilessly. His hat does very little to alleviate the wrathful blow.

?!

Clematia is staring at him with a scary intensity, her posture promising pain if he says any more.

Any protest dies in his throat when he looks back at her, and he keeps quiet... he knows it’s a little insensitive.. but these are important questions! Questions of public safety!! Seriously.....

Cyrus chuckles under his breath, this man is either brave or an idiot. Maybe both, but the latter is definitely involved.

Guessing what Yohei was getting at, the woman answers his unspoken question.

“I'm sure… it won't break... even If all of us… are... On it...”

The bridge is old but safe from what she's seen, as long as you're not being reckless of course.

The group falls silent once more, their footsteps all that can be heard in the stillness of the woods.

.

.

.

⋅⋅⊱༻To be continued༺⊰⋅⋅