A week passed, and between the adventure of a domestic life and the fear of Drake’s retaliation, she and I lived within that space, unconcerned with the world around us.

   Every night I comforted her, ignoring everything that had led her to such a miserable situation, embracing her with all my heart.

   Extracting information from other humans and manipulation was something simple, skills I had acquired over time, but... I wanted to do things differently this time. I cared about that girl, and I would never use something so vile on her.

   So, perhaps for the first time in my entire life, I decided to use the humanity I still had left.

   She was in my arms after several minutes of crying when, noticing that she had calmed down, I asked, “Fyie... what happened in your past?”

   She began trembling, while her sadness turned into fear as I hugged her tighter.

   “Calm down, I’m here... and I won’t leave unless you ask me to”, I assured her.

   Her breathing, once uneven, became deeper as she seemed to mentally prepare herself.

   “It was... when I was nine years old...", she began, while I felt my shirt becoming wet from her face buried against my chest, trying to hide. “It was on the night... that I saw a demon", Fyie said between sobs, falling into panic once again.

   My eyes widened, and I froze, trying to hide my surprise after her statement.

   “That was the best day of my life. It was my birthday, and my parents had planned a surprise party... that day, everything was going right... school, my teacher, my parents, the kitten... everything..". Fyie said amid muffled cries and endless sobs.

   “That dawn... I saw such a terrible figure... that I can’t even describe it... it was a demon... that thing... haaah..". Suddenly, she let out a muffled scream, as if she had returned to that place.

   “Fyie, stop, please don’t continue. You don’t need to force yourself, it’s okay...", I said, but she interrupted me.

   “No... I know I can trust you, so I’ll tell… what I remember".

   Over the next few minutes, she tried to calm herself, pausing between sentences and giving details about the situation. She explained the only thing the supposed demon had said:

   (See, open your eyes..), a phrase without meaning or context at the time.

   At some point she stopped crying and pulled away slightly to look into my eyes.

   “Since that night... I’ve been able to see the true face of people", she said in a dark tone.

   “What does that mean?” I asked.

   “I see souls, Ky", she answered.

   I froze at her unexpected response, but 'what exactly was that supposed to mean? Did she see the dead?', countless questions raced through my mind before she continued.

   “All human beings have souls, or at least, that’s what I believe they are. They appear as astral figures, with expressions and colors", she paused to breathe while I remained focused on every word leaving her lips.

   “Their colors determine their basic emotions, which I learned to identify over time. Red as rage, purple as sadness. When I can’t understand them through color alone, I look at their faces, which express exactly the emotion their owners truly wish to show in that moment, happiness, sadness, envy... disgust".

   I noticed that brief pause between breaths and stored the information away.

   “With those two things, I can identify exactly what a person is thinking... but... that demon forced this curse upon me, and ever since then..".

   I interrupted her.

   “You were unfairly treated... like a cursed child... who deserved the suffering she received".

   Her widened eyes and silence confirmed my words.

   “Listen, I’m not like the others who think that way... You are not cursed. You saw a demon, and now you can see human emotions. Doesn’t that make you more human than anyone else?”

   I smiled while holding her face in my hands, making her focus on my words.

   “They can be cruel, and you may be the only one capable of understanding them completely... but know that I’m here to share that burden and carry it with you, Fyie... You’re not alone anymore".

   One last tear fell from her face before she finally hugged me with tremendous strength. I couldn’t read her feelings, but I understood, somehow, that she was happy.

After some time in that position, we pulled away only to hear our stomachs growling in sync. We laughed awkwardly at each other, and I stood up to make breakfast.

   “So that means...", she began, her voice slowly fading away.

   I lowered my head in confusion.

   “That means you believe me?” she asked softly.

   Opening a smile from ear to ear and showing genuine happiness, I replied, “Of course... I believe you".

   At that moment, after that entire week in which we had grown closer and felt each other’s pain, the atmosphere finally became light.

   She smiled too, showing so many teeth I wouldn’t even be able to count them.

   We... were truly happy... for the first time in a very long time.

   Well, for the first time I also realized our food was gone. What should have lasted a month had disappeared within a single week. Seems like we overdid it a little.

   I let out a sigh while staring at the refrigerator, which apparently caught Fyie’s attention.

   “What’s wrong?” she asked with a small expression of concern.

   “Our food is gone. We need to go out and buy more... Are you okay with that?” I asked.

   For a moment, there was only silence, until, to my surprise, her stomach growled again.

   As her face turned as red as a tomato, she replied while adorably trying to muffle the sound with a pillow:

   “Y-Yes!” she answered, almost shouting.

   “Great. We can also buy some clothes for you while we’re at it", I said with a smile.

   She nodded, still embarrassed.