Sophia panicked for a moment at the sudden shouting and soon threw the dust tray in her hand. “Now the both of you are coming after me?” Sophia glared at them with pure hatred in her eyes as she picked up a knife she used to open mail envelopes from the table.
Freya struggled to get up from the floor when she saw the flashing blade, terrified that Sophia would stab Ruth. Only the thought of protecting Ruth in this desperate situation dominated her mind.
“I saved you, you beggar! How can you repay me like this?” She yelled as spit flew out her mouth.
“Auntie. Don’t be like that.” Freya pleaded as she blocked Ruth with her injured body. Tears ran down her cheeks and hit the carpet. With her back against the wall, Freya grabbed Ruth’s arm and pulled him towards her. “Ruth, apologize right now!”
She begged for forgiveness as she thought something awful was about to happen. But despite her begging, Ruth didn’t move an inch. Freya didn’t know what had gotten into him today. Her heart raced as the faces of those who had died by Sophia’s hands flashed through her mind.
Sophia’s eyes were fixated on Ruth as she was shocked by his unusual behavior. “Today, I’m going to show you what I’ve got!” Sophia shouted as she threw the sharp knife as hard as she could toward his chest.
“No!” There was no time to think straight, and Freya instinctively pushed him out of the way. Then something hot grazed her forehead, and blood immediately started to trickle down her face.
As soon as she grabbed her face, Sophia looked at her with shock. “So why are you picking a fight with me? Ungrateful brats.” Sophia panicked when she saw the blood and bolted out of the room without looking back.
“Freya, why did you do that?” Ruth wept as he hugged Freya’s body gently, and she sank to the floor. Freya was relieved to see that his face didn’t have a scratch on it, and she said in a purposely cheerful voice, “Don’t cry, Ruth. I am fine.” She wasn’t concerned about the scar that would remain from the gash made by the knife; it wouldn’t make much of a difference to her face. Despite her words, Ruth muttered something in an unknown language. With her eyes closed in pain, Freya listened to his prayerful voice.
Later on that evening after the assault, Ruth came to the large bedroom, which had no furniture, to check on Freya. The room, where dozens of children previously slept together, was empty and cold without any furniture. He set down a cloth, white candles, and warm water, then whispered, “Freya, all you have to do is show the doctor your cut.”
“I’m fine, Ruth. The knife barely grazed me. It’ll just leave a tiny scar.”
“Freya. Don’t do that next time. Promise me.”
But she knew that she’d do the same thing next time. However, she swallowed the words she wanted to say and instead mumbled, “I’ll feel better after I sleep.”
She was struggling to speak, and the wound on her forehead hurt. She didn’t want to tell Ruth that because she was afraid that he might cry, but she couldn’t help frowning from the pain. Ruth seeing her sad was something she wanted to avoid at all costs, so she tried her best to smile, albeit faked. Freya wanted to protect the first person she’d ever opened her heart to, and her only wish was for him to brighten up her dark world.
It didn’t take long for the wound to heal, but there was a big scar because Freya didn’t receive proper treatment. She didn’t mind because it didn’t hurt anymore.
Lately, there was one thing on Freya’s mind, and that was Ruth’s changed behavior. As she cleaned the make-up table with a rag in Sophia’s bedroom, she called his name several times, but he didn’t answer. “Ruth, is there some exciting bird outside or something else you may want to see ?”
“Did you call me?” Ruth asked, finally looking up at her with a smile on his face.
Although he was younger than her, Ruth seemed to have adult energy around him, making Freya’s face darken with suspicion. Most days, Ruth enjoyed looking at the birds outside the window. But these days, he spent a lot more time ignoring them.
“Ruth, do you want to go and play outside?” She asked. Seeing him looking down at the birds with no expression on his face made Freya feel nervous. She was afraid that Ruth would disappear as fast as the birds flew away from the old tree near the window.
Freya felt anxious that night, and she had no idea why, but eventually, she drifted off to sleep on the cold floor of the orphan’s bedroom. However, in the middle of the night, she was startled awake by someone.
“Freya. Hey, Freya.” With her eyes wide open from the fright she got, she realized it was Ruth shaking her.
“What is going on?” She asked, feeling dazed and confused.
“Something suddenly came up, so I have to go somewhere.”
Initially, Freya thought that she was dreaming, and she asked, “Go where? What do you need to do?”
Ruth reached out his hand and ran a finger over her scar, “Listen to me. I’ll come back for you soon.”
Ruth took off his necklace with the blue moon-shaped pendant and put it around Freya’s neck. His eyes were darker than usual, and he seemed to have gotten taller. But Freya was half asleep, so it didn’t sink in.
“Ruth, it’s dangerous outside,” she murmured.
“I know. So you have to stay here and tough it out.” That night would be her last memory of Ruth.
Days and weeks passed by slowly, but there was still no word from Ruth. It was as if he’d vanished into thin air. Sophia’s anger raged like a wildfire as her resentment grew, and she demanded that someone find him immediately. She also cursed Ruth as a freeloader who never returned her kindness.
Freya was heartbroken as she wondered whether he’d risen to the sky or if he’d gone underground? What happened to you, Ruth?
TN: There was a mistranslation: Luke is Ruth. We have made the correct changes. Sorry for the confusion!