Chapter 128
“Don’t cry. You shouldn’t cry right now.”
“But… it’s because you keep scaring me, oppa!”
“I’m just saying it in case something happens. Just in case. I’ll stay by your side as long as you’re breathing.”
Still, Raphaella’s pale, frightened face didn’t relax.
Tap, tap, tap—
The only sound filling the cabin for about an hour was the crackling of the fire in the stove. Raphaella started to doze under the blanket, though she tried her best to keep her eyes open, and her small hands never let go of the hem of Gili’s clothes, sitting beneath the bed.
Gili let out a sigh of relief as he checked that her body was still in good condition after all this time. Only then did he smile at Raphaella.
“See? Oppa is always by your side.”
The two of them hurriedly shared the sandwiches. Once Gili confirmed that all the food and medicine left by the unfamiliar couple were still intact, he felt uneasy about the man who had stormed off in anger—and the woman’s regretful voice.
After giving Raphaella her medicine, Gili read her a storybook until she fell asleep. It was the same book he had held her in his arms with when she was rescued from the buried soil.
“…And so the great Lord Taratius created this world. And He made the primordial gods to help humans…”
The storybook contained the myths of the beginning of the world. It praised how the gods cared for humans and helped them. Raphaella’s eyes sparkled with fascination, but Gili felt nothing.
‘If gods existed, they wouldn’t have just left simple people who lived off wild herbs to die in a landslide. My father wouldn’t have been killed so unfairly either.’
That’s why Gili didn’t believe in gods.
Rubbed with sleepiness, Raphaella asked with her eyes half-closed:
“Oppa, if you became a god, what kind of god would you want to be?”
“Well… I’ve never thought about it.”
“I have! So ask me. I want to tell you.”
Raphaella’s bold and quirky remark made Gili chuckle as he asked:
“So, Ella, what kind of god would you want to be?”
“Hmm… I’ve thought about it over a hundred times while reading this book. But all the good positions were already taken by the primordial gods. How unfair!”
“Haha. You wanted the seats of the primordial gods?”
“Hmm… no. Actually, they’re great and impressive gods, but they seem way too strict. I just want to eat my fill and travel freely!”
“Come on. There’s no such thing as a god who just plays all day.”
“No, oppa. Listen. The Lord made the god of light first, then immediately made the god of darkness and put him on the throne of the demon king.”
“What’s that?”
“See! He made light and darkness at the same time. Don’t you get it?”
Gili scratched his dry cheek with his fingers. Sometimes Raphaella’s imagination was surprisingly enormous.
With eyes now wide and sparkling with sleepiness gone, Raphaella pointed at the illustrations in the book and continued:
“It means the Lord wanted balance.”
The picture she pointed at was an ambiguous gray whirl of the earth’s darkness and the sky’s light, tangled together or separated—it was hard to tell.
“See, the primordial gods only took diligence, kindness, wisdom, and beauty. So I want to be the god of laziness! The god of gluttony! To balance things, the Lord would have to give me a spot too, right?”
“What? Hahaha!”
Gili burst out laughing at her serious frown, and Raphaella lightly slapped his back. The sound made a noise, but it didn’t hurt at all.
“Don’t laugh! I’m serious!”
“How can I not laugh when you say you want to be the glutton god?”
Gili continued laughing, even wiping her tears, while Raphaella pouted sharply. But he just stroked her head affectionately, smiling at her stubborn little face.
That peaceful night deepened, and without realizing it, both of them fell asleep.
The next morning.
Perhaps because they had eaten well and slept soundly, they woke up feeling refreshed. Gili, out of habit, touched Raphaella’s forehead and was surprised.
“Your fever… it’s gone.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“No wonder! Normally my throat would be dry and sore in the morning, but today it’s fine.”
“The medicine must’ve worked. That’s a relief.”
“Can I go catch sparrows with oppa later?”
“Of course not.”
“Ehh! Why!”
“Don’t you remember how long you were sick? Almost a month. Your father said you need as much rest as you were sick to fully recover.”
“But… I’m not sick at all today!”
“When the new year passes, you’ll be ten, so you need to be more responsible.”
“It’s hard for oppa to work alone. I can at least gather some wood for you…”
“Nope. Still not allowed.”
Raphaella pouted with all her strength, but Gili remained firm.
The bloodstains she had shown yesterday were mixed into the worn and tattered blanket, making them hard to see. Gili hoped that just as the bloodstains were disappearing, Raphaella’s illness would vanish too.
“I’ll be back soon. Keep the door locked, okay?”
“But oppa… what if those people come back again? I’m scared to be alone.”
Gili knew that too. That’s why he didn’t want to leave the cabin today. They didn’t need to hunt thanks to the food left yesterday, but they still needed firewood.
He had to bring wood while the fire still had embers. Snow-covered branches had to be leaned against the stove to dry before they could be used as firewood. So it had to be done in the morning to allow time for drying.
“I’ll be back as fast as I can. Since they left late last night, it’ll be hard for them to come so early in the morning.”
“…Okay. But you have to come back in an hour, right?”
“Yes. I will.”
They had already collected all the nearby usable firewood, so an hour wasn’t enough. To get wood from a valley with less snow would take at least three hours.
But Gili linked his pinky with Raphaella’s. It would be rough, but if he took the shortcut, he might make it. The path was dangerous when snow piled up, which his father had strictly forbidden, but his promise to frightened Raphaella was more important.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay. I’ll wait.”
With a bundle on his back, Gili ran through the deep snow.
Fifteen years old, still young. Raphaella watched him until his thin back disappeared from sight.
She didn’t understand why her chest ached so much.
Knock, knock, knock—
Raphaella, who had dozed off hugging her knees, was startled awake by the knock. She had no idea how long she had slept.
“Oppa?”
Thinking it was Gili back, she happily tried to open the door. She stood on her tiptoes and reached for the latch, but instinctively hesitated, sensing something was off.
“Who… are you?”
Outside, the middle-aged woman they had heard last night, Linda, spoke kindly.
“Oh my. Bill, you sound like a very young child. Hello there, little one.”
“I’m not little or a child! I’ll be ten soon. Oppa said that makes me a young lady.”
“Hoho, my apologies, cute young lady. Did you like the sandwiches I made yesterday?”
“Yes. They were delicious. Very, very delicious.”
“I’m glad. I’m happy you ate well. I hope you enjoy the cream stew I brought today too.”
“…Cream stew?”
Raphaella’s eyes wavered.
In the mountain village, milk was hard to come by, and even from the few cows, only a little could be obtained. Her parents had made just enough cream stew for Raphaella on her birthday as a gift.
But now, her parents were gone, along with that warm home and village.
“Sniff… sob…”
Finally, she burst into tears. No matter how clever she was, she was still a child. A nine-year-old who had lost everything in one night and had been trapped in the soil for days carried immense fear and trauma.
“Oh dear, is the child crying?”
“Sniff…”
“Oh my… you must have been in so much pain. Let auntie hold you. Can you open the door for me for a moment?”
“No, sniff… I can’t. Oppa said… sniff… I must never open it.”
Even crying, Raphaella refused. But Linda kept speaking gently.
“I heard roughly what happened. There was a landslide, right? You must have been so scared. Ah… how heartbreaking.”
“Sniff…”
“I also had a child your age. They went to heaven not long ago. Why did the Lord take a child so soon… sob.”
This time, Linda began to cry as well.
