The once bustling town, Gairo, sat in eerie silence as Eldwyn approached. The trees in the distance rustled. The birds—yellow beaks, transparent bodies—had their chirps carried by the wind. His boots clicked against the paved ground as he pressed on through the silence.
"Is anybody here?!" he called out, his voice resolute with a solemn look on his face. The fatigue of the journey from his homeland finally caught up to him.
"I need to find water," he muttered as he scanned the town. While he wandered through the empty streets, searching for water, he thought to himself: This doesn't feel right.
From the moment he arrived, he was yet to see a habitant. All he saw were the green petaled flowers, planted at the entrance of a garden he passed by—which he admired. Finally he found a well in the middle of the town. He pulled out his bottle from his patch and bent over to fetch some.
The reflection of his face—striking blue eyes, dark skin, and curly blonde hair—reminded him of the reason why he came here; to find a cure for his sister. Just as he was about to drink, a sudden gust of wind lashed past him. His body stiffened as he wrinkled his nose. He felt nauseous over the stench the wind carried—that of a rotten corpse. Out of curiosity he walked towards the direction where the wind blew from.
The scent led him to a worn out pub. It's interior covered in webs and layers of dust. As he walked through the door he heard the faint voice of a child.
"Is anyone there?"
But there was no response. With caution, he climbed up the stairs.
Eldwyn broke down at the sight of a little girl—mild green eyes and dark hair—in her tattered white cloth tending to the corpse of a woman who could only be her mother.
"H-Hey what are you doing there little lady..." he asked, gently.
The little girl looked up. Her eyes held nothing, no spark, no life—just quiet ruin.
"Oh hey there. Mummy there's a... erhm, slender looking man here, do you know him?" she inquired from the lifeless figure.
After a brief pause the little girl turned to Eldwyn with a warm smile.
"Mommy says she doesn't know you. But don't worry about that, okay?"
"It's fine... I'm new here anyway." Eldwyn gulped. "So, what's your name then?"
"My name is Delza."
"Wow, such a nice name" Eldwyn cheered as Delza smiled back. "I'm Eldwyn. So what happened here? Since I arrived, you're the first person I've met."
Delza turned to face Eldwyn as she said
"A month ago, some people dressed in black cloaks begun taking whoever they wanted with them. I don't know why though. All that matters to me is mummy. They didn't care about me, why should I? Pfft."
"I see and what happened to your mummy?" Eldwyn asked.
"Right now she's sick so I'm looking after her, when she becomes energetic again we can do all sorts of fun things again. When those people came here, one of them tried to rip mummy's necklace off but she resisted. It's from her mother, she cherishes it alot. Mummy slipped and bumped her head. All she needs is some rest and she'll be right back on her feet. Mhm~"
"That's too bad. I wish I could've met her."
"Mummy did you hear that? He says he wants to meet you so you need to get better soon, okay?"
Eldwyn felt nothing but pity for Delza. He didn't mean to... but how could one not feel sad before such a sight?
He contemplated about whether to tell her the truth or not. Looking through the window, the endless emptiness of the town laid bare. When suddenly, he caught a glance of a shadowy figure in the distance. Narrowing his gaze, it turned out to be a young man waving his at him.
"I'll be right back" he said to Delza before leaving to meet the stranger.
The stranger stood seven foot tall. His skin, oddly red with faint patterns across his body, made him distinctively noticeable.
"Hey there..." the young man called out "are you a resident or you're new here" he asked.
"I'm new here" Eldwyn replied.
"Thought so. I take it you didn't know what happened before you came here right?"
" Yes, that's precisely it. But the little girl I spoke to, Delza, said some people came here and started taking people away."
"Well that's true." The man nodded "The moment you entered this town, I saw you, but I didn't call out because I thought you might be in cahoots with those people, but after I saw you speaking to the little girl... I figured you weren't."
"No I'm not." Eldwyn clarified as they both shook their hands and laughed.
"But what's wrong with her though, doesn't she realize her mother is dead?"
After Eldwyn asked the young man that question, he explained that she tries to escape the reality of her mother's death so she deludes herself with the fact that she's only ill and has to rest. He added that the reason why they also allow it is because there is the possibility that they can't take care of her and as such if they were to cure her of her delusion it'll only make things worse and that she would just be lonelier than she is now.
After the young man with dark skin and brown eyes explained things to Eldwyn, he told him his name—Sulivan—and showed him the route to where most of those who were residents now lived.
After their conversation, Eldwyn walked back to Delza with a glimpse of determination in his eyes. The moment he walked into the room where Delza was located he clenched his fists. *She needs to know.*
"Hey Delza..."