Why does life keep growing despite all those harsh conditions that are applied to it? Hunger, War, Death and Conquest have been used like scapegoats for humanity for far too long.
Because of those harsh conditions, three-quarters of it is self-inflicted.
At least until the arrival of the Spell.
The new oppressor, the new savior...the next scapegoat.
Your life is peaceful thanks to the Spell. Your life is destroyed because of the Spell. Two sides of the same coin. Something that people overall keep using again and again to flee the fact that they are lacking. That their situation is their doing only.
Those who have everything will always find a way to not be satisfied.
But on the other side...
-"Mom, Rain refuses to sleep..."
The laughter of an infant is echoing in this apartment as if they were the only thing that mattered in this world.
No knowledge of atrocities going on just outside the building. A man had been left for dead with a stab wound, another cadaver... Just another number. The sun was leaving this place, as if ashamed of what its light was revealing. And yet, no stars were shining in the sky, leaving just the moon as the sole actor of the night. An actor that people didn't want to watch—after all, they all had better things to do.
For example, Sunless was standing in front of his sister's bed, watching over her because someone had asked him to do so.
Watching over her was quite a simple task...
But he couldn't say the same for making sure she stayed calm.
She was supposed to be asleep by now, but it's not like she would simply fall into slumber if he tried to explain it to her. A baby's mind is maybe one of the weirdest puzzles that humankind can create. Too simple and too complex at the same time. And that laugh—that sweet, happy, and carefree laugh that was more than addicting.
It was something that no one truly wanted to extinguish, more by instinct than pure choice.
-"No need to worry, love. You tried your best, but she will simply not fall asleep without her lullaby... Please, can you bring her here?"
It was formulated like a demand because she knew that Sunless couldn't say no to her, to his mother. He was maybe about four and a half years old, but he knew the importance of certain things. No, he knew only about two things: family and kindness.
Because even in this harsh world, his mother, Luna, had tried her best to keep the innocence of her boy intact. What was she saying again? Oh yes... "The world is like a big child in pain. There is already so much hate; it might need the warmth of a hug," or something like this.
Violence was never an option, nor was it natural to Sunless.
Every life could be categorized as beautiful or pitiful.
But either way, they didn't deserve to be hurt.
From the spiders that crawl around to the cockroaches that invade their building. Sunless never tried once to hurt them, trapping them only to release those poor beings outside.
Where there is life, there is hope.
Rain was moving around in his arms, trying to grab his nose and his lips. He couldn't laugh, since it would only encourage her to continue, but a chuckle got a chance and passed through his efforts.
How could he resist her cooing?
Leaving the sole bedroom, they joined the woman that was waiting for them on the sofa. Normally it would already be turned into a bed at that time of day, but since someone refused to fall asleep...
-"My little prince, what would I do without you... Here, let me take her."
Her deep, dark, onyx-like eyes may threaten some, but to Sunny, they were the most beautiful thing he had the pleasure to set his gaze on. To him, they were like... a calm and beautiful sea in a starless night. Not that he could truly know what it would look like—after all, he never had the chance to leave the city. He only knew what the sea could look like thanks to—
Extending his arms, the baby was finally back in her mother's embrace.
-"My sweet cutie pie~ One story and into your bed you go."
Placing the toddler against her chest, Luna was already starting to rock Rain with one arm.
Tap Tap
Soft and gentle, Sunless was moving where her hand had gestured to invite him. Rain was there, and he started to grow up, but Luna at no time acted as if it changed anything. Her boy was never left behind because of some miscalculation or setback.
He was as much of a priority as Rain.
With her two children by her side, she started to hum softly.
Sunless knew what he had to do, taking the device as usual. He had to choose a story; he had already taken the pirate one a few days ago, so...
A lot of covers showed up as he was scrolling, passing by all those he had already watched a thousand times. He knew all of them word for word, even the hard ones like "epitaph." The repertory wasn't new. As a matter of fact, it was exactly the same as when he was Rain's age. This device was something his father had built up from some leftover pieces from his work.
That, with a little bit of "borrowing," and this chimera of technology was born.
It didn't even have a name.
No name...?
On that thought, his frown started to experience gravity. It was subtle, but at that instant, a hand appeared in his hair, playing with it.
-"Something on your mind?"
A murmur.
Made in a single breath as the humming resumed as if it never stopped. Rain became far less agitated, her eyes already showing signs of fatigue. It would be faster with the story, though. Sunless simply shook his head; he had forgotten his thought, so maybe it wasn't important. His attitude was beaming anew, selecting a random story.
It was not for him after all, and his sister wasn't the type to show any real favoritism toward her story's subject.
Fingers was ruffling his black raven hair, simply to style it again. Sunless really loves his hair, not as much as his eyes but close enough. He was told that he was a copy of his mother, even if others told him that he might grow to be a look-alike of his father.
It was not something rare to change while growing, but weirdly enough, he didn't want it.
Wouldn't it be a shame to look like the most beautiful woman you know, only to change afterward?
His father's strength with his mother's beauty—now, that would be something Sunless could accept. Light was shot from the nameless device as images were shown on the ceiling. A story with a triangle-shaped structure and a sea of sand around it.
Wait, isn't it new? Did his dad make an update?
-"My prince, your crown is in shambles. What should we do?"
A melodious and sweet voice rang as Luna snickered, amused by her own words. Sunless didn't even respond as she was braiding some of his strands behind his ears. He didn't know how she could do it with barely one hand and a baby on her other arm, but... wait, wasn't she a bit too loud just now?
Turning his eyes, Sunless was only met with a baby's face. Asleep and drooling like an open tap.
Rain was a heavy sleeper, so once asleep, she was completely out until her stomach woke her up. Yet, Luna didn't really move to put her in her bed. Now that he was close enough, Sunless was able to see some dark circles under her eyelids. Small, but still there.
He gave her a worried glance. One that could be easily translated with her magical power that all mothers have. She clearly saw it but chose to say nothing.
Luna didn't like lying.
So she tried her best to dodge every discussion that may force her to do so. It may be hypocritical of her to claim that she wants to raise her children correctly just to act like this without thinking of just accepting some truth. But she didn't care; the world wasn't white or Black, simply a long and ever-changing shade of gray.
All that she could do was to try her best to make their lives get the brightest shade possible. And so, the humming resumed once more.
The story was short; therefore, it was near its end. It was quite sad, though, since Sunless didn't get the chance to really watch it. His eyes were stuck on the detail that he couldn't just ignore.
His mother never tried to speak about her job, but for the last few weeks she seemed... a bit off.
Colliding with some corners, stepping on her own feet, and forgetting a few things from time to time.
Sunless didn't know what to do, so he simply followed his heart instead of his mind. His little arms moved as he tried to wrap them around her waist. He couldn't help her with her problem, but...
-"Love is the big and strong strength, so I will give all my love; you will be okay!"
She once said something like that; it's true. But seeing her son take her words like a sacred truth made her natural smile gain a deeper degree of pride. Sunless was kind, far more than she had hoped for before his birth. And with his cute face, how couldn't she be happy to have such a great fam-
Knock Knock
Time froze at that instant; normally, no one knocked at their door...or at least not at this hour. Without a word, Luna's mind turned from cozy to heartless and calculated. Her arms moved in both tenderness and impatience. Sunless was not as fast to catch on to the situation but still took his sister.
In a quick and swift movement, she left the sofa.
-"Please, go to your room."
There was some coldness in her voice, one that pushed Sunless to not ask any questions. Carrying his kin, the boy quickly moved toward the only other room of their apartment. He didn't try to pry into it, but he could swear that he saw his mother reaching for something under the furniture.
Putting Rain into her bed was simple; it only left him time to wonder and ponder. Fear was something he knew, not that he experienced it often, though. Which made it hard for him to really handle it. His mother had asked something—no, told him to do something. Which he did.
So if he tried to listen, just a little bit, she wouldn't be mad. Right?
The sound of their front door was recognizable because there was always-
Creek
... A gear that made that very noise.
Rain was asleep, and if he were to stay close to her...
That thought wasn't even complete when Sunless moved, leaving the room and hiding behind one of the few walls. He always had light steps and was good at hide-and-seek, so he was almost sure that his mom wouldn't notice him. Almost...
Holding his breath wasn't good.
No, he had to breathe so slowly and deeply that he wouldn't make any noise. And the little he made was already covered by the voice of his mother.
-"Cole? Roby? What brought you here? Weren't you in Eli's shift? Doesn't it end in three hours?"
His father's name.
Eli stands for Elios.
But the two guys. They were his father's colleagues, so they're named Cole and Roby? He wasn't sure if it was them since he knew them more by voice than by face and... Hey, speaking of voice, why aren't they answering her?
Standing hidden behind his wall, Sunny kept on waiting.
The silence lingered for a long instant, only to be broken by...
-"We're sorry, Luna. He..."
The rest of this night was actually hard to remember.
The sound of something falling to the ground—was it a knife? Sunny never had the chance to find out. Because he was only haunted by the silent cry of his mother, trying her best to not alarm him.
After that, his dad never came back...
They soon after had to move into a hive cell, sharing a sofa all three together. They had far less, but Luna kept her smile, even through exhaustion and pain.
Only for her to never come back too.