While Basil and Hamza were speaking with the chief of the Loran tribe, Travis and Kabila were walking along the shore.
The sea was calm under the sunlight, its blue waves gently shimmering as they embraced the soft sand, leaving faint footprints behind them on the beach.
Silence lingered between them for a few moments, until Travis broke it in a gentle tone, asking,
"I didn't see your parents in the tribe… where are they?"
Kabila paused for a moment. Her voice softened, and a glimmer of deep sorrow appeared in her eyes, as if the memories she had been trying to forget had suddenly returned.
After a moment of hesitation, she continued walking slowly before speaking in a quiet voice weighed down by memories:
"I lost my parents when I was five years old…"
She looked at the sea, recalling the last moments she had shared with them. Then she said,
"We were away from the tribe when a group from the Asuran tribe ambushed us. They tried to kidnap my mother, and my father stood up to them with all his strength, but he was alone and they were many. After a short fight, they killed him before our eyes."
She paused briefly, then continued in a faint voice,
"My mother tried to protect me and escape with me… but one of them shot an arrow that struck her in the back. Even so, she didn't stop. She kept running until she reached the tribe…"
Her voice remained steady despite the pain clinging to her words, and her eyes hid loss behind their still gaze. Then she continued,
"When we arrived, the bleeding was severe and her face was pale. Before she breathed her last, she held my hand and said to me, "Don't be afraid… be strong, my little girl." Then she passed away.
Travis continued walking beside her, his steps gradually slowing, deeply affected by the story that had weighed on her heart for years.
In a silent moment, he gently raised his hand and placed it softly on her head, then said in a low voice,
"Your parents were brave… they tried to protect you until the very last moment, and you have every right to be proud of them."
Kabila nodded sadly, her eyes still lost in the horizon, before saying,
"Yes… they were truly brave."
Meanwhile, Basil and Hamza were carrying firewood with the people of the tribe to build barricades in preparation for any expected attack. The sun had risen high in the sky, and its rays streamed through the dense trees, casting long shadows on the ground.
Basil wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, then looked at Hamza and asked curiously,
"Where is Travis? I haven't seen him since this morning."
Hamza lifted his head slightly toward the sea and said calmly,
"I asked one of the people, and they said they saw him with the girl Kabila, taking her on a tour around the island."
Basil cast a glance toward the sea, where the waves gently flowed onto the shore, then nodded silently and returned to carrying more firewood.
As for the shore, the two continued walking until they approached the rocks near the sea, where the waves crashed against them, sending cool spray into the air.
After a moment of silence, Kabila suddenly stopped, then put her hand in her pocket and took out something small. Then she said,
"I want you to take this with you."
It was a small seashell, blue with a silvery tint, reflecting the sunlight with a faint shimmer.
She looked at him with a shy smile and said,
"This will remind you of me, and of the island."
Travis looked at the seashell in her small hand, then gently took it from her, turning it between his fingers before saying with a smile,
"I will keep it always."
Then he carefully put it in his pocket and lifted his eyes toward the sea stretching out before them.
It was not just a seashell, but a symbol of a beautiful memory from this place, and of a bond he had not expected.
And with the gentle sound of the waves, he felt that there were things worth holding onto, even if everything around him changed