Chapter 83 - The Girl Wants to Be M*rdered

〈 Chapter 83 〉 At a Crossroads of Choice * * * ** For a cherished child, send them on a journey. Underneath lies a path of sharp thorns waiting to devour, and behind are streams of molten iron rushing forth—a harsh road of travel. On the road, erect a tall signpost for the child to see. A colorful signpost that can lift the trembling legs of a child who tries to sit down forcefully, gently nudging the body that wishes to stand still. Thus, one by one. Even as the child's legs blister and hands form callouses, the day will come when they overcome hardships that everyone agreed would lead them to give up. On that day, as we secretly watched from behind, we would have the emotional moment of seeing a swan soaring into the wide sky. At that time. "I, too, shall embark on a journey." My life will come to its conclusion. ** ─Step. "Once long ago, there were two seeds that rode the wind and flew to me." Finally, there remained a bare seed, so fragile and broken it revealed its pale flesh. Alice carefully and patiently buried each seed she had chosen, completing the lengthy task with dedication. A gentle, infinitely affectionate, silent smile. The smile Alice directed towards us now turned towards the newly emerged earth mounds in the fields. Tap, tap. She caressed the small mounds of soil with her bare hands, smoothing them softly. Alice's tale began like a minstrel's song that commences an epic narrative. Or like a narration setting the stage for a long play that is about to unfold. With a small soliloquy, it began. "Because they knew how to care for others and empathize with their pain, I believed that those two seeds would bloom into the most beautiful and vibrant flowers." "......" "...Yes. More verdant than my favorite white mist flowers, and more radiant than the five-petaled cistus, those are the flowers I'm speaking of." Even if I tried harder to hold onto them. With my meager strength, just planting those two was overwhelming. Alice, as if recalling a distant past, surveyed the greenhouse with dreamy eyes, murmuring the story of yore with a voice imbued with inexplicable maturity and mystery. Turning gracefully, she extended her hand to the empty air. With a leap, she crossed the field as if hopping over a narrow stream across the furrows that showed no obstacles. Her actions resembled someone standing in the present, recalling memories one by one. "......" Or perhaps it was like the last desperate struggle of someone on the verge of disappearance. Regardless, she paid no heed to my gaze, which seemed to observe something vast and unmeasurable. And despite my silent cries begging her to stop and return to her former self. "But the two seeds, if left alone, were doomed either to be trampled underfoot or to fall into a dark ravine where no light reached." "....Uh, uh huh. Right. Haha." Alice’s puzzling actions showed no sign of stopping, she continued to move up and down, back and forth. Why. Why insist on planting seeds that seem decayed, unable to grow? Instead. Wouldn't it be better to plant the healthy seeds, clearly visible and robust, right beside them? Suppressing the instinctive aversion brewing within, I attempted to ask Alice as naturally as possible. If something was troubling her, to confide in this older sister. That I would resolve whatever it was, no matter how. '.......' '...Alice?' But what I received in return was neither affirmation nor denial, neither the reason nor intent behind her inscrutable actions. 'Sia, I have a question.' '...Uh, yes?' Her reply ran parallel to my words, as odd and unexpected as it was. No. Whether it could even be called a response, with no converging intersections to speak of. Of course, Alice's words would never properly reach someone like me caught unprepared, and her deeply hidden intentions eluded my confused mind as well. Ultimately, all I could do was nod or offer empty responses, pretending to be listening intently to Alice's story. What on earth was happening here? I wet my lips with my tongue, murmuring these pointless words repeatedly. "Hey, Sia." "....Yes?" "─Isn't it strange?" With a decisive step, she halted. For the first time, Alice, who had gazed at nothing, lifted her head and looked directly at me standing still. On a backdrop of turquoise, multicolored blooming flowers. Her eyes, vibrantly hued, seemed to contain flames so intensely bright, as if they were ablaze. A fire, hotter than anything else. "Why was it that what awaited the two seeds was not a kind and warm future, but a battlefield reeking of heat and bloodshed?" "....Alice, wait. Let's just calm down for a moment. I really don’t understand─" "─Why did it have to be that, sister?" I was on the brink of saying that I didn't understand the meaning of her words when she interrupted with a powerful voice, resonating strongly. Clenching, as though about to speak carefully, my lips closed tight as a clam. "─I decided to grow flowers." The rustling wind carried a cloud across the sky, casting a small shadow upon the earth below. The freely wandering shadow darkened the areas around Alice as it drifted over. Under the warm sunlight, I stood frozen in place. In that small, shadowed space, Alice stood alone. Between us, a solitary metallic structure cast a shadow like a boundary, clearly dividing the space between us. In the midst of light meeting darkness, Alice, with her fluttering sleeves, curled her lips into a loving smile for me. Just like she showed me every morning when I opened my eyes—bright and radiant. "........" But why is it that her seemingly unchanged demeanor now appears more intimidating than anything else? In the present moment, I could understand nothing. Step, step. With measured footsteps, Alice began to approach me. "I scattered fertilizer over the small grooves and sprinkled water over the parched soil, moistening it thoroughly." With each step she took, Alice's voice grew more impassioned. "I sang to them day and night so they wouldn't feel lonely, and I caressed their tender leaves—all for those seeds." With her second step, an undertone of tears entered Alice's voice. "And so those flowers thrived, bearing such beautiful petals that all the creatures of the world would look up in admiration." As she took her third, fourth steps in quick succession, her voice began to tremble uncontrollably with sobs. And then— ─Thud. The final step. "But, but you know." Alice stopped right in front of the long shadow cast by the metal frame, so close she could reach it if she extended her hand. Yet she halted there, not taking a step further. As if an invisible glass wall separated us. Or as if she was saying that this line was an unbreachable boundary for her. Watching her, I inexplicably felt that the distance between us had grown, as if the space was as wide as the line that separated us. Despite the mere inches between us. At that moment, Alice felt incredibly distant. "After wrapping everything up beautifully, I intended to send them back to the nature where they belonged." "........" "But then, you see, all of a sudden, multiple stems clung to my legs with a tight grip! Hahahaha!" "........" "Sia, isn't it strange? It's strange, strange, I tell you!" Letting out an exaggerated sound. Alice fluttered her sleeves like a ghost, pretending to startle me. But as I remained stiff and unresponsive, whatever amusement she found in my expression, Alice burst into laughter as if it would take her last breath. With her mouth open wider than ever in that laugh. Yet, her eyes reflected no laughter. In fact. "Haha, hahaha..." They seemed to be crying. Alice spoke. "They said not to let them go, not to send them away. They wanted to remain here, in the greenhouse." Even when there was nothing more that I could do for them. ...still. "They wished to live with me, hiding their illustrious petals in this small garden." Even when I said that nothing remained for them. ...unceasingly. Still, like that. "They begged, saying just that." "........" With each sentence, Alice's voice grew quieter and quieter. Yet, the tremors and instability intensified, signaling to me that Alice's lengthy speech was nearing its end. "What am I supposed to do?" Please, tell me, sister. "What should I tell them?" "........" In that moment. I realized that my moment of decision had arrived. Someone once said. If we gaze into an abyss long enough, the abyss will also gaze back into us. Thus, those who fight monsters should be careful not to become monsters themselves. If one lacks the strength to fight, they should avoid encountering monsters altogether. But. "Yes? Sia?" "........" But beneath the well's darkness where even light loses its brilliance. What stood in the place everyone claimed was filled with monsters was simply a single girl sitting with her legs neatly folded, staring directly at me. With the face of a child yearning for salvation, she reached out to me. Faced with her outstretched hand. "I─" I had to. I had to provide an answer. Even if it led to a cruel outcome. I had to return that answer. ** "I think you should let the flower go, even if it means doing so forcefully." ** "Shouldn't you just let the flower choose its own path?" ** A crucial choice. * * *