Reunion and Goodbyes Pt2

The others still hadn’t returned so Demi and I had tea with the remaining sisters while we waited. They regaled us with stories of the mischievous children, and broke our hearts with tales of tragedy. They had suffered their own losses in the pandemic, hence the numerous plaques on the wall. When the pandemic hit, they lost all outside support for the orphanage. Thanks to the skills my father taught me, that I had passed on to them as a child, they fortunately never had to worry about starving. However, a few of the nuns who had went night fishing were consumed by the mist. When morning came, they killed the children who were playing in the yard. The nuns who were supervising the children eventually managed to stop them, but the damage was done. All the children who were out there at the time died, and of the nuns present, only one survived. Becky suffered a mental illness afterwards and locked herself in her chambers. To this day she still refuses to come out. The young nun had started working there about six months before I became of age. She was a sweet and innocent girl, not much older than me. I decided to visit her before we left, even if she didn’t allow me into the room.

Finally, Anne and the others returned, with two mangy looking hunters. Pfft, I almost spat out my tea. Sean and Lark were covered in mud from head to toe. Beside me, Demi’s eyes turned to saucers. The kids were joyfully laughing, while the grown men looked like they came back from a war. “The kids decided that the adults also needed to learn ‘Taya’s survival course for hungry children’. They dug out these mushrooms”, Anne showed us a handkerchief filled with truffles. “Then when we showed them the fish traps, Dilan asked if they could also catch fish with their swords...” Anne trailed off, slightly embarrassed.

Enough said. These childish men were goaded on by kids, and ended up spear fishing with swords. I turned to them and solemnly asked. “Did you catch anything?” Sean and Lark quickly presented their catch. They were a decent size, not bad.

“Sister Taya, the two misters killed a lot of smaller fish with their swords. They were all sliced up, and then bigger fish came to eat them! That’s when the misters quickly took down their hunt. It was amazing!” Dilan explained with shining eyes, reenacting the scene. I won’t trample on his innocence by telling him you can’t catch small fish with a sword. Demi side-eyed the two hunters who swiftly looked away. Anne led Lark and Sean to the showers. I left Demi to play with the kids while I made my way to Becky’s room. I knocked on the door.

“Becky? This is Taya, I came for a short visit.” There was moment of silence. Then I heard rustling and the door creaked open a smidge. Two hazel eyes widen, between the crack in the doorway.

“It’s really you. What-what are you doing here?”

“Like I said, I was in the area and stopped for a brief visit. I wanted to say a few words to Max.” This was something I regularly did, almost like a ritual, before I left. Everyone knew that even after death, Max was still my best friend, my brother. Understanding lit her eyes.

“Can I come in for a moment? We can talk out here if you really want to.” Hesitant, Becky eventually decided to let me in. I sat on a chair while she sat on the bed. “I saw the other plaques and...the sister’s told me what happened.” Becky trembled, lowering her gaze. “I look a lot different from before, don’t I?” Becky glanced up at me, confused by the change of subject. She scrutinized my attire.

“Yes. I heard you were a tomboy when you were young. The short hair suits you.”

“Thank you. I joined the hunter’s guild.” Becky looked shocked. I continued, “A few months back, I was part of a party that was tasked with killing a very powerful tainted. It took two separate tries to kill it. Afterwards, I got stuck in a storm. The fire blew out and the mist came in. I had a panic attack. I just couldn’t stop all my negative thoughts from consuming me. Fortunately, my partner pulled me out of it and controlled the situation. You did the right thing, Becky. We can’t always control our responses. That’s why we need people around us to keep us grounded. You can’t move forward by hiding.”

Tears streamed down Becky’s face. “It’s not just fear, Taya. With my own hands, I killed my fellow sisters and it was all for nothing! Everyone was dead except for me.” Becky cried bitterly.

“It wasn’t for nothing. If you hadn’t killed them, there would be more victims. Maybe not at the orphanage, but elsewhere. Then, someone like me would come along to kill them. Despite precautions, all it takes is one mistake; one wrong decision, one moment of distraction, will cost you your life. My previous partner died on the job. I’ve seen my current partner injured and someone in my party lost an eye. The sisters were contaminated; they would have died eventually. It’s just a matter of how many lives were lost or ruined in the process.”

Hic, hic. I gently comforted the weeping girl. When she calmed down, we headed down the stairs. Lark and Sean had cleaned up and it was time for us to go. Everyone was surprised to see Becky behind me. I said goodbye and then the teary eyed children swarmed around Becky. Anne quietly thanked me. We left them to their reunion, and returned to the mansion.