The Laughing Swordsman

Maya was panting heavily.

Though she had not walked far, she was already feeling exhausted.

There was a voice in the back of her mind that kept telling her to abandon Apollo, to save herself. There were even a few times where she almost caved in, trying to leave Apollo in the snow.

Yet, whenever she released Apollo, it would feel so cold. Once the warmth of his body disappeared, she no longer had the will to move on.

And so, she continued carrying Apollo, as tired and hungry as she was.

Mary raised her head.

She saw towering walls in the distance and many farms surrounding those walls.

The walls themselves gave pressure just by existing. Not only were they tall, but there were large carvings of animals that glared at anybody that remained outside.

The farms that surrounded the walls were countless and extended far beyond their reach. Perhaps the interior of the walls would cover a smaller area than all the farms.

Scattered among those farms were small houses.

Maya's heart jumped after seeing those farms. Her hunger made her take a few steps forward and instinctively, she wanted to call out for help.

But she stopped herself.

A memory flashed into her mind.

...

Maya was in her room, sitting on the bed. Her father was at the entrance and had one hand on the open door.

"Stay here, Maya. Do not leave your room until I say you can."

Maya nodded.

Her father proceeded to close the door. After he did so, Maya closed her eyes and covered her ears with her hands.

Still, she could make out the muffled voices.

"Thank you, sir. You said there would be food for us?"

The muffled voice of Maya's father rang out.

"Yes, yes just come over here."

There was the sound of shuffling footsteps. Suddenly, a thud resounded throughout the house.

"Agh! What are you doing to me?"

A muffled, but deadpan voice rang out.

"Not all of us can survive. You must die."

...

She couldn't trust them.

The farmers themselves were probably low on food. That meant if she tried to ask for any, she would definitely be killed.

...But she was so hungry.

Maya narrowed her eyes.

There was only one option left, to steal.

Maya had reluctantly set Apollo down next to a tree.

"I'll be back."

With that, she scampered off into the farms.

There were no trees around the farms, unlike the forest. As such, Maya was unable to hide.

The best that she could do was pretend she was one of the farmers by casually walking around.

She wanted to keep her back straight to look more believable, but her empty stomach made her hunch over just a little bit.

Her eyes gravitated towards the farms.

The soil was dry and cracked. Despite that, people seemed to be regularly shoveling the snow off the soil.

In fact, Maya could make out a few people in the distance that were doing that right now.

It was almost as if the barren soil was precious to these farmers in some way.

Seeing the soil in poor condition made Maya even less confident that the villagers would give her anything.

She made her way towards the closest house. As she got close, the door opened.

Maya darted to the side so that she wouldn't be seen.

Her back glued to the wall of the shabby house, on the other side of the door.

A man walked out with a shovel and proceeded to shovel the snow off of the farm.

Maya was already getting dizzy from the lack of food. She believed if she didn't seize this chance to steal from this home, she wouldn't get another one.

With resolute steps, she slipped inside the house.

The place was small, only containing a hallway and a few rooms. There was no clear trapdoor from the hallway, so Maya had no choice but to go into the rooms to find it.

She opened the room closest to her and scanned the inside.

It was very small.

There was a tiny wardrobe that had a few cracks in its legs but was still holding on strong. At the side of the room was a bed that just barely stood above the ground.

In that bed was a little girl, wrapped in thin bedsheets covered with holes. She was sleeping and tightly hugging a worn cloth teddy bear close to her chest.

The girl's cheeks sunk into her face and her arms were like twigs. It was clear she hadn't eaten much.

Maya knew that there wouldn't be any food stored in this room. Yet, she remained there, watching the tiny girl.

Her heart throbbed.

She was planning on stealing from this child.

Maya let out a shallow breath and closed the door.

The world was a cruel place and only those that could match that cruelty could survive.

Maya gritted her teeth and kept searching.

Her whole body was quivering from hunger. It seemed like she would pass out soon.

She opened a nearby door and peeked inside.

It was similar to the last room. A woman was sleeping inside and the bed was a little bigger. On top of the wardrobe was a piece of parchment that was propped up by a wooden frame.

On that parchment was a faded ink drawing of a mother, a father, and their child. The people in the picture had big smiles and the parents were holding up the child. It was poorly drawn, like a children's drawing, but it was left on the wardrobe like it was priceless.

The picture reminded Maya of her mother and father.

How the both of them lifted her into the sky.

She felt like she was on top of the world.

But they were gone now.

Why was the reason she kept living?

To steal the happiness from others?

Maya choked loudly.

At that moment, the woman's eyes fluttered open.

Maya panicked. She bolted down the hallway to get out of the house.. Yet, after a few steps her hunger made her directly pass out.