Since Zoro had left for war, rain had fallen without ceasing, and now snow began to blanket the world. Civilization advanced slowly, but the scars of conflict lingered.
Mara prepared the last portion of food for her children, her hands red and raw from the cold. She wore a smile, but her eyes were like a wilted rose, patiently waiting for rain.
"Mommy! Mommy, tell us more about the story of the legendary warrior Zoro!" Amai's voice rang over dinner.
"I'll tell you after you finish your meal, dear," Mara replied gently.
Her gaze fell on Tom, who had stood and moved toward the door.
"Tom, why aren't you eating?" she asked.
He paused, fists clenched, eyes bright with unshed tears. "Mom, you always say you're too busy knitting to eat, leaving food in the pot. But if that were true, you wouldn't be so thin… not even a fly crawls on those pots. There's nothing left for yourself. Let me keep my promise to big brother… and protect all of you."
Mara reached out, but he ran past her. "Mommy, why is big brother crying?" Amai asked.
"He… misses the legendary warrior," Mara forced a smile, hiding the grief that had chained her for so long.
She had not set foot outside since Zoro left, fear keeping her confined, every corner of the home a cage. Yet she had made a snow-white dress for Amai, viewing her daughter as an angel untouched by the impurities of the world.
Later, Mara sat in the kitchen, drinking cold water. A rattle came from outside. Her heart tightened.
With trembling hands, she opened the door, bracing her pale body against the force of the blizzard. Fear clawed at her chest, but love pushed her forward.
Tom confronted a man ready to stab his heart. Mara moved faster than her fear, grabbing the knife as tears froze on her cheeks.
"No, my son… don't go down that path!" she shouted.
Tom dropped the weapon the man fled. Mara's courage, born of fear and love, had saved his son from going down the same path as Pippo and Zoro.
A letter fluttered to her feet:
Dear Mara,
Your husband Zoro fell by the sword in the war, along with your son. Before that, he left a humble request: I am to free you and give you a place to call home. Please use the map to meet me at the marked location, so we may discuss how his will shall be carried out.
Yours lovingly,
Jack
Mara cried out, wailing into the blizzard. Tears froze on her cheeks as wind tore through her. Tom stood close, face bent.
She kissed Amai goodbye, lips cold and dry but full of resolve. They woke her daughter up.
"Mommy, where are you going?"
"Mommy will be away for a while. Can you be a good girl and keep the rats out of the house?"
Amai nodded sleepily. Tom leaned on the doorframe. "I'll protect her… I'll protect our home."
"Thank you, my son. Thank you for being so strong. I promise things will be okay… just a little longer," Mara whispered.
She could not turn her back on her home. Jack laughed at Zoro's grave, drinking sake, while Kael watched, unmoving. Jack felt a chill, though it wasn't from the cold.
She arrived at a huge mansion. The streets were busy, alive with careless laughter and footsteps. Jack wore a tailored suit, looking every bit the predator in paradise.
"Oh, dear Mara, how pale you've gotten. I hoped to fetch you myself, but alas… life had other plans," he said smoothly.
"Cut to the chaise," she trembled. "What do you want from me? In return, give my children freedom."
Jack smiled faintly, extending a hand as if it were a courtesy rather than a threat. Mara's legs shook beneath her. He guided her gently inside the mansion. "What I want," he said, "is for my fellow comrade's wife to be in good shape."
Maids moved like wind. Mara was bathed, clothed in fresh linens, and escorted to the dining table, where her eyes fell upon food she had only dreamt of seeing.
She hesitated, guilt pressing on her chest. How could she eat while her children starved? For a fleeting moment, she considered slipping morsels into her garments.
Then she remembered Tom's words. She ate. "Thank you very much," she murmured with her mouth full.
"Wouldn't you be delighted to live here, in this paradise?" Jack asked, sipping wine.
She paused. "This is nowhere close to paradise. It lives within us, not in worldly delight. But thank you for the offer… I would like my children to experience such a life, to grow firm enough to make their own choices."
Jack's smile faltered, just a fraction. "I see. Well… too bad."
Dizziness swept over her. Her vision blurred. Her face fell forward onto a cream pie.
When she woke, she was changed — in a dark, cold cell. A single finger raised her head. "Hello, beautiful."
She spat at him. "Not nice."
"You see," Jack said, lighting a cigarette, "I would have been delighted to… create more babies with you. But the nation hungers. They demand punishment for the flaws of their men."
He leaned closer. "In simpler terms: Zoro wanted his people free. That's done — publicly executed as enemies of the royal household. Civilization is advancing fast, so even you, his wife, cannot be spared. I never wanted to agree to set you free either… yet, your children may live, only because I intervened."
She tried to speak, but his hand pressed over her mouth. "You have no freedom of speech, no say in what happens from this moment forward. You are… a rose without a farmer."
Mara endured beatings and violations in the name of justice, peace, and prosperity. Death called to her, yet she remembered the suffering her husband bore for his family. She had to fight — not for herself, but for her children.
"Imagine this man, Zoro, fighting his last battle with a smile, leaving behind a beautiful rose," a drunk guard murmured.
"Of course! He did it for the boys. A true man, knowing he left her in good hands," another said, tears in his eyes.
Seven days later, Mara was escorted outside for public execution.
"What a corrupt… shame!" women cried, throwing stones.
"She probably slept with our husbands!"
"Set her on fire!"
"Crucify her!"
"Give us her head!"
Chains bound her to the altar. The katana swung toward her neck. She had endured — fought, suffered, survived. But for what? To die by monsters' hands? Zoro had died, free in his last battle, but was her freedom any closer?
The katana cut her chains. With a swift motion, she seized it, fleeing. Soldiers pursued, but with remaining strength, she ran through the white snow, leaving crimson trails with bare feet.
She passed a home, taking their white curtains to cover herself.
"Rest assured, citizens! We'll hunt her and return with her head!"
Snow fell harder. She slipped, rolled — Allas blanketed her in white. She grasped the katana, tears in her eyes, and plunged it through herself. Blood painted the snow.
"I'm so sorry, my children… for bringing you into this cruel world. I curse this earth with all my soul. I curse humanity, which stripped us of freedom. How different are you from demons? Even animals are more caring than you, you who wear masks only to reveal the worst kind a kind worse than demons. May death be the only peace you know…"
The katana darkened, absorbing her hatred, her grief, and the collective hatred of her people. It became a cursed blade.
Tom and Mia waited, hungry, their souls unsettled until death. Allas returned them as demons. And still they waited for their mother.
Kael slowly grasped the katana. Behind him, the girl with the one-eyed teddy bear watched. And just like that, he was back in the present — katana in hand.