Not long after, Wina and Fian returned with Ava, who had finally stopped crying. Luckily, they hadn't run into anyone on the way.
Hearing the sobs of her two older brothers, Ava sniffled softly.
"Let's go out together, Della," Gara suggested.
He didn't want Ava breaking down again, and besides, Aldwin and Arion's voices were already hoarse from crying. If they kept going one by one, one of them would lose their voice entirely.
Wina looked uneasy, worried the babies' cries might draw the neighbors' attention. She didn't say anything, though—she was just as anxious as Gara about their condition.
So, when Gara and Della stepped out with the first two children, accompanied by Madha and Fian, she let them go.
Behind the house stretched thick woodland that connected directly to the mountain. But this was not the path used to go up it. Villagers had laid a gravel trail leading up beside the river.
