The sky was breaking over the Cathedral of Ezys, in Huwofin, while a group of nervous children awaited their fate. Among them, a boy with red eyes, scarlet as embers, remained still, almost oblivious to the concerned murmurs of the other little ones.
The priest, with a firm and grave voice, began the ritual: — May the Ancestral Gods test your souls and bless those who are worthy...
Mateo felt a cold energy run through his body. He saw a kind of black smoke emanating from him. The blessing of death was granted to him, a heavy silence fell in the room, followed by frightened looks. Some children stepped back, and a whisper spread through the crowd: — The blessing of God Enfer... a curse.
Mateo raised his gaze and, for the first time, saw in the eyes of the people the fear and rejection awaiting him.
The news of the boy's dark gift spread quickly. At home, his parents looked at him with disdain and fear. One night, when the shadows were longest, they left him without looking back.
Alone, he wandered. Aimless, with nowhere to go. Mateo spent nights hungry, still hoping that one day his life would return to normal.
Mateo began rummaging through trash hoping to find something to eat, and he realized life was unfair to those without power, and those not chosen by the gods had no place in this world. He went to sleep crying as always.
Mateo woke up hungry and went to scavenge through the trash as usual to see if there was something to eat. Until he heard a sweet voice calling him:
— Hey. Boy. Are you alright?
Mateo looked at the person calling him; it was a girl, seeming younger than him.
The girl smiled seeing him for the first time: — You don't look well, but you don't need to be afraid. I won't harm you.
Who is this girl?
Mateo responded with a fearful look: — Who are you?
The girl replied: — My name is Nai Arman, nice to meet you. I saw you a few days ago while passing by carriage; you were in the middle of the forest. Please, keep this.
Nai handed Mateo clothes; Mateo was a bit arrogant but accepted.
Mateo said: — My name is Mateo, thank you...
Nai smiled at Mateo and ran toward the carriage parked nearby.
Nai shouted waving her arms to Mateo as the carriage moved away: — Bye Mateo! Hope to see you again.
Mateo smiled, smiled after a long time. For someone who was always treated like trash, that was glory. Mateo continued his life without taking the name of the only person who had been humane to him in a long time out of his mind. Day after day, Mateo grew hungrier. Until, like any other day, Mateo was searching in the trash for food until he found a knife, it seemed completely dull, but Mateo had an idea. Mateo thought of killing to eat, and decided to hunt some animals to eat. With materials found in the trash, he made a small trap to catch a squirrel; Mateo set the trap he made for a small squirrel, placing a small nut in the trap.
— Got it! — shouted Mateo.
Mateo was thoughtful about killing that small squirrel or not, but unconsciously he began to smile. Mateo grabbed the knife with both hands and stabbed the small squirrel there. Mateo felt a sensation he had never felt before, it was pleasure; he saw that squirrel and felt it wasn't as bad as he thought.
He sat on the ground, still staring at the small lifeless body. His stomach growled, but his mind was elsewhere. It was not just hunger calming at that moment. There was a void inside him — the same void formed when his parents abandoned him, when everyone around treated him like a monster. And now, for a moment, that void seemed... filled.
— He didn't scream... — Mateo murmured quietly. — He just... died.
His red eyes briefly shone in the dawn's light. A cold breeze passed, but he did not feel cold. Instead, he felt control. For the first time since the ritual, he had decided something by himself. He had won.
He ate the squirrel hastily and with guilt. The taste was horrible, but it was food. It was life. And he had taken that life with his own hands.
One day, coming out of the woods with two small birds caught in an improvised snare, Mateo heard a familiar sound: carriage wheels and laughter.
His heart raced.
— Could it be...?
He ran to a rise and hid among the bushes. It was her. Nai, sitting elegantly beside a woman who seemed to be her mother. She was smiling, distracted, looking through the window. Her eyes met his for a brief second.
And she smiled again. The same sincere smile he remembered.
Nai placed her hands on the window and waved discreetly. Mateo, ashamed and dirty, could only wave back with a small nod. She was a world too distant. Too pure.
— Why don't you... hate me? — he whispered, to no one. — You should.
But she did not hate. And that broke him more than any blow.
Time passed. Mateo now knew how to make better traps, quicker knife strikes, more efficient movements. He watched the hunts of city guards and mimicked their movements. Silence. Precision. Brutality.
Each animal killed brought him less guilt and more control.
He began to enjoy the feeling of blood on his hands. It was warmth. It was certainty. It was his.
One night, before a fire made with twigs and dry leaves, Mateo stared into the fire with glassy eyes.
— Enfer... — he murmured. — I don't understand you. But I will overcome you.
The wind blew, extinguishing part of the flame. And, for a moment, Mateo thought he heard a distant laugh.
A laugh inside his head.
Weeks passed since Mateo saw Nai in the carriage. That memory was one of the few threads keeping him sane. He still lived in Huwofin's shadows, feeding as he could, training with the dull knife and hunting to survive.
That afternoon, the sky was covered with gray clouds. Mateo hid under an old stone bridge, watching the muddy river run forcefully. His stomach ached, and his clothes, although still better than before, were already dirty and worn. Hunger returned with monstrous force.
— I can't take this anymore... — he whispered to himself, curled up.
Then he heard light footsteps approaching. Mateo grabbed the knife and peeked between the stones.
A girl was walking along the riverbank, alone, with a white and gold umbrella in her hands. She seemed to be searching for something... or someone.
Mateo's eyes widened.
It was her.
Nai.
She approached slowly, until stopping near his makeshift hiding spot. She turned slightly to the side and spoke softly:
— I know you're there, Mateo...
His name came from her mouth like a familiar melody. He hesitated but slowly came out from under the bridge, still holding the knife firmly, out of instinct.
Their eyes met again.
Nai smiled tenderly. She wore a simple light blue dress and a white coat over it. Her silver hair was held by a new flower clip.
— Do you remember me?
Mateo nodded slowly. He was dirty, with messy hair, hurt hands, and hunger in his eyes. But his scarlet eyes still burned intensely.
— Why... are you here? — he asked, with a hoarse voice.
— Because I looked for you — she said sincerely. — Since that day, I haven't stopped thinking about you. Alone, hungry... wounded. No one deserves to live like that, Mateo.
— People don't want someone like me around. I have... the blessing of death. They look at me as if I were a monster.
Nai stepped forward, eyes full of empathy that seemed to shine.
— You're not a monster. You're just a boy thrown away by cowardly adults. I saw who you are, and I want to help you. My parents are good people. If you want... you can come live with us.
Mateo took a half step back, suspicious.
— Why would you do that? You don't even really know me...
— Maybe I don't know everything about you, but I know enough — Nai answered firmly. — I know what it's like to be judged for no reason. People think that because we have power, we're different. But no one cares to hear what we feel. I want to hear you, Mateo. I want to be your friend.
Mateo swallowed hard. No words seemed enough to express what he felt. For the first time, someone saw him as human... not as a burden or a curse.
Slowly, he dropped the knife. He fell to the ground with a dry sound.
— I... — he began, hesitant. — I want to stop feeling so much hatred...
Nai approached, took his hand, and squeezed it gently.
— Then come with me. You don't have to fight alone anymore.
Mateo did not answer. He just let her lead him.
At that moment, something inside him changed. The boy abandoned under the blessing of death finally felt he could... breathe.
And even though the road ahead was still full of pain, that was the first step out of the darkness.