Volow cried until his breath broke into sharp, painful gasps.
The ground beneath him was cold, soft, and cruel—ash where his home used to be.
Suki lay weakly in his arms, chest rising in small, trembling waves.
Volow pressed his forehead against the cat's fur.
"Why… why only us? Why did you survive, Suki? Why me?"
His tears fell on Suki's head.
"Why did they do this…?"
Footsteps crunched behind him.
Slow, steady, unhurried.
Volow looked up, startled.
An old man stood a few steps away—thin, gray-bearded, clothes dusty as if he had walked through storms. His posture was stiff yet dignified. His eyes… deep and tired.
He carried a small wooden cane, but something about him didn't feel weak at all.
The old man exhaled.
"You're going to drown the whole mountain with those tears, boy."
His voice was calm. Too calm.
Volow wiped his face angrily.
"Go away."
"No."
The man walked closer, leaning on the cane.
"I've seen many boys cry… but you might break a world record at this rate."
Volow glared, grief turning to frustration.
"You don't know anything! You're not even from this town!"
The old man frowned gently.
"Not from this town…?"
He looked at the ashes around them.
"My friend lived here.
For sixty years, he waited for me to visit again."
Volow's breath hitched.
"I was supposed to meet him today," the old man continued. "Seven years since our last drink together. I told him I'd be here. But all I found was this…"
He bent down and let the ash fall between his fingers.
Volow clenched his jaw.
"You're lying. If you had a real friend here, you'd be crying too."
The old man looked at him with eyes that carried more lifetime than sorrow.
"When you grow old enough, boy… you cross a point where the pain becomes quieter than tears. You don't cry because your eyes dried decades ago."
His words cut deeper than comfort.
Volow lowered his head.
"…What do I do now…?"
His voice cracked again. "I have nothing."
"You have two choices," the man said simply.
"Die here with this town… or let that tiny creature live one more day."
Volow looked at Suki—his fragile breathing, his blood-matted fur.
A memory flashed:
Melon laughing as Suki slept on her lap.
Thod giving Suki a giant chunk of meat, pretending it "fell from his hand."
Melon scolding Volow once,
"If I die someday, I'll come back as Suki so I can still trouble you."
He had gotten angry at that, refused dinner that night.
And now… Suki was all he had left.
"I want him to live," Volow whispered. "I don't want to lose him too."
The old man nodded.
"Then stand up."
Volow hesitated… then slowly rose, hugging Suki carefully.
"Take anything you want from here," the old man said. "But there's not much left to carry."
Volow looked around.
Ash everywhere.
His throat burned.
Then he remembered something.
The box he brought for Thod—the watermelon and the flower ash.
He found it under debris, cracked open but recognizable. He lifted it with shaking hands.
A last memory.
A last gift that would never be given.
He held it tightly.
"I'm ready," he whispered.
The old man gestured toward the forest path.
"Come with me. Nothing left for you here."
Volow followed, his steps heavy, his heart broken.
---
By evening, they reached a dense forest at the foot of the mountain.
"We camp here tonight," the old man said.
Volow sat beside a fallen log, Suki curled on his lap.
The old man placed his cane down.
"You can call me Pine Coon. I'm… a writer. Mostly failed novels, but words keep me alive."
Volow stared quietly.
Pine pointed at the trees.
"Go gather some wood. Fire keeps the night beasts away."
Volow nodded and slipped into the trees.
Suki stayed behind—too weak to walk.
When Volow returned with the firewood, he froze.
Pine was sitting cross-legged, chewing loudly on the watermelon Volow had brought.
The fire was roaring…
fueled by the sacred flower ash that had been inside the box.
Volow's eye twitched.
"Y—you old geezer… WHAT are you eating?! That's my mother!"
Pine kept chewing.
"Hmm. Watermelons don't taste like mothers."
"And that fire—THAT'S MY FATHER YOU'RE BURNING!"
Pine glanced at the flames.
"Your father's quite warm. He's helping us survive the night. A noble man."
Volow stood there shaking in disbelief.
"What is WRONG with you?!"
Pine raised an eyebrow.
"Plenty. But complaining won't cook this fruit faster."
Despite everything—
despite grief—
despite the horror—
Volow felt the smallest tug of a laugh inside his chest.
Just a little.
Suki let out a weak meow, as if telling him it was okay.
They walked deeper into the forest the next day and reached a lonely wooden house, hidden among trees and moss.
Pine lived here.
Days passed.
Volow helped Suki recover and cleaned the small house daily. Pine wrote pages and pages… then tore half of them apart.
Sometimes Volow cried quietly when no one watched.
Sometimes Pine pretended not to notice.
One evening, while eating roasted berries, Pine looked at him oddly.
"You're the only child I've seen who isn't seeking revenge."
Volow blinked.
"Revenge? For what?"
"For… losing everything."
Volow lowered his gaze.
"I don't know who to blame."
Pine's lips curled.
"You are a very, very naïve boy."
"I'm just… normal."
Pine leaned back.
"Normal children don't have half the country almost burning just to erase the truth."
Volow frowned.
"What truth?"
Pine waved his hand dismissively.
"Nothing you need to know… not yet."
Volow felt a shiver.
Something was wrong.
Something Pine wasn't saying.
Something connected to Cardbill… to Suki… to him.
But Pine only tapped his cane and stood up.
"Sleep early tonight, Volow Arokin."
Volow looked up.
He had never told Pine his full name.
"How did—"
Pine smiled softly.
"Your journey is long. Your truth is longer. For now… protect that cat. And protect this."
He reached into a dusty drawer and pulled out a ring—silver, ancient, marked with a strange symbol.
It glittered faintly.
"Wear it," Pine said. "Until the day it guides you to the people who've been waiting."
Volow hesitated, then slid it onto his finger.
It fit perfectly.
"Why me?" he whispered.
Pine looked away.
"Because before Cardbill fell… I knew who you were."
Volow's heart thudded.
"Who… am I?"
Pine didn't answer.
He walked to the door, gripping his cane.
"You will understand when the world forces you to. Not before."
He stepped outside, disappearing into the evening fog.
Leaving Volow alone in the quiet wooden house—
With only Suki…
and a ring that pulsed like a heartbeat.