There is no hope in anything. The simple illusion of justice is something that I can understand better now.
Perhaps I am exaggerating things too much, although anyone who had seen what happened would feel the same.
Ren, with empty eyes, watched as the landscape slid past the window. The night covered the road with a thick and silent darkness, interrupted only by the faint glow of the car lights that moved forward without stopping.
The car was not Miya's, although she drove it with a confidence that made it seem as if it had always been hers.
In the distance, among the fog that was beginning to descend from the hills, Ren managed to distinguish a sign at the side of the road with a clear warning:
Danger: dense fog.
Those brief words were enough for the tears to begin to flow without Ren being able to stop them. At first there were only a few, silent. Then they became more constant, until they completely blurred his vision.
The memories of what had happened only a few minutes earlier were still alive in his mind, so clear and painful that it was impossible to forget them.
***
"Please… enough already, I beg you."
Ren's voice came out broken between sobs he could barely contain.
Kneeling at Miya's feet, with his hands resting on the ground, Ren looked at her in desperation. He begged her to stop, not to continue, not to hurt Leída or her brother.
But Miya ignored him.
With a disturbing calm, she continued tying the hands and feet of both of them with a black rope, tightening the knots with force.
For her, Ren's pleas seemed not to exist.
However, everything changed when Ren spoke again.
"Please… I will do everything you want, but stop."
The words came out desperate, as if he feared that Miya's silence would continue. This time, however, there was a reaction.
Her hands remained motionless over the last knot she was tightening, and slowly she turned her head to look at Ren.
That simple gesture made the pale boy's heart beat strongly, because at last he had her attention.
"I will follow you… without complaints," Ren added with difficulty.
A small smile appeared on Miya's face as she leaned toward him until they were face to face. Her eyes shone with an unsettling joy, as if she had just heard something that pleased her deeply.
"Then… will you do everything I ask of you?"
Ren barely hesitated.
In his mind there was only one idea.
To stop her.
"Yes… yes."
Miya smiled without saying anything else, left the rope aside, and grabbed Ren by the arm to make him stand up from the ground. He could barely remain standing when she gently pushed him toward the motionless body of Leída's brother.
"Search his clothes," she said in a careless tone. "The keys to his car."
Ren swallowed.
His hands trembled slightly as he began to obey. He bent down and began checking the pockets with slow movements, too slow, while his mind worked desperately, trying to find some way to change the situation.
When he found the keys, Ren felt a slight impulse to ignore them. He thought that if he pretended not to have seen them, he might gain some time. Maybe a few seconds. Maybe enough to think clearly.
His fingers brushed the metal while he tried to withdraw his hand naturally, as if he had found nothing.
But Miya noticed.
Ren felt her gaze fix on him before he even raised his head. A chill ran down his spine while fear tightened his chest.
The words he had said minutes earlier might mean nothing now.
However, Miya did not say a single word. It was Ren who obeyed.
He slowly lifted the keys, trying to keep his hands from trembling too much, then walked toward the car parked a few meters from the house.
Ren got into the car and turned the key.
For a moment he thought that maybe everything would continue just as she had said. Maybe they would simply leave.
But that was not the case. Returning to the present, Ren saw Miya holding a white rope in her hands, ready to tie him.
It was at that moment that Ren understood that everything that was happening was only just beginning.
"Why are you doing this?" Ren asked, unable to hide the uneasiness in his voice.
Miya finished adjusting the knot calmly before answering.
"For safety, it is better to prevent than to regret."
Her words came out completely carefree.
With that gesture, Miya seemed to have finished what she had in mind.
Then she turned around and went back inside the house. When she returned, she had a knife in her right hand.
Ren felt the air leave his lungs when he saw the single-edged weapon.
A second later, his eyes opened in horror when he realized that it was not for him, but for Leída.
"Miya…!" Ren's voice came out shaken. "We made a deal. Please, don't do anything to her."
Miya, standing in front of Leída, turned to look at him.
"Yes, we made a deal. However, this was not part of it. I was planning to do something worse, although your words made me stop. What I will do now will be a gift. She will have it for life for being an intruder in this story."
"No, Miya!"
Ren watched without blinking as Miya made several cuts on Leída's face.
Each cut formed a planned design. The lines joined together until they created shapes.
When Ren saw that Miya's face was covered in red, the shock was too strong. His mind could not endure it.
Because he fainted.
Everything that happened afterward remained as a secret between Miya and that night.
Chapter 37: Bad Girl