9:00 A.M

Somewhere in Mansel Island, Canada

. . .

A few months had pa.s.sed since Sis Ava and Mister Hope disappeared.

The last memory I had of them was at the abandoned mine, where they were set to search the town chief's villa.

Both of them did not come back the next morning.

So, Mama and I decided to go out of that mine and found Papa's grave marked by Sis Ava.

She felt something was wrong. We headed to the villa next but found dead people there. In spite of that, we had to go back, leaving the villa where Sis Ava could've set her foot onto.

The town, on the other hand, was destroyed. Flames and rubble were everywhere within sight. A few airs.h.i.+ps departed away into the clouds, leaving the already destroyed military base to ruin.

In the end, the army retreated from our island, and we were left with the town they'd destroyed. Not to mention, the town chief was missing. Most of the remaining townsfolk settled in the resistance's hideout that was located far away from the town due to the damage.

In the year 2032, the town was still a mess but a good amount of houses and buildings had been restored, leaving only a few persistent people to stay at the resistance's hideout.

The leader of that group, Jessica, tended to the people there a lot of times. I figured she was some kind of a doctor. But whenever I looked at her, there was that unsettling aura about Jessica and because of that, I hadn't approached her, not even once.

. . .

"Alice. Come here!"

Mama was excited about something. We were the few people left inside the resistance's hideout aside from orphan children and the group's members.

"What is it, Mama?" I said.

Mama wore her brown winter jacket with a loose blue dress underneath. She pushed me towards a girl and immediately introduced me to her. I remembered who that person was.

"Remember her, Beatrice? She's your little sister. She was so young back then," said Mama.

"Alice... you've grown up so fast." Beatrice rubbed my hair for a moment and went into a corner to talk with Mama. She had a plain blue cap on her head.

Mister Hope was right. Her hair was indeed green and tied into a ponytail.

During the time I was at the hideout, I never met her. Mama heard one of the group's members mentioned Sis's name and inquired about her. They briefly said that she was busy helping the townsfolk rebuilding the town.

Sis ran away to the jungle when I was little, and to see her after all those years made me anxious. I was excited to see her again but I didn't show it.

Alone, I sat down on a straw mat with the other children at the playing s.p.a.ce provided by the members. The children played with a bunch of toys. Two of them played chess and I looked at them for a while before s.h.i.+fting my attention to Sis and Mama.

Mama laughed and smiled as she conversed with Sis. For some reason, Sis didn't appear to be sharing Mama's happy mood. She was a bit sad, at least, from my own perspective.

Her eyes were empty. The Sis I knew had s.h.i.+ning eyes and would plow through anything in her way to get what she wanted. Sis that I saw was not the same as she had been back then.

Mama said something that looked like a question and Sis's eyes became even more void.

'Perhaps Sis had lost a dear friend,' I thought.

Mama did mention the resistance group's former leader died upon infiltrating the army's base along with a few others.

"Alice! Wanna play?" said a boy's voice.

"Gregor. Oh, Ruby!" I said, responding to Gregor's voice.

A young boy and girl my age walked to me carrying a set of card games. They grinned at me.

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" asked Ruby. She put away her blond strands of hair that covered her face to the side.

"What do you mean, Ruby?"

"You look so focused," said the boy, Gregor.

"Oh, I'm just thinking."

"Alice, Alice... Kids like us don't need to think that much, you know. We're only ten-year-olds. We just need to enjoy ourselves," bragged Gregor.

"I don't know about that, Gregor. A lot of people died. I mean your..." I closed my lips. There was no need to bring up the past to them.

Mama motioned for me to come to her and I ran quickly. "Yes, Mama?"

"Guess what? Starting next week, we can go back to our house!"

"Really?!"

"Beatrice said that it had been repaired by those nice people that she helped." Mama let out a restrained squeal and hugged Sis. I cannot help but smiled.

"You will go back right, Beatrice?" asked Mama.

"I will after I had finished helping a few other people that are rebuilding their houses. But..." Sis darted her eyes away.

"Oh, don't worry! You can explain when you feel like to. It is still your house after all."

Sis hugged Mama and thanked her. After she left, I indulged Mama on what she'd asked her earlier.

"I asked her about Hope Domitius. She just shook her head . . . I wonder where he and Ava went."

"I hope both of them are alright," I mumbled.

Mama brushed my dark hair lightly and put her forehead at mine. "Me too, Alice. I want to hear Hope's excuse for not fulfilling his promise..."

"Mama, don't cry."

"Am I? Haha, I didn't notice." She wiped her tears and kissed my cheek, but her tears kept falling. I felt like crying too. "I wish they would come back soon."

"Me too, Mama. I miss them. They're gone for too long."

"I want to see them again..." said Mama quietly.

In the end, we talked about Sis Ava and Mister Hope that entire morning.

I disliked Sis Ava because of her weird appearance but she was a nice person. Mister Hope was nice too. Moreover, Sis Ava saved Papa and me once.

Both of them were the people that I felt would be great to come back, along with Papa, even though he pa.s.sed away. At least, in my dream, I could meet Papa if I desired that event strongly enough.

. . .

"Mama, are you there?"

"Yes, Alice. I'm here. I won't leave you so take your time."

I came out of the restroom and Mommy was there standing in front of me. "Let's go," she said.

We walked through the narrow hallway slowly under the moonlight.

"It's so beautiful..." I said while gasping.

"Indeed it is. It's a full moon today," stated Mama.

The round, white light of the moon lightened my heart. How I wished every night had a full moon so that I could just stare at it for the longest time.

"Alice..." she mumbled.

"Yes, Mama?"

"I've been thinking. Do people like us really don't have a choice? We're weak and fragile. A bullet or two can instantly kill us. We don't have any weapon of our own. We can only suffer in the hands of the strong, and wait for our savior."

She took my right hand in her left as her mouth curved into a weak smile. "Wait, what I'm saying? Haha. You don't have to understand that, Alice."

"But, Mama, after everything that happened... I feel like I have to."

She glanced at me. "I don't know, Alice. Our town may be at peace right now. It is slowly but surely being restored. However, we don't know what the future holds for us."

I pulled at her arm and she raised her eyebrow. "But, Mama, no one knows the future! It can be anything!" She was upset and I should try to comfort her somehow. I didn't like to see Mama in that state.

She laughed and walked forward slowly. "You're right, Alice. No one knows the future."

"We can decide our own future, right Mama? Starting now!" I said with beaming eyes.

"Of course, Alice. But we have to wait for tomorrow," she said. "We need to sleep."

"I mean, we never know when Sis Ava and Mister Hope will return because we don't know the future. I'm sure they're out there searching for us, Mama!"

Her eyes were bleak for a moment when she looked at me. "Perhaps so, Alice. I also share your wish."

She embraced me all of a sudden and I blinked at her action.

"Let's go to sleep."