The Sheen of Love Alzarin
Chapter 28

𝗧𝘂𝗯𝘂𝗵 𝗔𝗹𝘇𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗸𝗮 𝗪𝗶𝗿𝗱𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗻 𝗸𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗶 𝗯𝗮𝘆𝗶 𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗻𝘆𝗮. 𝗢𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗻𝘆𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮 𝗮𝗽𝗮 𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝗷𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗻𝘆𝗮.

"𝗔𝗽𝗮 𝗸𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗺𝘂, 𝗗𝗼𝗸𝘁𝗲𝗿? 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗸𝘂 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗺 𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗻?" 𝗹𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗵 𝗔𝗹𝘇𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗮𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝗸𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴.

"𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚛-𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚛 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚊𝚏. 𝙺𝚞𝚖𝚘𝚑𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚜 𝚔𝚞𝚊𝚝. 𝙺𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚖𝚞 𝚒𝚗𝚒." 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚒𝚔𝚞𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚑 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚜.

"𝙼𝚊𝚊𝚏𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚔𝚞, 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊..."

𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚔𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚕𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚋𝚒𝚕 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚞. "𝙳𝚘𝚔𝚝𝚎𝚛, 𝚋𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚊𝚢𝚒 𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚢𝚊𝚠𝚊?"

𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊𝚖 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊. "𝙺𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊. 𝙺𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚑 𝚒𝚋𝚞 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚞𝚊𝚝. 𝙼𝚎𝚜𝚔𝚒 𝚒𝚊 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚊, 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚙 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚋𝚞𝚖𝚒𝚔𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚊𝚔."

𝚃𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚜 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚐. 𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚝. 𝙸𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚞𝚔𝚞𝚕𝚒 𝚍𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚒.

𝚂𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚑 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚐, 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚒 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚒.

"𝙳𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚔𝚞?" 𝚃𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

"𝚂𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛 𝚕𝚊𝚐𝚒 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐. 𝚂𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚙𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚔 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚔 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚗. 𝙰𝚔𝚞 𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚙𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚞𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊."

𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊𝚕 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊, 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝚌𝚞𝚔𝚞𝚙 𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚊. "𝘔𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘥𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪 𝘫𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘪 𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘩𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘬 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯. 𝘚𝘦𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘪𝘬 𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘪."

"𝙽𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗." 𝚂𝚎𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚑𝚞 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍𝚞𝚛 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚓𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

"𝚂𝚊𝚢𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚙, 𝚂𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛." 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚢𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚔 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚒 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚕.

...***...

𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚍𝚞𝚔 𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚑 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚗 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊.

"𝙼𝚊𝚊𝚏, 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙰𝚗𝚊𝚔𝚖𝚞 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚔𝚊𝚗. 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗. 𝚂𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝚍𝚒 𝚛𝚞𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚎𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚗. 𝙳𝚊𝚗 𝚓𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚣𝚊𝚑 𝚋𝚊𝚢𝚒 𝚔𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚗..."

"𝙲𝚞𝚔𝚞𝚙! 𝙹𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚔𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚙𝚞𝚗 𝚕𝚊𝚐𝚒! 𝙰𝚔𝚞 𝚐𝚊𝚔 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚊𝚢𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚔𝚔𝚞 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚑 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊𝚕!"

𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚓𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚒 𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐-𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚑 𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚝. 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚑 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚔𝚞𝚝𝚒 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚊𝚑 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙼𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚔𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚝 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚛 𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚛.

𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚔 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚑𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚢𝚒 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

"𝙺𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚔𝚔𝚞!"

𝚃𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚝𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚞𝚛. 𝙷𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊 𝚊𝚔𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚒𝚋𝚊 𝚍𝚒 𝚜𝚎𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚑 𝚛𝚞𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚓𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚣𝚊𝚑 𝚍𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚓𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚊.

"𝙸𝚗𝚒 𝚋𝚊𝚢𝚒 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝙽𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗. 𝙺𝚊𝚖𝚒 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚑𝚔𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚙 𝚍𝚒𝚋𝚊𝚠𝚊 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚑 𝚔𝚎𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚔 𝚍𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚔𝚊𝚗."

𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚒 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚙𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚞𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚒 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚝. 𝚃𝚞𝚋𝚞𝚑 𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚔𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚞𝚛𝚞𝚑 𝚔𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒. 𝙰𝚒𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚎𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚒 𝚝𝚊𝚍𝚒 𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚑 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑.

"𝚃𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔! 𝙸𝚗𝚒 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒 𝚖𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚒! 𝙰𝚗𝚊𝚔𝚔𝚞 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊𝚕! 𝚃𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚒𝚗!"

𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚙 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚞 𝚙𝚞𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊. 𝙸𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚝𝚒 𝚜𝚘𝚜𝚘𝚔 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚍𝚞𝚍𝚞𝚔 𝚍𝚒 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚊𝚙 𝚙𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚗𝚢𝚊.

"𝙸𝚔𝚑𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚊, 𝙽𝚊𝚔. 𝙼𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚊𝚒𝚔 𝚋𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊."

𝙺𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚝 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚎𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚊 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚒𝚑 𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚞 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚒.

𝚂𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚒𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚙 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚓𝚊𝚖. 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚊 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚑 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚊𝚗.

"𝙼𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚗? 𝙺𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚊𝚙𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚓𝚊𝚍𝚒? 𝙺𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚔𝚔𝚞 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚒 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊𝚕?"

𝙽𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚑 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚞𝚗 𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚞𝚑 𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚝 𝚗𝚢𝚊𝚕𝚒 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚞𝚝.

"𝙰-𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗... 𝚃𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚞, 𝙽𝚊𝚔!"

"𝙺𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗! 𝙰𝚙𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚓𝚊𝚍𝚒 𝚙𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚔𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚓𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚢𝚊. 𝙺𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗!" 𝙿𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚔 𝚔𝚊𝚌𝚊𝚞.

𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒 𝚔𝚎𝚍𝚞𝚊 𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜.

"𝙲𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗, 𝙼𝚊! 𝙰𝚙𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚓𝚊𝚍𝚒 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊? 𝙺𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚒 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚜 𝚔𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚔 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚒? 𝙺𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚊?!" 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚞𝚑 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚞𝚔𝚞𝚙 𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚐.

"𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗! 𝙰𝚙𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚕𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚔𝚊𝚗? 𝙸𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚝, 𝙰𝚛. 𝙳𝚒𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞!" 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚊𝚑𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚒 𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜.

"𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗!" 𝙱𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚔 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊. 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚞𝚑 𝚒𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚔 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚊 𝚓𝚒𝚔𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚙 𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚒.

𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚕𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚓𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚒 𝚔𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊. 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚑 𝚜𝚢𝚘𝚔.

"𝚃𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎... 𝚃𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚔 𝚊𝚙𝚊-𝚊𝚙𝚊?"

𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚞𝚔. "𝙸𝚢𝚊, 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚔 𝚊𝚙𝚊. 𝙲𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚜𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚕 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝚃𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚞𝚔 𝚙𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊."

𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚖 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚙𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚔𝚑𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗. 𝙸𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚕 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚝𝚊𝚔 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚔 𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚑 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊.

"𝙺𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗? 𝙰𝚙𝚊 𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚞𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊?"

𝚃𝚊𝚔 𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚞 𝚕𝚊𝚐𝚒, 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚊𝚑𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚔𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚞𝚓𝚞 𝚛𝚞𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

𝚂𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚒, 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚞𝚋𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚒 𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚊 𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚑 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚔 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚞𝚜 𝚙𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚊𝚢𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗.

...***...

𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚔 𝚜𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚓𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚓𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚒 𝚔𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚘𝚛 𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚑 𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚝. 𝚂𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚙 𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊𝚒 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗.

𝙷𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊 𝚊𝚔𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚑 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚔 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚞𝚔𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚞 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚞 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚞 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚛 𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚊.

"𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊! 𝙳𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞?! 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗!"

𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚑 𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚔𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚏 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢𝚊. 𝙳𝚒 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚑 𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚑 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚔𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊, 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚊𝚔 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚑 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚔 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚞𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

"𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊!" 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚞𝚔𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚞 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚞 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚛 𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚢𝚊𝚝𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚊 𝚒𝚝𝚞 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚘𝚕𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚔𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚔𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊.

"𝙰-𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗..." 𝚂𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚝. 𝚃𝚊𝚔 𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊 𝚒𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚔 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚜 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊 𝚔𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊.

"𝙷𝚒𝚔𝚜... 𝙷𝚒𝚔𝚜... 𝙷𝚒𝚔𝚜..."

𝙂𝙍𝘼𝘽

𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒 𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚕𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚙 𝙰𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚜. 𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚑 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊 𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚑 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗𝚢𝚊.

"𝙺𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚞𝚗𝚞𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚔 𝚔𝚒𝚝𝚊?!"

𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚎𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚒 𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚞𝚝 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚝 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚋𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚊𝚖. 𝙷𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚞𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚛.

"𝙺𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚊?! 𝙰𝚙𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚓𝚊 𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚊𝚙𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚊𝚢𝚒 𝚒𝚝𝚞 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚔𝚞? 𝙸𝚢𝚊?"

𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐. 𝙳𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚊𝚏.

"𝙰-𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚖𝚒𝚗-𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚊 𝚖𝚊-𝚖𝚊𝚊𝚏..."

"𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚊𝚐𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚢𝚒 𝚔𝚒𝚝𝚊! 𝚂𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚔𝚞 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚞𝚛. 𝙺𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚔 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚔𝚔𝚞! 𝙰𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚐𝚐𝚑!"

𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚔. 𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚝 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚊.

"𝚂𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊? 𝙸𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚞 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚔𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚞𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊! 𝙸𝚗𝚒 𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚞𝚊 𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚊-𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞!"

"𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗!" 𝚂𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚔 𝚙𝚊𝚔𝚜𝚊 𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚞𝚑 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

"𝙰𝚙𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚐𝚒𝚕𝚊? 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗! 𝙳𝚒𝚊 𝚓𝚞𝚐𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚑𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚖𝚞! 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚊. 𝙱𝚞𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚑 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚙𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚓𝚊𝚍𝚒."

𝚈𝚊, 𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚑 𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊. 𝙳𝚒𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚔𝚜𝚊 𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚞𝚑 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚊𝚞𝚑𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

"𝙺𝚎𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚒 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚒! 𝙹𝚒𝚔𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚝𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊, 𝚜𝚎𝚋𝚊𝚒𝚔𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚔𝚎𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚛!"

𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚞𝚑 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊 𝚔𝚎𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚒 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚛. 𝚂𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝚋𝚞𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚙𝚎𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚒. 𝚃𝚊𝚙𝚒 𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚑 𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚒𝚝 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚒𝚔𝚞𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚞𝚛. 𝙽𝚊𝚖𝚞𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚙𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚞𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚗𝚢𝚊.

"𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊! 𝙺𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚐𝚊𝚔 𝚊𝚙𝚊-𝚊𝚙𝚊?" 𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚜𝚊 𝚔𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚒 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚞𝚔 𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚗. "𝚃𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚊 𝚔𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚑, 𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊."

"𝚂𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚊 𝚢𝚊! 𝙺𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚊! 𝙰𝚔𝚞 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚞𝚔 𝚓𝚒𝚔𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚑 𝚍𝚒𝚔𝚞𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚒 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚒."

𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚞 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚔 𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚊𝚑𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚞𝚑𝚗𝚢𝚊. 𝚂𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚍𝚒 𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚛 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚛, 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚘𝚙𝚘𝚑-𝚐𝚘𝚙𝚘𝚑. 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛 𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚒𝚑 𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚞. 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚞𝚍𝚞𝚔 𝚍𝚒 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚞 𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚞 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚗 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚛 𝚛𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚝 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊.

"𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗!"

𝚂𝚊𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊, 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚑 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚓𝚊𝚔 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚒 𝚍𝚞𝚍𝚞𝚔𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚑 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚒. 𝚆𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚊 𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚊𝚑 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚔-𝚔𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗.

...***...

𝙳𝚒 𝚜𝚎𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚑 𝚔𝚕𝚞𝚋 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚖, 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚙𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗-𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢𝚊. 𝙻𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚔 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚑 𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚗-𝚔𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚗 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚞𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚐𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚔 𝚒𝚝𝚞.

𝚃𝚊𝚠𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚔𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚊𝚑 𝚜𝚊𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚊𝚗. 𝙷𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚊 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚔𝚊𝚙 𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚞𝚍𝚞𝚔 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚒 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚋𝚒𝚕 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊𝚔 𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚘𝚑𝚘𝚕.

"𝙴𝚑, 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜. 𝙰𝚔𝚞 𝚔𝚎𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚞 𝚢𝚊! 𝙺𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚗𝚒𝚔𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒 𝚜𝚊𝚓𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊!" 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚓𝚊𝚔 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚝𝚒 𝚜𝚘𝚜𝚘𝚔 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚑 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗.

"𝙷𝚊𝚒, 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙰𝚔𝚞 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚒 𝚢𝚊!" 𝚃𝚊𝚗𝚙𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚒 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚞𝚍𝚞𝚔 𝚍𝚒 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗.

"𝙶𝚊𝚔 𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚔 𝚕𝚑𝚘 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚖 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗. 𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗." 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚑 𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚔𝚗𝚢𝚊.

"𝙰𝚙𝚊𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚒𝚑?" 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚔𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚕𝚒 𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚗𝚢𝚊.

"𝙰𝚛, 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗... 𝙳𝚞𝚕𝚞 𝚔𝚒𝚝𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚊𝚐𝚒 𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚖. 𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢?" 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚊𝚔 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗.

"𝙱𝚞𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚖𝚞!" 𝙺𝚎𝚝𝚞𝚜 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗.

"𝙹𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚝𝚞, 𝙰𝚛. 𝙱𝚒𝚊𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚞𝚗, 𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚜𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚋𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞. 𝙺𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚋𝚒𝚜𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚊𝚐𝚒 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚞 𝚔𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚞 𝚔𝚊𝚖𝚞 𝚖𝚊𝚞."

𝚂𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚙 𝚔𝚊𝚝𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚎𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚒 𝚋𝚒𝚋𝚒𝚛 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚊𝚙 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚊𝚕𝚞 𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚑 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙿𝚛𝚒𝚊 𝚒𝚝𝚞 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚑 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚔 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚒 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚒 𝚔𝚕𝚞𝚋. 𝙸𝚊 𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚌𝚞𝚔𝚞𝚙 𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚗𝚢𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚔𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚜 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊 𝙰𝚕𝚣𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗. 𝙸𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚔 𝚖𝚊𝚞 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚓𝚞𝚐𝚊 𝚒𝚔𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚞𝚑 𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚊.

"𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚐𝚞!" 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚓𝚊𝚛 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚓𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚗.

𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚊𝚑 𝚖𝚊𝚋𝚞𝚔. 𝚂𝚎𝚋𝚞𝚊𝚑 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚞𝚖 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚒 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚍𝚒 𝚋𝚒𝚋𝚒𝚛 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢.

"𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗! 𝙱𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚞!" 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚑 𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚞𝚑 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚒 𝚝𝚊𝚔 𝚜𝚎𝚒𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚖 𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚓𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗. 𝚃𝚊𝚗𝚙𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚗, 𝙰𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚗 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚢.