Sirius Chapter 30: Chapter 29: Memories (2)

Read chapter 30 of Sirius by Dealer on NovelPedia.

Step Step Step The sound of footsteps echoed through the corridors of an empty library. "The young people of today are completely lost!" An old voice complained to its own echo resonating through the air. "How has the sacred trial become so commonplace that beings so young do as they please with it... I truly don't understand!" The old man brought a hand to his grey hair. "More than that... why would Miss Brigida allow such infractions...? I genuinely hope the boy manages to hold his own; it would be terrible if his story ended like this." The man stopped for a moment and let out a quiet sigh. "Well... regardless, I don't ha... hm?" His gaze drifted to one of the shelves. "What have we here?" And his hand reached out to take one of the books. "I don't remember you... that is... interesting." The old man furrowed the wrinkles of his forehead. "I, Hakim, should be able to recall every book in this library, with the exception of those that will be insignificant to the history of this world. But I don't remember you... what would a book like this be doing here?" It was a short book, no more than a hundred pages. Turning the cover, the man read the title aloud. "'Tales of the Secret Blood'... this might make for an interesting read to occupy my thoughts..." And so, Hakim opened the first page. * * * Tales of the Secret Blood Chapter 1: The Beginning A millionth of a second ago in the time of the universe, two girls met in the middle of poverty and solitude. They lived in a village to the south of Anpyrgio, one of the greatest cities in Erebus. Quickly, still young, the two became inseparable friends. One of them was large and gentle, like a giant stuffed animal. The other was small and strong, like a stressed raccoon. Both girls survived through small thefts and hunger. There is no work for children so young that does not cost the sanity and dignity of both. The two soul-sisters were aware of that, and they swore never to surrender themselves to the abyss of despair; they knew that once in that place, there is no return. All they did were small thefts to try to ease their hunger. What is hunger? Hunger takes hundreds of forms, tastes, colors, and memories. Hunger can be dry, wet, yellow like sand, black or green like plague; it can taste of earth, of mold, or it can have no taste at all. It can be the closing of eyes, the heaving of a throat, a scream of agony, and sometimes... a thread of false hope. Yet in all its forms, one thing always remains the same. Hunger is, above all else, painful. For these two girls, however, hunger was warm; it tasted of iron and had the color of ruby... not that they had ever seen such a gem, but that was what they had heard and repeated. "Blood has the color of ruby." And so: "Hunger looks like blood. It is warm like blood, tastes like blood, looks like blood; and whenever it is there, it comes with blood." And that was how they lived: always inseparable, always hungry, always hurt, always fighting, always... surviving. The younger sister was more agile, more cunning, more capable. Despite being smaller and weaker, she always looked after her large and gentle friend. The great human stuffed animal was a comfort; she brought peace and hope to the small girl. That kind of thing is not something you throw away when you have nothing. She would always protect her so that sweet soul would never disappear. * * * When the mind and stomach are empty, the head begins to beg for a distraction. Among all the children and adolescents living on the streets, the large and gentle girl was the easiest target for those distractions. Every time her sister moved away from her side, the torment returned; a torment that was never fought back. The small one always returned furious and hurt: either from beating the boys who tormented her friend's gentle spirit, or from stealing food to share when she got back. One way or another, both tasted blood; one way or another, both suffered from hunger. One day, however, the villag