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: Henry's Letter
## I. Crystal City and the Hunter
The journey to the Polyhedron Country began with a detour to Crystal City, the last frontier of the Red Continent.
Orpheus was sitting, eating a snack, while reading a book with a gray cover and dry, old pages. The book, a compendium of forgotten philosophies, received subtle annotations in its margins. A light, enigmatic smile hovered on his lips. He was on the edge of a thirty-meter bridge, under which a strong, black current of water flowed.
Beside him, people in loose, neutral-colored clothes walked, maintaining a respectful distance. Orpheus, despite wearing a loose brown cloak, did not try to hide his nature. His red eyes, tired from a long journey, and his firm posture screamed "Hunter." He proudly displayed what he was.
Crystal City was a stark contrast to the rest of the continent. The ground was paved with crystal stones, reflecting the light ethereally, instead of the usual black stones. The architecture was rustic, with beautifully crafted wooden houses and cherry blossom trees that bloomed everywhere. However, the reflection in the crystal stones was a subtle blood-red, a constant reminder of the domination. At the top of a fifteen-meter stone tower, the symbol of the Sun, Ygon's emblem, was engraved. Everyone knew what it meant: there, Ygon ruled. Where the Sun was, he would be.
Orpheus jumped to the ground and walked towards the center. Exchanging information with merchants while buying and eating an apple, he noticed the abundance of dried meat, a great supply for the journey.
His destination was a hotel, where he had befriended the owner, Henry.
## II. Henry's Confession
Henry was a black man with red eyes, strong, short, but with a tired amiability. His hoarse voice, which Orpheus always found funny, was the only thing that prevented him from being completely crushed by the weight of life. Orpheus called him "dwarf," and Henry, although feigning anger, let it slide.
During the two weeks Orpheus stayed at the hotel, Henry had never felt so safe. At fifty, he could no longer bear to be blackmailed by Ygon's military and the hunters who slept and ate for free in exchange for loyalty to the tyrant. The hotel had become a meeting point for the continent's scum, the border where the worst and the best mingled. Henry was exhausted, but Orpheus's arrival had changed his paradigm.
He remembered that day, three weeks ago.
Henry was brushing his teeth in the basement, his new home, as all the rooms, including his own, had been taken over by soldiers and hunters. He washed his face, tired not from sleeping poorly, but from existing.
His daughter, Girassol (Sunflower), appeared. She wore a beautiful yellow dress, was small, five feet tall, with golden hair that reached her knees and eyes the color of cherry blossoms. Her soft brown skin radiated a beauty that changed the environment around her, and this deeply worried Henry.
— Father, the soldiers and hunters want the food and drinks ready in ten minutes — Girassol said. She knew the news would irritate her father, but it was better to be direct to avoid something worse.
Henry sighed, just shaking his head.
— It was a shitty day, Orpheus — Henry vented, in his letter. — It was terrible. My daughter sang to entertain those pigs, while they ate and drank like animals. Many said Ygon would change the continent. He did change it, yes. He's just a new dictator for a miserable people.
Henry continued, the pen scratching the paper.
— You know, although it was difficult, I worked. What mattered was one more day of life. But how far can I call this life when I see my daughter being treated like a whore, being humiliated by filthy pigs? I could have done something, but the fear of dying and her being abused by those trash was worse. I feared my daughter would wake up the next day and I would be dead.
Girassol sang while Henry served a hundred soldiers and ten hunters. The military gave him money, but he didn't care about the money. He just wanted to leave, but they wouldn't let him. He even offered the hotel, but...
— The military captain, a boor, laughed in my face while drinking with those monkeys. He said the fun was watching my daughter sing. I was one step away from madness. I knew what was going to happen, and the moment was near.
— That's when you arrived. Thirsty, tired, and looking for a place to sleep. Those red eyes, tired from a long journey. I thought you were a dreamer traveling in search of a few coins. You asked for a service and a roof. I was overwhelmed, I had too much money, but I felt disgusted by that money. I wanted to get rid of everything, so I hired you. You were my escape. I left all the heavy work to you.
Orpheus cleaned the tables, served food and drink, washed the clothes of the military and hunters. Henry just kept planning the escape for days, thinking about how to take his daughter.
— After two weeks, you became very close to Girassol. You smiled, she smiled back. You told jokes, and she laughed, even though they were terrible. I saw that my daughter felt an emotion that, for the first time, scared me: **hope**. That hope terrified me, Orpheus.
— Time passed, and your friendship grew. The military became envious, started to humiliate you, step on you, spit on you, and treat you badly. I was so happy, Orpheus! Seeing them focused on you and leaving my daughter and me aside was exciting. I felt free. But the nights weighed on my thoughts. I am like them. I enjoyed seeing you suffer. I saw you being destroyed and humiliated, and I rooted for it. What gives me the right to be different? What gives me the right to be free if I imprisoned you in the same cage I am in?
— I am a monster, Orpheus, for feeling a false hope. And, over time, I had the same feeling as my daughter that I feared so much: I had hope. I became attached to you. I liked you. You are a good boy, you talk a lot, you are cheerful, you know how to make people happy around you. I don't even know where you came from, but I'm sure your family took very good care of you.
## III. The Price of Freedom
Henry made his decision the night he talked to Girassol.
— She questioned me about what my fear was. I didn't know how to answer. I was afraid she would die, so I told her. But she didn't believe it. She laughed ironically. Then, I slapped her face. It was the worst mistake, Orpheus. I never felt so dirty.
Girassol said something Henry would never forget:
> "You are not afraid of losing me, because you have already lost me. My life belongs to the military, not to you, father."
— At that moment, I realized I had made a mistake. I made a deal with the military. I lied to myself saying I had no choice, but I did! The money was a lot. I would retire in six months of work with that much money. I lied saying the soldiers forced me, but they didn't. Not at first.
Henry went to Orpheus and sent him away.
— I won't lock another bird in this cage.
Orpheus looked at him, reading his soul.
— I know, Henry, what it's like to be a slave. It's okay. My master always smiled when I was afraid.
Orpheus smiled at Henry. It was a smile that brought peace, emanated a warm energy that gave him the will to live. But Henry had accepted his fate.
— Leave, Orpheus, and take my daughter, please. That's all I ask. The border is ten kilometers from here. I will give you money to do this job and the map.
When Orpheus heard the word **job** and **contract**, his expression changed. He raised his hand to Henry with a serious look. His eyes were those of a dog looking at a piece of meat.
Henry shook his hand, finalizing the contract.
Orpheus left the hotel that night without saying anything. He disappeared like the wind. It was strange, Henry had never felt that before. It was terrifying.
*Who is he? What is he?*
The next morning, Henry woke up to brush his teeth. Orpheus was no longer there. He slept on the wooden floor with some rags. His daughter had already gotten up. Henry tried to believe that Orpheus and she had fled. It was all he asked of God.
He washed his face. He knew that was the day of his death, but his face radiated life. He was free. He was happy.
He climbed the stairs and left the basement.
The tables, chairs, counter, food, drinks... everything was served.
The soldiers were dead. Hunters dead. Sitting, lying in their own pool of blood. Henry saw a sea of blood and death.
He ran through the hotel looking for his daughter, desperate.
Then, he ran out of the hotel, looking for help and information about what had happened. He saw a city bathed in blood and death.
All the military and hunters were dead. People walked through the city as if everything was normal, stepping over the bodies. They shouted **Freedom**, drank, danced, and laughed.
And, running towards him, was Girassol. Happy, smiling.
— It was all I asked for, Orpheus. It was all I wanted.
Henry wrote, his voice choked with memory:
> I know it was you. I know you didn't ask for anything else. I owe you my life, I owe you everything, and one day I will pay, no matter where you are. The population of Crystal will be with you. God bless your master. God bless you.
Girassol said she didn't know what had happened, that she woke up and everything had changed. The population too. But Henry knew. And he would make sure to make it clear who had saved them.
*** *End of Chapter *