شكرًا للتنبيه يا عبد الرحمن 🤍 — ومعك
Saō Hyun woke a little before dawn.
There was no clear reason for it.
He hadn't heard a sound. He hadn't sensed danger.
But his body had learned to wake before the world called for him.
He opened his eyes in the darkness.
The worn wooden ceiling was above him, as always. A long crack in one of the planks allowed a thin thread of starlight to slip inside. The room was cold, and the smell of old firewood still lingered in the air.
He breathed in slowly.
No blood.
No screams.
No blades.
Just… morning.
He sat up carefully so he wouldn't wake the others. His foot still ached sometimes, but it no longer cried out the way it once had. The pain had become quiet now — a silent part of him, like a shadow that never leaves.
He put on his cloak and stepped outside the hut.
The air was cold and clean, as if the mountain had washed it during the night. The ground was slightly damp with dawn's dew. The trees stood in stillness, almost as if they were praying. The birds had not begun their songs yet, and the world rested in that narrow space between sleep and waking.
Saō Hyun stood there alone.
And he wondered:
Is this what life is?
Not running.
Not hurting.
Not just surviving.
But this — standing still while nothing happens.
Something unfamiliar stirred in his chest.
It wasn't happiness.
It wasn't sadness.
It was… calm.
And that frightened him a little.
He lit the fire in the outdoor hearth as he always did. He gathered the wood, broke it, stacked it, then struck the spark until a gentle flame rose.
He went back inside to wake Jon.
Jon was sleeping near the door, wrapped in a rough blanket. His black hair was messy, and his face held that gentle seriousness that made him seem older than he was.
Saō Hyun nudged him lightly.
"Jon."
Jon opened his eyes slowly.
"Morning…"
he murmured with a yawn before sitting up.
"You're up early."
Saō Hyun nodded.
"I woke up on my own."
Jon smiled faintly.
"Then today will be long."
Ara woke soon after.
She stepped out rubbing her eyes, her long brown hair tied in a hurry, her cheeks flushed with sleep.
"You started the fire without me,"
she complained softly, half-awake and half-smiling.
"Fire doesn't wait," Jon said as he pulled on his coat.
"Neither does hunger."
Ara sat beside the hearth, stretching her hands toward the warmth.
"Saō… could you fetch some water today? The barrel's empty."
He nodded and took the bucket, heading toward the small spring below the hill.
The path was short, but he loved it.
He walked it alone, listening only to his footsteps and the distant sound of water.
He carried the bucket in one hand, and with the other he sometimes brushed the tree trunks, as if making sure they were real.
As he walked, he thought:
Will I live like this forever?
Wake up. Work. Eat. Sleep.
The thought frightened him — because a part of him liked it.
He filled the bucket and returned.
After breakfast, Jon went out to hunt.
He took his bow and arrows and smiled at Ara.
"Don't burn anything."
"Don't miss," she replied, waving a wooden spoon at him.
Then he looked at Saō Hyun.
"Come with me for a bit."
They walked together toward the forest.
They didn't talk much. They didn't need to. The sound of their steps was enough.
Jon stopped suddenly.
"Saō."
Saō Hyun looked at him.
"You've changed."
His body stiffened slightly.
"How?"
Jon thought for a moment.
"You're less afraid. And quieter."
Saō Hyun didn't answer.
Jon didn't push.
"That's not a bad thing," he said.
By noon, Jon returned with a small catch — one rabbit.
It wasn't much, but it was enough.
Ara looked at it as if it were a treasure.
"This will last us two days!"
She started cleaning and preparing it, and Saō Hyun helped in silence.
He watched her hands move with quiet skill — something learned from need, not from teaching.
Life here wasn't easy.
But it was honest.
As afternoon drifted toward evening, the three of them sat outside the hut.
Ara mended a torn dress.
Jon repaired the handle of his knife.
Saō Hyun watched the clouds.
One large cloud drifted slowly across the sky, shaped like a wingless bird.
He wondered:
Will everything pass like this?
Then —
They heard it.
At first, it was barely a sound.
More a tremor in the ground.
Then it grew clearer.
Dum… dum… dum…
Jon lifted his head first.
Ara's hands stilled.
Saō Hyun froze.
Dum… dum…
Hooves.
Not one.
Not two.
Several horses.
Approaching.
From the road — toward them.
The three of them looked at one another.
And for the first time in months…
The heavy silence returned.