Even with her eyes open or closed, the scene before her remained the same. The room, where almost no light entered, wrapped around a single person without mercy, indifferent to time and space.

In a desolate space that would have driven an ordinary person to madness, not a trace of anxiety showed in the girl’s eyes. Her gaze, at once sharp and somehow vacant, caught a faint golden hue each time it shifted, the only light in that dark space.

Haa. A small sigh passed her lips, and a pale breath bloomed and faded. The girl stared into empty space and curled her body tighter. Her breathing was as frail as her small frame, a faint presence so quiet that even in the narrow, silent storehouse, one had to strain to hear it.

Time passed without any way to measure it. Creeeak. The sound of old hinges filled the air as a single shaft of light slowly widened across the floor. The girl squinted softly at the light reaching her feet, then shifted her gaze to the person peeking through the gap in the door.

“…Hey.”

Hey. That was one of the many names people called the girl. Yula, her brown curls falling in waves to her shoulders, carefully shut the creaking door behind her and crouched down in front of the girl.

“Want some of this?”

Resting in the outstretched palm was a cookie baked with dried fruit. Yula bounced her hand up and down, urging the girl to take it, and watched her steadily.

“There was a birthday celebration for the Elder yesterday. They used a generous amount of stored butter, so it’s really good. Try it.”

“…Thank you, Yula.”

The girl, who had been staring at Yula, reached out a thin, dry hand. When the girl’s dirty fingers brushed against Yula’s own plump, fair palm, Yula’s brow twitched slightly, but that was all. Yula watched the girl cradle the cookie in both hands and take a careful bite, and a proud smile spread across her face.

“How is it?”

“It’s good. Soft, and rich, and sweet.”

“Right?”

Yula looked pleased to see the girl in better shape than when she had first found her. Sneaking into the storehouse had taken considerable effort, but from this girl’s perspective, her presence must feel like salvation.

Slipping her treats to put color back into the girl’s hollow cheeks, and patiently repeating and correcting the girl’s halting speech until she could hold a conversation, all of that had been Yula’s doing.

Yula rubbed her own chubby cheek a couple of times for no particular reason, then pulled a candle from her pocket and lit it with the lighter she had brought. Click. The flint struck, and the wavering flame cast shadows across both girls’ faces.

“My mom said she’s going to the village in five days. She’s been busy preparing for the upcoming ritual. I’m planning to tag along.”

“The village?”

“The village. Well, to be exact, it’s not really the village itself, it’s the market in the main street. There’s a lot to buy for the ritual preparations. Apparently what we harvest here isn’t nearly enough.”

“Main street, market, ritual….”

The girl slowly repeated each word Yula had said. Yula watched her, looking almost eager to learn, and chattered on in a dreamy voice.

“Remember the shop clerk from the general store I told you about last time?”

“Yeah…. I remember. Freckles.”

“That’s right. I said his face, all covered in little freckles, was really cute. You remembered!”

Yula gathered her brown curls to one side, swept them down, and squirmed with delight.

“I thought he was probably a capybara beast-kin, or maybe a cow beast-kin. If I see him again this time, I’ll ask where he lives. Once I come of age I’m leaving this place, so I need to start thinking ahead about where to go! New guardian deity this, new guardian deity that, but honestly, I care more about myself. I’m getting out of this suffocating, cramped place. I’ll go to the city with someone I like, build a home together, have children, and live happily. I heard the rabbit territory next door has been thriving, so starting fresh there might be nice.”

Even as Yula chattered on with her head full of dreams, the girl only widened her eyes a little and showed no particular reaction. It seemed like she had only half understood, or perhaps she simply had no interest in what Yula was saying. But none of that mattered to Yula. Having someone who would listen to her talk was enough.

She knew her parents strictly forbade anyone from entering this place, but she had no choice. These irreverent thoughts that went against the guardian deity’s word had nowhere else to go but here, to this girl. Yula always snuck in during the one time each month when her parents were away.

In return, the girl got to taste the food Yula brought, fill her ignorant mind with a little knowledge, and gain someone to talk to. Wasn’t that a fair exchange? Yula genuinely believed so, and twirled a curl around her finger.

“I want to come of age soon and receive my blessing. After that, everyone will leave me alone. To think there’s still a whole year left. Come to think of it, you’re almost of age too, aren’t you?”

Yula’s eyes went wide with sudden realization as she looked the girl over from head to toe. She did bring food sometimes, but living every day on nothing but tasteless white bread and watery soup, there was no way the girl could have developed properly. She had a pretty face, but it still held the look of a child, and her body was all skin and bones. Even knowing in her head that the girl was nearly of age, Yula had never quite felt it as real. She swallowed dryly at the sight of that frail body, the kind that looked like it would snap if it bumped into anything. Coming of age. She knew what would happen to the girl in front of her once she did.

“When you come of age….”

Yula’s face stiffened without her meaning it to, and she bit her lip. Her mother, heading to the village in five days to prepare for the ritual ten days away. The girl, with coming of age right around the corner. The stern-looking man who seemed to have come from far away. The adults who disappeared somewhere every night and returned again.

Yula had belonged to this group since birth. There was no way she didn’t know. She could almost hear her mother’s voice, bright with relief that they could finally be rid of it.

‘Why would you name a sacrifice that’s going to die anyway. It’ll bring bad luck.’

‘Education? Give her too much knowledge and she’ll get clever and start thinking about running away. Leave her be.’

Her mother had been uneasy about the child from the very start, knowing she had to raise it only until it came of age and could be offered up. She locked the child in the storehouse so no one would grow attached to something that was going to die anyway, and did nothing more than push the bare minimum of food through at mealtimes.

The child, who had once pounded on the storehouse door and wailed, gradually learned to give up. Perhaps the situation was too much for such a small body to bear, because she lost her memories too. The child, who had grown docile so quickly, lived on after that as a presence that was there and yet not there. Yula, who had felt the misfortune of someone her own age as though it were her own, had tried to push back, just once.

‘It’s too cruel. A sacrifice! Don’t lock her up, just let her live with us….’

‘Are you going to take her place?’

Young Yula had gone quiet, frightened by her father’s sharp glare and the force of his voice.

‘Every ten years, we must offer a sacrifice who is about to come of age. That is the oracle, the will of the guardian deity. If we raise her freely and she runs off because she doesn’t want to die, what then? Never mind the punishment, she’s the only one her age besides you. Are you going to take her place, Yula? Well?’

In the end, there were only two choices. Pretend not to know and go on living her comfortable life, or risk becoming the sacrifice herself by looking out for the child.

Naturally, Yula had chosen to pretend not to know. The scraps of conscience and guilt that remained were why she still snuck in to check on the girl from time to time.

With the girl’s end now close enough to touch, what could she possibly say? Run away right now. I’ll help you? Or if not that…. Yula blinked hard against the blur filling her eyes and forced the corners of her trembling mouth upward.