Chapter Text
Rudo had run away.
Chiwa stood under the morning light, shocked by both his and her actions. She was still hugging the stuffed toy, her gaze lost towards the direction Rudo had suddenly taken.
She took a deep breath, adjusting a lock of hair, her cheeks still flushed red: she almost confessed her feelings a few seconds ago, and that thought was enough to make her blush.
Plus Rudo had gifted her the cute puppie plush, bunny-like, the same one she had pointed to the day before.
“I’ll treasure you for sure, little one”, she whispered, brushing her hand softly on the stuffed toy’s head.
She looked up to see if anyone was around but, at the edge of the cliff, there was no one aside from her.
Her gaze shifted on the crowd gathering in the execution site in the distance, but her eyes drifted quickly away from the saddening view. Criminals may deserve that treatment and yet she couldn’t understand how that show attracted so many curious.
Her eyes locked again on where Rudo was standing just a few minutes ago, wondering why her friend had dashed off so quickly after her words.
Was his shyness the reason for such a hurry?
Maybe he had forgotten something at home?
Sitting at the cliff’s edge, Chiwa pondered whether she should follow him or not.
However Rudo was not willing to come back and, after a while, she got up, scoffed the dust off her dress and took his house’s direction.
______________
Normally civilians addressed the tribal district as a “dirty labyrinth for rats” and they were indeed right about the first part: roads’ paths were made from rimmed earth and streets branched off in alleys that could mislead inexperienced visitors.
The wind often lifted dirt particles, making the air dusty and carrying the scents of the garbage rotting in corners.
Houses were made of metal and plastic scraps and it wasn’t rare seeing a collapsed roof and homeless people.
The environment was not pleasant for both civilians and tribals but “rats” had adapted well to the usual trashy environment.
Chiwa was walking for about ten minutes already, going down stairs and through alleys, confidently avoiding the garbage left everywhere on the ground.
She had almost arrived at Rudo's home when she started noticing small groups of people gathering around and the murmuring getting louder.
“Have you heard the news?” She was asked by an old man, who got interrupted by his wife scolding him:“She’s just a kid, can’t you see?!”
Chiwa smiled embarrassedly and kept walking.
As the number of people increased, the murmuring grew stronger, filling the air like an unpleasant smell until a voice in the orchestra spoke louder:””Rudo became a murderer afterall! What’s more, he killed his foster father!”
Chiwa froze behind the street corner she was about to turn. Her breathing stopped for a second and her heart skipped a beat.
Had she heard it correctly?
Rudo…killing…
She felt her body heavier as the light went dimmer too. Her mouth was dry while all she could hear was her heart pounding in the chest.
“It can’t be…Rudo?” she muttered shocked while grabbing his gift tighter.
_______________
Chiwa started running towards Rudo’s home but there were already Apostles blocking the streets nearby.
The crowd was already heading somewhere, probably where the execution would have taken place, following the officers' squad.
She followed the flow of people, clinging to the stuffed toy, in hope to catch a glimpse of Rudo amongst the officers.
It wasn’t rare for tribals to view death sentences but this time, since Rudo was a well-known figure in the district, the crowd was denser than usual and she wasn’t able to see him at all.
They reached the execution site, the same one Chiwa and Rudo were observing from the cliff just half an hour before and, as the parade reached the plain area, Chiwa was finally able to see Rudo, unconscious, while officers were tying his wrists to the ropes.
Blood.
Rudo had blood all over him.
And it wasn’t his…
________________
“This can’t be happening.”
“I heard wrong.”
“It must be someone else”
She needed to find Rudo and she was probably being misled by the crowd: her friend couldn’t be there…right?
“Once I’ll reach this parade’s lead, I’m sure I won’t find him”
She kept walking anxiously, clinging into the stuffed toy and into the hope all those people were wrong.
_________________
Once she saw the blood all over him, all her beliefs vacillated.
She wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
She felt her heart shattering at the sudden realisation she may have trusted the wrong person.
She felt betrayed.
Everything seemed distant, padded as if in a bubble.
Her world went dark, her gaze fixed on the ground while the crowd was yelling the awful truth.
As the Apostles were reading Rudo’s death sentence, she had already judged him.
He shouted something but words couldn’t reach her.
It wasn’t the crowd noise’s fault.
His words crossed in fact that distance and they could have been as clear as day…for those who were willing to listen.
But all she could hear was her heart’s cracking and her brain trying to process her emotions.
From the crowd, Chiwa looked up, ignoring Rudo’s pleading eyes, asking for an ally in the enemies’ land.
It was a kind of comfort she couldn't give him and his imploring gaze didn’t meet her empty eyes.
“I trusted you..” Chiwa hesitated for half a second before speaking again.
Then, her words slipped out, emotionless. “You’re really the son of a murderer”
She turned around, hollow inside.
The stuffed toy slipped from her arms, but she didn’t turn nor stopped.
She dragged herself out of the yelling crowd.
Out of the execution.
Out of all noise.
Out of the murderer’s accusations of the crowd.
As far as she could.
______________________
Ropes released.
The assassin fell into the Abyss.
A new corpse was added on the pile of fallen ones alongside with trash, not actually far different than an organic residue.
Some spectators kept yelling insults while others were already leaving the place, satisfied.
The fire of anger against the young assassin dwindled and the crowd dispersed slowly, like smoke in the air.
Even the whispers faded away and silence fell heavy.
The execution site was the crowds’ playground: a place to yell, shout and have fun someway.
However it was indeed a weird place for a toy: a bunny plushie had been left, its belly up, on the dusty ground.
His fur was once white but now, under the morning sun it seemed brown; a red ribbon still tied around its neck.
The only thing in the desert space.
That day it saw the Sun’s course though the sky and witnessed the other two executions scheduled there.
No one, nor tribals nor Apostles, acknowledged the presence of the unusual guest; the ones who did didn’t dare to touch such garbage.
It would probably ended up in the trash where it belonged if it wasn’t for two main reasons: the lack of trash collectors in the tribals’ city area and its owner reclaiming it.
______________________
Chiwa had wandered all day after Rudo’s execution: at first she was too shocked to speak, even to think.
She just kept going, step after step, automatically until her legs collapsed in a narrow alley. She crouched and started to cry.
She couldn’t control herself.
She couldn’t hold her tears any longer.
Her breath was shaky.
Once she had grown up, she had decided not to cry anymore and that belief grew even stronger when she had met Rudo: she had no right to cry since she wasn’t struggling like he did, right?
Yet now she was too desperate.
Desperately angry at Rudo’s action.
Desperately angry for her own.
It was too painful to acknowledge what had happened.
She shutted down her thoughts and just let tears run down her cheeks, taking away the dust along their paths.
She didn’t even notice the few people passing that, reciprocally, ignored the kid crying in the corner.
She didn’t even acknowledge the time passing while she was sobbing there until she looked up and saw the sky painted red.
In that moment she realised she had lost his gift.
She had never run so fast in her whole life.
______________________
She came rushing to the site while the Sun was setting.
Her short brown hair, blowing in the wind, were reddish under that light.
She kneeled down and hugged the stuffed toy as tight as she could, burying her watery eyes into its dusty fur.
She stayed like this for a few minutes, sobbing.
Then she wiped her tears, her eyes were still red and watery.
She brushed the dust off herself and the plush as best as she could and headed towards her home, keeping the little puppy tight to her chest.
—————————
“Chiwa! You’re finally home! I need help here!” said a lady’s voice.
“I’m coming, mom!” The girl answered, her voice still uncertain from crying, hearth pounding in her ears.
She quickly entered her bedroom, leaving the plush into the nearest closet and hurried in the kitchen again to help.
The girl forced herself to focus on folding the dumplings for her mum, her hands working skillfully as her mind was still lost in her thoughts.
“Chiwa! I need to cook them! Be quicker!” her mum hurried her multiple times while Chiwa answered with nods.
When her father came home too, food was ready and the table set.
The family sat for dinner as always and her parents started about his work day.
“I heard that the murderer’s son was sentenced to death today” her dad suddenly announced, satisfied with the news.
Her mum sighed with relief :”Finally! The neighbourhood should be safer now!”
“Yeah, he shouldn’t be allowed here in the first place!” He added “I heard the victim was his foster father too!”
“Ugh, he didn’t even hesitate for the person who was caring for him the most!” commented her mom, shocked.
Chiwa flinched but none of her parents noticed.
“For sure! He was unforgivable as I told you”
The conversation then shifted to general topics but Chiwa’s mind kept meditating on Rudo.
———————————
Those words kept echoing in Chiwa’s mind even when she was already in her bed, lights off, staring at the dark ceiling.
A dim light came from the window and illuminated the puppy plush against her chest.
She had washed with care and, even though it was still damp, she couldn’t let it go. Even if it meant getting her pajamas damp too.
__________________
That boy was a murderer.
Like his parents.
There was no point in keeping the assassin’s gift.
Chiwa formed that thought while hugging the plushie, now, on her bed.
Then why?
Why has she saved it from the trash?
That was stupid.
That was stupid.
That was stupid!!
Exactly!
That was stupid!
How could he be a murderer?
Rudo was kind.
But…even kind people can be evil, can’t they?
Yet she had never seen the violent side of Rudo.
Was he that good at hiding it?
No. Rudo wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Rudo would have never killed Regto either.
“Regto was killed!”
A shiver ran down her spine.
Where has she heard that voice?
Those were Rudo’s words.
“I beg you to find who did it”
Who did it?! You did it, Rudo. You have done that.
You are a murderer.
Are you happy now?
Are you in hell right now? In the Abyss…
no.
No.
NO.
Rudo hasn’t followed his parents’ path.
He was kind, he was gentle.
Even when other people were rude.
Her Rudo was NOT guilty.
“I beg you to find who did it”
She could still help with that..
Help with what?
Rudo was dead.
He had died.
She could no longer see him, nor hear nor talk to him.
She didn’t say goodbye.
He was asking for support.
Support. In that specific instant. Not later…
Not now that he was no longer in this world.
She had abandoned his friend, the one she claimed to love.
His ruby eyes were begging for an ally, always filled with that light he had for her.
She wasn’t imagining that, was she?
A murderer can’t have that look on his face.
And so what was the point of finding the truth, since he was no longer in this world?
Finding the truth itself was the goal.
She needed to know if Rudo actually betrayed her…
…or if she was actually the one to be condemned.