❝We too have a bond, and it's not only tied by the blood we were born with.❞
As a member of the Spider family you too were given a role, and that role was decided since the day your younger brother Rui was born. Once your parents died you were left...
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There was something oddly comforting in wandering around the old village you resided in. The soft hue of the moonlight caressed the timeworn cottages in a surreal glow, reflecting its light on the broken shards of glass of their windows. And the delicate scent of wildflowers, carried by a gentle summer's breeze, weaving a nostalgic tapestry that danced in the night air. Reminding you just how far you were from the smell of fear and death you had grown accustomed to. Your pace was slow, not rushing to any of the old houses as you made your way to each of their front doors. And just when you had finished inspecting a building for anything valuable, you blew out a candle that you had lit up in front of it, just to keep track of which one you had gone through and which one you still had to visit.
Amidst the ruins, the occasional flicker of fireflies weaving through the air like living lanterns offered a sense of comforting nostalgia and a hauntingly beautiful respite from the bustling world beyond. You carried yourself to the doorstep of another among many skeletal structures, and you gently pushed the door open, letting the moonlight bathe the old wooden floor. This one was probably the most neatly kept one, despite nature's intervention in coating its walls with vines and moss the furniture seemed to be exactly where it should've been, and not scattered around as you had witnessed in other abitations.
You couldn't help but notice a small broken frame on the floor as you looked through the drawers. And you hesitantly picked it up, wiping away the dirt and the dust to see the photo better. Your eyes softened at the three figures in the portrait. A tall man stood behind what you could make out to be his daughter and his wife, apparently pregnant, as she gently held her round belly. They all had smiles on their faces and their daughter, who you guessed couldn't be more than a few years younger than you, had the brightest one. You glanced up at the wall, in search of maybe the place where it once was hanging, but with no luck. Moved by an unfamiliar sense of guilt, you placed the broken frame on the table a few feet away from you, and you bowed in respect. Apologizing for whatever you were going to take from them.
You exited the house with a few kimonos in hand, blowing the candle out as you did so. They were good enough to be used, and maybe with a wash and a few stitches, they could be as good as new. Quiet footsteps catch your attention, and you turn to see your brother walking towards you in the distance, a few things he had also found in his hands.
"How did it go?"
He shrugs as he approaches "Other than a few blankets and old books I didn't find much." He holds his hands out, letting you have a look at the objects in question and you hum in understanding, briefly touching the old fabric.
