The next day, Lena woke up early. With a bad feeling, she quickly lifted her head to look for her brother, and thankfully, he was sleeping soundly beside her.
'Why did I wake up so early?'
Her brother always woke up before her and brought her a glass of water from somewhere. But today, for some reason, he was still asleep.
'Is he very tired?'
Lena was filled with guilt towards her brother. She felt like she wasn't doing much. Her brother found most of their food, and she just followed him around and ate what he gave her.
I'm a burden.
Afraid of waking up her brother if she continued to fidget, Lena carefully crawled out.
The cup outside was filled with water. Thinking about it, it seemed like the cup had been filled with rainwater from yesterday's downpour. Her brother probably hadn't gone to fetch water because there was already some.
She finally had something to do. Lena drank a little water and left most of it.
This is for brother.
Lena sat down on the ground to wait for her brother and basked in the morning sun. The bright sunlight reminded her of a wonderful dream she had last night.
+ + +
A spacious room, shining in all the colors of the rainbow.
I was playing hide-and-seek. The room was so large that there were hiding places everywhere. After much deliberation, I hid behind a crimson curtain and peeked out at my brother, who was wandering around, asking if anyone had seen my little sister.
I tried my best not to giggle. But the more I tried to hold back my laughter, the funnier it became, and I ended up bursting out. Only then did my brother find me.
"There you are! My little princess!"
My brother scooped me up in his arms and spun me around. Even as the room whirled around me, I could see my brother's face clearly...
Then, I heard someone's voice.
+ + +
"You're up early."
"Yes! I woke up first today."
Leo carefully crawled out, making sure not to collapse their dwelling.
Lena was leaning against the wall, basking in the sun. The sight of her was so beautiful, it made his heart ache.
"Did you drink some water?"
"Yes. I drank it all. This is for you, brother."
She had only taken a few sips and left the rest, so the cup was still more than half full. He handed the cup with the remaining water to his sister. She refused, saying it was all for him, but he gently pressed it into her hands.
Leo stretched his short, thin limbs. He hadn't been able to shake off his fatigue as the dampness from the ground had seeped into his body overnight, but hunger gnawed at him as always.
There would be some food near the market in the early morning. The merchants would have thrown out any leftover food from the previous day's sales, so they had to scavenge before the garbage was collected.
He quickly disguised Lena and hurried towards the market.
The market was bustling with merchants transporting their goods.
The siblings rummaged through the garbage bins. They found a good amount of vegetables, like lettuce, which were difficult to store, and he picked out the clean ones and handed them to his sister.
She was such a good girl, eating without a single complaint.
Then Lena found a potato.
"Can we eat this too?"
It had sprouted.
Leo snatched the potato before his sister could bite into it and told her that sprouted potatoes were not edible.
They continued to search for food, and Leo spotted a group of people approaching in the distance. They were beggars, with their shabby clothes and scavenging through garbage bins.
"Lena, let's go."
There was nothing good to be gained from encountering those guys, so Leo quickly left with what they had gathered. A few of them saw the siblings, but they didn't give chase.
Their thirst was quenched, and their stomachs were slightly full from the vegetables.
Leo used this small window of opportunity to familiarize himself with the surroundings. They walked around, chatting idly.
His sister loved talking about building houses, so she pointed out a few sunny spots, saying, "Let's build our house here next time, this place looks nice too."
Just imagining it made her happy.
Someday, I want to live in a nice, warm house with my brother forever!
They had been walking for a while when Lena started to feel strange.
'Huh...? Why does my head hurt?'
For some reason, her head hurt more than her legs, and despite the long walk, she felt cold rather than hot.
Her body trembled, and her muscles stiffened, making it difficult to walk. Her brother, walking ahead of her, was too busy observing their surroundings to notice.
'I shouldn't worry brother. But my stomach hurts too... Am I hungry? No, I don't think so. I ate a little while ago?'
Cold sweat dripped from her forehead, but Lena endured it silently and followed her brother.
She tried to calm herself with deep breaths, but it was no use.
The dizziness only intensified.
The world began to spin slowly.
* * *
"Lena?"
Leo was lost in thought, familiarizing himself with the streets, when he suddenly realized there was no sound of footsteps behind him.
He turned around to find Lena collapsed a few steps behind him.