02-04-2026, 01:31 AM
Nazariy listened without interrupting.
He crouched, then stood, then crouched again, as if testing which position fit the moment. His fingers brushed the wall where the black had been, smearing dust. He wiped them on his coat. When Kaelan finished, Nazariy was quiet for a time.
He looked past Kaelan, toward the broken trees, the concrete ribs of the buildings, and the place where the groundwater trickled into the lake.
“I will go,” he said finally. Without weight and without excitement. Like agreeing to walk to another room. He reached into his pocket and touched the rock there, thumb pressing into its painted eye. He didn’t take it out.
“I don’t know what happens when I stay with people,” he added, after a moment. “They stop lasting.” He shrugged lightly, the motion minimal. “My parents. Animals. Plants. Maybe it’s the place. Maybe it’s me.”
He took a step closer, then stopped himself, as if remembering something important. He looked Kaelan over: his hands, his face, the way his chest rose too fast when he was excited. His eyes squinted, betraying a curious thought.
“You might get sick,” Nazariy said. Not as a warning. Just a fact. “Or tired. Or unlucky. If that happens, it won’t be because I wanted it.” He straightened, brushing dust from his knees. “But I will go with you. I need to get my things, and say goodbye.”
He crouched, then stood, then crouched again, as if testing which position fit the moment. His fingers brushed the wall where the black had been, smearing dust. He wiped them on his coat. When Kaelan finished, Nazariy was quiet for a time.
He looked past Kaelan, toward the broken trees, the concrete ribs of the buildings, and the place where the groundwater trickled into the lake.
“I will go,” he said finally. Without weight and without excitement. Like agreeing to walk to another room. He reached into his pocket and touched the rock there, thumb pressing into its painted eye. He didn’t take it out.
“I don’t know what happens when I stay with people,” he added, after a moment. “They stop lasting.” He shrugged lightly, the motion minimal. “My parents. Animals. Plants. Maybe it’s the place. Maybe it’s me.”
He took a step closer, then stopped himself, as if remembering something important. He looked Kaelan over: his hands, his face, the way his chest rose too fast when he was excited. His eyes squinted, betraying a curious thought.
“You might get sick,” Nazariy said. Not as a warning. Just a fact. “Or tired. Or unlucky. If that happens, it won’t be because I wanted it.” He straightened, brushing dust from his knees. “But I will go with you. I need to get my things, and say goodbye.”