I froze at this question.
"What?"
"They said we're bad," she whispered. "Dirty blood. Bad omen. Mutt. Freak."
Something in my chest snapped.
Ah.
So that was how they wanted to play it.
I reached out slowly, giving her time to pull away. She did not. So I gently placed my hand on top of her head.
"No," I said, each word steady. "You are not bad. The people who said those things were bad. There is a difference."
Her eyes filled with tears again. The boy looked away, but I saw his lips tremble.
I patted the girl's hair softly. Then, after a moment, I patted the boy's head too.
He stiffened, tense as he is. But he did not pull away.
I mark this as a significant progress.
"Since you can't remember your names, we need something to call you for now," I said.
The two looked up at me. The Yin Yang bear also looked up, curious.
I held my chin in thought.
