The day passed as quickly as he could perceive.
He had woken up on a mattress on the floor. Turning his head to the side, he found Shaphira with her arm hanging off the bed, saliva dripping from her lips onto the floor.
Slady ran his fingers through his hair. He muttered to himself about the couple. Both of their pasts had been terrible, but everything they had built together was beautiful. As he got up, he saw that, beside Shaphira...
There was nothing.
Upon reaching the kitchen, a yellow light dispelled, for a moment, the darkness that turned mere chairs into monsters. A silhouette crouched down while reaching for something in the refrigerator. When Slady whispered her name, Elisa looked up with wide eyes.
"Hi, Uncle Slady."
Her eyes dropped. The motion of her body as she grabbed a glass, carried it to the counter, and filled it with water was slow. She scratched her stomach under her shirt, looking away as she brought the drink to her lips.
"I didn't mean to startle you. Do you want some water?"
"No, it's fine. Do you need something?"
"I... I would appreciate it. But won't we end up waking someone?"
"We don't have to stay here, if you'd rather not."
"Alright, then."
***
On the cold streets of Libretãnhya, the two walked side by side. The girl watched the streetlights illuminate her eyes, her left hand constantly rubbing her elbow.
Slady observed her without changing his expression. Elisa gave a small cough before speaking.
"Uncle Slady."
"Yes?"
"Can I hold your hand?"
She reached out. He reached back. Their fingers intertwined.
"It's cold."
"Do you want me to switch?"
"No. I actually like it. By the way, you never told me when you lost your arm."
"I would say it's an unfortunate story. There's no need to revisit it."
"Sorry for asking."
"Please, never stop asking, Elisa."
Elisa squeezed his fingers tighter.
"You know... it's already been a year since my father died. But it feels like it was only yesterday."
"..."
"I miss him. I wish I had cried in his arms, told him how much I loved him. Even if I had known what was going to happen, I could have made more of the time. But I couldn't."
"Elisa, cry."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
But her voice was muffled against his chest. Slady wrapped his ordinary arm around her. The other one (the mechanical one) rested on her hair, slowly stroking her strands, sliding gently down to her back, giving soft pats.
Elisa did not go quiet, the weight of her body dissolving in his arms. Tears ran freely. She clutched his shirt, wiping her own face on the reddish fabric.
"I don't want to lose anyone else. My mother, my father are already gone. I don't want to lose you too, Slady."
"You never will. I will be here, forever."
Kneeling on the floor, Slady held her until the crying stopped. The arms around his neck loosened gradually, the shirt stained no more, and the sobs fell silent. The weight released itself entirely.
As he carried her in his arms, the girl's unconscious mind drifted through a not-so-distant past.
***
The sun burned the face of a man lying among the vineyards.
Suddenly, a child's cry made him sit up. A small girl ran toward him with a smile full of tiny teeth.
"Uncle!"
She leapt onto his lap. Her uncle settled her on his legs, combing her short hair with his human fingers.
"Got you. Did your father tell you why I came?"
"Of course! You came to feed me, give me a bath, and put me to sleep!"
"Yes... you're mine for today."
Seated in a chair with a small built-in table, Elisa watched the man open the kitchen drawers.
"Uncle Slady!"
"Hm?"
"I want a burger!"
"A burger? You want to put me to work early?"
"Exactly!"
"You're just like your father. Cruel."
"No! I'm good! Elisa is good! Daddy too!"
"Sure, sure... but there won't be a burger."
"Why?! I like it!"
"I know. But it isn't healthy for a young lady, and you already lost a baby tooth. Better to wait until you've recovered."
"Boring."
She crossed her arms with a pout on her lips.
With the food in hand, Slady pressed the spoon against the child's lips, but she turned away, and it caught her cheek. After some insisting, she opened her mouth, biting and swallowing...
"Mmm! I want more, Uncle Slady!"
"Of course, eat as much as you like."
After the meal and the chaotic bath session, Slady sat on the couch with the little girl asleep against his chest. All of reality felt light. There was no fear, no sense of anything missing.
Only the warmth of that uncle who never let go.
***
In a laboratory, machines lay switched off, men and women in lab coats rested in their rooms. But amid all that technology, there was only a single light.
Inside a containment capsule, there was a naked woman. Her auburn hair fell against her chest. Her muscles defined like lines painted by something beyond human.
There were wires connected to her skull. Her eyes moved beneath her eyelids. Her fists clenched, blood mixing with the greenish liquid that surrounded her.
Suddenly, her eyes opened.
Red.
Her pupils piercing directly into her own reflection.