While following Jon, Elifero gradually realized they had entered a different part of the village.
The lively noise from earlier streets faded behind them, replaced by an unsettling quiet. The air felt heavier here, as though even sound hesitated to move freely.
The house stood closer together, their windows dark and watchful.
Eyes followed him.
From narrow alleys.
From half ~ opened doors.
From shadows that shifted whenever he tried to focus on them.
They watched his posture. His steps. His breathing.
Like hunters studying prey.
Elifero instinctively slowed.
"Don't look at them like that," Jon said without turning around. His voice was low, firm enough to stop Elifero immediately. "Just stay close to me. Keep your posture straight. Walk like you belong here."
Elifero faced forward at once.
"Got it...," he muttered quietly.
Even without looking, he could still feel the weight of those unseen gazes pressing against his back.
They continued walking.
The silence stretched longer than expected.
Only their footsteps filled the empty street.
****
"We've arrived," Jon finally said, realising a deep breath, as if shedding invisible tension.
Elifero blinked. "Already? I didn't even notice... all the houses look the same."
He realized only then how heavily he was breathing, as though the walk had drained more energy from him than it should have.
The house before them stood modestly among the others, yet something about it felt different.
Older.
Lonelier.
Jon pushed the door open. It resisted at first before slowly giving way with a dull creak.
Darkness greeted them inside.
A faint glow flickered from a distant corner, barely illuminating the room.
Jon stepped forward and flipped a switch.
Warm light spread across the house.
"I'm home," he called out.
Hos voice echoed softly through empty space.
No answer came.
Elifero hesitated near the entrance. "You... live by yourself?"
Jon glanced back, raising an eyebrow. "Do I look like someone who'd announce I'm home if I lived alone?"
Elifero scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I guess not..."
Jon walked toward a small table placed carefully near the wall.
On it rested a picture frame, surrounded by yellow candles and a few dried flowers arranged with care.
One by one, Jon gently extinguished the candles.
Smoke curled upward, disappearing into the air.
"Make yourself comfortable," Jon said, offering a small, casual smile.
Elifero's eyes lingered on the frame.
"So... when you said 'I'm home'.... you were talking to the picture?"
Jon paused.
For a moment, he didn't answer.
"I was checking if mom came back early," he finally said. "She works at the tavern. Busy place. Some nights she barely sleeps."
Elifero nodded slowly, understanding.
His gaze shifted back to the candles.
"Why turn them off?" he asked. "Aren't candles supposed to stay lit?"
Jon let out a quiet laugh ~ softer than before.
"That's my old man."
He looked at the picture frame, his expression changing almost imperceptibly.
"Yellow was his favorite color. Said it reminded him of sunlight on the water when he went fishing."
Jon folded his arms loosely.
"He used to joke that even daylight wasn't bright enough for him. Said if he ever died, he wanted candles burning from morning till dawn... unless someone was home."
He reached up and snatched the back of his neck, smiling faintly.
"So, when I'm here... I turn the lights on instead. Feels closer to what he wanted."
Silence settled between them.
Not uncomfortable.
Just heavy.
Elifero hesitated before speaking again, choosing his words carefully.
"How... did your father die?"
Jon's smile faded.
His eyes lowered toward the floor, and for the first time since they met, his confidence seemed to falter.
The room felt quieter than before.
"Well..."
***
The conversation didn't last long.
Jon shifted the topic.
His voice light. Almost careless.
As if nothing had happened earlier.
As if everything was normal.
But it wasn't.
Then a sound broke through the room.
The door.
It rattled against the frame.
Hard. Unsteady.
Once.
Twice.
Then again.
Each hit louder than the last.
Elifero flinched.
Jon didn't.
Jon went quiet.
Too quiet.
Elifero glanced at him.
Jon's face had changed.
Pale. Still.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Recognition.
"Should I… help?" Elifero asked.
No response.
Jon didn't look at him.
His gaze lowered slightly.
Avoiding the door.
As if he already knew.
As if he had seen this before.
The banging continued.
Heavier now.
Angrier.
Each hit carried something more than frustration.
Something darker.
Then—
The door burst open.
A woman stepped inside.
Her steps were uneven.
Unsteady.
Dragging slightly.
Her clothes were disordered.
Loose.
Wrinkled.
As if she had come from somewhere rough.
A bottle hung from her hand.
Swinging slightly.
Carelessly.
The smell reached Elifero before the meaning did.
Alcohol.
Strong. Sharp. Heavy.
It filled the air instantly.
She walked past them.
Didn't look at them.
Didn't acknowledge them.
Didn't even pause.
Just passed.
"Welcome home, mother."
Jon spoke.
He smiled.
A perfect smile.
Too perfect.
Too controlled.
Elifero felt something twist in his chest.
That smile didn't belong there.
This wasn't the "hardworking mother" Jon had described.
Not even close.
Elifero opened his mouth. Trying to greet her. Trying to say something.
Anything.
Then he saw her eyes.
Cold.
Sharp.
Empty.
Not tired.
Not hurt.
Just wrong.
Filled with something that didn't belong in a parent's gaze.
"I told you…" she muttered.
Her voice was low.
Unstable.
Like it could snap at any moment.
"I told you to stop bringing other people's children here…"
Her grip tightened around the bottle.
"…why don't you ever listen?"
Silence.
A heavy pause.
Then—
"WHY DON'T YOU EVER LISTEN, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
The bottle flew.
Fast. Violent. A blur cutting through the air. Elifero barely saw it. Just the motion. Just the rush.
A sharp gust of air sliced past his face—CRASH!!! Glass exploded against the wall beside Jon. Fragments scattered everywhere. Across the floor. Across the room. Across him.
He didn't move.
Didn't react.
Didn't even flinch.
The room fell silent. Too silent. Quiet. Unnoticed. Elifero stood frozen. His body stiff. His mind was blank. Because nothing about this felt normal. The room fell silent. Not completely, but enough for the moment to feel suffocating. What had just happened replayed itself in Elifero's mind again and again.
His thoughts tangled together, refusing to settle. His face grew pale. His breathing became uneven. He tried to understand it, but nothing made sense. Slowly, he lifted his head and looked at her. There was no hesitation on her face.
No regret. No guilt.
Only anger. Only hatred.
Her eyes were dark, not tired, not hurt, but empty. They were fixed on Jon as if he meant nothing. Her hands trembled slightly, fingers tightening, jaw clenched so hard it looked painful.
Elifero's chest tightened.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing. This wasn't an accident. This wasn't a mistake. This was intentional.
"Are you crazy?" Elifero spoke, the words slipping out before he could stop them.
Her eyes shifted and landed on him. That single glance cut through him.
Cold. Sharp. Unforgiving. His body stiffened instantly. She's going to kill me.
The thought struck him without warning.
It didn't feel like fear. It felt like certainty.
His throat tightened. His hands went cold.
He couldn't move.
Instinct forced him to turn.
He looked at Jon.
And what he saw broke something inside him.
Shards of glass were scattered across Jon's left arm. Some rested on his lap.
Small cuts marked his skin. Not deep, but enough.
Enough to hurt.
Blood slid slowly down his arm, drop by drop.
Elifero's gaze met Jon's.
Jon didn't react. Didn't flinch. Didn't speak.
That silence was heavier than the sound of the bottle breaking.
"How…?" Elifero's voice cracked.
"How can you stay quiet after that…?"
His fists clenched tightly. His teeth ground against each other. Tears welled in his eyes, uninvited and uncontrolled. His chest tightened painfully.
"What's wrong with you?!" he snapped, turning back to her.I know you told him not to bring guests—fine—but this?"
His voice trembled, but he didn't stop.
"You could have killed him!"
"Why…?"
"Why would you do that?"
"What kind of mother are—"
Jon grabbed him.
Firm. Sudden.
Elifero stopped mid-sentence.
He turned to look at Jon.
Those eyes.
Quiet.
But desperate.
Stop.
Jon didn't say it, but it was there. Clear.
Elifero understood.
And that made it worse.
"Why…?" his voice broke.
"Why are you not angry, Jon…?"
"WHY?!"
Tears spilled freely now.
Behind him, a voice cut through the silence.
"You little shit."
Cold. Sharp. Controlled.
Her anger rose again, but this time it was directed at him.
"Don't ever talk to me like that."
Her voice dropped lower, more dangerous.
She stepped closer.
Her eyes locked onto his.
"Or I'll kill you."
A pause.
"Right where you stand."
Elifero's body trembled violently.
Those weren't empty words.
He knew that.
He saw it in her eyes.
She turned and walked away.
At the door, she stopped.
Without looking back, she said,
"Better not find you in my house in the morning."
The door shut.
Silence returned.
Jon let out a slow breath, a quiet sigh.
Relief.
Then a small movement.
A tremor.
He felt it.
It wasn't him.
It was Elifero.
His entire body was shaking.
Tears fell onto the floor, one after another.
She was going to kill me…
The thought echoed in his mind again and again.
If Jon didn't stop me…
His breathing became uneven.
I saw it… in her eyes…
Fear wrapped tightly around his chest.
This was new.
Completely new.
He had never felt fear like this before.
A gentle hand rested on his head.
"It's okay," Jon said softly.
"You're safe."
He paused.
"Just don't talk back next time."
Jon bent down and picked up a shard of glass.
Like nothing had happened.