Bram took out the list the next morning.
It wasn't paper — it was the translucent version of paper, the same ghostly kind as his equipment and his backpack.
"There are conditions," he said.
Kai looked at the list.
"How many?"
"Five."
"All necessary?"
"All of them."
Kai looked at Serah.
Looked at Lira.
"Read them."
---
Bram read them.
The first condition — that someone tell the truth to the person he had promised to return to — landed in the silence of simple things that carry weight.
"Who is she?" said Kai.
"The owner of the tavern in the next village." Bram folded the list. "Her name is Mira. She's been two months without knowing what happened."
"How long were you two together?"
"Years." Bram looked at the remains of the previous night's fire. "We never said it out loud. But we both knew."
No one answered.
"Someone has to go and tell her the truth." Bram looked at the three of them. "That I didn't come back. That it wasn't because I didn't want to."
