Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 322: Reunion

Chapter 322: Reunion

Silence.

That was what Emily craved the most as she sat on the wooden boards with her back resting against her bed.

With her face buried in between her legs, she trembled intermittently, the memories of that day leaving her with very little sense of respite.

She had watched people she’d shared classes with, people she’d experienced college life with... get engulfed by the unforgiving flames that erupted as a result of her improved steam engine prototype malfunctioning after she’d left it in her locker.

Their cries for help as they were incinerated were etched in her mind, unwilling to leave even for a moment.

It had been several days since the unfortunate incident but Emily had been unable to even step out of her room as the voices of that day echoed in her ears.

Her room a mess, it mirrored her mind which was frayed at the seams, slowly inching toward an inevitable mental breakdown.

She’d hardly been able to sleep since that day due to the nightmares.

They always started the same way... a casual school day suddenly being engulfed by yellow flames, destroying everything without mercy

In the chaos, Emily would always find herself backed against a wall with no means to escape, and then... he would arrive.

His unique green hair and irises were firmly planted in her mind as the one who had saved her from death that day.

But apart from that, there was something more... something missing.

Whenever she tried to think about him, Emily would always feel an emptiness deep within, one borne out of a yearning for family.

But she was an orphan, her uncle Arthur had told her that much, so why?... Why did he evoke such emotions in her?

As she grappled with numerous uncertainties, a knock on her room door served as a means to snap her out of it as her head jerked up and whipped toward the door.

Sniffling, she inquired. "Who’s there?"

"Who else?" Arthur’s familiar voice came from outside.

"Go away, uncle. I don’t want to talk to you."

"You can’t keep staying in there, Em. You have to come out else you might fall sick."

"... I really don’t care, uncle. Just go away, I don’t want to talk to you."

"Hah... fine then. Your breakfast is in the kitchen, make sure to eat. I’m heading out for a meeting, we’ll talk when I get back."

"..." Emily said nothing as the sound of footsteps moving away from the door echoed outside.

Letting out a sigh, she prepared to plant her face back where it was only to pause as a certain feeling arose in her heart and inadvertently, she found herself staring at the door, a desire to step outside gnawing at her insides.

***

Arthur took steady steps down the stairs, his head bowed in deep introspection as he pondered how best to handle Emily’s situation.

Perhaps due to his failings as a father, Arthur didn’t trust himself to be the best person to handle such situations.

It was troublesome as he knew sooner or later he would have to... he trailed off as a muffled thud echoed in the living room.

On the last step, Arthur found Douglas standing in the living room with a suitcase and a complicated expression.

"I didn’t think you’d come," Arthur commented as he approached.

Douglas pursed his lips. "I made a promise, I’m fulfilling that promise now."

As he spoke, he raised the suitcase and gestured for Arthur to take it.

Arthur hesitated as he met Douglas’s gaze before finally taking the suitcase.

Immediately, he was hit by waves of nostalgia with a familiar scent causing his nose to twitch.

"... You got it." Arthur calmly remarked, barely restraining the emotions running wild within.

"Alex made a deal with Alejandro."

"... That’s good. Thank you."

Nodding, Douglas said. "I should take my..."

"Won’t you see her?" Arthur suddenly asked causing Douglas pause.

His lips quivered briefly before he shook his head. "There’s no need for me to keep appearing in her life. I decided to stay away and I should stand by it."

"She needs you now more than ever... you don’t know how much she’s had to suffer because of the fire incident at her college."

Douglas bit down on his lower lip, pondering silently before replying. "... She’ll have to get used to dealing with such things alone. I won’t always be around anyway."

"Is that what you tell yourself, Douglas?"

"I..."

"Don’t make the same mistakes I made, Douglas. Allowing fear to dictate your actions would only lead to further disaster. Take it from me."

Douglas stayed silent, battling with the emotions within as he struggled to make a decision.

Just as he arrived at a crossroads, he heard her.

"...Douglas."

Douglas froze, his eyes widened in shock as he glanced toward the stairs to find Emily standing there, staring back at him with a confused expression.

"..."

"You are Douglas," Emily muttered a second time as Douglas remained silent.

Arthur, noting the change in the atmosphere, decided to take his leave.

He would allow the siblings to sort out their circumstances as he sorted out his own.

Even as he left, Emily’s eyes never left Douglas’s figure as his appearance slowly merged with a blurry image she had in her head.

The memories were hazy but they reminded Emily of a man, who though clumsy had made sure she never fell, who though illiterate, made sure she was literate, who though forgetful, had always remembered every single one of her birthdays.

And with each remembrance, tears pooled in Emily’s eyes as she inquired yet again. "You are Douglas, right?"

Douglas pursed his lips, dying to answer the question but scared to face the aftermath.

And so silence persisted between the two but Emily didn’t stop.

She took steps forward as Douglas took steps back before finally, she was only an arm’s length away.

Then she softly intoned. "Douglas."

"... I’m sorry." Douglas finally replied as a single tear trailed down his right cheek.

Emily needed no other confirmation as she stepped forward and embraced him, burying her face in his chest as she bawled her eyes out.

As the siblings stood there, indulging in each other’s warmth, a faint figure shrouded in black and white stood at the window, his gaze trained on them.

With a smile at the corner of his lips, he snapped, and as quickly as he came, he left in a similar fashion.