The little house no longer carried the same fearful silence from before.
Now it was quiet in a different way.
The painful cries had finally faded, leaving behind only the soft crackling of firewood and the distant sounds of the evening outside. Cold air slipped through the tiny spaces between the wooden walls while the lantern's orange glow flickered across the room.
"Come now, kids. She's fine."
Aunt Mary's earlier words still lingered inside the house, though neither Lily nor Aster seemed fully convinced.
Lily sat near the edge of the bed, her small hands resting on her lap as she continued stealing worried glances toward the girl every few seconds.
"Do you think her hand still hurts?" she whispered quietly.
"Obviously it does," Aster answered from near the doorway, arms folded. "Did you not hear all that screaming earlier?"
Lily frowned immediately.
"You don't have to say it like that."
Aster shrugged, though his eyes still drifted toward the girl from time to time.
The little girl sat silently against the bedframe, wrapped in blankets nearly too large for her small body. Cloth and pieces of wood were tied carefully around her injured hand, resting stiffly over the blanket.
She still hadn't spoken.
Not after waking up.
Not after the crying.
Not after Aunt Mary left.
Gabriel remained beside the room's small table, quietly watching the girl for a moment before speaking gently.
"If you need anything, you can tell us."
The girl lowered her eyes slightly but gave no response.
Gabriel sighed softly through his nose but did not press further.
The room fell silent once again.
Then suddenly—
Tiny paws scratched against the wooden floor.
The puppy came closer to the girl, reminding everyone of his presence.
Its tiny paws bounced against the wooden floor before it clumsily climbed onto the bed, crawling toward the girl's side and snuggling closer against the blanket.
Aster watched the whole thing from near the doorway.
With a small sigh, he stepped forward, attempting to pull the puppy away, thinking Cinder was probably disturbing her.
But halfway through his steps, he stopped.
The girl was petting the puppy gently with her right hand.
Slowly.
Carefully.
As if she had forgotten the pain for only a moment.
Cinder happily wagged his tail, pushing his nose against her arm.
The room stayed quiet except for the crackling firewood outside and the distant sound of metal pots clanking from another room.
The girl lowered her eyes toward the puppy, her pale fingers brushing through its fur weakly.
Aster stared for a second longer than he meant to.
Then awkwardly looked away.
"...Guess he likes you," he muttered quietly.
The girl didn't respond.
Not even a nod.
Her expression remained distant, almost lost, though her hand continued softly petting the puppy.
Lily, however, quickly moved closer again, unable to contain herself any longer. She climbed onto the edge of the bed carefully, brown eyes practically glowing with curiosity.
"So... um..." Lily began, swinging her legs slightly. "Does your hand still hurt a lot?"
Silence.
"And where did you come from?"
The girl remained quiet.
Lily leaned even closer.
"Do you remember anything? Like your home? Or your parents? Or... anything?"
Still nothing.
The girl only lowered her gaze toward the blanket resting over her legs.
Aster clicked his tongue quietly.
"Stop asking so much."
"But I just wanna know," Lily complained.
Gabriel, who had entered silently a moment earlier, stood beside the doorway watching the scene unfold.
The tired man looked toward the girl carefully before speaking in a gentler voice than usual.
"You don't have to answer now," he said. "You are safe here tonight."
The girl slowly lifted her eyes toward him for only a second before lowering them once more.
Again, no response came from her mouth.
Not a single word since the cry she had woken up with earlier.
Gabriel's expression softened slightly at that.
The little girl looked no older than Lily.
Maybe eight years old.
Too young to carry eyes that looked so frightened.
Lily shifted again before speaking more quietly this time.
"So... um... I heard people talking outside today..." she mumbled.
She glanced toward Aster nervously.
Immediately, he sent her a warning glare.
But Lily ignored it anyway.
"...Are you one of the cursed ones?"
The last words came out almost in a whisper.
"Lily!" Aster snapped immediately.
"What? I was just asking!"
Aster waved his hand in annoyance.
"Whatever. I'm going to sleep."
He turned around and walked toward the small room beside the hallway before shutting the door with a loud thud.
"Yeah, run away then!" Lily shouted back, sticking her tongue out toward the closed door.
Gabriel sighed tiredly, rubbing a hand over his forehead.
"Lily, enough."
The little girl immediately quieted down.
Outside the room, the smell of boiling soup slowly drifted through the house.
Gabriel finally turned toward the small kitchen area.
"You both should eat something," he said. "It's already late."
Lily quickly jumped off the bed.
"I can help!" she announced proudly before running after her father.
Soon, only the girl and the puppy remained inside the room.
The small animal curled itself closer against her side, warm and sleepy.
For the first time since waking up, the girl closed her eyes without fear.
*
The smell of soup slowly filled the small house.
From the kitchen corner came the quiet sounds of bowls touching together and firewood crackling underneath the pot. Lily sat beside her father on a small stool, swinging her legs while tearing pieces of bread into smaller bits.
"Not too much," Gabriel said tiredly while stirring the soup.
"I'm helping," Lily defended herself quickly.
"By destroying the bread?"
Lily gasped dramatically.
"I am not destroying it."
From the other side of the room came Aster's voice.
"You literally are."
Lily immediately stuck her tongue out toward him.
Gabriel sighed quietly, though a small smile nearly appeared on his face.
"Both of you, enough. Go sit."
The tiny wooden table stood near the fire, old enough that one of its legs leaned slightly uneven against the floor. Aster pulled himself onto one side while Lily climbed onto the other.
Cinder circled around the table hopefully.
"No," Aster muttered, lightly pushing the puppy away with his foot. "This isn't for you."
The puppy ignored him completely.
Gabriel finally filled the bowls before pausing.
His eyes drifted toward the little girl still sitting silently on the bed.
For a moment, he hesitated.
Then quietly taking one of the bowls, he walked toward her.
The warm smell of herbs and boiled vegetables drifted through the air as he crouched slightly beside the bed.
"You should eat something," Gabriel said gently.
The girl looked toward the bowl but did not move.
"You haven't eaten since yesterday."
No response.
Gabriel remained patient.
Slowly, he scooped a small amount of soup with the wooden spoon before holding it out toward her carefully.
The girl's shoulders tensed immediately.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the blanket.
Gabriel noticed and lowered the spoon a little.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly.
The room had grown quieter now.
Even Lily stopped talking.
After several long seconds, the girl slowly reached forward with her right hand and weakly took the spoon from him herself.
Lily's eyes widened slightly.
The girl carefully brought the spoon toward her mouth.
A small sip.
Then another.
Gabriel quietly released the breath he didn't realize he had been holding.
"See?" Lily whispered proudly toward Aster. "She likes our soup."
"It's just soup," Aster muttered.
Though even he looked slightly relieved.
The girl continued eating silently, slow and careful as if unfamiliar with every movement.
Gabriel eventually stood and returned toward the table.
The children quickly continued eating too, though Lily kept glancing toward the bed every few seconds.
Once the bowls were nearly empty, Lily suddenly spoke again.
"So..." she began carefully. "What are we supposed to call her?"
Aster looked up slightly.
Gabriel stayed quiet for a moment.
The little girl lowered the spoon slowly, her eyes moving between the three of them.
Gabriel spoke gently toward her.
"Can you tell us your name?"
The girl froze.
Her lips parted slightly as if trying to force words out.
But nothing came.
Only silence.
Her eyes lowered once more.
Lily frowned sadly.
"But we need a name," she said. "We can't just say 'girl' every time."
"Maybe she really doesn't know what we're saying," Aster suddenly muttered quietly.
Gabriel looked toward him.
"Maybe," he admitted softly.
The room fell thoughtful for a moment.
Only the fire crackled quietly nearby.
Then Lily suddenly brightened.
"We could give her one!"
Gabriel let out a tired breath through his nose.
"You make it sound simple."
"It is simple," Lily insisted proudly.
Aster rolled his eyes.
"You'd probably give her something dumb."
"I would not!"
"You named once a goat 'unicorn' just cause it had only one horn."
"That was a good name!"
" It seemed dumb to me."
Gabriel rubbed his forehead slightly before finally looking toward the girl again.
His eyes softened.
"...Evelyn," he said quietly.
The room stilled.
Lily blinked.
"Evelyn?" she repeated.
Gabriel nodded slowly.
"It suits her."
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then suddenly—
The girl lifted her face slightly.
Her lips moved weakly.
"...Evelyn."
The word came out hoarse and small, almost breaking apart halfway through.
But it was there.
A real word.
Lily gasped loudly.
"She talked!"
Even Aster straightened slightly in surprise.
Gabriel stared at the girl quietly, something unreadable crossing his face before his expression softened again.
And for the first time since entering the house—
the little girl no longer felt completely like a stranger.