LUCEM
LXXVII Chapter

Only Moonflower managed to dribble into the dining room. Venus reasoned that she still had some work that could not be left behind, whereas Magenta and the man, I could no longer find the door where they were.

By the time Moonflower and I arrived, the rats had been sitting around the table, except for Jiso. The mouse stood quietly again staring at the window.

"Only a queen and she's hungry" I said in search of attention.

Jiso turned his head and looked at me lazily.

"That's no joke!" I said. "I'm serious."

"Yes, I'm so hungry... I hope everyone sits together to eat soon," Moonflower catches my point.

Jiso grunted softly. Walk towards the chair and pick up the tableware.

While Moonflower put a face full of longing on the dish.

I'm not forcing my luck.

I started to focus on my food, I was really excited to get a second lunch and wait until everyone got their food a few bites before I started to open the conversation again.

"So" I said at last. “You've heard it too, huh?”

Jiso stopped chewing and looked up. He attacked me with a gaze, suddenly, as a young man. Aside from the obvious need to shower and change clothes, I seemed to have started to manage to release a bit of tension.

Jiso didn't make a sound, he just went back to eating. And I know from the way he holds the knife and fork now, with a little more zeal, that I was right.

She's famished.

I wondered what he would do if I didn't drag him here and provoke him to sit down. Force him to eat.

Will he push himself to the ground?

Accidentally dying of starvation on the way to save some of his group?

He doesn't seem to really care about his physique. No matter their own needs. It surprised me, all of a sudden, strange. He lost most of his usual calm.

"Yes" he said slowly. "I'm hungry."

I was dumbfounded by her spontaneous reaction, she was a little joking. I understand that his bad mood makes sense now, that he might be riled up and worried but even I know better than that. Whatever happened in Jiso's head was currently dark. Seriously. And I need to handle this part of the conversation carefully.

So I stepped in the conversation carefully. "I think he said yes to immediate rescue."

Jiso didn't look me in the eye.

I took a deep breath, taking it out slowly. Everything is starting to make sense now.

Moonflower spoke only a little. I half expected more small responses from him for our conversation. I find everyone changing in emotions. Even myself, I once let a little anger put me to sleep at night because anger is far less scary than having faith in the future.

My hidden excitement.

It was a combination of almost all my fears. So many people I love have been gone in time. Our home. Families. My sanctuary. Death has also taken James. James, who was once my strength and role model, after that, he was a gentle ghost in my memory. Cannot be touched. I don't know how something will shake after that. I don't know how we can survive. Don't know where we're going. Just trust Marbella.

Marbella's the one who pulled us together to stay one.

It was then that I realized that not only could I trust him and be open to him, but I could also depend on him. I never knew how strong he was until I saw him take over, get up and gather all of us when we were at our lowest point, when even the rat troop, me, Moonflower, was, Maria and those I know are too broken to stand on our own feet.

He found us with faith and hope. Uniting us and taking us down through the dimensional space, the dimensional space that was out of nowhere had initially dragged us far to this point. To me, Marbella is close and senseless. Take you running to foreign places and get small answers to the big questions that are invading. I'm blind.

What pushed us down from the quiet mountains of Colonimus and followed him. I understand a little and it's about hope.

I finally let myself believe that everything would be okay. I started to hope. Dreamlike.

And an army of rats, starting from the influence of magic to be willing. Strange pulls, but they're in loyalty now.

I know, we weren't gathered by chance... It's a plan.

I finally got away from my own pessimism, and as I did so, life stuck a knife in my back. People are slowly becoming more and more enigmatic.

On many occasions I choose to look relaxed. Butno.

I look now and I see death in the back of my eyes. The torment that pursues hope. There was a self-loathing I experienced after getting a tragic blow in response to optimism.

I stared at the faces of the troops and Moonflower for a moment, and I remembered the look on James's face as he blew out his birthday candle. I remembered him and Jiso afterwards, sitting arguing in a corner of the room while spending a piece of sponge about a island without humans, about money, about hard work.

I'm thinking

"Oh!" I threw my fork. The plastic hit the foil plate with a shocking sound. “You continue lunch.”

Jiso stared at his food. He looked calm, but when he said, "Yes, I'm sorry my anxiety has messed up" it was a whisper so sad it stuck a knife in my heart.

I shook my head. “I'm sorry, man. I'm really. I don't know.”

Moonflower's eyes flickered in surprise, but only for a moment. Finally, he stabbed a piece of broccoli. Stared at. "It's disgusting" he said.

All I realized was the code for Thank you.

"Yes" I said. Prepare to walk away uninspired.

"Which is the code for Don't worry, Mars. I'm here for you." Moonflower Voice.

Jiso sighed softly. He put his equipment down. Look out the window. I knew he was going to say something when, all of a sudden, a knock outside the main door. It's a new thing.

I swear it slowly.

I walked away from the table to open the door, but this time, I only opened it a little. A girl my age looked at me, standing there with a bundle of tin foil in her hand.

She smiles.

I opened the door a little more.

"I brought this to Venus" he said, whispering. "I heard she's hungry." His smile was so wide that you could probably see it from Mars. I had to try hard not to roll my eyes.

"thank you. I'll take—”

"Oh," he said, jerking the parcel out of reach. “I think I can send it to him personally. You know, just to make sure it's delivered to the right person. He's beaming.

This time, I really rolled my eyes.

Reluctantly, I opened the door, stepped aside to let him in. I turned around to tell Venus that the other members of her fan club were here to see her for a long time, but when I had to move away, I heard her screaming. Food containers fell to the floor, spaghetti noodles and red sauce spilled everywhere.