chapter 32: echoes beneath the surface
the morning sun filtered through the thin curtains, casting pale stripes across the wooden floor. ren lay still for a moment, the weight of yesterday's torment settling into his bones like cold chains. maya's quiet breathing beside him was the only sound that kept the silence from swallowing him whole.
he forced himself to sit up, rubbing the soreness from his arms. the questions clawed back into his mind with renewed urgency. the attack, the missing memories, the creeping fear — none of it made sense. but ren knew one thing: answers wouldn't come to him if he stayed hidden in shadows.
maya stirred, her dark eyes meeting his. "you're awake earlier than usual," she said, a small smile touching her lips.
"couldn't sleep," ren admitted, voice low. "my mind's racing."
"you want to talk about it?"
he hesitated. pride, always so fierce, made it hard to reveal weakness. but with maya, the walls felt less suffocating. "i don't even know where to start."
"start anywhere," she urged gently.
ren looked out the window at the village slowly coming to life — merchants setting up stalls, children darting through alleys, the hum of everyday existence. it felt alien to him, this peace.
"why was i sleeping on the road?" he finally asked, voice barely a whisper. "why can't i remember what happened?"
maya's smile faltered. "sometimes the mind protects itself by hiding things too painful to face."
"but what if i never get those memories back? what if i'm trapped in this... broken state forever?"
her gaze was steady. "then you fight anyway. because strength isn't just about knowing everything. it's about surviving the unknown."
ren clenched his jaw, the fire of pride igniting beneath the doubt. "i'm not going to be weak."
"you're not," maya said softly. "but strength comes in many forms."
they sat in silence, the weight of unspoken truths filling the room. ren's thoughts spiraled between hope and fear, anger and desperation. the shattered pieces of his past teased him from the edges of his mind, refusing to be pieced together so easily.
he knew the path ahead would be brutal — a fight not just against enemies, but against himself. the slow unraveling of his mind was both a curse and a strange kind of power. every moment of madness brought him closer to something he didn't fully understand yet.
ren's pride wouldn't let him give up. not now. not ever.
"thank you," he said quietly to maya. "for being here."
she smiled again, the warmth in her eyes a rare beacon in his dark world.
"you're not alone," she said. "and maybe, one day, those memories will come back — but for now, let's just take it one step at a time."