Stray

It wasn’t an important letter, at least based on the contents it didn’t look like it.

The lines were full of trivial things, the font was clumsy, and there were many traces of corrections and typos. There was no grammar to speak of. It was like the sender himself was nagging at the stationary and that nagging was turned into words and sentence that occupied the piece of paper. However, the witch held her breath and smiled at the corners of her mouth as she listened intently.

The letter was so short that Nemo finished reading in almost an instant. The witch nodded gratefully at him. She held the frame of her glasses and began to write her own letter.

“Where was I? Oh yes, Mr. Lopez,” she whispered while writing. “I have to write for a while so you two find a place to sit first. There’s also a plate of candied fruit in the cupboard that you can try.”

Nemo sat down, while Oliver remained standing in place. As if the witch had eyes on her back, she turned her head and sighed at him.

“If you’re still thinking of wanting to stop all this,” she said softly, “there’s no need, really. You don’t owe me anything. I can probably guess who the client is. They will never change their minds, and now Horizon has an obligation to protect them. You two are Black Chapters, aren’t you? In case of conflict… Horizon can kill you in accordance with the rules and regulations without any responsibility. My life is destined to come to an end, but you can still live for a long time.”

“I was just thinking… if there’s any other way,” Oliver said dryly.

“Ollie, I don’t think the head of Horizon will…” Nemo reminded carefully.

“I know, I have no position to negotiate with him.” Oliver still didn’t want to sit down. “He should be much more informed than me. Sooner or later, he will know about my relationship with him, but blood does not mean friendship, and I don’t think we have a good impression of each other. I mean other ways, I…”