Chapter 299 - 291. Warm Blanket
It was clear that the guides—the two women and Zein—were no longer in a state of emotional balance, so he decided they needed a space to calm down for now.
"Do you have a place we could use to talk?" Bassena asked the daughter, gesturing to him and Zein. "Someplace quiet, hmm... the bathroom is okay too."
"Oh, we...we have a guest bedroom," she swiftly answered, seemingly arriving at the same conclusion as Bassena. She stood up and gestured toward the hallway. "I’ll show you."
Bassena nodded and whispered at his guide, holding the cold hand firmly, leading the older man to the spare bedroom that only had a mattress and nothing else. He said his gratitude to the daughter, before closing the door with a quiet sigh.
"Let’s cool down here for a moment, before we talk to them aga—oof," Bassena blinked at the weight pulling him down. He looked at the guide who was sitting on the floor, staring bleary at the tiled floor. "Zein," he called softly, and he could hear a quiet, almost inaudible voice.
"Hold me," Zein whispered. "Like that night..."
And so Bassena did, pulling the guide into his embrace, pressing the pale face into the crook of his neck. He kissed the cold temple, caressing the black hair, and stroked the slightly trembling back. He did not hear any sound, but he could feel the tears wetting his skin, and Bassena had to grit his teeth to not shed any himself, staring hard at the ceiling.
It was painful. It hurt him to see his guide like this. The strong, tenacious man had to clutch him tightly for anchor, shaking from sorrow and regret. Zein must have been regretting any kind of fleeting resentment he felt when he thought his mother left him alone. He must have berated himself to ever think of resenting his parents, who gave their lives for him.
It hurt him to hear what a young mother, a young woman like Lucia had to go through. She wanted to die, but she couldn’t. She must have been torn between the happiness of finally meeting her esper again, and the anxiety of what would befall their only son without her by his side.
She must have been so lonely, thinking that all her family had died—that damn treacherous man! Bassena did not doubt that the bastard who sold Zein wouldn’t think twice about selling Lucia to Umbra too, had Lucia stayed there and not slipped out of Araka to find help. In hindsight, it was probably a blessing of some sort, that Lucia did not have to live long in the red-zone.
And she was so young...younger than them now. To make such a journey with such a weakened body after giving birth while in pain of losing her esper, and still manage to reach her destination...it would need so much courage and tenacity.