Chapter 131: A Date?
Lara, as a doctor, was accorded a modest room in a house opposite the infirmary. That night, she went out to get some fresh air.
The full moon hung low in the sky, a silver orb casting its ghostly light over Carles, bathing the town in an otherworldly glow. The quiet was almost reverent, broken only by the soft rustling of leaves in the cold December breeze.
Lara found a weathered stone bench beneath an ancient oak tree, its gnarled roots protruding from the earth like several arms extending outward for a hug. Rather than sit on the bench, she settled on one of the roots, her gaze lifting to the moon.
A halo circled it — a large luminous ring of fire, ice, and light, vivid and mysterious against the dark sky. The sight stole Lara’s breath.
Someone shouted to announce the phenomenon in the sky. People started coming out to bear witness to a once-in-a-lifetime enigmatic appearance of a ring around the moon.
Whispers rose as the people of Carles caught sight of the phenomenon. Some gasped in awe, while others muttered of bad omens, retreating hurriedly into their homes.
Lara only smiled. The people here were still shackled by ignorance and superstition. It was nothing more than a lunar halo, an optical illusion caused by moonlight refracting through ice crystals high in the atmosphere.
As she sat there, the chill nipping at her fingers, she realized with a start that the date had slipped past her unnoticed. It was December 24 — the eve of her sixteenth birthday. Or rather, it should have been her twenty-third. Coincidentally, her birthday as Lara Starr was also also on December 25. The life she once knew felt distant now, yet the memory lingered.
She used to tell herself she was lucky to be born on Christmas. The whole world celebrated her big day, even if no one in her family did. There was never a cake, but that didn’t matter. Every home was filled with one, with warmth and food, and the lights that adorned the streets felt like thousands of birthday candles waiting for her to blow them.