Craving Scarecrow

"Wait! Listen to us, please!" Nitin begs the woman.

Trip raises his hand, and Nitin falls silent. They watch as the girl walks away. Livio checks his finger, while Nitin gazes after her.

"Why did you stop him?" Livio asks, standing up.

"Because healing doesn't work the way you think in this world; it is not a fairy tale," Trip explains, standing as well.

"What do you mean?" Nitin asks, looking confused.

"When she heals someone, she feels the same pain they do. She takes drugs to handle it. So next time, go to a hospital if you get hurt. You will recover faster here than in the real world." Trip walks back to his post.

Livio and Nitin start heading toward the blue palace. Sebastian is waiting for them on the way.

"You are healed. I am glad," Sebastian says, touching Livio's hand to check the recovery.

"Thanks." Livio shows him his healed finger.

"Did you feel any pain?" Sebastian asks as they continue walking.

"No, but I feel bad for her. She took my pain for me, and I didn't even thank her." Livio clenches his fists.

"Are you scared of women?" Nitin asks, walking beside him. "You avoided all the girls, even the girls in our group."

Livio, thinking quickly, keeps the truth hidden. I can't tell anyone about my past. I need a good excuse.

"Why are you spacing out? Nitin, you avoided the girls too. Are you scared of them as well?" Sebastian teases.

"Ah, I am just not good at talking to girls. Some things happened back home, so I keep my distance. It's better this way. No one gets hurt," Nitin replies with a nervous smile.

"And you?" Nitin asks Livio.

"Uh, it's the same for me," Livio answers, touching his head as they walk.

Suddenly, a ball hits Livio's face, knocking him to the ground. He holds his face in pain.

"Hey, are you alright?" Nitin and Sebastian rush to help him.

"I am sorry! My son didn't mean to!" a woman apologizes, making her son apologize too.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Livio says, stepping back.

They continue walking and come across a happy family: a father carrying his daughter on his back while the mother holds their son's hand. People of all races and cultures live together here in peace. The streets are clean, and the shops are organized. Eventually, they reach a bridge.

Sebastian leans on the handrail, gazing at the water. Livio and Nitin join him. Floating lamps above the handrail glow softly, and the cool air blowing across their faces eases their tension.

"Look, the fish are evolving," Sebastian says in awe.

Before their eyes, fish transform into birds and fly away.

As they continue walking, Livio speaks, "Doesn't this place seem like heaven? Everyone looks so happy, no worries, no stress."

"That is just what you see on the surface," Nitin replies, walking backward to face them. "People come here to escape real-world problems, but I am sure there is a darker side we can't see yet. Once we join the military, we will find out. There has to be corruption, illegal stuff, black markets."

They come across a crowd gathered outside a shop.

"Let's check it out!" Sebastian says, running toward it.

Nitin and Livio follow.

"What is going on?" Sebastian asks a local.

"A woman just won a grand prize, so everyone is trying their luck," the local explains. "If you want a chance at a prize, buy a ticket."

The girl who won looks happy but has not opened her prize. The shopkeeper watches her with a strange grin. The top three prizes are covered, but everyone knows the lower the prize number, the more valuable it is.

"It's been a year, and no one has even come close to the top ten prizes. That girl is really lucky," another person says.

"I am jealous," a woman mutters as she walks away.

Sebastian, Livio, and Nitin stand there for a while before Nitin says, "Hey, we are late. Let's go."

"You are right." Sebastian smiles, and they leave.

The winning girl, thrilled, rushes home with the small, black cube-shaped box, excited about her prize.

When she reaches her house, she sees that her door is open.

"What? I locked it. Wait, Mina...." Nina drops her prize and rushes inside.

A person in the dark, his long blonde hair fluttering, mutters, "This is fun. I will break her completely."

Nina rushes into her little sister's room. Upon reaching it, her worst nightmare comes true.

"Welcome back, big sister," Mina says, playing with someone.

"Welcome back, my love." The man pulls Mina close and smiles creepily.

"Get away from Mina! If you even touch a piece of her hair, I am gonna fucking kill..." Nina starts to run toward her sister. They are sitting on the floor, playing stick games.

Draven immediately pulls a pocket knife and places it on Mina's throat.

Nina stops before reaching them. "Don't. Don't even think about harming her."

"You bitch, you don't know the situation. On your knees and beg." Draven covers Mina's mouth as she starts crying, scared.

"Don't, please. Why are you doing this? You're angry at me, right? Please leave my little sister." Nina kneels on the ground and starts begging.

Draven uses a perfume (a small blue bottle, a game item), and Mina passes out. Draven leaves Mina there and moves toward Nina.

Nina focuses her eyes on Mina, completely ignoring Draven.

"Don't make an idiotic move. I used a game item on her. She will be unconscious for thirty minutes. If I don't give the antidote, she will die, just like in a nightmare." Draven pulls Nina by her hair.

"Listen, please, I beg of you. You're angry with me, right? Please leave my little sister out of this. She's innocent; she doesn't even know what danger is. Please," Nina begs Draven, clutching her own hair.

"Why should I even care? What about my dream? Did you ever care about me, you bitch? I will destroy your world just like you shattered everything within me." Draven slams her head on the floor.

"Listen, you wanted to know about me, right? Let me tell you what happened." Nina's eyes begin closing due to the impact, but she tries her hardest to stay calm and explain.

It's daytime, and the sun is shining brightly, as if it's spreading its love all around.

A girl walks along a narrow cobblestone street, flanked by pastel-colored townhouses with flower boxes at the windows. The air is cool, carrying the scent of fresh bread from a nearby bakery. A tram hums softly in the distance as she adjusts her scarf and continues her quiet journey.

It's none other than Nina. She looks upset. Slowly, she starts to pick up speed. While passing by a bakery, she notices something on a large TV inside. She stops outside the bakery and listens to the news.

The interviewer pushes the mic toward a young man. "So, how did you escape your bad parents?"

The young man holds the mic and says, "My parents were violent toward my little brother and me. I don't care about myself because I am 22, but I couldn't bear my little brother's pain.....he's just 12. My parents fight every night and hit both of us. They take drugs and push all their anger onto us. So, I took my little brother and left them. Now both of us are doing well. I'm very happy for my little brother...he's not crying anymore."

The interviewer pulls the mic back. "That's really amazing. You're an inspiration for thousands."

Nina squeezes her fists and starts running again. She then stops in front of a house.

The house seems a lot calmer. Nina stares at it with her mouth open and her eyes dilated. She bites her lips and steps inside the house boundary.

She looks around and sees Mina crying under a tree. Her wrist has a burn mark from a utensil.