Crown of Thorns

After stopping by the house, I came back to the tower. Evan, who was crouching against the wall, hurriedly stood up. Not noticing that his hair was a mess, he left it as it is. It seemed inevitable since there were no mirrors in the towers.

“You woke up early.”

It was still early, so I didn’t expect him to be awake. I was planning to go and come back quickly while he was sleeping.

“What is all this?”

Evan couldn’t hide his amazement at the clothes that I had brought; I didn’t have a choice after all. There were no thick coats, cotton mufflers, or padded wool sweaters because it was warm in the Witch’s Forest, including Evan’s village, and all the way to nearby countries as well. It was natural that he didn’t know how to wear them, so I had no choice but to put them on him one by one. Evan had a curious look on his face, but he lined up his arms and stretched out his legs in line with my movements.

“It’s too hot, though.”

“It’s cold there, so you have to dress warmly.”

“There?”

“It’s a place full of snow.”

“…Eyes?”

Evan’s eyes glistened at the word snow.

I got up after wearing layers of clothes I brought from home; a scarf and thick shoes. Evan’s little body was buried under his clothes. There was nothing left of mine, so I ended up taking my sister’s belongings. My sister’s room is sealed, so I can’t enter it, but the room where I kept the stuff I used when I was young was fine. I was able to find clothes for Evan from my father’s closet.

It was too cute and colorful for a boy to wear, and it was a little too big, but it fits him more or less. Even Evan’s white hair and red eyes looked very well with the scarf’s pink color, so he looked like a girl. It was all the more so because he had such fine and delicate features.

Evan looked at the clothes with amazement and asked me a question.

“Is this yours?”

“No.”

“Then whose is it?”

I was trying to answer my sister’s, but I couldn’t help keeping my mouth shut because I thought he would ask me whether I had a family, where they were now, and why they didn’t help me. And as I was about to start, Evan pulled my wrist and said,

“What about Nyx? It’s cold there. Nyx’s clothes are too thin. “

“I’m fine.”

It didn’t matter because I didn’t suffer much from cold or heat. There was no way for me to die from illnesses. Evan held my hands shouting “No,” but then I looked at the map I had brought from home, and then I quickly teleported us.

It was a long time ago, so I was worried that it might have changed a lot, but fortunately, it was a white world that had welcomed us. The mountains, the trees, the fields, and the sky were all white. I was captivated by the blindingly white world and the reflection of the light. My lips hung open. The fluttering snow glistened like jewel dust whenever the wind blew. It had been a long time since we stood still after teleporting.

“It’s cold.”

It was Evan who moved first. Evan crouched on the floor and buried his hands in the snow. Before I knew it, the tip of his nose and fingers turned a similar pink to the clothes he was wearing, creating a lovely look, though I was worried that he might have a hard time bearing with the unfamiliar cold.

However, Evan’s face shone brightly. Like the snow-covered world, Evan’s white face was colored with joy.

“It’s really pretty. I never imagined there was such a thing like this.”

Evan jumped about excitedly, carving his footprints everywhere. As soon as it reached his body temperature, the snow melted, which made him wonder in awe, so he constantly scooped it up and put it on his face. The drops of water formed and flowed down, but he didn’t seem to care.

The snow Evan was throwing scattered to me in the wind. I couldn’t take my eyes off the glowing light. And when I saw Evan smiling brightly in between, my chest ached. It was so beautiful that I almost cried. Evan, shining brilliantly in the sun and snow, made me suddenly become anxious because it was like the fantasy that I had drawn.

“Nyx, you come here too. Don’t just stand still like that.”

But Evan’s hand, which was leading my own hand, and the cold snow that I feel under my feet, were telling me that it was not a dream. No, I was whispering to myself, hoping it wasn’t. To believe it, to think it’s real.

“It’s this pretty, but you said that it looks like my hair? Is that how it seems to your eyes?”

Evan asked me, pumping his hands full of snow and bringing it to his face. He seemed to want to compare. As he was buried in the sparkling snow, I looked at the white hair that had shone more brightly, then reached out and shook it off his face, nodding my head.

“Yes. Your hair is as clean and beautiful as the snow you see now.”

“You know that you look very mysterious right now, too, right? Standing in the middle of a white world, you stand out magnificently.”

I looked down at my body. I felt like I was misplaced. But I didn’t have time to ponder it for long because Evan began to spin around me and have fun. His hair fluttering about in the wind caught my sight. He was laughing as pure as ever. The fine curved eyes, the red irises shining like the sun, and the pink-colored cheeks, nose, and lips were all lovely.

I thought it might be fun to see snow with Evan, but it was much more fun than I had initially thought, and so a smile crept into my mouth. I looked up at the sky, hiding my smile with my hands. The snow that Evan had sprinkled fluttered on his face, soon turning into drops of water.

I was standing like that for a long time because I liked the feeling. A lot of memories came to mind, but Evan’s laughter drove them away. The cold wind penetrated coolly into my stuffy heart. The sun was shining in the sky, and the white snow, glistening under my feet, driving the witch’s darkness away. It was burning away my endless greed.

I was whispering, “What more could I want when I’m so happy?”

*

Evan rolled in the snow and played around, making snowmen, perhaps forgetting that it was cold. Other than the fact that he had many questions, Evan hasn’t been much of a child. Except for that one time when he played with the black clouds I created.

But the Evan in front of me now seemed to be just his age. He did look more comfortable and alive before, but not as much as today. Evan, lying on the snow and playing like he was splashing water, made me burst into laughter that I tried hard to hold back.

“Nyx, Nyx!”

Evan ran to me, covered in snow. In the wind, the snow on his hair scattered all over the place, making Evan himself look like a doll made out of snow. Evan came up to me, leaning under a tree and ran straight into my arms. I was frozen by his sudden action. But I felt Evan’s cold body and carefully wrapped his little back.

“It’s warm.”

“Are you cold? Shall we go back?”

“No, not yet. When I feel cold, I can get warm like this, and then I can play some more.”

“I don’t even have a warm body temperature.”

I had a low body temperature. I remembered my sister’s saying that my hands were cool and pleasant. She also said, “How can such a thing be hereditary?”

But Evan shook his head and hugged me deeper.

“No, it’s warm.”

After running around like a child, he seemed to have decided to keep acting childlike. I was embarrassed by Evan’s unfamiliar appearance, but I felt good about the warm body in my arms, so I thought it wouldn’t be as bad as I thought.

“There’s a lot of light here. Can you feel it, Nyx?”

Before I could even answer, Evan raised his palm and created a faint light. I couldn’t hide my surprise, looking closely at the light he had created; it was as bright as the moonshine. Evan also continued with a big smile.

“Do you see? The light has begun to follow my intentions.”

“Yes. That’s great.”

It was really great. How long had it been since he began learning it? But it quickly disappeared, as though it was not easy for him to withhold for long. Evan smiled hard with a pale complexion.

“I need to get stronger quickly.”

“Don’t overwork yourself.”

“You know, when I get used to this, will I be able to get around freely like you?”

Evan, standing up as I nodded, opened his arms toward the sky and accepted the light. Then he cried out in joy.

“Then, I can come to see wherever you are, wherever you go!”

If you did, I wouldn’t want anything more.

But you will eventually grow up beautifully and shine brilliantly beyond the reach of a witch. The day that my hand touches your light will be the day when I breathe my last. I could not look at Evan standing under the light, but I looked at the snowfield, stretching out in the distance.

Then he tried to hold back his laughter, saying, “It’s a pleasure to be together like this.”

After that, Evan tried to keep the light moving, but he fell asleep, supposedly exhausted. I teleported him, still sleeping, back to the tower, stripped him of his cold frozen coat, and covered him with a blanket.

After that, I read the cards like a habit, but I soon stopped.

The last upside-down card was as white as the snow that I had just seen. There was no future.

I closed my eyes to see how Evan’s death would occur, whether it was a chance or a poison.

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