Eve's Tale | Judgment Fable | Ella and Yor | Episode 10: What Was Left Unsaid
"Between 'what you did' and 'what you didn't do',"
"which one do you use to judge a person?"
I don't know who those words were directed at.
But—
at the very least, Ella might know the answer.
Ella and Yor Episode 10
【What Was Left Unsaid】
On the outskirts of Limbgard.
Deep in the forest, away from the city.
The sun has set, and the two of them around the campfire have little to say.
Ella is looking at the fire.
—No.
She is looking at something much further away.
Somewhere from much longer ago.
Snap, the wood crackled.
—
"Ella! Over here, over here!"
Someone is calling from far away.
When I turn around, blue hair is swaying.
"Nico, wait up!"
I laugh as I start running toward the voice.
Nico is a girl the same age as me.
Blue hair. Red eyes.
She was a girl who laughed often.
We aren't related by blood.
Even so—
we were family.
I grew up in the slums of a city called Rubent.
I don't remember my parents' faces.
Nico's grandmother raised me.
Every day, just staying alive was all we could manage.
"What do you want to do when you grow up, Ella?"
Nico asked me.
I couldn't answer right away.
"I want to see the world."
"I'm going to explore places no one has ever been!"
I heard those words and replied,
"Then I'll draw the maps!"
We said that and laughed together.
One day.
"Just for today," she said,
and Nico brought some bread.
That was the last day I saw Nico.
I searched.
For days.
For days.
But I couldn't find her.
—
Snap, the wood crackled.
Ella began to speak.
"When I was a kid, I had a friend named Nico."
Ella's voice falls quietly.
"We were as close as sisters."
There is a slight pause.
"One day, she brought some bread."
"For us, it was a feast."
The fire flickers.
Another brief silence.
"…I knew right away."
I hold my breath.
"But I couldn't say it."
Ella continues, still looking at the fire.
"To stop."
The wind blows, and the fire flickers.
"I was scared."
"I felt like if I said it, everything would disappear."
"So—I didn't say it."
A short silence.
"The next day, Nico was gone."
Nothing more is said.
Yet, it is enough.
"The truth is,"
Ella's voice trembled just a little.
"there was a place I didn't search."
I stare at Ella.
"The city's military police station."
That alone was reality.
"I think I probably knew."
"But I was scared."
"…So, I couldn't go."
Those words aren't directed at anyone.
She isn't blaming anyone.
She isn't forgiving anyone either.
They are just left there.
A brief silence.
The wind rustles the trees.
"I don't really remember last night."
I looked up.
"After I got separated from Yor at the festival…"
"When I realized it, I was in that plaza."
I couldn't say anything.
There are so many things I want to ask.
But—
I felt like I shouldn't ask right now.
—If I ask, I won't be able to go back.
I was afraid of that.
—That is the same as Ella.
"Did I make a mistake again?"
Only those words were turned toward me.
For the first time.
—She is seeking an answer.
I searched for words.
I couldn't find any.
Not the right words,
nor the kind words.
Nothing.
Ella was no longer looking at me.
She is looking at the fire again.
—No.
As I thought, she isn't looking.
I know.
This person is not looking at
"the now" right now.
I smiled faintly.
"You're out of sync, as always."
Ella says nothing.
Only the fire is flickering.
"Hey, Ella."
I hesitated for a moment.
Whether to say it or not.
Whether to step in or not.
"I am here."
The words stopped there.
Ella looked at me, nodded, and then
looked up at the night sky and muttered,
"Is this okay…"
I still don't know.
What I should say.
What I should leave unsaid.
I am here.
—That was all I could say.
▶️ Click here for the story of the two who are out of sync
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