Snow had been falling steadily for several hours, as if the forest was trying to hide something from the world that no one should find. Nika sat by the fireplace in her house deep in the forest, far from the village, far from people. Far from pain. The silence was thick, broken only by the crackling of wood and the wind blowing against the house's walls.
When she heard a sound—faint, muffled—she thought it was a branch. But then again. And again.
She opened the door. The white curtain of the blizzard enveloped her instantly. And then she saw them.
Two boys—one teenage boy, tall, with dark hair and a glassy gaze. The other, slight, barely eight years old, barefoot, in a soaked T-shirt. They both looked like... brothers.
Speaklessly, with frozen fingers and a submissive gaze, they stood on the edge of her world.
Nika invited them in. Otherwise, they would have died.
After a hot bath, the boys sat in the living room—wrapped in blankets, warming their hands by the fire. The younger one, Shigeru, remained silent. The older one, Takuya, politely thanked them. He smiled too rarely. He stared too long.
"We have nowhere else to go..." he said quietly. "Thank you for taking us in."
"Nika. Just Nika," she corrected him. "It's late. You'll stay the night."
She didn't ask again. Not that night.
--
Night
The house fell silent. Nika fell asleep in her upstairs bedroom, where exotic plants leaned toward the window and the scent of dried herbs mingled with the dust.
But sounds woke her. Soft, barely audible whispers. Footsteps. Scrambling.
She left the bedroom. She stood by the stairs and listened. Voices drifted from the living room.
"She's beautiful..." Takuya whispered.
"She can be ours," he added after a moment, his voice deep and unwavering.
"Did you get rid of the phone? She can't escape," he asked coldly.
"Brother, don't worry..." little Shigeru replied. "She's so nice. And her plants... they're beautiful. They'll definitely love us."
Nika froze. Their voices... didn't match their age. They sounded too self-conscious. Too confident. Something was wrong.
She took a step back—the floorboards creaked.
"Shh..." Takuya stopped.
"Is she listening?" Shigeru asked, seemingly smiling.
The door burst open. Nika turned and ran to the front door, but it was locked. The key was gone. It was sweet. A strange smell… something like honey and rust.
A hand. A rag. Darkness.
--
Morning
When she opened her eyes, she was in her bedroom. The room looked normal. Almost.
Little Shigeru was sitting on the floor, playing with a stuffed horse, humming a tune she didn't recognize. When he saw her stir, he smiled broadly, almost too broadly.
"Mommy, aren't you asleep?" he asked quietly.
Nika sat up slowly. Her head ached, her heart pounding. She didn't understand what was happening.
"'Big brother's making us breakfast…'" he said, as if it were perfectly normal.
But nothing was normal. The little one was looking at her with such intensity, as if he were not a child, but a shadow of something older. As if someone had taught him that look. As if someone had prepared him.
She glanced at the door. It was opening slowly. The smell of eggs and butter drifted from downstairs. Takuya hummed the same melody as his brother. His voice was soft. Monotone. Eerily calm.
And then Nika realized: They didn't come by accident. They weren't looking for help.
She was their target.
'Takuya likes you very much... he even carried you in his arms and kissed you on the cheek... I think he wants to be your boyfriend... you two would be a couple~ yes, mommy?'
Shigeru fed me cake and it was so delicious, chocolate cheesecake.