A week later, Hestad was able to get out of bed and walk on her own.
When there were no nurses around, she once secretly ran to the bathroom to check her body to see if the hospital had "replaced a new part" for herself - just like Miss Chiba.
Fortunately, it seems not.
After lunch every day, if it is sunny, the nurse will push Hesta back to the ground for a walk in a wheelchair. Hesta thought she was just going up to get some air, but the young nurse always took the trouble to push her for a walk in the woods to the west of the base, which lasted more than an hour.
On rainy days, everyone pushed her around the corridors of the underground hospital. I met Rico once, when she was doing walking rehabilitation alone while holding a walker.
The two of them were not very familiar with each other, so they nodded to each other, said hello and left, but the tattoos on Rico's body still left a very deep impression on Hesta.
When they first saw it, Hesta didn't have time to take a closer look. Now she saw it clearly: it was a black-feathered raven, with its wings spread out on Rico's back and left arm. The bird's neck wraps around its left shoulder to the front, and its beak reaches toward Rico's heart.
The raven's eyes are bright red. If you only look at them from the front, you could easily mistake them for the evil eyes of some kind of monster.
After they parted, Hesta couldn't help but look down at her left wrist. There was a shallow scar there, which was left when the chip was implanted.
On her twelfth birthday next year, maybe she can find a tattoo artist in Tan Yi and tattoo an eagle on it.
...However, she really couldn’t remember what the eagle on her mother’s wrist looked like.
Visiting hours here are from 4:00 to 6:00 every afternoon, but not many people come. Most of the time, Hestad was reading or listening to the radio, and sometimes she practiced drawing and shooting. The nurse strictly prohibited her from doing too intense actions now, so Hestad could only practice secretly behind closed doors.
"Jane——" The door suddenly opened from the outside, and Liz's figure appeared behind the door. Hesta was startled, but before she could put the gun away, Liz was already stunned at the door, "What are you holding?"
"Ah...this is..."
Before Hesta could explain, Liz had quickly closed the door to prevent people passing by in the corridor outside from seeing what was happening in the room.
She came quickly and snatched the snatch away from Hesta.
"It's a toy." Hesta explained with a smile.
Liz, who was trying to disassemble the gun barrel, soon discovered that it was just a plastic model. She took a long breath and sat down next to Hesta, her expression relieved.
"I thought……"
"I watched some shooting instruction videos before and wanted to practice," Hesta explained. "I was quite bored here, so I asked Miss Chiba to buy me a toy gun... Why are you here? ”
Liz took a deep breath and said softly, "I'm here to apologize. It's all my fault that you got hurt. It's because I didn't control my sense of proportion——"
"Don't pay attention to these little things. This happened because I was impulsive and shouldn't have hit someone on the spot." Hestad put the gun back under his pillow. "...Is Sean okay?"
"What can happen to him..."
Hesta smiled calmly, "That's good."
From the corner of her eye, Liz saw the wheelchair stacked against the wall, "Shall I push you out for a walk?"
"OK."
It rained a little this afternoon, but it stopped quickly. The ground was still damp at the moment, but there was no accumulation of water. Hesta was curled up in her wheelchair, looking up at the birds flying over the branches from time to time.
At a certain corner, the spire of the church can be faintly seen in the distance.
"I have one more thing that I want to discuss with you." Liz said softly.
"what?"
"For the position of your assistant officer... maybe I am not the best candidate."
Hesta turned around almost immediately, "Why? Did Molly and the others give you trouble?"
Liz immediately shook her head, and the look in Hesta's eyes made her suddenly feel a little heartbroken.
Liz quickly looked away, "No, no one is asking me for trouble, I think so myself. In fact, Ms. Morley mentioned this matter to me a long time ago... I only realized it recently that maybe she That's right."
"What on earth did she say?" Hesta's voice rose involuntarily, "She can't just rely on such a thing -"
"It's not Molly's problem, it's my problem, Jane." Liz raised her hand and held her forehead, "Maybe I am not good at being an assistant officer now."
Hesta frowned, she simply stood up with the help of her wheelchair, turned around and walked to Liz.
"...What are you talking about, Liz, for more than two months, you listened to me, took care of me, taught me how to live here, gave me books, and helped me solve various problems...I think you are special It’s suitable, who says you’re not suitable?”
Liz hesitated to speak. She turned around and ran her hands through her hair again.
The two walked to a bench next to the forest path and sat down. Hesta faced Liz, waiting for her to speak.
"This idea was actually decided after I discussed it with Miss Valenti." Liz said softly, "I may... have projected some of my own problems onto you."
Hesta asked doubtfully, "...What do you mean?"
"A long time ago, Ms. Morley once questioned whether I invested too much energy in your affairs. In fact, at that time, I was already somewhat aware of the problem... Although it seemed that I was defending you. , but this is actually...not good for you, just..."
Liz's hand made a circular gesture in mid-air, but it took a long time for the second half of the sentence to come out.
"I used to... I used to have a younger sister at home." She whispered, "In Askia."
"I guessed it," Hesta said softly, "because you look like a sister."
Liz burst into laughter.
"What's wrong?" Hesta asked.
Liz's eyes slowly turned red, and she looked at Hesta, "If I tell you something...can you keep it a secret for me?"
Hesta nodded solemnly, "I can."
Liz adjusted her breathing, clasped her hands, put her elbows on her knees, and leaned forward slightly.
"The cause of the tragedy in Askia... I don't remember if I have told you before, it was an old couple.
“They originally lived with their children in a small town near the wilderness. There were only a dozen families in that town. It was very remote, but very quiet.
"One day, the grandson and granddaughter of the old man accidentally fell into the river and died. The family initially thought that the two children were playful and accidentally fell into the water. But when they fished out the bodies, they found that both children were covered in wounds. Marks of beating.
"The old couple, as well as the child's parents, were trying to find out the truth, so they put up reward posters in every suburb of Askia, as well as in nearby towns... looking for possible witnesses. .
"This incident caused an uproar in the East City at the time, because all the evidence at that time pointed to... the son of an official in the East City of Askia."
