"Crackling."

The oil in the fireplace was burning, and Al was exhausted after a day's training. Lying in the animal skin in the hut, she listened to Yanagihara tell two stories, and then she fell into a deep sleep.

As the flames flickered, the shadows in the room flickered. Yanagihara sat at Al's bedside for a moment, then got up to smoke a cigarette outside the door.

She had already smoked the first box of cigarettes, which she had purchased in the Central Greenhouse No. 10.

It doesn't taste good, but the pungent smell of smoke can at least make people feel more refreshed.

I don't know when Yanagihara started smoking, and he would have deliberately avoided Al.

Maybe it's because she's finally noticed that tobacco isn't healthy for kids, or maybe it's just because she's noticed that Al doesn't like the smell of cigarettes.

It was snowing in the tribe that night, leaving the fire-lit hut, and the night outside was undoubtedly cold.

However, because he has lost the ability to sense temperature and pain, Yanagihara is fortunate to have the room to be alone in this world.

Of course, it's just a matter of being on your own.

Letting the cold wind mingle with snowflakes lapping his cheeks, Yanagihara silently leaned against the door of the stone house, bowed his head and lit a cigarette for himself.

The light of the lighter reflected on her cheeks, illuminating the side of her face, and by the warm light of the fire, Yanagihara saw another figure in the streets of the tribe.

It was York, and Yanagihara recognized the other just by looking at it. Even at this time, he was wearing an animal skin coat and windproof glasses, and wrapped himself tightly.

Seeing Yanagihara, York also walked over. He lowered his head at first, probably because the cold made it a little difficult for him to speak.

It wasn't until halfway through the bell that the boy took out a small bag of things from his coat and handed it to Yanagihara.

"It should be cold tonight, and it is expected to be the same for the next few days, so we are not going to go to the base in the next few days. Here are some good animal oils, Joel asked me to send them, he is very good at this, and each piece can be burned for a long time. ”

"Thank you." Looking at the other party's cold and blue face, Yanagihara slowly thanked him and took the package.

Then, she glanced back at her and Al's room, and asked, "Would you like to come in and sit for a while, at least have a cup of hot tea?" ”

"No need." York shook it and tugged at his collar with both hands: "It's too cold, I'm ready to go back." ”

However, just before he was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of the cigarette in Yanagihara's hand with the rest of his eyes.

"Are you smoking?" I don't know for what reason, the young man stopped his steps, hesitated, and asked Yanagihara out loud.

"Obviously, yes." Yanagihara raised the cigarette butt in his hand and replied with a raised brow.

"Can you smoke one for me?" The boy stood in the snow and blinked his eyes as he looked at the cigarette burning with sparks burning in Yanagihara's hand.

The night was quiet for a while, and it seemed that only the wind whistled in the distance in the air.

Until Yanagihara asked out loud, "Are you sure?" Let's start with it, Al is sleeping, so you can only stand outside the door and smoke. ”

······

The light of the fire in the stone house was still bright, and through the crack in the door covered with animal skins, two figures were reflected outside the door, and some shadows of indescribable shapes fell on the snow.

It was probably a little colder at night.

Under the eaves of the hut, York stood with Yanagihara, took a cigarette from Yanagihara, and put it in his mouth.

"Smack."

Yanagihara stretched out the lighter and lit the cigarette butt for him, and then put the lighter with the lid back in his pocket.

"Suck, cough, cough, cough!"

The boy was obviously a first-time smoker, so just the first puff made him cough violently.

"You don't know how to smoke, so why should you ask me to smoke for you?" Yanagihara didn't make any moves because of the boy's cough, just leaned against the wall, spit out a puff of smoke from his mouth, and asked lightly.

"Because I've heard that this thing can relieve troubles." Looking at the cigarette in his hand, York smiled regretfully: "It seems that it is still just a lie." ”

On the day his parents left, he lied to him.

They told him they would be back soon, but they haven't been back since.

During the years when he and Joel were looking for their parents, DeSade also lied to them.

He told them that if they looked up, they could see the stars their parents had turned into in the night sky.

But even if he looked up for a long time, York never got a response from the stars.

When he and Joel began to make Joshua, Joel also lied to him.

He told him that if they flew to the stars in Joshua, they would find their father and mother.

But York knew very well that there would only be endless deep space.

York was a clever boy from an early age, and he could tell every lie, but he also wished that one of those lies would be true.

Even if it's just one.

So, he chose to believe in these clumsy deceptions, and he believed in them.

He believed that his parents would come back one day, so he stubbornly waited day after night.

He believed that there would be traces of his parents in the starry sky, so he counted every star he could see over and over again.

He believed that Joel would lead him to his father and mother, so he studied everything in his notebook little by little.

However, does believing really work.

Sometimes, York is so skeptical.

Perhaps, like this cigarette, he believes that it can relieve his troubles, but when he actually smokes it, he can only feel sadness and pain.

"Yanagihara." Maybe finally, some can't believe it firmly, York looked at the sparks on the cigarette butts in the snowy night, opened his mouth, and asked Yanagihara.

"What do you think of my plan and that of Joel?"

He felt that Yanagihara should be awake, and he felt that Yanagihara would probably wake him up, tell him that this plan was impossible to come true, and let him face reality.

But what he waited for was silence.

It wasn't until a few breaths later that Yanagihara finally put down the cigarette in his hand and spoke

"I don't know, this question may have to be answered by yourself. If you feel like it's unreasonable and want to give up, I won't stop you. But if you just want me to give you a reason to keep going, then I can tell you that Jasmine believes in you, and Al believes in you. ”

"When you look up at the stars, they look up at you."

Smoke drifted and snow fell.

After a long time, York smiled bitterly and took the cigarette in his hand with his lips: "You are really irresponsible." ”

"But isn't that the answer you want me to give you?"

"Oh, maybe, who knows······"