Why it never ends

Chapter 11 The Eagle of Hesta

"Where do we go next?" Hesta asked.

"The next step is the last step, and it might hurt a little." Qianye raised his right hand and gently wiped the inside of his wrist, "We will implant a numbered message for you at this position." chip, but the operation itself is nothing to be afraid of, because there is local anesthesia, so you won't feel—”

"No anesthesia."

"what?"

"No anesthesia," repeated Hesta.

Chiba looked at Hesta, "...Are you sure?"

"Ah."

……

On the semi-open operating table, Hesta sat on a padded soft seat. She stretched her right hand to the back of the window, where the mechanical arm was precisely cutting her thin flesh.

Chiba was also wearing a sterile suit, standing a few meters away from Hesta, looking at Hesta thoughtfully—the girl's forehead was dripping with sweat, and her face was gradually turning pale, which was obvious. All caused by pain.

After the operation, the two sat in another sterile room for observation.

"Why not anesthetized?" Chiba asked.

"...I just don't want to."

Qianye looked at Hesta's exhausted and haggard face at the moment, and temporarily stopped asking questions. After a while, she suddenly said: "Have you heard the story of 'Hesta's Eagle'?"

Hesta stared at his wrist, "...I heard a little bit."

"How much is a little?"

"The Hesta people... live in the northern part of the fourteenth district," Hesta whispered, "They use the eagle as their totem—"

"Hahaha, I knew it," Qianye interrupted with a smile, "This is a very typical misunderstanding of the Hesta people from the outside world. The eagle is a patron saint, not a totem, and their totem is a horse."

"Really." Hesta's voice almost whispered, "This is... the first time I know."

Chiba continued: "The Hesta people have a custom. Whenever their child reaches the age of 12, they will tattoo an eagle on the child's wrist, indicating that the child has grown up... How old are you this year? with?"

"Eleven," replied Hester.

"That was a year earlier," Qianye said with a smile, "I just saw that you didn't want to be anesthetized, so I thought it was because of this custom."

Hesta whispered: "Sister Gerdin once warned us that these medicines that directly enter the blood will make people's reactions... dull."

"Hurry up and forget what those old nuns taught you." Chiba folded her arms, "Believe in modern science, Jane."

Hesta adjusted her breathing a little, and she looked at Chiba: "Would you like to tell me the story of the 'Hesta's Eagle' just now?"

Chiba didn't answer right away. Telling the story itself is not difficult, but telling Hesta a story in the current situation has the atmosphere of a mother taking care of her daughter, or a sister taking care of her younger sister.

"Isn't it convenient?" Hesta asked again.

The observation room was empty, Chiba raised his head and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall in front of him - there were still 10 minutes before the end of the observation.

"Okay," she answered bravely, "Anyway...it's fine."

"'Hesta's Eagle' is a widely circulated story in the northern snowfields of District [-]," Qianye said softly, "It is said that a long time ago, on the snowfields in the northern border, there was a huge eagle. The bird's beak is as big as a mountain peak and thousands of miles long. When the whole bird flies up, its shadow is in the sky and the earth.

"The name of this eagle is 'Hesta'. Its shadow has a certain magical power. All the creatures in the world, as long as they stay under its shadow, can obtain the highest happiness in the world.

"The eagle of Hesta will take off with the first ray of morning light at sunrise, and fly from the south to the north of the world, so every day, the newborn creatures on the earth will be bathed in the shadow of the eagle.

"Therefore, there was no struggle between heaven and earth at that time. Whether it was birds and beasts, or plants and vines, everything was immersed in peace and happiness.

"However, the Hesta eagle was slowly consumed in this process. Gradually, its beak changed from the size of mountains, to the size of a lonely peak, and then to the size of a lake...During this period, its wings It also gradually shrunk until it could no longer hold everything in the world under its wings.

"But even so, the Hesta Eagle will still take off every morning when the sun rises.

"Until the last time, it was so old that it could no longer lift its wings, so it fell on the snowy field in the north, its wings became arms, its sharp claws became feet, and it became a human baby. So the grassland Herds of sheep and horses, as well as creatures that had been cared for before, all rushed to feed the child together.

"In the myths of the Hestar tribe, their ancestors came from this way. Although it is a bit absurd, but most of the myths are like this... Do you like this story?"

"It's very interesting." Hesta leaned back in the chair, closed her eyes and echoed in a low voice, "Thank you."

……

At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Chiba left the reserve training base.

Before leaving, Hesta looked up at the lady who had rescued herself from the monastery and now became her guardian, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Chiba squatted down, holding Hesta's shoulders with two strong hands.

"It's here."

Hesta gazed into Chiba's gray pupils—at certain moments, like now, when they were brightly lit, her eyes seemed to have an almost silvery sheen.

"...Do you have any suggestions for me?" Hesta asked in a low voice.

Chiba frowned, obviously thinking about this question very seriously. After a while, she stood up and touched Hesta's little head.

"It's nothing, I have to say something..." Qianye reached out and pinched the tip of Hesta's nose, and suddenly laughed, "Don't fall in love early? Train well, I will always pay attention to your news, maybe we will soon We shall meet again, goodbye, Jane."

Hesta thought about the suggestion left by Chiba, and nodded solemnly.

"Goodbye, Miss Chiba."

After Chiba left, Hesta stood alone behind the transparent window wall on the fourth floor and looked down. Her gaze was fixed on the exit of the corridor until Chiba's figure appeared there.She watched Chiba walk all the way to the parking lot, watched her open the car door, get in the car and leave.

Valenti, who was sending documents back and forth, quickly spotted the little girl here.

"Miss Hesta?" She stepped forward, "You should report to the dormitory with your information card."

"I know."

Valenti looked out along the direction Hesta was staring at, but only saw a few places on the ground and a rather empty road in the distance. She squatted down and looked towards Her, "What are you looking at?"

"...Miss Chiba's car."

Hesta pointed to the hatchback that had brought him here, which had just disappeared at the end of the road.

The girl stared at the place where the vehicle disappeared, and an unspeakable loneliness suddenly came to her heart.

(End of this chapter)