Hello, I wrote a book during the pandemic that I had been writing for over a year but hadn't finished because I was in college, but since schools closed down I was free to finish it. Its called Voodoo House and its an urban fantasy adventure epic. I published it on Amazon KDP and I decided to write another book before writing the next installment in the Many Houses series. I'm almost done with my second book and then I'll continue writing the Many Houses series, so I decided to post here about it before I publish my next endeavour.
Here is an excerpt from the book for your eyes! Please give me some feedback if you can.
(Voodoo House, Chapter Ten: The Fate of Everything)
ⲯ﹍︿﹍︿﹍ 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚜, 𝙸 𝚑𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚍, 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙺𝚘𝚖𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 (𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝙰𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐) 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚐𝚘 𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗’𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑-𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚢𝚎𝚝. 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚗𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠. 𝙰𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙺𝚊𝚕𝚏𝚞𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚎𝚗-𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚍, 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚊𝚜𝚙. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚝-𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕-𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚕 𝚙𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙺𝚊𝚕𝚏𝚞𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚕.
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚙 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚔𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔. 𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚔𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍, 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚍, 𝚖𝚢 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚝—𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙸𝚗 𝚊 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚢, 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏-𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎, 𝙸 𝚔𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙼𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚖𝚞𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍, 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚂𝚒𝚐𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚘𝚕𝚢 𝚂𝚒𝚐𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎, 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚒𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚞𝚗𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚅𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚘𝚘 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜. 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚎𝚍, 𝚘𝚛 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗.
𝚂𝚘 𝙸 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚝: 𝙸 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛, 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚎, 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚝 𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚒𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝. 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎. 𝚂𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚠𝚘. 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙.
𝙰𝚜𝚑𝚎, 𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚎, 𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚎.
𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚎, 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚎, 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚎.
𝙾𝚑 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝚂𝚞𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍. 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛.
𝙳𝚊𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚑, 𝙻𝚎𝚐𝚋𝚊, 𝙶𝚑𝚎𝚍𝚎. 𝙴𝚛𝚣𝚞𝚕𝚒𝚎, 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚘, 𝚈𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚊, 𝙾𝚐𝚞𝚗.
𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗.
𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙰𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝙿𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚠.
𝙸 𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝙸 𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝙸 𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞.
𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍, 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.
𝚁𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎.
𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚜. 𝚂𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚅𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚘𝚘 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚢𝚎. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍, 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚑. 𝙸 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚒𝚛𝚌𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚣𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝙸𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚍. 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚕𝚎. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙸 𝙰𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚓𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚕𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎. 𝙸 𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚘𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢, 𝚙𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚔𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚍𝚜, 𝙸 𝚜𝚊𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚑 𝟽𝟶’𝚜-𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝙸 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚜. 𝙸 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚠, 𝚞𝚗𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚎𝚡𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕. 𝙸𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚖𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚑 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚅𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚘𝚘 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚢.
𝚃𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍, 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝, 𝚜𝚘 𝙸 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚞𝚗 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕-𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛. 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜.
“𝙳𝚛 𝙰𝚕𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎!” 𝙸 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝙸 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚜. “𝙰𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚜! 𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜! 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎! 𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚢𝚢𝚢𝚢!” 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚎𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚄𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏𝚏. 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚋𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚞𝚛𝚊 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗, 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚖𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎, 𝚏𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎-𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜.
𝚈𝚊𝚣 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚝𝚑 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚢. “𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚕?” 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢. 𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚈𝚊𝚣 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚃-𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚜. 𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍, 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚜 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚞𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎, 𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘.
“𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚗𝚎𝚠𝚜, 𝚈𝚊𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎,” 𝙸 𝚜𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍, 𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍. “𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚗𝚎𝚠𝚜. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚜? 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢? 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝙶𝚠𝚘-𝙵𝚎𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢.” 𝚈𝚊𝚣 𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚞𝚖-𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚍.
“𝙸’𝚖 𝚊 𝙶𝚠𝚘-𝙵𝚎𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎,” 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍. 𝚃𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚝, 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚒𝚝. “𝙸𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢. 𝙼𝚒𝚣𝚣 𝙾𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚊 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎—𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠—𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝. 𝙸 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝙳𝚛 𝙰𝚕𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚜𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛. 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝚁𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚋𝚘𝚠 𝙱𝚘𝚢?”
“𝚄𝚐𝚑! 𝙾𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝! 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎, 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚅𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚘𝚘’𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚎!” 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚠 𝚞𝚙 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚒𝚚𝚞𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. “𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝙳𝚛 𝙰𝚕𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎? 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢!?”
“𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚍, 𝚍𝚞𝚍𝚎. 𝙲𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚞𝚝. 𝙼𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎. T𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎-𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚏𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚑 𝚊𝚒𝚛. 𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙷𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎.” 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. “𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏, 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚞𝚙𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚗𝚊𝚙. 𝚁𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢.” 𝙶𝚞𝚖-𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚔.
“𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙼𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙺𝚊𝚕𝚏𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚅𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚘𝚘 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎, 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗,” 𝙸 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚍. “𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞.”
𝙽𝚘𝚠 𝚈𝚊𝚣 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚐𝚊𝚠𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚞𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚍 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚞𝚝. “𝙹𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚑...𝚑𝚞𝚑?! 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚍𝚞𝚍𝚎?!” 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚌. “𝚆𝚑𝚘 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙼𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚎? 𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢’𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐?”
“𝙽𝚘 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜. 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎.” 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝙸 𝚛𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚎-𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝙸 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚑. 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝—𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐—𝚜𝚘 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝. 𝙱𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚎, 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚈𝚊𝚣 𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛-𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚐𝚊𝚜𝚙𝚜.
𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚈𝚊𝚣 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗. 𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛—𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚅𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚘𝚘 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎. ﹍ⲯ﹍ⲯ﹍︿﹍☼