My eyes opened slowly; my vision blurry. As it focused, I saw not far from me, Sang pinning Cousin Ram to the ground.

“I’ll kill you,” roared Sang, rearing up on his hind legs, claws glinting.

“Sang,” I choked. I shifted and pulled myself onto my stomach in effort to crawl, to get closer to them. Ever slowly, I inched across the frozen earth, shivering as I did from both the cold and blood loss. No doubt, I was leaving a trail of it. 

I gritted my teeth, choking back the urge to cough. “Sang,” I squeaked. 

Sang’s arm dove toward Ram.

I inhaled. With every bit of strength I had left, I cried out, “Sang…!” 

Sang paused, his claws inches from Ram’s neck. 

Sang turned toward me, his expression severely soft, as if he hadn’t just tried to behead a man. 

My breath shaking, I reached weakly out my freezing hand, seeking touch. “Let it go, it’s okay.” I smiled, but my strength was draining. I couldn’t keep my arm up for much longer, it fell limp in front of me. 

With a frightened whine, Sang ran up next to me, his enormously wide, scrutinizing eyes skimming my body, my wounds, probably wondering what it was he could do, if anything, to help me, to save me. 

If I could, I’d laugh at the irony of that. 

Gently, cautiously, he turned me onto my side. He didn’t touch the spear; some deep part of him, some human part of him, must’ve been aware of how much quicker death would come if he were to do so. 

“The world is unfair, I know.” Etisha’s voice echoed alongside my own. “But we don’t have to be part of—” I choked, blood bubbled from my throat, slipped down my chin—”the cycle anymore.” My lungs convulsed. It became harder to breathe, and I squeezed every word out. “So let go, we can be our own people now.” I inhaled, my whole body shaking. “So, Sang, what do you. . . what do you want to be?”

Exhaustion pulled on my lids and I struggled to hold on.

I was without an answer for much too long. At last, I heard Sang saying, in a gentler voice, “There was so much I still wanted to do.”

I smiled. “Y-yeah? Like what?”

“I wanted to explore the vastness of the river. To catch so many fish.”

My breath shivered in my attempt to make out a laugh. “You were always good at that. You still are, and you still can be.” I inhaled sharply. Darkness tugged at the corner of my vision. My hand struggled toward Sang’s. “You can live. You can catch as much fish as you want. Do you agree?”

What felt like another eternity of silence trickled by before a hand settled on mine. “You’re right, Feba.”

My eyes cracked open, and through shifting lights and shadow, I vaguely caught glimpse of what might’ve been Sang’s soul, his body pale-blue and translucent. Beneath sunlight, skin shimmered and gleamed like a night sky. 

He smiled, and I barely felt it as he squeezed my hand. “I understand. You can go on without me. I’ll live, I promise.” 

My lips twitched in a vain effort to return the look. My gaze shifted to Ram, who lay on the ground still, his wide, terrified eyes watching me. “Tell Mother I died while hunting.” Not a lie, not completely.

“It’s done,” I whispered. “There’s nothing more I want. Everyone’s free.” 

I tried again to glance Sang one final time, but darkness had already claimed my vision. Panic twisted inside my chest, but it vanished as Sang’s hand tightened around mine. 

I wasn’t alone, and Sang was going to be okay. Somewhere down the line of this strange life, he’d be born in a different time in a different place, and he’d finally live the life he’d always dreamed of. 

Though I knew I’d never be part of that life, that didn’t matter much. 

Everyone was now free—Etisha, Sang, and future generations, for never again would anyone bear the burden of silver eyes. 

A generational curse finally broken.