“Sorry.” She muttered as she placed the broken pieces in the bin.

“No problem.” Evran replied dusting his hands off. He looked at Charyti. She had lost so much weight in the past year and her eyes held a haunted look. She definitely was not sleeping at night and Evran knew why. Lately, she had been having nightmares which woke her up, sweating. She refused to tell him what her nightmares were about, but Evran had a clue. One night he had returned late at night and found her tossing and turning in one of the chairs. She had been muttering Sylia’s name over and over again. She had been so entrenched in the nightmare that it had taken a bucket of water to wake her. Afterwards she had become cold and distant.

“Charyti, go to bed.” Evran said pulling her to her feet. Charyti shook her head.

“I can’t.” She whispered. “Every time I close my eyes I see them.”

“Shhh…” Evran said, soothingly. “Its okay to dream about them but not so much that you can’t wake up.”

“I keep watching them die, Ev.” She said her voice barely audible in the still night. Evran sighed and guided her to the bottom of the stairs.

“Charyti, you need to sleep.” He said handing her a cup of tea he had poured for himself. “I’ll pack your bags for tomorrow, so all you have to do is just leave. And the sooner you leave, the sooner you will leave the memories of them behind.”

Charyti nodded and took the cup from him.

“I’ll tidy up down here.” Then he said with a forced smile. “I’m going to be the one doing it after you go so I might as well get used to it.”

Charity nodded again and began to climb up the stairs, her left hand balancing her. She turned back to Evran.

“Thank you, Evran.” She said quietly. “Really, thank you.”

Evran shrugged. “I am your cousin. It’s what family does, protect one another.”

Charyti smiled weakly and returned to climbing up the stairs. Evran turned back towards the kitchen. He ran a hand through his blond curls, shaking his head.

“Now, what do I do?” He asked the air. He shook his head again as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He stared around at the kitchen and sighed. It was going to be a long night for all of them.