Hannah had already made her choice in advance, heading to the marketplace on the east side where a small shop was run by an escapee.

Barter for barter.

That night, the door to the house was left open.

Someone was yelling, creating a loud disturbance.

Someone was singing a nursery rhyme, a pretty little girl with beautiful eyes.

"Pretty little girl, she came out from the forest, she wore a lovely cloak, her hair long and flowing. She always held a paintbrush, people called her ’little witch’.

She drew on the ground, and rabbits came to life, she drew on the trees, and birds came to life, she drew on paper, and the little figures stood up, turned around, without eyes or hair..."

Someone craned their neck to look, and they would never forget that sight for the rest of their life.

After that day, no one dared to bother Hannah again.

She happily traded for the bed she had wanted.

It had a very soft and clean quilt.

Such an item would never appear in the refugee area.

East was where the escapees lived, their status higher than the refugees.

No one was willing to stir up trouble with a group of desperate fugitives.

After that day, Hannah had settled down in Bulei.

Living alone, she sometimes resembled a busy little bee.

Flying out from her home, then back in from outside, nearly every time bringing back lovely "flowers."

Then tirelessly adorning her little house.

Today it was a table, tomorrow a mirror, the day after she traded for a set of teacups she really liked.

It was said they had been left by a Nashus.

Nashus was a planet abundant with gems.

The people from their planet liked shiny things, Hannah liked them too.

She favored beautiful gems most.

The shop owner recognized her, knew she liked pretty things, and set them aside especially for her.

The items Hannah had brought the owner this year were enough to establish a long-term cooperative relationship.

In less than a year, her house had become the most beautiful in the entire refugee area.

Another month passed.

Today was the day Hannah was to go hunting.

The common "currency" in Bulei was mutant beasts.

She needed to store up provisions in advance because she heard that a great snowstorm was coming to Bulei.

Last time she went hunting, she sustained serious injuries.

Her back, chest, and thigh.

So this time, she had to prepare for a long stay outside.

This year, Hannah was seven.

She carried a backpack that was almost bigger than herself, stuffed with many tools.

The northern path was not easy to traverse, littered with rubble and decaying buildings.

Those were remnants of the war.

Some mutant beasts hid in those half-bombed buildings.

Throughout her first year in Bulei, Hannah had never ventured into the escapee’s area.

Because she knew that place was still too dangerous for her.

She was still a child.

...

On the third day in the north, she had yet to spot any trace of mutant beasts, so she ate her own dried food.

When she couldn’t find mutant beasts, she’d try "scavenging."

Picking up weapons dropped and forgotten during the chaotic battles.

If she found a good, intact one, she could trade it for pretty gems.

Half an hour out, she gathered a small bag of metal parts.

She tested the weight; it should be enough to trade for a pretty mirror.

Hannah was satisfied.

She lit a fire to ward off the chill.

Outside, the sky darkened.

The wind seemed to carry soft whimpers.

Was someone calling for help?

Hannah rubbed her hands over her face, using the cold from her palms to dispel the warmth on her cheeks.