IHTSCPIDAJ PROLOGUE

Prologue

The first time Viola met Scarlett was at the end of early summer.

It was a day when rain poured down relentlessly.

Without thinking, Viola wandered into the deepest, darkest alley she could find.

Then, she stopped at the sound of an unfamiliar cry coming from somewhere nearby.

The air was heavy with the damp smell of water and wet earth.

Amid a pile of discarded rags, a tiny, emaciated body was trembling faintly.

Small bones showed through her frail frame, while raindrops mercilessly struck her cheeks.

Without a word, Viola crouched down.

When her fingertips, wet with rainwater, touched the child’s cheek,

the tiny fingers slowly moved and tightly grasped hers.

‘…….’

Viola stared at those little fingers for a moment before slowly pulling her hand away. She then stepped back toward the edge of the deserted alley and leaned her back against the wall.

The child stopped crying.

Even after Viola withdrew her hand, the baby seemed to remain quiet for a while.

But before long, a fragile cry that sounded as though it might break at any moment filled the alley once again.

Viola tried her best to ignore it, but for some reason, the sound kept scratching at her heart.

“My goodness, how could anyone abandon such a young child?”

“Are you her older sister? How could you treat your little sister like this?”

At that moment, several passersby who happened to walk through the narrow alley frowned at Viola.

One of them took the child from among the rags and carefully held her out.

Acting instinctively, Viola held out both hands and awkwardly took the baby into her arms before quietly protesting.

“……She’s not my sister.”

But her words were quickly drowned out by the sound of the rain, and by then, the people had already disappeared from the alley.

And soon, the baby in her arms stopped crying as if by magic.

The child who had been trembling and crying so desperately was now lying quietly in her arms.

‘……No. I can barely take care of myself.’

Just as she was about to put the baby down again, a certain memory suddenly crashed over her like a wave.

A person who, driven to the edge of a cliff, had chosen to run away from everything and throw it all away.

A scene she had wanted to forget overlapped with her present self.

Her fingertips trembled.

‘……How foolish.’

She had no reason to feel responsible for a baby she had never even met before, nor did she have the means to do so.

The conscience blooming inside her collided with the reality-hardened voice of reason.

“…….”

Just then, the baby’s hand slowly reached up and touched Viola’s cheek.

“Uuuh, th……”

For the first time, instead of crying, the baby smiled and babbled something completely unintelligible.

“……What are you saying? I can’t understand a word.”

That day, Viola did not abandon the baby in her arms.

I’m different from that person.

I won’t run away just because things are difficult.

For a woman who had lost her reason to live, the tiny life in her arms became a new direction for her life.