6. THE CITY

In half an hour they were on their way. Her father carried her to be able to walk faster. They had to leave the territory before nightfall. They finally made it. They were out of the village. They sat down to rest for a while. It was already dark. The moon was shining in the sky.

"Let's see if we can find a cave, my dear. We'll light a fire. It's going to be a cold night."

"I think that on that mountain, we might find a place to take shelter."

They walked through the vegetation until they reached the side of the mountain. A large grotto was a little further up. They climbed with some difficulty until they finally arrived.

"Gil, my dear, come. Let me keep you warmer."

"Why, Mommy? I'm not cold. It's beautiful here. Look at the stars, Daddy."

"Yes, love, it's beautiful. But go put on some more clothes. It's going to be very cold tonight."

"Will we sleep here, Daddy?"

"Yes, honey, we will. Tomorrow we have to decide where to go."

"I think we should go to the city. There, my cousin can house us until we can find a place to live."

"Do you remember why we left the city, my dear?"

"Yes, but that hasn't happened again. Since they turned gray, they haven't gone back to gold."

"I don't want to risk it. I'd rather look for another small village."

"No, love. In the city, there are many people. It's easier to hide. Besides, we can put contact lenses that change the color of her eyes."

"That's true. I hadn't thought of that. She's five years old now. She understands the good and the bad. All right, with the first light of day, we'll go to the city."

They slept in the cave. The night was very cold, so they had left the fire burning. Gil slept in the middle of her parents. A noise made her open her eyes. She looked attentively. A pair of red eyes looked at her with attention. She was frightened and hid between her parents.

But she felt some footsteps approaching. She raised her head again and found a huge wolf sitting by the fire, looking at her with its red eyes. Gil didn't know why, but those eyes attracted her. She approached the wolf, who lay down.

She came fearfully to his side. The wolf wagged its tail slowly. Gil lost her fear and brought her hand closer until she felt the wolf lift its head and bump its nose with her little hand. She smiled happily and rubbed her nose against his.

"Are you cold? Me too. It's nice here by the fire, isn't it?"

The wolf gazed at her in ecstasy as he wagged his tail in friendship. Gil, sitting next to him, began to stroke him on the head. He squinted his eyes, feeling very happy. She got tired and lay down next to him. The warmth of the wolf made her fall asleep. The animal wrapped his tail around her and stayed like that until he felt her father move. He left stealthily until he was behind some bushes. There he remained vigilant, making sure that no one came near the place.

"Dear, dear, wake up. We have to go now," the father called, standing up. The mother looked to her side, frightened when she did not feel the girl.

"Gil, where is Gil?"

"Look at her over there by the fire. It looks like she was cold."

"Gil, dear, wake up. We have to go now," her mother called.

"Mum, have you seen my wolf?" she asked, still sleepy, turning her head and looking everywhere.

"What wolf, my dear? You must have been dreaming. Come on, Gil. We have to get to the city today."

They went down the opposite side of the mountain, until they came out to the path that goes to the city, always followed by the huge wolf without them noticing. A passing car of an elderly couple picked them up and did them the favor of taking them to the center. They went to their mother's cousin's house, but she no longer lived there and no one could tell them where she moved to.

"What do we do now, dear?"

"We'll try to find a cheap room. We have some savings, it will give us until I find a job."

"I can work too."

"It's all right, dear. We'll both do it."

They wandered around the city for many hours without finding anything they were looking for, until after noon they walked until they reached a small café. They went inside and bought something to eat. After they were served, they went out and sat down in a small park across the street to rest, feeling a little lost.

"It's a big city, my dear," the father said.

"Yes, very big. Here we can hide Gil well," the mother replied.

"Do you think the enemies are still looking for her?" the father asked. "She was a baby when we saved her. They must not even know she was born. Maybe they think my Luna escaped with her, not us."

"I'm sure they won't rest until they find her," the mother said. "They know that neither you nor I would leave our Luna alone. And Gil is so peculiar that they'll realize she doesn't belong to us. They'll soon find out who she belongs to."

"It's been many years since that happened," the father said. "They haven't sent anyone for her. They must think she died just like us."

The man explained as he ate his sandwich, watching Gil play a little further away with some tree branches and leaves. All this time they had been constantly moving from one place to another. Firstly, fleeing from enemies, secondly, because the people in the villages were always frightened by the color of the girl's hair and eyes and blamed her for all the bad things that happened, always wanting to sacrifice her.

"It doesn't matter, it's not time to go back yet," his wife, who was eating like him and looking at the girl, brought him out of his thoughts. "We will continue to take care of her for eternity. I love her as if she were ours, I don't want anything to happen to her."

“Don't you think we should tell her who she is? And tell her what we are. I miss being myself, running free in the forest, becoming my true self.”

“She's still too young; we'll wait until she's sixteen. Hold on a little longer, dear. It won't be long now. After that, we will go and live alone in the mountains and train her. I don't know what plans the gods have for her and us, but I will not fail my Moon.”

They remained silent for a while longer, eating what they had bought at the café and resting their aching feet before continuing their search for work, but above all, for a place to spend the night. Suddenly, a voice behind them made them turn around.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, could you please help me with something?" asked an elderly lady. "My car has broken down, and I can't leave my packages in it until someone comes to pick it up. It would spoil my things, and I must make the delivery on time. I will pay you for your services."

"Yes, ma'am, with pleasure!" said Gil's father, jumping to his feet.

"Oh, what an exotic girl!" he exclaimed as Gil approached. "Is she yours?"