Tidei

Eřliq, Tidei (55.63°N 0.12°E)

(50°05'N 0°20'E in Earth measurements)

Year 1, day 1 (spring equinox)

"The calendar has just been invented!", said the nomad messengers while walking around the streets of Eřliq.

"From now on, you'll be able to remember when exactly something has happened! Today is Year 1, Day 1", they explained.

The inhabitants of Eřliq were happy of this invention and everyone took a calendar for themselves.

"I think this looks pretty interesting, what do you think?", Tüş asked to Mèv.

Mèv, to be honest, didn't even know whatthe purpose of the calendar was, but she pretended she knew something about it to sound smart and educated.

"I think it's the most useful invention in history, from now on, things will change for the better!", said Mèv.

"How?", asked Tüş, feeling curious.

Mèv started sweating nervously: she had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, so she decided to be vague.

"The calendar was invented to improve many aspects of our loves", said Mèv, very vaguely.

Tüş smiled, he was happy because of this new invention.

"Would you like taking a walk through these roads?", asked Mèv, smiling.

"Alright", replied Tüş, with a serious tone.

They started walking through the roads. The sky was grey - as it almost always was - and Tüş liked it, whereas Mèv preferred sunny weather (very rare in Eřliq), even though that was certainly not a life-or-death level of importance for her. The two friends kept walking around the village and were observing the houses of the other people. Mèv smiled.

"So... what shall we do?", asked Tüş, ready for whatever activity.

"Let's chat together", said Mèv, smiling.

"You know, I think life is limited, because if you think about it, there's not much to do", said Tüş, aware of humankind's condition.

Mèv smiled and looked at Tüş in his eyes.

"There's plenty of things to do, Tüş: we can chat together, hug each other, dance, walk around hand in hand, drawing, telling stories, sing, and much more. Do you still think that life is limited?", asked Mèv, feeling happy.

"I don't know what to say...", said Tüş.

"Would you like a hug?", asked Mèv, smiling and opening her arms.

"I don't like hugs", said Tüş.

"Oh, that's fine", said Mèv, serious.

Tüş forced a smile and kept walking.

"What do you want?", asked Mèv.

"Nothing", said Tüş.

"I understand", said Mèv, feeling a bit uncomfortable due to Tüş's lack of desires. If Tüş has no desires, certainly Mèv couldn't help to make him happy, but perhaps Tüş is already happy. The only way to find out is to ask him.

"How do you feel?", asked Mèv to Tüş. Tüş stopped walking, and you could see by looking at his face, that this question made him feel embarrassed. Tüş didn't know whether to tell the truth or not. Eventually, he decided to lie.

"I'm fine", said Tüş.

Mèv smiled and was happy of that. She thought that Tüş was a spiritually very strong person, considering he was feeling fine for no reason. She thought that Tüş was special. She didn't know how naive she was, to believe in such a lie, and she didn't know how much suffering was hidden in the life of Tüş.

"Would you like walking hand in hand?", asked Mèv, smiling.

"No, I don't like being touched", replied Tüş.

Mèv smiled and respected Tüş's opinion.

"So, you don't want anything", said Mèv.

"That's right", replied Tüş.

They both stayed silent and kept walking around. They looked at their beautiful village and at least Mèv was happy. Tüş was considering hiding his feelings forever. Nobody should find out how he actually feels, it would be uncomfortable for him if that happened. Mèv was his best friend, sure, but not even her should know. Having a secret can be frustrating, it can give you anxiety, embarrassment, but the secret should never be disclosed, under any circumstance.

Mèv was wondering why Tüş smiled so rarely, so perhaps his secret was at risk of being compromised.

"So...", thought Mèv in her mind, "he doesn't want hugs, he doesn't have any wish, he rarely smiles but he feels fine... there's something strange about this but I can't figure out what exactly"

Mèv looked at Tüş in his eyes and smiled, while Tüş was having a slightly embarrassed expression on his face but he still smiled nevertheless.

"Shall we run around the village?", asked Mèv.

Tüş declined the offer, he said that he didn't want to exert himself too much. It was difficult to maintain his secret, but he must avoid saying anything that could accidentally disclose it, it would be very humiliating, even though Mèv was his best friend. Despite all the good moments spent with her, Tüş didn't want to explain how he really felt: he must keep his feelings secret, even though that was turning out to be very difficult, but he could do that, he could easily hide his feelings and Mèv will never find out, just force a smile and everything will be fine.

Mèv looked at Tüş's smile and she thought that he was feeling really good, but she's very naive and she's the kind of person who doesn't understand lies even when they're obvious. She thought that Tüş was some kind of spiritual super-human and that he didn't need any comfort from anyone, but that pushed him into a spiral of sadness. If only he told the truth, all this could be avoided, but Tüş was too proud of himself to admit that he was feeling unwell.

In the meanwhile, the most educated people of Eřliq were discussing about the calendar. There was a common belief that the calendar would drastically change people's lives. For the better, of course.

"Could it be that the calendar will save us from death?", Vetòřž speculated, feeling optimistic.

The others noted this moment on the calendar. It was a very important day in the history of Tidei, and among the educated elite there was excitement and speculation. Of course, there were also the pessimists, such as Bifkàļ: a young female student who didn't believe that the calendar would improve people's lives.

"I don't want to ruin your enthusiasm, but I think that the calendar will not save us from death, and I also think that it will not improve the quality of our lives. Hunger and diseases will always exist, and it won't be the calendar that will erase them", said Bifkàļ, but this did not ruin Vetòřž's enthusiasm.

"You know what? From today, we will be able to know exactly when someone was born or has died, when it's sunny and when it's cloudy, what day the hunters brought us the Žubk meat, and many other things. Now we have complete control over time, and in the future we will invent other tools that will allow us to live the life that we always dreamed of, don't you think this is a good start?", said Vetòřž.

"I think that the resources that we have in our world are limited, and that therefore, the problem of hunger will never be solved", said Bifkàļ, close to making Vetòřž give in to hopelessness.

"How can you believe something like that? I'm sure that our condition of unhappiness will soon be fixed, we only need to be patient and wait", said Ülux, smiling and making Vetòřž feel comfortable.

"And how can we be happy right now?", asked Bifkàļ, worried.

"That's easy, we should keep being kind to everyone, as we always did", said Vetòřž, smiling.

"Kindness won't feed us, and it won't heal us from diseases", said Bifkàļ, pessimist as always.

"Of course, you're right, but it's better to be surrounded by kind people, than by arrogant people", said Vetòřž, whose optimism was contagious, and even Bifkàļ smiled.

"You know, I think you're right, kindness will help us. But the calendar... that's barely gonna do anything", said Bifkàļ.

They kept discussing and they understood the benefits of the calendar, and Opgüf is very happy that from today she'll be able to study the climate of Eřliq. Opgüf has a subjective scale of cold and heat that she calls "temperature", but unfortunately there is no way to measure it objectively. Today, according to Opgüf, the temperature is -1: that means, slightly cold. Finally, Opgüf will be able to understand the secrets of Eřliq's climate and to perfectly analyze (the weather of) all days. She was already hyped and waiting for summer to arrive, so that she can see how warm it will be, according to her scale. This invention was making everyone happy, but Bifkàļ really couldn't figure out how she could use the calendar, since, according to her, nothing interesting happens in her life, but she decided that she would give it a try and write everything that will happen.

Tüş e Mèv kept walking around the streets.

"I like spending time with you", said Mèv.

Tüş slightly blushed and he felt a strange but pleasant feeling, even though he was quite embarrassed. He tried to dissimulate it by changing the topic of the discussion.

"It looks like it's about to rain", said Tüş.

"Are you sure?", asked Mèv, happy for the possibility of rain.

"Oh, it's just a guess", said Tüş, hoping that it would rain, because rain usually makes him feel a bit better.

"Do you like rain?", asked Mèv.

"I have no opinion about rain", said Tüş.

Mèv liked getting wet from the rain: the feeling of the rain drops on her hair and her face feel really good to her, and she was wondering whether Tüş had the same feelings about it. Since according to Mèv, Tüş is always fine, she thought he didn't need the rain. The sky was overcast, filled with dark grey clouds bringers of rain, but it was not raining in that moment, and according to the wise, it wasn't going to rain today.

Mèv wasn't sure what to talk about: she was bored of talking about useless topics and she wanted to have a deep conversation.

"Tüş, do you want to tell me something?", asked Mèv, smiling.

"No, nothing comes to my mind", said Tüş.

"This is very interesting: life is so complex and vast, and we're talking about trivial topics like the rain. I want to learn new things, what would you think about me and you signing up to a school?", asked Mèv, thinking that going to school would had made them able to have philosophical conversations.

"No, I don't feel like it", said Tüş, because he wanted to stay a simple person, and most importantly, he didn't have the energies to do anything, let alone taking the effort to study something.

"Alright, perhaps that would be a bad idea, now that I think about it", said Mèv, laughing.

Tüş kept having a serious expression on his face, and Mèv really couldn't understand what the problem was, but she knew that Tüş was fine, so she decided not to bother with those thoughts for long. Mèv was happy that Tüş was fine, and she decided that tomorrow she would walk wth him again, maybe even every day for the rest of their lives, and for no she decided that she was happy because of this beautiful moment. The two friends were standing still and they weren't saying a word, and there is not much to say about two people who aren't doing anything.

Bifkàļ went to a tavern to drink some berry juice.

"Are you alone? Would you like me to keep you company?", asked a guy, smiling.

"That's fine for me", replied Bifkàļ, she was also smiling, but in a quite embarrassed way.

"You know, I'm a bit shy, but I'm trying to stop being like that, and you seem nice already", said the guy.

Bifkàļ didn't notice that was a compliment and she wasn't considering about adding this moment to the calendar.

"What's your name?", asked Bifkàļ.

The guy was expecting a compliment from her, but he thought she was just being distracted, and he answered her question

"My name is Z̧avar̆ţéq, what about yours?"

"My name is Bifkàļ", she said, still a bit shy.

"Would you like if we became friends?", asked Z̧avar̆ţéq.

"Okay", said Bifkàļ, trying her best to make Z̧avar̆ţéq as happy as possible.

"I'm so happy", said Z̧avar̆ţéq, laughing joyfully.

Bifkàļ felt relieved and she smiled.

"You know, you seem to be a very pleasant person to hang around with. How are you going to use your calendar?", asked Bifkàļ.

"I'm not going to use it. I have never been to school, so I don't know how to write", said Z̧avar̆ţéq, feeling ashamed of himself.

"Don't worry, I can teach you!", said Bifkàļ, very happy.

Z̧avar̆ţéq felt even more ashamed and he refused the offer.

"Something's wrong about it?", asked Bifkàļ, worried.

"I'm ashamed that I don't know how to write, and I feel even more ashamed if you're the one who teaches me", Z̧avar̆ţéq admitted, almost in tears.

Bifkàļ smiled.

"You know, nobody learns how to write by themselves, there's always someone who teaches you, I too have learned how to write because someone taught me", said Bifkàļ, placing her arm on Z̧avar̆ţéq's shoulder in sign of friendship.

"There's just one problem. I'm too lazy to study", Z̧avar̆ţéq admitted, feeling extremely ashamed.

"Don't worry, I'll be very slow when teaching", said Bifkàļ, willing to be patient.

"Alright", said  Z̧avar̆ţéq.

"We can see each other at my house tomorrow at 50.00", said Bifkàļ, happy to spread her knowledge.

Z̧avar̆ţéq smiled and asked for a cup of berry juice. He was happy to have met such a fascinating girl: Bifkàļ, but at the same time he was worried that he would be unable to learn how to write. He has never been to school and he thought that it would had taken a lot of effort, but he also thought that Bifkàļ would had made it easy for him. He was happy, worried but also very excited: finally he will learn how to read and write and so he'll learn to write stories and read other people's stories as well.

Bifkàļ was happy she could spread the knowledge of her village and she hoped that in less than a thousand years, every adult inhabitant of Tidei will be able to read and write. A very ambitious dream that Bifkàļ will never see with her own eyes, but she had faith in humankind.

"This berry juice is delicious", said Bifkàļ, happy, drinking two cups of it.

"I love it, too", said Z̧avar̆ţéq, cheerful.

"What would you like to do now?", asked Bifkàļ, starting to feel bored.

"Let's draw something! Even though I don't know how to write, I can still draw", said Z̧avar̆ţéq, confident in his own creativity.

"And when you'll learn how to write, think about the beautiful stories that you will write!", said Bifkàļ, grinning.

Z̧avar̆ţéq was feeling happy because of her compliment, and he thanked her for that.

"Thank you very much! You make me feel like I'm important", said Z̧avar̆ţéq, joyful.

Bifkàļ asked for a piece of paper and a pen, and then they started drawing. Z̧avar̆ţéq was drawing a guy who was fighting against monsters, saving the village.

"You're really good at drawing!, said Bifkàļ, she was proud of him.

Z̧avar̆ţéq was very happy and he was feeling really well, he was hoping that his future stories will be as epic as his drawing. He decided that as soon as he'll learn how to write, he'll write the most epic story ever written in Tidei and everyone will remember him as the best writer in Tidei. Of course, this is an extremely ambitious goal, but Z̧avar̆ţéq really believed he will accomplish that, and he was feeling happy.

"I've got an idea! Let's show my drawing to the others!", said Z̧avar̆ţéq, wishing for compliments.

"That's a good idea", said Bifkàļ.

They showed the drawing to a group of people.

"Who drew that?", a guy asked, smiling.

"I did", said Z̧avar̆ţéq, smiling.

"It's fantastic!", said the guy, and everyone else agreed.

"Thank you, friends", said Z̧avar̆ţéq, more than happy.

Bifkàļ learned that spending time with others is very fun, and she'll write this thought on the calendar. However, pessimist as always, she had a lot of hypothetical scenes in her mind about how she and Z̧avar̆ţéq might one day no longer be friends.

"Will our friendship ever end?", she wondered, worried. "I'll always try to be his friend and to make him happy, no matter what will happen", she thought, satisfied of her conduct.

In the meanwhile, Mèv and Tüş kept looking at the village and walking around. Tüş was feeling well when he spent time with Mèv: it was like all pain and all the sadness that built up disappeared. He looked at Mèv in the eyes and they both smiled without saying anything: just a look was enough to understand that they cared about each other.

"I love you", said Mèv, smiling.

Tüş was full of emotions, it was a sentence he often heard, but each time the happiness was the same.

"Thank you, Mèv. Remember when I told you that I was feeling alright? Well, that's thanks to you", said Tüş.

Mèv smiled and was happy about that.

"If you need me, I'll always be there for you", said Mèv, willing to always stay by his side.

Tüş, for some reason, slowly stopped smiling.

"Do you think there may be people without even one friend?", asked Tüş.

"Maybe there are some, but I'll find them and I'll make them feel better", said Mèv, smiling.

Tüş already knew that Mèv was kind, but for some reason he was still pleasantly surprised by what she said.

"But, realistically, I think everyone has at least one friend", said Mèv, with a serious face and really believing in what she was saying.

Tüş smiled again, but it was a slight smile.

"Is there some thought in your mind that is bothering you?", asked Mèv.

"No, not at all! I'm fine, thanks... you're a great friend", said Tüş, full of emotions.

"Thank you, Tüş! I like you a lot, too!", said Mèv, she really wanted to hug Tüş but she couldn't do that, because he didn't like being touched.

They were really happy and nobody could ruin this moment. They kept walking cheerfully and calm around the streets of Eřliq. Mèv saw a guy and a girl walking around the streets hand in hand.

"Shall we do it as well?", asked Mèv.

Tüş didn't know what Mèv was referring to.

"Eh? What?", said Tüş, confused.

"I mean, walking hand in hand", said Mèv, smiling.

"I dislike being touched", said Tüş.

"I understand", said Mèv, a bit disappointed.

They kept walking until Mèv felt her legs tired.

"Let's sit down somewhere", said Mèv.

The two were sitting on a rock and they looked at the sky, smiling happy.

"Sometimes I wonder why we humans exist. What is our purpose?", asked Tüş.

"I think our purpose in life is to be happy", said Mèv.

"Really? Then how can you explain hunger, diseases and death? How can you explain the fact that us humans have to kill animals in order for us to survive?", said Tüş, making Mèv feel hopeless.

"I don't know, Tüş", said Mèv, serious and a bit melancholic.

"I'm sorry about this, it's just that I can't understand why nature is so cruel", said Tüş.

"Don't worry, that was a very legit question, but I don't know what evil we have done to deserve all this", said Mèv, with a calm yet defeated expression on her face.

"I'm sorry that I reminded you of that", said Tüş, feeling guilty.

"Don't worry, life is about bad things and good things as well, not just good things", said Mèv, smiling to make Tüş feel better.

"I need to talk with you", said Tüş.

"Go on", said Mèv, willing to listen.

"I would had liked if nature was less cruel, for example if we didn't need to eat to survive, and that we never caught diseases and that death never existed", said Tüş, feeling sad.

"I understand how you feel, I also would had liked if life was only pleasant, but tell me one thing, how are you feeling now?", asked Mèv.

"I'm fine", said Tüş, not even trying to conceal the suffering expression on his face.

"Are you sure? You don't look like you're fine", said Mèv.

Tüş was fearing that his secret would be revealed.

"I'm just feeling cold, don't worry", said Tüş, trying to find some excuse and letting out a vapor 'cloud' from his mouth to prove that.

"Would you like to come at my house? It's warm inside", said Mèv.

"That's not necessary, I already told you I'm fine", said Tüş, nervous.

"Alright, I believe you, it's just that your words say something, but your face says the opposite", said Mèv, worried and confused. She wanted Tüş to feel truly fine.

"I'm fine, don't worry for me", said Tüş.

"Alright, I'll do as you say", said Mèv, smiling.

Tüş was feeling relieved, for a moment he was thinking that his secret was about to be revealed.

"There's not much we can do", said Tüş.

"I disagree, I think it's you who don't want to do anything", said Mèv.

"That's not true!", disse Tüş, nervous.

"What would you like to do, then?", chiese Mèv.

"I would like to chat while we sit here", said Tüş.

"I like that", said Mèv.

Tüş smiled, he was trying to forget about the conversation about death.

"Today is a beautiful day", said Tüş.

"Why?", asked Mèv, curious.

"Because I understood that you are very kind", said Tüş.

Mèv felt grateful for the compliment.

"Thank you, Tüş, compliments are always welcomed", said Mèv, smiling happily.

It was still morning, and the two friends still have a long day ahead to chat and have fun together, Tüş was using these moments to feel good and be happy, and he was thanking Mèv for every act of kindness she did towards him.

In the meanwhile, Opgüf was writing the temperature on her calendar.

"Year 1, day 1. Temperature: -1"

Opgüf was trying to be as objective as possible, she wanted everyone to know the climate of Eřliq within one year.

"Finally, my dream will soon come true", thought Opgüf, smiling satisfied.

The weather was overcast, grey, windless and subjectively cold: it was a typical early spring day in Eřliq, and Opgüf was keeping track of every weather detail. She wanted to know how many sunny days there would be in her village in a year.

The weather was Opgüf's special interest since when she was a child: she always had the preference for cold and sunny days, but the sky in Eřliq is almost always grey. She would had liked a colder and sunnier winter, but she also liked Eřliq's winter.

She saw a guy in the streets, she talked with him and asked: "Do you like the climate of this village?"

"I would like if it was always summer", the guy replied.

"Thank you for expressing your opinion, bye!", said Opgüf, smiling and leaving.

Opgüf was excited and was really looking forward to the end of the year, just like when someone starts working on something and daydreams about how the work will look like when it's finished. Time seemed to pass very slowly, but she decided that in any case, the will write the weather on the calendar every single day for the rest of her life: in that way she wanted to contribute to the spread of knowledge, and she was hoping that even people of other cities and villages would have had the same idea, so that everyone will know the climate of every village of the world and understand where it's best to move, depending on one's own preferences. There's only one small problem: because temperature is subjective, everyone would assign a different value, so it was Opgüf's goal to travel around the world and keep track of the temperatures, but unfortunately the brevity of life will not let her do that. She decided to study the climate Eřliq at the most precise, without leaving out any detail, and she also decided to ask to the messenger nomads to ask the wise to keep track of the weather of every village or city in the world. She was about to ask.

Opgüf went to the messenger nomads.

"Good morning!", she said, smiling cheerfully.

"Good morning to you, too! Do you have any message to send?", asked Řivma, a guy who Opgüf already started having a crush on.

"I'm talking to you", said Řivma, laughing friendly.

Opgüf noticed that she was staring at him, and she woke up from her state of trance.

"Oh, sorry", she said, laughing, "I just wanted to ask you if you could ask to every city if someone can keep track of the weather"

"Keep track of the weather? You know that's something subjective, right?", said Řivma, friendly.

"That's why we'll give objective values. The average temperature in Eřliq during the winter is -5, while in the summer it's +5, okay?", said Opgüf, hopeful.

"But, if they have never been to this village, how could they know what the temperature is like here?", said Řivma, serious.

"Can I come with you next year?", asked Opgüf, begging the messenger nomads.

"No, it's too dangerous, it's better if you stay here", said Řivma, trying to warn her of the dangers that one could face wandering beyond the limits of a village.

"Why?", asked Opgüf.

"There can be storms, extreme temperatures that you're not used to, ferocious beasts that may attack you from behind, lack of water and food, and you'll have to walk all day without being able to get back home", said Řivma.

"That's not a problem for me, please, bring me with you the next year", said Opgüf, begging them almost in tears.

"You'll have to be subject to a harsh training, and you could risk your life in the long journey, are you sure you want this?", asked Řivma, warning her.

"Yes", said Opgüf, serious.

"Well then, your adventure will begin very soon", said Řivma, smiling.

Mèv and Tüş were still spending time together and they decided to stay together until the Sun will set. Tüş was feeling well with Mèv and he didn't want this moment to end, because for him, it was a great relief from the bad thoughts that were haunting him.

Mèv wanted Tüş to feel happy, and she always tried to say something nice and funny to make him smile more often. She didn't like when other people were sad, but since she thought that Tüş was happy, so was she.

Mèv started walking jumping cheerfully and Tüş looked at her with curiosity.

"You look happy", said Tüş, smiling.

"Of course I am! How could I not be happy spending time with a friend like you?", said Mèv, looking at Tüş in his eyes and smiling.

Tüş was feeling joy in his soul and he understood that the best thing to do to avoid falling into darkness again was staying with Mèv all day, every day. He couldn't take the chance that negativity would devour him again, he didn't want to feel pain again, so he decided that he would never leave his friend. Never again. Spending time with her all the time was giving him great advantages regarding his emotions, and he certainly didn't want to miss this wonderful opportunity.

"We'll always spend time together, right?", Tüş asked, blushing.

"Of course, Tüş! We'll always be friends forever!", said Mèv, smiling cheerfully.

Tüş was feeling better, but he was in constant need of compliments and nice sentences, but those things certainly never lack when spending time with Mèv.

Everything was perfect, and by spending time with Mèv the probability of being sad is almost zero. Her joy put Tüş in a good mood, and seeing Mèv's smiling face was giving him a good feeling.

"I'm tired, let's sit down somewhere", said Mèv, sitting down on a large rock with Tüş.

Tüş looked at Mèv in her eyes and he felt a strange feeling in his stomach. He wasn't aware that he had been staring at her for a long time, with an expression that looked like he was in love with her. Mèv just stared back at him, smiling.

"I'm hungry", said Mèv, "waking" Tüş up.

"What happened to me! No, Mèv is just a friend!", Tüş thought in his mind.

"Let's go to my house, I have some Žubk meat, you can eat it too if you want", said Mèv, she wanted to share her food with a great friend of hers.

"Oh yeah, thanks, you're very altruistic", said Tüş, slightly embarrassed.

The two friend went to Mèv's house, and both were very grateful that they had food, even though Tüş was feeling sad because of the fact that one needs to kill animals to survive, at least in Eřliq, where the climate is not warm enough to grow fruit and vegetables.

"Do you like fish? We can cook it if you want", said Mèv.

"Okay!", said Tüş, grateful for Mèv's altruism.

Mèv opened the door of her house and she greeted her own parents, hugging them. That scene made Tüş feel sad, his heart was breaking.

"Are you okay?", asked Mèv, worried.

"Yeah", said Tüş, not very convincing.

"You can enter our house if you want, you're welcome here", said Mèv's mother, with a welcoming smile.

"Okay...", said Tüş, sad.

"Are you sure you're okay?", asked Mèv.

"Yeah", said Tüş, looking at the ground so that the others wouldn't see his eyes that communicated suffering.

Mèv looked at him and she felt worried, she slighlt smiled and said:"The Žubk meat is ready"

Tüş was eating very slowly, even though the meat tasted delicious, he was not happy.

Mèv was wondering why after so much time, Tüş had not yet finished eating the food on his plate, she thought that maybe he was not happy, after all, but every time she asked him, Tüş said he was fine and Mèv, naively, believed him every time.

"Would you like if we sit close to each other near the fire?", asked Mèv, thinking that perhaps that could had made him feel more relaxed.

"Yeah", said Tüş, sighing and staring at the void.

Mèv and Tüş were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, without saying anything, simply staying close together as true friends.

"Would you like to chat?", asked Mèv.

"No, sorry about that", said Tüş.

Mèv sat a bit closer to Tüş and they kept staring at the fire for hours. While they were staring at the fire and warm themselves Mèv was feeling relaxed, while Tüş forgot about what made him feel so sad. The sound of the burning wood was comforting for both and things were going well.

"Doesn't this make you feel sleepy?", asked Mèv, almost whispering.

"It doesn't make me feel sleepy, it makes me think", said Tüş.

Mèv was curious about what Tüş was thinking about, but she didn't want to ask, because she was afraid her question would be too intrusive. The wood was still burning, but Tüş knew that sooner or later that moment would be over and that the fireplace would no longer have any fire on it: the right metaphor for how he was feeling.

Even though the heat was making Tüş feel a bit relieved, deep inside he knew that he wasn't feeling as well as when he was walking outside with Mèv in the cold.

Mèv was feeling really well, even though she had the feeling that Tüş was feeling sad.

"Tüş says he's fine, so why is he behaving like that? I'm confused", thought Mèv.

The fire was still far from being extinguished, and Tüş decided he would sit in front of it until he would feel better.

Tüş finally smiled, and Mèv was happy, thinking that then it's true that Tüş was feeling fine. They sat in front of the fire for several more hours and they were feeling relaxed.

"I care about you, Tüş", said Mèv, feeling relaxed.

"Thanks, it's nice to hear that", said Tüş, happy.

Mèv was laying down on the floor and she closed her eyes, happy. Tüş smiled seeing her like that.

Tüş stood up because he was sitting down for too long and his legs were aching a bit. He decided he would stay the entire evening at Mèv's house.

"Can I sleep in your house?", asked Tüş.

"Of course you can!", said Mèv, cheerful and welcoming.

Tüş was feeling fine. Whenever he's not spending time with Mèv, he feels afflicted and desperate, but now there's no need to feel like that, from today on, Tüş will live with Mèv forever.

Mèv was happy to have Tüş in her house: it was an opportunity that was better not to waste, to take care of him with love like she always wished. Everyone was in a good situation and Mèv's parents were proud of her, to have raised a daughter so kind, so they often reminded her of that and Mèv's self-esteem was very high, and she wanted Tüş feel as good as possible, because she thought that nobody should feel sad.

"Shall we sleep together?", asked Mèv, smiling cheerfully.

"No, your bed is too small so we would end up cuddling each other", said Tüş, disgusted.

"I see. So, where are you going to sleep?", asked Mèv.

"I'll sleep on the floor", said Tüş, proud of himself.

"Okay", said Mèv, smiling friendly.

They both stood up and Tüş drank some water. It was a fantastic day, was it thanks to the calendar? Mèv was really happy that Tüş will sleep at her house, so that they can chat with each other until they'll fall asleep. Life was really good for those two, sure, but Tüş would had surely liked if death, hunger and diseases did not exist.

But unfortunately they do exist.

These thoughts were haunting Tüş's mind, but looking at Mèv in the eyes made any pain go away and made him feel good. Everything seemed better when he was spending time with Mèv, to the extent he wanted to live with her forever, even though this meant having kids with her. He certainly didn't want to keep staying at his home, in the most total emotional darkness.

The evening came, and Tüş was lying on the floor, in Mèv's bedroom.

"I'll give you a blanket", said Mèv, covering Tüş.

"Thanks", said Tüş, happy.

Mèv smiled.

"Good night", said Tüş, tired.

The night was very calm and the next morning Tüş was feeling refreshed. Mèv was still sleeping and Tüş was getting bored of doing nothing, so he went outside. It was pretty cold, like always in this period, but Tüş liked it, the lack of a comforting heat was making him think that perhaps after all it's normal to be sad and that it's just part of life, and this was making him feel better. He was walking outside for a bit but he was getting bored: he didn't want to stay alone but at this time in the morning there was nobody to talk to around the streets. In this solitude he started thinking. Will he ever be happy living with Mèv? He was hoping so: he was hoping that everything will go for the best, he didn't want to spend any more time alone. He was looking at the sky: it was grey and dark at this time, but later it will become light grey.

"Yesterday it didn't rain", thought Tüş, hoping that today it will rain.

He kept walking throught the streets alone, while Mèv was starting to wake up.

Tüş was having fun of letting the visible vapor clouds out of his mouth and he smiled. The streets were extremely silent and empty. While we was walking, he was thinking about his life. He was wondering whether there will be a very distant future where humankind will he happy, but then he remembered that death can never be defeated, so that means life has no meaning. He was wondering what was his purpose in life: is it really about being happy, as Mèv says? Or does life has no meaning? Or is there something else that we don't know about?

Tüş picked up a rock from the ground and he observed it.

"What is the purpose of this rock?", he wondered, confused, lazily throwing it on the ground. He kept walking and thinking about the meaning of life. He already talked about it with Mèv in the past, but he still didn't get the answers he wanted: Mèv was too joyful and optimistic for Tüş, or at least, when it came to that question. He wanted to ask that question to a wise one, but he was afraid of the answer. What if life really has no meaning? Tüş didn't want to be subjected to such affliction, and therefore, until the answer remains a speculation, everything is fine, and spending time with Mèv surely will make him feel happier, because he wanted to hear nice things being said.

Now that it's getting later, Tüş started walking towards Mèv's house, happy that a new day was about to start, and most importantly, a new day with the best friend one can wish for.

Tüş knocked on the door and Mèv opened the door, smiling.

"Welcome back, Tüş, do you want to come in?", asked Mèv.

"No, I'd rather me and you stay outside and we chat, like yesterday", said Tüş, serious.

Mèv accepted the request and another beautiful day awaited them.

This morning, Opgüf wrote the temperature on her calendar.

"-4", wrote Opgüf on her calendar, satisfied.

She was thinking about the fact that in one year for her it will be the beginning of a long journey, and from today's noon she will start training herself to use the sword to defend herself from the ferocious beasts who populate Tidei's wilderness. To train Opgüf there will be no less than Řivma himself: he decided to settle in Eřliq for one year to experience the sedentary lifestyle and to spread the knowledge of the weather in the world. Unfortunately, temperatures are subjective and they can't be measured objectively, but he'll try to be as objective as possible, and this can be done by putting a glass of water outdoors: if it freezes, it means the weather is cold, the faster it freezes, the colder it means the weather is. That is what Řivma explained to Opgüf, and she was surprised, but even embarrassed that she never thought about it. After all, as Řivma explained, Eřliq's weather is rarely so cold as to make water freeze, but in some other villages the glass of water may stay frozen for the entire winter, and in the more extreme and less populated ones, even for the entire year.

"We'll start the journey in one year, you must be prepared for anything", said Řivma.

"I'll be ready, you'll see!", said Opgüf, serious.

Řivma nodded and they left the village to try to survive.

"You don't have to hunt: we nomads will do that instead. It is important, however, that you know how to defend yourself from ferocious animals. It's not very common to see one, but you must never lower your guard, as soon as you see that it is intended to kill you, you must immediately attack! Now we'll be walking around in the nature: it is improbable that we'll see one, but in case it happens, I will protect you", said Řivma.

Opgüf was very happy of hearing "I will protect you" from him and she smiled happily, not thinking about the dangers.

It was 55 o'clock, and according to Opgüf the temperature was "-2", and she will write it on her calendar as soon as she'll come back home.

"I think the temperature now is -2", said Opgüf.

"It's a noble act and it's also very interesting, I'm curious to know how the other seasons will be", said Řivma.

Opgüf was feeling really good.

"In summer the temperature is 5", said Opgüf, proud of her own scale.

Řivma smiled.

"I would like it if you brought me to a place where the winter is cold and sunny and where the summer is the same as here", said Opgüf.

"I can do that. How cold do you want it to be?", asked Řivma.

"Could enough that there is snow and ice for the entire winter", said Opgüf.

"I understand, you'll have what you're wishing for", said Řivma.

"Thanks", said Opgüf, blushing a bit.

Opgüf liked the grey sky and the flat environment of the nature around Eřliq, but she would had preferred a different climate.

"People around here are quick to think the weather is cold. In the coldest mornings, I go outdoors and feel happy, while all the others stay at home in front of the fireplace", said Opgüf, laughing. "I would like if it was always that cold, and even colder than that"

Řivma smiled without saying anything.

Opgüf was starting to feel afraid of the ferocious animals that could emerge, but she wanted to look brave, so she didn't say anything about it. Things were going quite well, and no animal showed itself yet, even though the risk is always present. Opgüf wasn't reflexive enough to think on whether killing animals was morally right or wrong: it was simply part of the daily life. Tüş, on the other hand, was extremely reflexive, and he already talked with Mèv about it, even though he could do nothing about it: he was forced to meat meat since there was nothing else to eat.

"What is the closest village to Eřliq?", asked Opgüf.

"It's called Ğüŝèk, it's a few tens of thousands distances away from here, on the South-East, it will be our first destination as soon as the year 2 will begin. In the meanwhile, I want you to prepare how to walk for a long time and how to defend yourself from the attacks of the beasts", said Řivma.

"How long will it take for us to reach Ğüŝèk?", asked Opgüf.

"About 35 hours*", said Řivma.

(35 tidei hours are about 8 and half Earth hours)

"We'll go there tomorrow", said Opgüf, serious and confident.

Řivma smiled at the courage shown by Opgüf.

Opgüf really wanted to visit another village, but getting out in the wilderness without a hunter is a risk that nobody should go through. Now that Opgüf is safe, she can visit Ğüŝèk without any problem. And in the case that some dangerous animal shows up, she can train herself to fight.

Opgüf and Řivma stayed silent and they watched the not very lively nature of the area's sub-arctic biome.

"Staying here makes me feel like in harmony with the world", said Opgüf.

Řivma smiled, saying:"We humans have extraordinary abilities, but physically we're just like the other animals, the nomad hunters know that well and they can survive almost anywhere, but they're exposed to the same risks the other animals are. Who lives in the villages or in the cities, lives more safely"

"It's true, the ferocious animals don't get close to the villages, for some reason", said Opgüf.

Everything was calm at the moment, and Opgüf and Řivma decided to stay in the wilderness for a few more hours before returning to the village.

Opgüf was thinking about how she would have fun tomorrow at Ğüŝèk: she would had seen a new place for the first time in her life and she was sure that she would feel excited. She wanted to travel as far away as possible, but she didn't know how long it would take.

"Řivma... how large is the world?", asked Opgüf.

"The wise estimate that the distance between the North Pole and the South Pole is 10 million. From her to the equator, I don't know, maybe two million and a half... anyway, walking every day, it will take us about a season, so 90 days, to reach the equator, do you know what happens after the equator?, asked Řivma.

"No", said Opgüf, curious.

"The seasons are inverted, here now is the start of the spring, but after the equator it's the beginning of autumn. When here is summer, there is winter, when here is winter, there is summer", said Řivma.

"Cool! What kind of climate is there after the equator?", asked Opgüf, enthusiastic.

"There are all types of climates, just like here", said Řivma.

"So... there's also a village with the same climate of Eřliq but with reverse seasons?", asked Opgüf.

"Of course, and there's also the cold and sunny climate you have asked for", said Řivma, smiling.

In the meanwhile, Bifkàļ wanted to chat with someone about the calendar, so she asked a lot of people if they were part of the wise, and after a bit of researching she finally found Üŝèbr, one among the wisest students of Eřliq.

"Do you agree with me when I say that the calendar will not help us?", asked Bifkàļ.

"For now we can only speculate, but what is certain is that now we'll be able to know precisely the average duration of life. I have the strong suspicion that with the progress of medicine and technology, it will increase constantly, but I'm not sure whether we'll be able to erase death, and surely we will never see this progress", said Üŝèbr, with a mix of optimism and pessimism, but with a serious and melancholic tone of voice. In short, humankind's condition will improve, but unfortunately this generation will never see the improvements.

"I see, thanks", said Bifkàļ, leaving.

"Is there really a possibility that humankind will defeat death?", she thought, remembering what Üŝèbr said, "So, there will be food and herbs in large quantities, right? How will that be possible?"

Bifkàļ was feeling confused: she was wondering how defeating death could be possible. She thought that before defeating death, humankind should defeat the diseases, but she understood that for now the technology is not developed enough to achieve that, and that she'll die before being able to see humankind's rise.

She came back to her parent's house and she wrote her thoughts on her calendar. She wanted to keep a memory of herself for the future years, and perhaps even for the future generations. She wondered how many years would it take before humankind will actually be happy. For now, even though people try to make each other happy, hunger, death, diseases and natural disasters are plaguing Tidei, making the inhabitants not totally happy.

Bifkàļ was getting bored, so she decided to go outdoors and to stay alone and thinking about the calendar: an invention that made her skeptical about its utility, since the paper to write things already existed, but she was also thinking about the fact that now every event can be located in a timeline and that could be useful, maybe even to defeat death? She thought that by keeping track of the death of every single inhabitant, there could be a way to save the life of every future human being. "Or maybe I'm being too optimistic", she thought, but the doubt remained. The calendar will be useful, or not? Only time will tell, but in the meanwhile she was using it to write her own thoughts and to understand when exactly she thought about them. Now it's possible to know the age of people without any problem, while in the past one had to count the years and, either because of one's own forgetfulness, or one's own laziness, it was often not possible to know the precise age of people. People who are born after the invention of the calendar, however, will have a well defined age.

"Mom, I'm hungry", said Bifkàļ, asking for some fish.

"Sorry, my daughter, we don't have a lot of food available, and you already ate something this morning", her mother said.

"I hate this world! Why must we suffer?", screamed Bifkàļ, desperate.

"I don't know... I'm very sorry about this... I don't know what to say, I'm sorry", her mother said, trying in vain to comfort her, but her hunger remained.

"I'll wait until tomorrow, I'll drink something", said Bifkàļ, helpless, drinking the water contained in a cup, but with her stomach growling from hunger.

Bifkàļ sighed and she wrote on the calendar that she was hoping that humankind one day will find a secret food that will allow them to spend their entire lives without eating, and that probably in some obscure part of the world it exists, or at least that's what Bifkàļ believed, but she was not too sure and maybe that kind of food didn't even exist, and she fell into pessimism again, thinking that the calendar will absolutely not help humankind in defeating hunger, diseases, let alone death.

Bifkàļ was part of the wise, and she was among the most pessimist. The majority of the wise believed that science would help humankind, and the most optimistic believed that death would soon be a distant memory, but Bifkàļ was anything but optimistic. Despite this, she used the calendar to keep track of what happened in her life, in a boring life, even though everyone was trying to make her happy, but Bifkàļ was aware of how ugly life was, and she couldn't feel happy. Even Tüş was walking the same path.

She went outside of her house again and she walked around the streets. People seemed to be happy, but she was very hungry and wanted to eat something. She sat down with a sad expression on her face and a guy went close to her, asking her what was wrong. "Nothing", she said, and she walked away. She didn't want to eat other people's food, (she thought) it would had been a selfish behavior from her.

Bifkàļ strongly wished for a better world, with an abundance of food and a lack of diseases, but the world's horror made her pessimistic: the only (feeble) hope she had was the calendar, but she knew well that the improvement would be so slow that she woud had already died before seeing any noticeable improvement. Nobody could do anything to alleviate humankind's suffering, everyone was condemned to a tragic doom from which escaping was impossible. It was possible to eat until feeling full for some people, but it was a rare event, it was impossible for it to happen every day.

She wanted to talk with another wise person, but she already knew the answer that would be given since she's also a wise person, so she decided to give up and sitting on a rock and suffering. She was thinking not only about hunger, but also about the diseases, incurable, that luckily were not hitting her for now. A wave of sadness permeated Bifkàļ's mind, and that was evident in her expression. Only the immediate fixing of humankind's problems could make her feel better, but unfortunately that was impossible.

"Something's wrong?", asked a young guy, worried.

"Humankind suffers", Bifkàļ tried to explain.

"I know, what's your name?" - "My name is Bifkàļ" - "My name is Güşqi. Look, Bifkàļ, I know that humankind suffers, and that's precisely the reason why we humans should all comfort each other"

Bifkàļ smiled.

"How are you?", chiese Güşqi.

"Unwell. I'm hungry and I'm worried about the people who have diseases", said Bifkàļ.

"I'm very sorry, about the people who have diseases, you can try to make them feel better like we all do, and about hunger, I'll tell all my friends to give you a piece of their food. If you come at my house I'll give you some meat"

Bifkàļ went to Güşqi's house and all of his friends gave her some of their food. Bifkàļ ate until she was full and she smiled and thanked everyone.

"Thank you, everyone, really, but now I'm worried about the people affected by diseases, how can we make them happy if we can't even hug them?", she said, almost crying.

"Not every disease is transmitted through touch", Güşqi reminded her.

"Almost all of them are!", said Bifkàļ, feeling sad for those who can't be hugged, as they're doomed to suffer even more.

"The world is cruel", she said, a bit angry towards this world who tortures us constantly.

The others kept trying to comfort her, until she felt a bit better, she thanked them and left with a full stomach after eating.

"The world is terrible, but at least humans are altruistic", thought Bifkàļ, sad but relieved.

She walked through the streets, with the awareness that humans will help her when she'll need it. She looked at the sky, grey as always, and she smiled, then she kept walking towards her house.

She entered her house and she sat in front of her fireplace, which emanated a comforting heat. She looked at the fire and she felt like as if she was hypnotized by it. She thought that the people affected by diseases, despite them couldn't receive hugs, they could still sit in front of the fireplace and feel good, even though of course nothing can replace the human warmth. She wanted to support the sick people but she certainly couldn't put herself in hugging abstinence.

"Mom, hug me", said Bifkàļ.

Her mom hugged her and Bifkàļ was happy but she was starting to feel guilty.

"The sick people can't be hugged", said a voice inside of her, making her feel bad. "And I'm taking advantage of the fact that I'm not sick so I can have all the hugs that I want", that voice continued.

Bifkàļ ended the hug and she kept sitting in front of the fireplace, not knowing what to do. (She thought) she must give in to the suffering and not have any hopes, but she wondered how the others manage to endure such torment.

"How can the others be so optimistic? And most importanty, how can they believe that the calendar is going to help them?", she wondered, confused.

She thought that humans have no hope against nature, which is a cruel being who plagues the life of every inhabitant in the world making them suffer the worst afflictions that exist and putting an end to their useless lives: happiness is but a mirage, a word that describes a concept that is temporary and rare, whose regularity is only hypothetical, considering that in the world there's so much suffering and that diseases and death are irreversible and that hunger is not easily fixable.

She got up and wrote today's events on her calendar. She wrote about her worries and about the fact that some people were trying in every way they could to comfort her and that she was grateful that humans were kind and altruistic towards each other and that were not ruthless beasts that killed each other without any remorse. Initially she was worried about animals, but then she understood that an animal would never had any mercy towards a human being and that it would attack the human at the first opportunity without any hesitation, so she thought that animals deserve to be killed, also because there's no other option when it comes to food: either someone kills the animals, or humans starve to death.

Mèv and Tüş, as usual, were walking around the streets and they were chatting with each other, but Tüş's topics kept getting darker every day.

"Do you think God loves making us suffer?", asked Tüş, making Mèv feel slightly uncomfortable.

"I don't know, Tüş... let's just try to keep each other happy", said Mèv, smiling.

Tüş felt a warm shiver, he really appreciated Mèv's kindness.

They stayed silent and stared at the grey sky above them. Tüş was angry against God for all the evil it brought upon humans, but he decided to move on and alleviate the pain of his mates of misfortune, hoping that one day, suffering will cease to exist.

They sat down on some rocks and stayed silent. Tüş stared at the village. People seemed happy despite death, hunger and diseases, and he wondered how it was possible that they displayed so much joy. He couldn't understand what was the source of such joy in a world that was so cruel and hostile. Tüş was started to panic and he started to breathe slowly to calm down, he had an angry expression on his face. He wanted to live in a perfect world, where nobody dies, where nobody gets sick, where people don't need food to survive and where everyone is happy.

"Mèv... why do you think people here are so happy? The world is hostile to us", said Tüş.

"You're right when you say that the world is hostile. However, our joy comes from the fact that we are kind towards each other. There is such harmony between the inhabitants of Tidei that even if you're sad, all you need to do is to tell that to someone and they'll try to make you feel better", said Mèv, smiling proudly.

Tüş understood the situation, but he still couldn't express all of his feelings to Mèv. Some things are of course best kept at secrets. Tüş looked at the rocks on the ground and kept staring at them.

"Are you sad?", asked Mèv, worried.

"No, I'm just staring at these rocks", replied Tüş.

Mèv too was starting to stare at those rocks, and she smiled. She was thinking that human kindness was superior to God's wrath and that everyone together will make it. Mèv decided that she wouldn't submit to God, and that even if she'll eventually die, she'll have lived a life worthy of glory. What she wanted more than anything else was making every inhabitant of the village happy, even though that was already what everyone was doing. With all this positivity around, Mèv was wondering why Tüş was so negative.

"You know, maybe you're a bit too pessimistic", said Mèv.

"Someone said pessimistic?", said Bifkàļ, surprising them.

"Who are you?", asked Tüş.

"My name is Bifkàļ, it's indifferent for me to know y'all", she said, serious.

(This girl is charming, I like her), thought Tüş.

"Hi Bifkàļ", said Mèv, smiling as if she was one of her best friends.

Bifkàļ smiled slightly. "Your friend is right to be pessimistic, the world is horrible, I have personally suffered through hunger this morning, and I'll let you know that the people affected by diseases can't be hugged", she said.

Mèv felt shocked. "T-they really can't be hugged?", she said, distraught and close to crying.

"That's right", said Bifkàļ.

Mèv bursted into tears, while Tüş was feeling indifferent. "I don't like hugs", he said.

Bifkàļ felt surprised. "Eh? Really?", she said.

Tüş nodded.

"Oh... but everyone else likes them... so think about how much they suffer without hugs!", said Bifkàļ.

"They should become stronger, like me, so they'll be able to stand it!", Tüş criticized.

"Nobody likes suffering, so it's clear that they're trying to feel good. Nobody is interested in being able to stand it, they'd suffer anyway. It's pretty evident that you're feeling sad, my friend, I can see it from your smile, if it can be called like that", said Bifkàļ.

"You're so wrong, I'm feeling great, I'm just a bit tired", said Tüş.

"I can try to make you feel better, if you want, I've learned it at school", said Bifkàļ.

Tüş was astonished.

"You go to school?", he said, surprised.

"Yes, and it helps me a lot", said Bifkàļ, smiling, "One of the fastest and most effective ways to feel better is getting a hug, but you don't like it, so you need to get a massage from your friend"

"No no no, you don't get it, I don't like being touched!", said Tüş, annoyed.

"Alright, so let's just sit down here and relax together", said Bifkàļ, happy to put what she learned at school into practice and hoping that guy would feel better.

"This feeling... I call it boredom", said Tüş.

(He's more pessimistic than I am, at least I'm happy when there's a valid reason to), thought Bifkàļ.

"So... soon you'll be happy, I'm sure of that", said Bifkàļ, smiling and trying to be optimistic.

"Sure", said Tüş.

Bifkàļ had a worried expression on her face: she wanted to make Tüş happy, it was her goal at this point.

"Why are you sad?", Bifkàļ asked.

"I'm not sad!", said Tüş, frowning.

"You don't want to talk about it, alright, can I do something to make you happy?", said Bifkàļ, smiling.

"I'm already happy", said Tüş, serious. He knew well that the memories of his past would had haunted him for the rest of his miserable life.

"Alright, maybe it will take some time", said Bifkàļ, smiling.

"I'm already happy", Tüş repeated.

Bifkàļ understood the seriousness of the situation but she didn't give up and she was trying to reach her goal. At that point all he wanted was to make that guy (Tüş) happy.

"What are your names?", asked Bifkàļ.

"Tüş", he said, serious.

"Mèv", she said, smiling but still worried about Tüş.

"So, Tüş, you feel fine, and I believe you, don't worry. Do y'all want to play a game?", asked Bifkàļ.

"I don't know any interesting game, sorry", said Mèv, embarrassed.

"That's fine, let's sit here and smile", said Bifkàļ.

"That sounds really boring", said Tüş.

"What do you want to do, Tüş?", said Bifkàļ.

"It's life itself that is boring, think about it, Bifkàļ! Every day is the same, we wake up with a grey and gloomy sky above us, we eat, we chat and we sleep. And every day repeats itself", said Tüş, desperate.

Bifkàļ got an idea to make Tüş feel better.

"You mentioned chatting, there is a huge variety of topics we can talk about", said Bifkàļ, hopeful.

"Alright, let's try it", said Tüş, serious.

"What would you like to talk about?", asked Bifkàļ.

"You choose", said Tüş, feeling hopeless.

"I'm feeling excluded", said Mèv.

"Sorry Mèv, come on, you choose the topic!", said Bifkàļ, smiling happily.

"Let's talk about how affection makes us feel better!", said Mèv, happy.

"Good idea! Do you like affection, Tüş?", asked Bifkàļ.

Those words made his heart break, so he said: "Sorry, I have to go", and he left, even though the only thing he was about to do was crying uncontrollably.

"It looks like it's just me and you now, Tüş said he needed to go, he seems really busy", said Mèv.

"Let's go help him!", said Bifkàļ, smiling happily and feeling happy that she can give some help.

"Excellent idea!", said Mèv, going towards Tüş's direction along with Bifkàļ.

"Wait, Tüş, we can help you with your chores!", said Mèv, feeling altruistic.

"I need some time alone", Tüş admitted.

"Alright, when you need us, feel free to call us", said Mèv, smiling kindly.

Mèv took advantage of this situation to chat and make friends with Bifkàļ.

"So, Bifkàļ, you find Tüş nice, right?", said Mèv.

"I do, but don't you think that he's actually really sad even though he always says he's fine?", said Bifkàļ, confused.

"I have noticed that too, but I don't know what his problems are", said Mèv, sad.

"It's not our goal to find out, he can as well have secrets, we shouldn't invade his privacy, but we should help him feel better", said Bifkàļ.

"You're right, Bifkàļ, I try to do that everyday, but he tells me that he feels fine when he spends time with me and I want to believe him!", said Mèv.

Bifkàļ sighed. "You know, maybe it was just my impression, maybe he does actually feel okay, we should stop worrying about him and we should treat him like a happy person", she said.

Mèv smiled and nodded. "Yeah, let's do it that way"

Mèv and Bifkàļ kept chatting and were feeling happy.

"I'm glad to have met you", said Mèv, cheerful.

"Me too", said Bifkàļ, smiling.

"Will we see each other tomorrow, too?", asked Mèv, hopeful.

"Of course!", said Bifkàļ.

They kept sitting and stared at the bright, grey sky. They stayed outside until it started getting dark.

"Tüş hasn't come back yet", said Bifkàļ, worried.

"Let's go find him", suggested Mèv.

After about one hour (14 Earth minutes), Mèv and Bifkàļ found Tüş sitting on the ground near a rock. It was obvious that he was crying, but Mèv and Bifkàļ decided not to embarrass him: the situation needed to be handled with care.

"What are you two doing here?", said Tüş, with a really sad voice.

"We've come to see you, you've been alone for a long time, so we wanted to see you because we're happy when we see you", said Mèv, trying to have a comforting smile.

Tüş was really embarrassed of being seen in those conditions and he was hoping that the two didn't notice that he was crying.v

"Do you need some water?", Mèv asked, not directly saying that she noticed that he was crying.

"Yes, please", said Tüş, starting to walk towards Mèv's house.

"Can I come with you?", asked Bifkàļ.

"Of course", said Mèv, confident and happy.

Bifkàļ, Mèv and Tüş all went to Mèv's house and she gave Tüş some water.

Bifkàļ sat in front of the fireplace and she felt relaxed, thinking about how she was feeling at her house. She understood that hugging was not something that was inherently morally wrong just because sick people couldn't do that. She understood that hugging feels nice and it needs to be done, otherwise affection would disappear in Tidei.

Tüş was sad even though he didn't want to admit it, but with the help of Mèv and Bifkàļ he was starting to feel better, but he needed a lot of time anyway, and keeping his sadness a secret certainly didn't help. Mèv and Bifkàļ were treating him like a person who was already happy, and Tüş didn't feel understood, but he still decided to suffer the lack of their comfort, because he considered himself mentally resilent and he didn't want to appear weak or vulnerable, even though he knew well that at least Mèv would never take advantage of him.