# Dinner Karu: *Lump soup again... at least it’s not flour porridge this time.* Karu: *The calendar says it’s spring, but nature is still asleep...* Karu: **...as the snow is falling, the whole village is starving.** Su: **Ruru, you should write poetry!** Su: **Though, could you write something more cheerful?** Karu: **No way! Poetry is for girls!** Su: **You're right...** Su: **Girls can write poetry... cook food, spin yarn, heal wounds...** Su: **What do boys actually do?** Karu takes a spoonful of soup. Karu: **Ehm, about cooking...** Karu: **...you know your cooking isn’t bad, but...** Karu: **...where’s the salt?** Su: **There is a little in there! As much as I had.** Su: **Ma and Pa went to borrow salt from our neighbour. They should be back soon.** Karu: **...from our neighbour who never stops talking?** Su: **I guess it could take a while...** Karu: **I guess we can either eat warm soup which tastes like nothing...** Karu: **or cold soup which might have salt in it.** Su: **...** Karu: **I’m gonna...** Karu and Su hear shouting from outside. Guard(younger/Ren): **What?! Oh no! What...** Guard(older/Kai): **This is bad... but you have to focus!** Guard(Kai): **Ren! Focus!** Su: **Ren and Kai, the guards.** Karu: **Yeah, sounds like them...** Su: **Karu? I think something is very wrong...** Su: **I can’t feel Ma and Pa!** Su: **It’s like that time when they left the village!** Shouting from the outside continues... Ren: **Wha... Kai! I haven’t trained for this! What should I do?!** Kai: **Take a breath... Then go and wake up the night shift.** Kai: **If you see anyone, tell them to stay indoors.** Kai: **Quickly now!** Kai: **And bring me my lightning staff!** Karu: **I don’t have your gift for sensing like your grandmother does, but I have the same feeling... something's wrong for sure.** Su: **Lightning staff? That’s a weapon, right?** Karu: **That’s a weapon only the older guards are allowed to touch...** Karu: **Susu, come, let’s find out what’s going on...** Su: **Didn’t Kai say to stay indoors?** Karu: **Susu, they’re standing right next to our house...** Karu: **We’ll just take a quick peek and be back before the soup gets cold!** Su: **...** Su: **The soup is already cold...** Karu: **Come on!** Su: **Alright, just a peek.** Karu: **I’ll grab my pocket knife just in case...** Su: **Karu! You can’t run around with a weapon!** Karu: **In case I need to cut a rope... or something! Tools are allowed, right?** Su: **I don’t know...** Karu: **It’s fine, let’s go!** --- # Murder Karu and Su step out of their warm home and into the cold darkness. They see Kai, standing in front of their neighbour’s house. The garden between the houses is covered in a thick layer of snow. Kai: **Kids, stay inside!** Karu: **Why? What’s going on?** Kai shuts the door of the neighbour’s house. Kai: **This is… for grown-ups to handle...** Karu: **What do you mean? Where’s Su’s Ma and Pa?** Kai: **Get inside, now!** Karu starts running toward the house. Su, seeing Karu running, confused by the whole situation, follows Karu’s lead. Kai manages to cut off Karu and catches him by his coat‘s collar, but Su manages to get past the Guard and reaches the house. Kai: **Su! No! Don’t open the door!** Curious and confused, Su opens the door anyway. She finds her parents, lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Their neighbour sitting peacefully in her armchair, eyes glazed, blood dripping from her fingers. Kai catches up with Su, still holding on to Karu by his coat. He closes the door and guides Su gently away from the house. Kai: **Su… I’m sorry!** Karu: **Let me go! Where’s Ma and Pa?** Kai: **Stop struggling! Listen...** Karu: **Susu? Why are you crying?** Kai: **Something terrible happened to Su’s parents…** Karu: **They’re my parents too!** Kai: **Sure.** Karu: **Where are they?** Kai: **I’ll tell you what happened, but you need to do something first…** Kai: **Go to Su’s grandmother… tell her Su needs her. Bring her here.** Karu: **And then you tell! No secrets!** Kai: **I will.** Kai: **Go now! And don’t stop for anyone, just keep running until you’re there!** --- # Run! Karu runs toward Su’s grandmother. Karu: *It’s strange… I think of Ma and Pa as my parents, but of her as Su’s grandmother…* Karu: *She’s always been nice to me, but I don’t think she ever fully accepted me…* Karu: *…just like the rest of the village - they don’t like outsiders.* Just before reaching her house, Su’s grandmother stepped outside. Grandmother: **Karu! Tell me what happened!** Karu: **The guard, Kai, told me to get you…** Karu: **He said Su needs you. She was crying…** Karu notices that Su’s grandmother also had tears in her eyes. Grandmother: **So… you don’t know, do you?** Karu: **Know what?** Karu: **Nobody tells me anything!** Karu: **Kai said something happened to Ma and Pa.** Grandmother: **I felt it… I felt my daughter slipping away…** Grandmother: **But it’s not over yet!** Grandmother: **There’s someone in the village who doesn’t belong here.** Karu: **Slipping away? You mean… Ma died?** Grandmother: **…** Karu: **And Pa?** Grandmother: **I don’t know…** Karu: *My real parents abandoned me in the woods...* Karu: *Su’s parents found me. Gave me a home…* Karu: *And now... they're just gone?* Grandmother: **I have to hurry!** Grandmother: **I can sense something wrong with Su… something…** Karu: *Su! That's why she was crying!* Grandmother: **I haven’t felt anything like it before, but it’s not anything good…** Karu: *I can't cry... I won't!* Grandmother: **But before I go, there’s something I need you to help me with…** Karu: *I need to be strong! I need to help as much as I can...* Karu: *I will not be a burden for them!* Grandmother: **Come in, we haven’t got much time.** She guided Karu into the house, while remaining outside herself. Before Karu had a chance to react, she slammed the door shut and locked it from the outside. Grandmother: **I’m sorry Karu, you need to stay here.** From the window, Karu sees her running away. Karu: **Wait! I can help!** Karu: *She's gone...* Karu: *She doesn't trust me either...* Karu: *I’m doing everything they want, but it’s just not enough!* Karu: *I don’t belong here…* Karu: *I had a home...* Karu: *Su!* Karu: *...something was wrong with Su?* Karu: *…someone was in the village who didn’t belong?* Karu: *Another outsider like me?* Karu: *…did they come back and harm Su?* Karu: *Is Susu dead?!* Karu looks around, opens the window and jumps out. Karu: *Am I making a mistake?* Karu: *Focus! Don’t run off without thinking it through…* Karu: *Oh yeah! I should close the window… she’d be furious if she came back to a cold house.* Window closed, Karu dashes after her. --- # Knives Karu runs after her grandmother, dreading what might have happened to Su. Karu: *Su’s grandmother’s footprints are fresh in the snow and...* Karu: *is that a drop of blood on the snow?* Karu stops to look around. Karu: *There! Another drop of blood and footprints going between those two houses!* Karu: *Outsider! Murderer?* Karu: *The footprints are small, they look like my own footsteps.* Karu: *A kid?* Karu: *Just in case, my pocket knife... to cut a rope... or something...* Slowly, silently, Karu makes his way between the houses and into the darkness. Outsider: **Stay away!** Karu: *It's too dark to make out his face, but the voice is not familiar...* Karu: *The footprints were small and there's nobody in the village around my age, except for Su...* Karu: **You’re not from our village...** Karu: **OUTSIDER!** Outsider: **Keep your voice down!** The outsider steps out of the shadow and into the moonlight, holding a bloody knife. Karu: **You’re just a kid!** Karu: *Kid or not... he killed Ma and Pa!* Outsider: **Don't judge a book by its cover... kid!** Karu: **Did you hurt Su?! Why did you... why?!** Outsider: **I didn’t want to hurt them...** Outsider: **I had to eat... I needed to eat!** Outsider: **They said they can't feed outsiders...** Karu: **You killed them because you were hungry? We're all hungry!** Karu takes a few slow steps backwards, toward the street. Just enough for someone to hear him... Karu: **GUARDS! HE’S HERE!** Karu: *He’s trapped. I just need to keep him here until someone comes.* Outsider: **I guess there’s only one way to make you quiet...** He notices Karu holding a knife of his own as Karu takes another step back... a small pocket knife for kids. Outsider: **You wanna scratch me with that?** Outsider: **Oh! You know... I just got the craziest idea...** The outsider, a kid as tall as Karu himself, drops his bloody knife and walks up to Karu with confidence... Karu: *Surrendering?* Karu: *No, I can't let my guard down. I'm definitely not dropping my knife...* He grabs Karu by the wrist... Outsider: **Sorry kid! It's either you or me...** ...and sticks Karu's knife in his own throat! Ren: **Over there! I think it was Karu!** Ren runs to the scene, but the outsider is already gone... ...lying motionless in the snow, blood pooling around his neck... ...bright cherry-red blood with a strange silvery sheen...