Kai spent most of them unconscious.
The village healer was an elderly woman named Rosa.
She informed him that he was lucky to be alive.
Three separate times.
Every day.
Without fail.
"You should be dead."
Kai quickly learned it was her favorite sentence.
When he finally managed to walk again, the village had already buried Lily.
A small grave rested beneath a tree overlooking the fields.
Kai visited alone.
The wind was gentle that afternoon.
The sky was clear.
The village seemed peaceful.
It felt wrong.
Like the world had already moved on.
He stood there for a long time.
Eventually footsteps approached.
Ethan.
The boy stopped beside him.
Neither spoke.
The grave sat quietly before them.
After several minutes, Ethan finally broke the silence.
"You killed it?"
Kai nodded.
The boy stared at the ground.
"Good."
That was all he said.
Yet somehow it carried more weight than an entire speech.
The two remained there a little longer before returning to the village.
---
Weeks passed.
Kai recovered steadily.
The villagers repaired his clothes.
Someone donated a shirt.
Someone else gave him boots.
Life slowly returned to normal.
Or as normal as it could.
The livestock stopped panicking.
No more disappearances occurred.
No more bodies appeared in the forest.
Yet the memory of that night lingered.
For everyone.
Especially Kai.
Because every night the dreams returned.
The voices.
The darkness.
The whispers.
Hero.
Murderer.