“Then what would you think of keeping at it for a little longer and helping him out?” Winry asked.
Lettie said nothing, just pursed her lips and fiddled with the toes of her shoes.
It wasn’t as though Lettie hated her brother. She had plenty of memories of Darish being incredibly kind. But she still couldn’t agree to Winry’s proposition because she was afraid of the brother she loved so dearly rejecting her.
Winry continued in a gentle tone, “I think that Darish is having a tough time right now, especially with his leg hurting. That’s why he’s been so short with you, Lettie. Once his leg is better, I’m sure that you two will get along again like you used to.”
Lettie cocked her head to the side and asked, “Are you going to make his leg all better, Winry?” She was unaware of what had happened between Darish and Winry.
Winry was at a loss for words for a moment, but then quietly shook her head. She was disappointed she couldn’t just tell Lettie, Leave it to me.
“No, but I’m sure he’ll find a really good mechanic who will listen to him,” Winry answered truthfully. “Once that happens, he’ll start playing with you again and I think he’ll even be able to run with you again. But if you tell him you hate him, you might not be as close with him later. Now, wouldn’t that be sad?”
“Uh-huh,” Lettie nodded, hanging her head.
“Then do you think you could stick things out with Darish for a little longer? I’m pretty sure things are going to start getting better,” Winry said as she slowly stroked Lettie’s soft black hair, combing through it with her fingers.
It was difficult for Darish, who was just a twelve-year-old, to be kind to others while he was in pain, but once he found a good mechanic he could trust, he would be able to replace his ill-fitting leg. It tracked that if he were in less pain, he would be able to be more considerate of his little sister.
Winry kept speaking. “It’s not the same as what you’re going through, Lettie, but I’ve got something tough going on in my life too. Something I have to stick through. So let’s work hard—together. I’m sure things will turn out all right.”
“Really?”
“Of course!” Winry gave Lettie a firm nod and offered a hand to the little girl. This time Lettie grabbed it.
Though Lettie hadn’t explicitly said she would be there to help her brother out, as she stood up, there was a slight difference in the girl’s expression. Her large dark eyes still shifted anxiously, but Winry could tell Lettie was determined not to run from the current situation.
Holding each other’s hands, they started to descend the mountain path. As long as they continued to walk forward, they were sure to get to the place they were trying to reach.
Winry squinted at the last rays of sun as, in her heart, the hope and passion she had back when she had started her apprenticeship began renewing.
the veil of night that descended on the town brought a rare refreshing breeze along with it. It seemed a chill from the previous evening’s rain had remained in the town. On the way back to the shop, Winry headed to the hotel in order to drop off Lettie.
“Do you think Darish will be angry?” Lettie seemed anxious about whether she would be scolded for leaving without telling her brother where she was going.
“I’m sure he’s worried,” Winry said. “Make sure you apologize to him.”
“Okay,” said Lettie, after an anxious pause that signaled her reluctance. Lettie’s gaze grew clouded and her pace slowed, but since she had accepted Winry’s words earlier in her own way, she didn’t entirely stop walking. Winry matched Lettie’s stride, thinking about how she also needed to apologize to Darish, in her case for the prior evening.
“All I’ve been doing lately is bowing my head and apologizing.” Winry couldn’t help grimacing as she recalled the series of errors from the past few days. Causing so much trouble was no laughing matter, but now that she could see things objectively, she found she could see the dark humor in it. Having had some deep introspection, she resolved to never disgrace herself like that ever again.
They passed through the center of the town, reaching the street where the hotels were. They headed to the building where Darish should have been waiting.
“Huh? The lights are off,” said Lettie when they were in the front of the hotel. She had looked fretful about seeing Darish as they had walked to the hotel, but now she seemed disheartened that he was out.
“Which room is yours?”
“The one on the third floor at the very right.”
The window Lettie pointed at was pitch-black.
“The lights really are off. I wonder if he’s sleeping?”
Puzzled, the two of them headed into the brick hotel. It was already sundown and past the time any travelers would be getting accommodations, so the lobby was deserted save for its plain decorations—some round tables, a few chairs, and a single potted plant.
When they passed by the front desk, the elderly employee in the small back room put down his newspaper and welcomed Lettie back. The little girl waved her hand and, after Winry nodded in greeting, an elevator at the end of the hallway opened. Elevators were not an entirely common technological advancement outside of a place as technologically advanced as Rush Valley, but some of the town’s hotels had them installed to aid those in need of protheses.
Winry closed the door to the elevator, which was made of crisscrossed metal bars that folded up on themselves, and pressed a button. The elevator slowly started to move, and the wall passed by, seeming to go down as they went up. Though each floor had a door, the elevator box they were riding on did not. Winry placed her hands on Lettie’s shoulders to keep the girl from stumbling or getting caught on the outer wall. When they reached the third floor, Lettie stepped into the corridor first and went to the room at the very end of the hall.
“Darish?” Lettie called as she gingerly rapped on the door, but there was no answer.
“Darish, are you in there?” Winry also knocked. She put her ear to the door, but she couldn’t hear anyone inside no matter how she strained to listen.
“Maybe he went out?” Lettie asked.
They waited for a while, but Darish didn’t come back. Not knowing what to do, Lettie looked up at Winry and said, “I don’t have a key. And I’m hungry.”
“Hmm,” Winry said. If they told the front desk, someone would open the door for them, but Winry was worried about leaving Lettie on her own. Lettie’s knee was still bleeding even with the bandage on it, so Winry wanted to disinfect it sooner rather than later. She finally replied, “How about you come to the shop with me for now?”