The trip in the flying bus was long and strenuous, but it went smoothly. The ship crossed the desert, crossed high mountains and wide steppes. After a couple of hours, through the window they saw a blue valley appear; kilometers and kilometers of steppe covered with grass and flora. They had already seen some parks with plants of that color, but it did not cease to impress them. Not long after, on the horizon they came upon a huge red mass covering the ground. At first it seemed like a huge blanket, but as they got a little closer, they noticed that it had waves splashing and ships sailing on its surface.

—It can't be— said Erica— It's the sea, and it's red?!

—A real red sea— Liliana mused —This is an incredible world.

Waves crashed on the shore, strange birds glided through the air in the same "V" formation as they did in Mother. The idea of something as basic and present as the sea made them feel closer to home and more comfortable.

-----------------------------------

After a few minutes they landed in Bivifera, a port city, thriving and full of life. The bus dropped them off somewhere near downtown, and the travel agency gave them a tourist map that was very helpful.

After leaving the agency's office, the girls were able to contemplate the city of Bivifera in all its routine splendor; the big streets full of cars, the flying ships passing overhead, the tall, sturdy and ancient buildings, covered with dirt and excrement of some kind of flying fish that landed in high places. People were milling about on the sidewalks, nonis bumped shoulders and ran into one another, without even looking at each other or showing a trace of consideration; vendors and store owners stood in the middle of the walkways, blocking the way for people to pay attention to their wares. Bivifera was a big city with a lot of everything, but at the same time it was full of violent, disrespectful and profiteering people, just the way Erica liked it.

—Do you really like cities like this?— Liliana wondered.

—I love them!— exclaimed Erica— You don't have to be nice to strangers. If someone does something that bothers you, you just push them away, isn't that wonderful?

—Only if you're the strongest— thought Liliana, but she didn't tell her so as not to make her bitter.

Just at that moment they were about to cross the street, when a car coming from the left stopped suddenly, inches away from Erica. Apparently the driver had not seen her until it was almost too late. Annoyed, the driver honked.

Erica, angry, kicked the car in response, deforming its bumper as if it had crashed into a tree. A noni got out, furious. Erica opened her arms in anger to demonstrate her unwillingness to dialogue. However, Liliana grabbed her by the arm and took her away quickly, before the noni could decide to chase after them.

Erica was about to demand that she let her fight, but restrained herself as she remembered the little accident they had in the previous town.

—Erica, you can't go looking for fights with everyone in town— Liliana told her.

—He started it— she said to defend herself— Besides, I was going to be careful not to involve you.

Liliana was surprised for a moment, but she shook off her stupor.

—Thank you, but that's not the point. If you hit everyone you don't like, you'll only cause harm and suffering. Besides, imagine if we got in trouble with the authorities. We'd have to hide and run and it would be a mess.

Erica frowned and looked at her feet, remembering bitter moments.

—Yes, it's true... —she sighed to shake off her anger— all right, I'll be more careful.

Liliana wondered how many people she would have hurt in her world because of problems like that, but she didn't dare get answers out of her. Liliana smiled to make her see that she had done something good. Erica perked up at the sight of her.

Ready, they continued their journey through the city avoiding as much trouble as possible. Some nonis bumped shoulders with Erica as they passed by her, another raised his arm right in front of her face while arguing on the phone, the girl was about to take the device from him and smash it on the floor, but held back for Liliana.

They marched towards the center of the city. They had to find that mage, but before that, they needed to eat. The trip had been long and they hadn't been given lunch.

They walked for a while through the streets, dodging people as they looked for any kind of food store. After quite some time they came upon a really large crowd on the block by the main square. There were so many nonis that it looked like there was either a concert or a battle going on, both equally likely. Curious, Liliana asked a noni nearby.

—Sir, what's going on here?

The noni looked down at her. Erica was amused by the comparison between Liliana's tiny body and the guy next to her.

—You don't know? Tomorrow comes the crivia, the daughter of the First Noni— he answered, excited.

—The first what?— asked Erica.

—The first noni, of course— the guy explained— The current emperor, the First, Tur'non Rialal, don't you know him?

—Of course, "the First"— they both exclaimed. They remembered that Ungrar had also called him that.

—Then Tur'non's daughter is coming?— asked Liliana.

—That's right; Fir'non. She is very strong and has her own munima.

Erica looked at Liliana, curious.

—Hey, just like y...

But Liliana covered her mouth before she gave her away. She still didn't know how the nonis would react to see a human carrying a munima, and she didn't want to find out the hard way.

—Why is she coming here, then?— she asked.

—To the Bivifera parade, of course. She's leading the parade, she'll be passing by here tomorrow, I can't wait, didn't you come to see her too?

Liliana answered with a smile, thanked the man and turned to Erica.

—Cilo's older sister— she indicated, with a tired gesture— I wouldn't want to run into her.

—The noni princess— Erica muttered. She imagined Tur with long hair and breasts— I bet she's horrible!

—Erica!— exclaimed Liliana— Don't insult the First's daughter in the middle of a crowd!

—What does it matter? They don't look at the face, only at the muscles— she argued.

Liliana supposed she couldn't argue with that.

The preparations for the parade didn't hold their attention at all, not on empty stomachs, so they dodged the crowd to circle the square while looking for food stores. They didn't want to stray far from the center yet, as they assumed there would be more information about the mage there, but the surprise party made the task more difficult: they would move slower and wouldn't be able to pick someone out of a crowd as easily as on a normal day. They had to plan their search.

They soon found a bar of dubious hygienic conditions, where they ducked in and asked for anything that was digestible by human beings. They were brought two plates of large chunks of dark blue meat with some sort of strong-smelling, slimy, salty cake. Erica scarfed down her plate as soon as it arrived, not questioning its origins one bit, while Liliana examined it long and hard before giving in to hunger and tasting it. To her surprise, it wasn't too bad. The meat was a bit tough and the salty pie irritated her nose a bit, but the taste pleased her. Shortly after finishing, Erica stood up.

—Wait for me, I have to take a shit.

—Eeeek!— exclaimed Papel.

—Erica, by Father!— exclaimed Liliana.

The brika left in a hurry. Liliana looked at Papel, who rested on the seat between them. She gave him some of her meat, which he took and devoured. She gave him some cake, but he closed his mouth and looked away, unwilling to taste it.

—Oh, what am I going to do with you? Liliana asked.

In response, Papel curled up in his stall and went to sleep. Left alone, Liliana began to look around, but inside the place there was no comfortable spot for her to see. She turned her head toward the entrance and stared at the outside of the bar through the door. People were walking by, some stopping to look at the interior and the pictures of the various dishes being served there, most just ignored the place completely. The young girl didn't notice them much either. She thought about Brontes and Erica, about what they would do later that day and the rest of the week. But suddenly all those plans came crashing down.

Papel woke up suddenly and looked at the entrance as well. A curious clinking of chains caught Liliana's attention, she wondered where it came from.

At that moment, a human boy came into her view. He was strolling along the sidewalk outside the store, indifferent to most of the stimuli around him. He was a skinny boy, with unkempt hair and tired eyes, one that Liliana knew very well. Even if he had had his face covered, Liliana would have recognized him immediately by the loose, carefree way he walked.

Her whole being stopped dead in its tracks when she noticed him in front of her. The person with whom she had grown up, with whom she had celebrated her greatest victories and cried her greatest sorrows simply passed from one side to the other.

—A...— she said in a stiff voice. Stumbling, because she thought she would never say his name again— Ar... Arturo....

A second passed, two, three. Puzzled, she realized that she was still sitting and that Arturo was already out of sight. She had to do something fast before she lost him completely.

Without thinking, she left the glass on the bar, jumped down from the seat and ran towards the exit.

But that's where she stopped.

She turned around. Erica was still not out of the bathroom. How could she explain to her? How could she make her understand, before Arturo left altogether?

She couldn't, it was one or the other. Liliana had to decide, fast, before she missed her chance. She decided to leave the bar. She had to find him, even at the cost of her life.

—Arturo!— she shouted, not caring about scaring the people around her.

She looked in the direction the boy had gone. Right there was a relatively large crossroads, with many people coming and going, many cars, many flying ships making noise and distracting her. Liliana advanced a bit up to the corner, there she looked in all directions, but she couldn't find him.

—Arturo...— she muttered, getting desperate.

Quickly the frustration of not finding him began to hover over her agitated heart. She had seen him right in front of her eyes, it could not be an illusion. She had to find him.

But he was nowhere to be seen. She started running in one direction, with nothing but Brontes in her chest and a measly hunch.

—Where are you? Where are you?— she grumbled to herself, as she dodged the big nonis, striding forward and looking in all directions at once.

But wherever she looked, there were only large, red bodies moving lazily. Occasionally a human, but rarely a male boy, and none were the ones she was looking for. Frustration grew with every step, along with the certainty that she had blown her last chance to see him. Her eyes began to water, perhaps that's why she stumbled and crashed into the back of a policeman walking alongside her partner.

The latter was barely bothered by the young girl, but when she apologized and prepared to overtake them, the officer grabbed her by the arm.

—I can't believe it— he exclaimed— Hey, look! It's the human who attacked the First's son!

—Naaaaaaaah!— exclaimed his partner, while he brought his face close to Liliana's to check it— Are you sure? All humas look the same to me.

—Maybe to you, but I can tell them apart pretty well— boasted the officer. Then he turned to Liliana, his tone became severe— girl, the Bivifera police are arresting you for unjustified violence against a person protected by law. Come with us.

Liliana could not understand what was happening, or rather she did not want to understand it and accept that it was real. Suddenly the officer tugged on her hands to lead her to a patrol car parked not far away. She realized that she would never see Arturo or Erica again.

—No...— she said —No, wait! Please don't take me! My friends! I have to meet with my friends!

But the policemen didn't even pay attention to her. Frightened, Liliana pulled Brontes out of her chest and attacked both officers. The blade went through their bodies like smoke and put them to sleep without harming them. Liliana looked around, alarmed. She knew she had to run, but she didn't know where. She debated between going after Arturo and running away from the stares of the nonis.

—Never mind, just run!— exclaimed Brontes.

Liliana heeded him and ran away in a hurry. However, before she had advanced two steps, an electric shock on her back paralyzed her and made her drop on the ground. She tried to move, but her muscles did not respond. Brontes returned on her own to her mark on her chest, while a third policeman approached her from behind, grabbed both her hands and handcuffed her.

Just like that she had been recaptured. Again she would be sold into slavery or left in a cell. Liliana realized that her trip with Erica had been nothing more than a fantasy, a nice dream of what Nudo could have been for her; it was not a world of adventure and magic, but a box of abusers waiting to torment her. Now that fantasy was over, all that remained was to wake up and face reality.