Mirela had left as well as the rest of the people and combatants, leaving in the courtyard only the children who had returned to play on the other side; and a Clara seeking an answer to the question that did not leave her head: Why Daniel had brought her in secret? That's why she had been treated almost as a prisoner by Nana at first, before trying to flee, and even for the fact that she was only visited and cared for by the old lady. Under regular circumstances and with the wound she had, she would have been taken to the infirmary like the others.

"Hey, Miss! Miss!" shouted one of the older girls approaching Clara. "One of the boys threw Maria's cloth doll on the tree, but it's too tall... Can you help us?"

Clara looked between the girl who was standing in front of her and the group that was gathered around a small girl who was crying. The older one looked eager for an answer.

"Okay. Come on." she stood up and walked beside the girl toward the woods a little farther on, next to where the group was.

Clara saw the doll hanging on a very tall branch, and even though she had no idea how she would get it out of the tree, she approached it. She looked sideways hoping to find a stick or something, but of course, there was not any.

"Stay here," she said to the girl while she walked to the tree.

Clara paused for a moment and looked up, scanning her branches. With an impulse, she climbed up with such a skill she did not even know she had. It was so natural for her to go from one branch to another until she reached the place where the doll was and threw it at little Maria, watching from the ground. Clara saw as the girl grabbed the toy and hugged it with a big smile. Not even noticing she was also smiling, she made her way back to the ground and thought how easy it was to make a child happy.

"Thanks, Miss!!" the older girl gave her a last gaze before returning to the others.

When she reached the ground again, Clara was alone, or at least she thought so until she noticed a slight movement behind her. Turning around, she bumped into Daniel a few steps away. She felt as her heart had stopped and sped up at the same time; the palms of her hands sweated and involuntarily she held her breath. Moreover: she could not take her eyes away from him, allowing herself to be lost in those black eyes with little bright spots that looked like stars in the night sky.

"Nana... me..." he began, staring her and apparently looking for the right words. Daniel shut his eyes for a moment, seeming to concentrate as he brought his hands on the back and stopped a few feet from where she was. Then, he opened them again and a little more focused, he continued. "Nana told me you're better."

"Yes ... yes, I think ... yes." Clara stammered, also trying to put herself together and moving her hand over the forehead, as if this might help to come back to her senses. "Thank you for asking."

Silence hovered between them and once again, Clara allowed herself to be lost in Daniel's eyes. Those sensations, butterflies in the stomach... had she felt it before? She tried to search deep in her mind, but it was too hard to concentrate on anything but him.

"There's one..." he gestured to a confused Clara.

"Sorry?"

"There's a..." again, he motioned in circles with the hand on top of his head and slowly advanced, closing the distance between them until she could almost feel his breath. "There's a leaf on your hair."

He reached out to take the sheet that had curled into her hair. For a fraction of a second Clara could have sworn he touched her cheek gently when he lowered his arm. That subtle touch was enough for her to feel as if hit by a bolt. He had become slightly stiff so she could swear Daniel felt the same.

"The leaf," he showed her the leaf as it fell gently, zigzagging to the ground. "You... I ..." he began again as a movement on Daniel's back caught Clara's attention.

"Oh! Here you are!" a girl was coming toward them with steady steps and hugged Daniel by the waist. "Gaspar is looking for you!" and realizing that he made no movement at all, for the first time she noticed Clara. "Hi! I don't think I know you..."

"That's Clara. Mirela's... cousin." Daniel answered quickly, turning his gaze to the girl who still clung to his waist as if she were a stranger. "From Cell 2."

The girl was a medium-sized, thin but with a well-defined body, tanned skin, red lips, straight hair tied in two braids that fell on her shoulders, brown as well as her eyes which were analyzing Clara.

"Oh! Sure! I'm Marisol." she held out her hand to Clara. She saw when the girl narrowed her eyes and studied her more closely. "Cousin?"

"Is there a problem?" Daniel asked while Marisol's deep look made Clara uncomfortable.

"No. Nothing..." Marisol shook her head quickly and, kissing Daniel's face, continued: "Let's go? You know Gaspar doesn't like waiting very long. See you!"

Clara stood there, alone for a few minutes watching Marisol dragging her boyfriend until they disappeared into the building. A whirlwind of thoughts and feelings took her mind. How could she feel that way just by staring at him? She was afraid and at the same time, waiting for the moment to see Daniel again, which was ridiculous once he had just entered the complex. And that touch? Had it really happened, or was it a joke of her troubled mind? Why could not she think straight? It was so frustrating! Not only she had to deal with all those feelings but yet had not even gotten an answer! How could she had been so stupid to miss that opportunity? And with a girlfriend... what would be the probability to talk to Daniel alone again?

"Miss! Miss!" Clara heard a voice behind her, and when she turned, she found the girl who had spoken to her earlier, accompanied by the others looking eagerly at her. "Could you teach us how to climb up the trees as fast as you did?"

"So we don't have to ask anyone else," Little Maria pointed to the doll that was once again in a nearby tree.

Clara grinned at the eager little girl and again went to rescue the doll. When she was back on the floor, all the children waited for her, gathered and willing to learn how to do that. Clara explained and one by one they tried to climb up, between falling and laughter that made her forget for a moment all those painful thoughts.

"What do you guys usually do?" Clara asked the older girl named Julia as she helped one boy climb up the tree.

"Not much. Most of the people go out to fight and the few who stay have a lot to do, dealing with the infirmary, the kitchen or the safety of the Cell."

"I've seen those who are here recovering training in another courtyard back there. Don't you do the same? To hide if an attack occurs, at least?" several pairs of eyes and heads swayed negatively. "Enough of blá-blá-blá and let's start."

The group was busy with the new activities until Nana called them for lunch. Clara and Nana followed them, while the children laughed and played, teasing each other about the fallings they had taken.

"I think you've found a distraction after all. I could even say you're happy..." They reached the cafeteria and Nana was looking her closely.

"It's almost impossible not to have fun when the kids are around and it's a shame the adults don't have time to give the attention they need."

The place was crowded and, on a table, going for a pulpit, was the giant man she had seen carrying the child when the group had arrived that morning. People talked around, making an almost deafening noise.

"Gaspar," Nana said into her ear, pointing her chin at the guy on the table talking to others nearby. "He's the leader of our Cell and board member. He'll fulfill us about the last raids."

"As long as he can be heard through all this noise, isn't it?" said Mirela, standing next to them, breathless and sweaty. "What? I was training... Something you must do later, too. People will talk about you being the only one out there with the kids."

"Silence! Silence! Shhhhh!" Gasped someone in the crowd, and when they were all quiet, Gaspar could begin his speech.

"All right." Gaspar started, gesturing broadly. "As you may know, we hit the Government troops heavily earlier this week." The audience talked all along. "Calm down, calm down, people! We still have a lot of work to do, but with the merging of the Cells in the last confrontation, we have been able to send the message to the troops that our contingent has increased. Finally, we can be united against the common enemy and their era of domination and repression is now nearing the end!" The audience greeted and made a new fuzz, being silenced by the leader. "Thank you who had a key role in this process! Everyone, with no exception, is very important and we would not get here without our fighters, our cooks, our nurses" he pointed to each group. "All of you. But I would like to express my special thanks to Daniel." All eyes turned to the young man in a far corner. "Come up here, my friend!" Gaspar helped him to climb up and put his arm around the guy's shoulders. "Since he arrived at our Cell, two years ago, he has provided us with vital information to our progress. Without him, we would be far from the place we are today. Thanks, man." said Gaspar, clapping his hands and being followed by the crowd. "But it's not over yet, and we have a lot of work to do. So, today we can celebrate it, but tomorrow we must resume our training and keep an eye on the new fights that are about to come until we reach the victory!" There was an explosion of shouting and applause as people headed for the line where they would receive the meal.

Clara also walked with Mirela to the line but looking all the time at Daniel who had come down and now received the greetings from his fellows with Marisol by his side. She realized that Mirela was looking in the same direction, and then she asked:

"Is Daniel not from this Cell?"

"What? No, of course not." the blond girl was now staring at Clara. "He's been here for two years. Damned be the day he came here!" she continued bitterly, casting stealthy glances where Daniel was.

"Was he from another Cell, then?"

"Look, I only know what everyone knows: he didn't belong to any Cell. I think he lived in some village, don't know for sure. But what I do know is that he was married, and his wife was killed about three years ago by Government troops and then he joined the Cells. He had saved Gaspar from an ambush, he became a hero and came to our Cell with Nana."

"Married?" Clara repeated, suffocating and sensing like thousands of daggers were tearing her soul.

"Yes, but it seems he has completely overcome his wife's death... or he didn't even like her that much." Mirela tone was sharp.

Clara stared at the blond girl. Why so much anger if they barely spoke as she had said? Was there more than the girl had let her know? Again, her gaze met Daniel's, but Marisol pulled him by the arm and they left the dining hall.

The girls took their trays and settled on the same table as before. Each absorbed by their own thoughts, only focusing on the meals when João joined them.

"Hey, girls!" he said excitedly, not noticing the silence that hung in the air. "What did you think of Gaspar's speech? I heard he and the other members of the Council are preparing a great offensive to take the Citadel once and for all."

"How do you know that?" Clara asked, speaking for the first time.

"I heard the radio staff talking in the hallway while I was coming back from training. Actually, I didn't see you there, Clara." João gazed her for a while and took a large forkful in his mouth.

"I... I was training elsewhere," she replied quickly, seeing Mirela's wide eyes in front of her and changing the subject. "So... let me get this straight: is today a celebration day?

"You may bet! I do not know how you do it in Cell 2, but here we make a bonfire and some skilled people play old guitars we find in our researches. Sometimes others also make a cool sound with pipes, cans and scrap metal. It's amazing, though I don't have a clue how they make sound using those things that look like crap." said João, taking another bite. "What do you do in your Cell?"

"What do you mean?" Clara stared at Mirela in panic as she looked back at her.

"Oh... they also have guitars and some flutes made from bamboo sticks. Nothing like ours." Mirela replaced Clara's answer kicking her under the table as if warning her not to say anything else.

"How curious! Since the Cells are far from each other and with all these attacks of the troops, we have almost no contact with the other combatants... You were lucky to get here just when the food people came from the village." said João, finishing his meal for the relief of the other two girls.

That night, after such an intense day, Clara could not sleep. She turned a few times in bed before giving up. So, she left the dorm with Mirela sleeping peacefully in the next bed and started what would be just one of the many rounds she would do in Cell 5, mapping the place.