That morning, Clara woke up earlier than usual. She had barely slept, whatever the reason was: the bad news Gaspar had given last night, Marisol's gaze or the dry heat that had not subsided. The fact was that she felt more tired that morning than the day before and seizing the opportunity that the day had not yet dawned, she picked up the bow from the floor and quietly left the bedroom.

Everyone was still asleep as she checked while crossing the corridors. In one of her rounds around the building, she'd found a room in the unused ward that had a good space to practice arrow shooting non-stop. She needed to do something she knew without hiding it. Maybe this could change her mood.

Working hard to control herself again, she was just about to leave as quietly as she arrived, when his voice stopped her.

"Sleepless night, hum?"

"I..." How did he know she was there? She was sure she had made no noise. "Do you have eyes behind your back?"

"I wanted to train a little in a quiet place, but I think this room already has an owner," she said, taking a step back, her hand on the doorknob.

"No!" There was a discreet anguish in his voice. For the first time, she saw him shaken briefly, then calming down: "Stay, please. There's room for both of us. It 'd worry me if you had a gun, but with that..." and he pointed his chin toward the bow she carried. "I think I can relax, right?" he finished, getting an involuntary laughter from Clara.

"I can't stand gunpowder's smell anymore" she replied, entering the room and closing the door behind.

With steady steps, she went to the other side and arranged what appeared to be an old door against the wall, then came back to the middle of the room. Clara took an arrow from the bag she had on her back and positioned to shoot. As she focused on the sight, she realized from the corner of her eye he had not returned to his training yet, looking at her with curiosity. Clara closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let go of the first arrow in the middle of the door.

"You're good at it," he said, moving closer. "Unusual... Where did you learn it?" Clara just shrugged, which made him look at the floor in embarrassment. "Excuse me. I thought you might have remembered something."

"No." she did not want to tell him she remembered a small fragment of the night he saved her.

Clara lowered her bow and stared at him. Under the torchlight, his eyes were even darker with small sparkling points. 'It looks like a starry night,' she thought as he looked back at her, unwinding the bands he wore tied around his fists. With a pang of concern, he continued:

"Could you teach me? It's useful to learn new forms of attack and defense with the imminent confrontation against the Government troops." Daniel stopped beside her. He really meant it. "If you've even taught the kids how to camouflage, I think you can teach me how to shoot with the bow, right?"

How did he know? Was he watching her? Then, understanding that Daniel was still waiting for her, she raised her bow, slowly making her movements as she explained:

"You must stand perpendicular to your target; the line of fire must pass between your legs. And then you must hold the bow like this" she showed him. Turning to Daniel, she handed the bow and stood beside him. "Here. Make the grip using your weaker hand." Clara took his hand, closing it over at in the bow. "The weakest hand always holds the bow while the stronger hand pulls. But the weaker hand makes no effort, it simply supports the arch in the correct position." Now she had positioned herself behind him. Holding an arrow, she leaned it on the rope taking Daniel's other hand and positioning it between the arrow and the rope.

Clara tried to stay focused and especially, keep breathing normally but stay so close to Daniel's body sent energy throughout her own. She got butterflies in her stomach and even in the hot weather, she felt little chills. He was taller than her, so besides all the sensations, she had to balance on her toes.

Daniel was unshaken, concentrating on Clara's instructions, which frustrated her. She was sure she could read people's faces, and the way his eyes searched for her, she believed he felt the same. But, instead, he remained calm and focused on what he was doing and that made her doubt herself once more.

Then he released the arrow that not even fly, simply curved out toward the ground. Whether it was the nervousness or the sensations she tried to suppress, Clara could not contain her laughter as she saw a confused look on Daniel's face. It was clear he used to be so good at everything then when the arrow fell instead of hitting the door center; he was taken aback.

She bent to pick it up and when she got up, their eyes met as Clara still smiled. Daniel did not take his eyes from her, in silent contemplation for a few seconds, in fact, he seemed to be far away whetting her curiosity. What was he thinking? Moments later, the confusion left his face, replaced by a beautiful smile. 'Touché!' Clara felt as if she was hit by one arrow, but she forced herself to ignore it and handed the arrow to Daniel.

"Wow! I guess I'm not so bad at shooting, eh?" she was still amused as he returned the smile, a little embarrassed.

"I think I have to try harder," Daniel positioned himself to shoot again.

He tried a few times until his arrows went a little further. When they were done, he went to the old door and retrieved the arrows back, returning to where he was.

Clara just watched in silence, correcting a flaw here and there. When Daniel was a little confident, her eyes fixed on the sandbag hanging at the back of the room. The sun rose, and the sunlight fell lightly on the object which led her to it. She stopped in front, noticing it worn out appearance. What she was trying to know, exactly, she could not identify. It was just a familiar feeling that took hold of her. She looked down at her hands and slowly closed them.

'Fold your fingers at the second joint and then again so that the tip of each finger be protected by the palm of your hand,' instructed a voice in her mind and then she struck the first blow. 'With the index and middle finger knuckles! They are bigger and stronger and will do more damage at the time of impact!', the voice continued. For a moment she opened her hands and noticed again the calluses that covered those fingers. She closed her hands again and took the first punch, then another and another. The punching bag wobbled slightly as the speed and strength of her blows increased.

It surrounded her in a trance so deep she did not even notice when Daniel approached and gently touched her shoulder:

"Hey..." he pulled her out of that hypnotic state and turning her to his direction, the opposite side of the sun. She still had clenched fists, ready to strike the next blow.

Slowly, Daniel lowered her arms as he laid his other hand on her face, sliding it until his fingers tugged at her chin, causing Clara to stare at him.

"You're okay?" his searching eyes were fixed on Clara, again with a slight haze of concern surrounding them, seeming to read what was going on.

Clara could only feel the quickening breath and an immense confusion in her mind. What had happened? What was that? Whose voice did she hear in her thoughts? Were they memories or was she going crazy?

"Clara? Did you remember anything?" Daniel looked even more worried and made circular moves with the thumb of his other hand that still held Clara's clenched fist.

Slowly, she looked at the soft movements he made in her hand as he opened it and their fingers involuntarily entwined.

"No... I remembered nothing." she lied, staring at him and noticing that subtle he relaxed a little. But why? "I believe the news about what had happened in Cell 2 shook me..."

"We're all shaken, Clara. And anxious about what might happen," he caressed her face with the back of his fingers. "I was concerned about you, but after seeing what you did to the punching bag, actually, the enemy has to worry" he concluded, giving a small smile and casting a funny glance at the sack beside them.

Releasing her hand, he headed back to where he had left his T-shirt, dressing it. Clara stood in the same spot, watching him silently and thinking she would give anything to know what was going on in his mind.

"I need to attend a meeting with Gaspar and the other leaders of the Cell..." Daniel said, approaching again.

He stopped in front of her, his body so close that Clara could feel the warmth from him. Then he rested his fingers on her chin making her stare at him ... Their faces were so close she could easily touch his lips with hers. He looked at her intensely, lowering his gaze to her mouth which made her close her eyes, begging him to kiss her. They stayed still for a few moments. Clara could feel his warm breath against her face. Was Daniel's heart beating as fast as hers? She felt when he laid a light kiss on her forehead that left a burning sensation like a red-hot iron.

"Take care. Please," he said hoarsely, almost in a whisper.

Clara heard his steps leaving the room. She remained with the eyes closed, feeling the cold taking the place of the warmth from Daniel's body. Slowly she opened her eyes, standing in the same place as if she had grown root, confused. She took her hand to the spot where he had kissed her, thinking to herself: what had that been? She looked her hand he'd held for so long, and then she wondered again: What had happened? What did Daniel want from her?

Involuntarily, a smile came to her lips as she remembered his breathing as ragged as hers... But then the smile faded her when she remembered the "other" look of hatred last night. Reality struck her like a thunderbolt: Daniel's heart was already busy. That kiss had been only kind, after all, they were in great danger now without knowing the next steps of the Government and he felt responsible for her. He had saved her. Right?