"You acted so weird yesterday," said Mirela as they walked down the hall to the training area.

"What do you mean?" Clara asked when they entered in a vast open space that served as a training area.

"You better stay quiet than being an eye-catcher like you did yesterday at lunch with João. Otherwise, they'll soon realize that you're not from here or any other cell."

The sun had vanished behind a few clouds, and now a light breeze was stirring some loose strands from Clara's braid. The place was full of people and in the background, some guys were punching and kicking each other. There were people shooting and others using equipment that seemed rusty, to do exercises unknown to Clara. Instinctively and involuntarily, as she followed Mirela in her long and determined strides, she sought Daniel in the middle of people who were already there, but she did not find him. Perhaps he would be in a meeting with Gaspar or somewhere else with his girlfriend.

"Nana told me to take it easy on you because of your head, so today we're just going to practice shooting, okay?" Mirela headed forward to position the target and returning to where Clara was, taking one weapon from the nearby bench. "You already shot, right?" And seeing the expression of doubt on the girl's face, she whispered a curse before standing next to her and sounding impatient. "Feet shoulder width apart. Left foot in front of right, right elbow straight and left slightly flexed... see?"

She handed the gun to Clara who held it and positioned it as Mirela had taught. She aimed at the target and fired one, two, three times. She hoped to hit the center like the others practicing there too but ended not even close. Her aim wasn't terrible, but it was far from the great results of the others.

"Oh, man, I think we have a lot of work to do here." Mirela sighed and pressed her lips to a thin line.

Clara also sighed disappointed, band a little humiliated. She was trying to fit this new life, but she always felt like a fish out of water, always skating on thin ice and hating herself for being paralyzed towards the only person who could light up her gapping memory. Those black eyes were haunting her. Every time she thought of them - and their owner - a wave of heat and cold, happiness and anguish seemed to involve herself and that took her concentration away from the simplest things.

She even tried to shoot a bit more with the gun, trying to clear Mirela's frowning and although she had a slight improvement, it would not be enough.

After over two hours of that Chinese torture, Mirela announced that it was already late and that they should return to the dormitory and take a bath for dinner. Clara agreed relieved.

Both went to the women's dressing room to bathe. Everything was rustic, and the showers were made of huge cans coupled to smaller showers with a faucet used to turn the water on and off. But after an afternoon trying to improve her aim, Clara did not even care about the water's temperature and the fact that it was a brown water, like a river after the flood.

"Mirela, you said you had gone after me because Nana asked you, but she came only two years ago with Daniel. Why do you respect her so much?" Clara asked as she wrapped herself in the towel and left the cabin next to Mirela.

The other girl also turned off the shower and took the towel hanging over the door, wrapped herself with it and left.

"About one year ago, I have had a very serious infection. Dr. Rezende and all the other nurses said I wouldn't survive, but Nana took me out of the ward and put me in her room. She took care of me as her daughter, she spent several nights awake..." Mirela was slight smiling "I think she must have used up all her herbal knowledge and so... Against all diagnoses, I survived. I believe I'm here for her stubbornness." she adjusted her wet hair in a knot behind the head after dressing. "That's why I owe her everything and I do anything for Nana."

"I see. I also have a lot to thank her for." Clara nodded, tucking her hair on the top of the head with a piece of wood stick, as a 'hashi', she'd found on the floor. "What's her relationship to Daniel? Are they relatives?"

"Absolutely not. Nana told me she knows Daniel since he was a little boy... I think his father had a little ranch or something and Nana was their neighbor. After his mother died, she helped his father to raise him as her own son." Mirela explained as they walked back down the hall to the cafeteria. "Nana's husband died a few years ago, and they never had children..."

The dining room was lit by several torches arranged on the walls and candles on the tables, but nobody was there, except for the people who handed out the trays.

"Where is everyone?" Clara asked as the two girls picked up the trays.

"In the courtyard, probably..." Mirela pointed her chin toward the exit door. "Usually, the people dine early and stay by the fire talking. With luck, there'll be some music to cheer up..." the girl was excited, something unusual as Clara had realized, mainly when she was around.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me." Mirela gazed at her with surprise. "You already made it clear it's for Nana but thank you anyway. I know I'm not your favorite company."

Mirela watched her for a few minutes, narrowing her eyes, with arms folded across her chest. Mirela only tolerated her company because of Nana, but she had risked saying she was her cousin. Clara did not even imagine what would happen to her if someone found out... And the worse, she could not even be sure she brought no danger to the Cell since she could remember nothing. Plus: why the soldiers knew her name? From where did they know her?

"Babysitting you keep me busy since I can't get back to my duties." Mirela broke the silence. "But I can't help to wonder where you came from... For your aim, or rather the lack of it, you could hardly be part of some other cell..."

"Do you think it would be possible to learn from the other cells... I don't know. Maybe I had passed by some of them..." she forced herself to say, trying to push away the feeling that oppressed her.

"I don't think so. To prevent government troops from knowing the exact number of combatants, the Cells have no records of their inhabitants... It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find someone who knows you and it could take months..."

Clara sighed in dismay, bending her shoulders forward. One more frustrated attempt...

After they finished dinner, both went to the patio. As always, being in the middle of many people made Clara nervous and so she remained in a corner while Mirela went to meet João who was in a lively circle not far from there. That day had been long and intense, full of emotions and some discoveries that Clara needed to mull over. Her rational side prevented her from searching for Daniel in the crowd... she was not sure she could bear to lose herself in all the emotions that a mere glance of him caused her.

She went back inside the building and climbed the first flight of stairs, but when she turned to climb the second set, she bumped into someone coming down.

"Sorry! I..." The rest of the speech died in her throat as she looked up and met those black eyes staring back at her.

He also seemed speechless for a few seconds, just staring at her so intensely that Clara could not sustain it any longer. Lowering her head, she passed him slowly, determined to follow her way toward the bedroom. But then her brain screamed for answers, answers that only Daniel had. He kept still, following her with his gaze.

"You owe me answers," He seemed surprised by her sudden rush.

"I know." Daniel opened and close his fist at his side. Was he nervous? "Do you want to talk? I don't think we'll have another chance to speak alone since there are a lot of things happening."

For a moment, Clara did not move, staring at him. She was taken aback by his candor attitude although she couldn't tell why. Afterward, he didn't have anything to hide, did he?

"You're coming?" he asked her with a nod. "Let's get this way."

When Daniel passed her, Clara felt a slight breeze wash over her. A mint scent mixed with another that resembled a bath took and... of Daniel. A scent she was sure she'd smelled before, certainly for the time she'd met him earlier that day. He also had wet hair and wore pants, a black T-shirt, and boots that appeared to be the only kind of footwear available there.

While Clara was following him, her heart beat sped up more than a thousand miles per hour. She tried to put herself together, keeping her emotions under control but it was almost impossible. His presence was enough to shuffle her thoughts. To think and look into those black eyes like a moonless evening, would require a strength Clara knew she did not have at that moment.

At the end of the aisle, to the right, Daniel stopped at a place in the building where the corridors had only short walls. He rested his arms on the railing as Clara stopped at a safe distance, doing the same. For a few seconds neither of them said anything, just stood there, staring up at the horizon as a full moon, as yellow as a cheese, graced the sky and glowed gently over the Earth. In the background, again Clara could see the ruins of a city and at the far right, what seemed to be an airport with dozens of parked aircraft that, when bathed in moonlight, assumed ghostly dimensions. Below, Clara saw the wall and the spot where she had climbed the night she tried to escape, and where the guards were pacing up and down.

"What do you want to know?" Daniel asked, keeping his eyes on the horizon.

"Everything." Clara answered, determined not to turn her face to look at him under any circumstances.

A gentle breeze blew, shaking a few strands of her hair that had detached from the chignon and Daniel's damp hair.

"Actually, I have not much to tell you." He kept her eyes on the horizon. "I only know that two weeks ago we went on a recon mission. Usually, I end up wandering around to identify traces of Government troops. That night, while I was doing this, near the town" Daniel pointed to the ruins in the distance. "I heard the screams of a girl. As I approached, I saw two guards with you." And giving a small smile, continued: "You gave them a hard time..." The smile faded. "When I arrived, you were already unconscious. I took care of them, took you to our camp and brought you here in one vehicle." He finished, this time turning his head to face her.

"That's all?"

"Sorry. I know you were looking for more answers but..." Daniel gazed the horizon once again. "Maybe you can get..." He sighed and shook his head. "I thought you could remember something with this information."

Clara remained silent, eyes closed, trying to remain calm and rational when she felt a slight slip on her little finger. She opened her eyes and faced Daniel, who was looking at her with obvious concern... remorse? Why would he feel remorseful? Was he hiding something? But what? What was he keeping in secret?

She blinked a few times to be sure. Clara was skilled at reading people, but with the whirlwind of alternated feelings at the moment, she doubted her own judgment. But when she lowered her eyes to his hand, she saw it was close and perhaps it had not been her imagination. Actually, he had touched her, as subtly as in the morning... but, was it real or was it her imagination?

"Are you running away from me?" said a familiar voice in a faint play tone, behind Clara, which caused both a little startled. "And what are you doing here?" Marisol asked harshly, pushing past her with a frown and standing next to Daniel, narrowing her eyes.

"Lost. She was just lost." Daniel replied, regaining control of situation first.

It did not convince Marisol by the way she was scrutinizing the other girl.

"Lost, hum?" Clara was sure that if Marisol could, she would vaporize her with the eyes at that moment.

"I found you!!" Mirela exclaimed behind her, standing between Clara and Marisol, whom by this time had passed a possessive arm by Daniel's waist. "I was looking for you!" the girl looked at them and stopped a few seconds at Daniel, as if they were talking in silence. "Lost again?" Mirela arched one eyebrow.

"Yeah... again." Clara stammered.

"Mirela, you should take care of your 'cousin'!" Marisol said, gazing Clara in an angry tone "Every time she 'gets lost', she finds my boyfriend!"

Mirela did not immediately respond as she usually did, but just looked at the three of them, avoiding Marisol's gaze.

"Really, Marisol? It's just a coincidence!" Mirela took Clara's arm and turning her back to her. "But now that I've found you, let's go, right, Clara? I'll get you a map! Let's go!"

Clara let herself be led by Mirela in silence. That day had been very intense and at that moment she felt extremely exhausted as if she could sleep for all eternity and forget all the whirlwind her life had become.

Knowing Mirela a little more, Clara expected she would patronize her. But the girl remained quiet holding her arm as they returned to the wing where the dormitories were. Actually, Clara appreciated that silence. She was too tired to argue. They entered the room, and each of them went to bed with their own thoughts.

As soon as she laid her head on the thin pillow, Clara fell into a deep sleep. Tired as she was, a black pitch welcomed her. Later that night, still wrapped in darkness, she heard a male voice that begged in an anguished request:

"No, no, no ... please, no! Please no!"

With great effort, she opened her eyes only to find tearful dark eyes staring back at her with a mixture of worry, anguish, and relief. She felt fingers touching her face softly, a scent of weeds, soil and something else reached her nostrils. She tried hard to keep focused on what was going on around her, but gradually those eyes blurred increasingly until they disappeared.

"No!" She woke up suddenly, listening her own voice and already sitting on the bed.

The body was bathed in sweat, partly because the night was warm, and for the restless sleep.

The day was dawning, the sky tinging slightly pink and some birds singing in the distance in the trees, signaling a new day. Although the sleepless night, Clara felt a little more relieved. Relieved because she finally had an answer to many of her questions: it was not just a dream but a memory... Daniel had told her the truth: he had found her after being attacked by the troops, she thought, sliding her fingers gently where only a scar remained at the base of her head..