“Izel, hold his leg for a bit to set it in place. Then join us outside,” said the mysterious woman.

Now alone, Yun watched the boy. He looked meek in the soft orange glow inside the cave. Even Izel’s small hands on his shin had a gentle weight to them. Nothing like the sporadic and abrasive nature Yun had just been a victim of. After a few seconds of nothing, Yun decided to speak.

“Um,” he began “Have you ever broken anything before?” Yun said with an airy smile. He remembered what the mysterious woman told him, “He needs to know that he can trust you… You and Izel have a connection…” 

Izel’s green eyes darted to meet Yun’s, then to the ground before shyly meeting his again. While shaking his no, he spoke. “Once I fell really hard, I scraped off the skin from my stomach…”

Yun’s eyes widened, “How?” he asked concerned. His dark eyebrows started to furrow together and his shoulders tensed.

“I was small, we were fleeing Tenochtitlan. I just couldn’t keep up and I just tripped.” Izel’s eyes dropped to Yun’s leg. “But Nelli was right there to carry me,” his hands tightened onto Yun’s shin. “She was always there…”

Yun held his breath for a second, realizing what Izel said. “You said, was?” He felt his heart twist as his eyes met with Izel’s large sad eyes.

“Yeah,” the boy sighed. Yun noticed his whole body deflating. “What you said earlier, before I pushed you…” He paused and looked down at his hands. “I’m trying, Yun…”

Yun’s chest tightened seeing Izel so upset and he felt a swell of protectiveness from seeing him so vulnerable. “I’m sorry for what happened to you.”

“I’m sorry for what I did to you.” They said at the same time.

Both stared at each other intensely, their hearts racing. Yun’s friendly and welcoming brown eyes hypnotizing Izel.

Feeling too many emotions, Yun looked away first. “Hey, Izel…” The older teen whispered, “I think it’s set now.” He looked back at Izel, whose eyes never left Yun’s face. “Maybe twice over at this point.”

“What?” The boy gasped and his hands flew away from Yun’s leg. “Oh, right…” He exclaimed while flushing red.