She didn't answer. Instead, she took a deep breath and looked out the window.
"I said I wanted answers, so..."
"... so I have to provide you with some." She faced me again, but stopped talking.
"Well... I'm waiting."
"Like you have been for a while now. Waiting and watching... and now you question the actions of others?"
"I didn't..."
"No you didn't, at least not directly, but your question implies it."
She paused for a moment.
"You said you want answers, but some are not mine to give, so you may not hear what you want or need... but I will tell you what I can."
Again she paused."What you witnessed outside was a ritual sacrifice through fire."
She was looking deep in my eyes, and I noticed their slight inflammation. She had been crying.
"The sacrifice was essential to ensure our continuity."
I waited for her to continue.
"I have answered your questions."
"What?... you just stated two things that didn't help me in the slightest. And I said I wanted straight answers."
"I gave you straight answers though they may not be the ones you were looking for."
I suddenly felt this was a futile exercise, that I would only learn what she wanted me to.
Trying to keep myself calm I continued my interrogation.
"Ok, I have another question: Are you telepathic?"
"I am telepathic in the way you understand its definition."
"Did you feel... did you witness the sacrifice in your mind?"
"... I did. I felt it like I assume you did, but to a lesser extent."
"The three women, they are... were also telepathic?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't she... why didn't the third one block her emotions? Why put her companions, and us through that ordeal?"
Suddenly I couldn't see straight, my eyesight was fuzzy, my face felt wet and cold. I was crying."The women who was burned, offered her flesh, her being."
I dried my face with my sleeves.
"Through that woman, her companions offered their minds, or at least part of them, as they suffered what she suffered and started their descent into madness..."
Her voice was trembling, but she didn't stop.
"There is a third component to the ritual, which isn't offered, it has to be taken. And in this case it was taken from me, from you, and from any other who has even an ounce of, as you say it, telepathic ability."
"But... I didn't loose anything."
"If you were the only one riding the train, you would have probably died from that experience. Instead you will only experience fatigue, and what was taken is slowly being restored. Your soul is healing itself as we speak."
"My what now?"
"Soul. The two women shielded us from the suffering, but not entirely. Whatever they let through injured us at our core. And in this we were chosen, because our cores are untouched. We didn't witness any wars, crimes or atrocities. Children are ideal for this part, because of their purity and innocence."
I looked behind me, to where the child was sitting, laughing and unburdened.
"I protected his mind, hiding him from the women's influence."
Again her voice trembled.
"I touched his mind and through it, saw his soul before the sacrifice... and couldn't bare it if it was destroyed. His mind and soul are untouched, and they shall remain as such as long as I'm around."
"But, if what you said is true, then your soul was hurt the most if you had to compensate for his soul." Her expression softened and for a second she seemed to smile.
"Thank you for your concern, but it is misplaced. What's done is done and I do not regret it, no matter the cost."
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