Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 114 Ethel

Little Ethel was walking home.

After dinner, around 5:30, she rushed from Dead Dog Tavern to school to attend her theology and biology classes for the day.

By this time, it was completely dark, and she and another girl were walking home, chatting and laughing.

There was no snow or wind today, so they wouldn't be freezing red when they got home. Instead, the quiet, snow-covered city brought a strange joy—a joy in the face of peace and white snow, like looking out the window at the snow on Christmas Eve, reflecting the warmth of the lights.

This is a good omen, she thought.

In yesterday's history class, Xilun just talked about the Gregorian calendar, telling them that today is 1901 in the Gregorian calendar, and that each year is divided into twelve months, each with a nice name.

Today happens to be the last day of autumn.

She loosened the scarf around her neck slightly to let the heat escape; the cheap wool felt prickly against her skin, but staying warm was more important at the moment.

Today's theology class has covered Abraham, and she heard about how Abraham believed in God and how he became a great prophet.

However, a boy named Ned in class questioned the part about Abraham sacrificing Isaac.

He first asked, “Your Excellency, did Abraham love Isaac?” Siron replied, “He loved his son more than any other father, and he waited a long time for him.”

But he said that if Abraham loved Isaac, he would never have sent his son to the altar, at least not his father, who loved him very much.

The people around him glared at the eccentric little black goat, but Xilun thought for a long time and still couldn't figure out how to explain it. He could only apologize and say that he would continue to think about the problem and give him an answer later.

Little Ethel was also a little unhappy because he had embarrassed the bishop. Although Silen himself didn't care, she felt indignant on Silen's behalf.

Isaac didn't die in the end! Since the angels saved him, why think so much?
She thought somewhat unhappily, what was so great about a ten-year-old boy who had to show off in class?

The second biology class was interesting, at least more interesting than theology class—though she would never admit it, having sworn to remain forever loyal to the gentle and handsome Bishop Delland, but the fossils Professor Russell brought were indeed fascinating.

Those were fossils of fish. Professor Russell told them that ancient creatures leave their mark on the world, and even let them touch the fossils themselves, imagining what it was like for them to swim in the ocean millions of years ago.

He also told people that these fossils were found high in the mountains, which were submerged by water countless years ago, perhaps the most powerful evidence of Noah's Ark and the Great Flood. So people began to imagine an era when the ocean and floods covered the world, and fish lived on the mountains.

But towards the end of the class, the atmosphere became a little tense when a difference engine programmer asked, "If mountains were once covered by oceans, would there be so much water in the world?"

Professor Russell pointed to the increasingly thick snow outside the window and said, "Then why does the snow keep falling, and where does it come from?"

People fell silent, and their spirits were somewhat low.

Xilun sat in on the entire class. No one had brought up the theory of plate tectonics yet, but since this was another world, it was hard to say whether plate tectonics still existed.

However, Russell's statement gave him a lot of inspiration. He thought that the source of the snowflakes was the sea, but the ocean should also be on the verge of freezing at this time... If the snowflakes were also an invading substance, it would make sense. If that's the case, could the great flood also be an invasion?
However, these were merely Xiren's conjectures; everyone else was engrossed in the wondrous knowledge that Russell had brought.

Ethel also kept recalling those strange fossils, and always felt that the fish on the fossils were not the fish she usually ate.

The road home was very deserted. Around 8 p.m., there were hardly any people on the streets. As I crossed the street, the black iron garden fence and marble pillars seemed to emanate a chill.

As she looked at the building by the roadside, a figure seemed to flash across the narrow glass.

It looked like her own shadow, but she was still a little scared.

The night was very deep, and the gas lamps flickered faintly in the distance. The hazy snow dust shrouded the weak light, and her little boots made a "crunching" sound as they stepped on the ground.

A chill crept up her spine, and she felt fear, as if something was watching her.

She dared not look back, wrapped her scarf tighter, and ran quickly towards the nearest elevator. Fortunately, the streetlights beside the church were still flickering, and the runes, running day and night, offered some solace.

The doors to the spiritual dwelling were tightly shut, and no lights were on inside; it seemed the bishop had not yet returned.

The road, bathed in lamplight, was lined with cemeteries where many people were buried. Crows landed silently, their black eyes darting about, staring eerily at Ethel. She shivered and quickly took the elevator to the third basement level.

The elderly cemetery caretaker yawned, looked out through the window of the cabin, and found nothing.

“Strange…” he muttered, then continued to doze off on the table.

The elevator made a "click-clack" sound as the gears and machinery moved the heavy steel plate. Warmth and noise gradually enveloped Aitherre, and she felt a familiar sense of security.

At least underground, among steel, no enemy can break in.

She breathed a sigh of relief, the unease gradually dissipating, and then returned to her residence.

She pushed open the door but didn't see her mother. However, Selena stayed at Dead Dog Tavern until the early hours of the morning every day, so he was used to it.

After locking the door, she skillfully boiled a kettle of water and heated up a slice of bread; that would be her dinner.

After dinner, she sat on the bed, holding the Bible and looking at it, nodding her head like a chick pecking at rice. She couldn't understand most of the complicated text, but she persisted in reading it only because she wanted to receive praise from the bishop.

I remember last week a classmate answered the bishop's question. He proudly said that he read two chapters of the Bible every night before going to bed. At that moment, he was as proud as a little rooster, which made Ethel very jealous.

She finally put the book aside, wrapped herself in the blanket, and lay down when ten chimes sounded outside, signaling the ten o'clock evening.

Then he immediately fell asleep.

She slept for an unknown amount of time when she felt someone by her bedside and heard rustling sounds.

She mumbled sleepily, "Mommy, is she back?"

No one answered, and no one came over to pat her head.

She groaned and rolled to the other side.

There was silence in the room for a few seconds.

An invisible fear gradually crept into her heart. No—if it wasn't her mother, then who was it?

I didn't hear the door open, nor did I hear any footsteps. Who was there just now? Was someone by the bed?

She closed her eyes tightly, pretending to be asleep, and curled up facing the wall.

There was no sound behind me; it seemed as if it had all been a hallucination.

She tensed her body, little by little.

Did I hear wrong? Is there really no one there?

She cautiously opened her eyes a crack, looking at the silent night and the walls before her.

Then, little by little, he turned around and quietly looked behind him.

Then she saw it—those white, empty eyes and mouth.

(End of this chapter)