The compass had all the cardinal directions with the arrows working. Meaning, it wasn’t broken or damaged. It was indeed not a fake.

It was night, and all the lights in the house were turned off, except for Nathanael’s lamp. He was inside his room, alone, inspecting his miracle.

It was circular. The glass on top allowed the arrows to not be disturbed, but it wasn’t at all in good condition. It was still working, but there were scratches here and there on the glass. The metal casing around it also looked worn out. It was old. But that didn’t matter.

He thought that this compass was all there was, but on the opposite end from the top had more than just this old compass. There was a small compartment, easily accessible. The inside could hold nothing big, only enough for a folded-up paper. Nathanael hoped that the paper would contain a note of who gave this to him, but there were no words. Instead, it was a map. That wasn’t bad, of course, he still wanted to know how he had gotten this. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen, just like every other question he had.

The map was rather… empty. Maybe that was because this was a map of the plains of snow, or that it just wanted to show him one single place.

In the middle, is a house. Odd. And there was a path going east. There was no measurement of the distance, only a compass mark at one of the corners. And at the end of the path, a single dot. Nothing else, nothing more. No landmarks. The only thing he had as a landmark was the house. The one who gave this to him must have known where he lived, otherwise, how would they know about the house? Could it be a different house? Or did it mean a bunker? Did he need to start at the village?

“Couldn’t they have made this a bit easier? This single house, a line, and dot isn’t enough for a map beginner like me.” How far is it? If he tried to go for it, would he accidentally pass it? Was it truly worth it? “Is there anything even there?” Nathanael asked himself.

Perhaps there were people. Perhaps it is treasure. Perhaps a way to the city. There were many possibilities, he couldn’t let this chance get away from him. He needed to at least try.

He needed to remove his fears. To overcome going alone in the snow. He needed to train himself.

And that is what he was going to do.

Nathanael gave his voice to Seth. Today, he wasn’t going with him outside. Of course, he wasn’t going to tell him what he was about to do. Not saying anything, and staying inside the house was likely suspicious, but the old man wouldn’t care.

Maybe Seth thought Nathanael wanted to stay in the house after what happened yesterday. It was a fair reason. And a better reason when the old man hasn’t even apologized yet nor were there any hints of it coming any time soon.

Seth left on his own. Nathanael made sure he wasn’t going in the same direction he needed to go to. Once he was satisfied, he quickly began to act. Lydia was also nowhere to be seen, this was a perfect day.

“…Where are you going?” Etta asked when she saw him fly towards the front door.

“Ah, right.” Etta was going to be alone for some time. But it isn’t the first. She spent time in the house alone when Nathanael and Seth went out together. Has Lydia been around in those times? It’s probably fine. Just for a few hours. “I won’t be long. I just need to find something before Seth or Lydia comes back. I will be by your side as soon as you wake back up.”

Etta would likely go back to sleep. What else was there to do in the house? Maybe read some books, draw something on paper, count the lines in between the wooden ceiling…

There was little to nothing for entertainment. No cards, no games, no pieces. No television, no radio, not even music to occupy your ears. This house had nothing. Only books, some that weren’t even readable. The only thing Seth did at home was most of the time painting in the studio, which he allowed no one to do other than himself.

There was just too much… boredom.

“…Mm,” was the only response. It sounded sad. Her expression multiplied that sadness. She then began to walk back to the living room.

Seth wouldn’t help either of them to find a new place, find the city, and neither would Lydia. They were on their own. And once Nathanael found the way out, he would give Etta everything she wanted.

But what would he do? He thought of trying to find his past, to hopefully find people that would know him. To find his real home. But if he didn’t find it once he left the house, what then? What if his mind wouldn’t uncover the fog? Would he roam the lands until something comes up? Stay with Etta?

Should he even leave in the first place?

He knew little to nothing of the outside. How dangerous was it, really? Was that city safe? Didn’t Lydia go there often? Are these lands more dangerous than he really thought? There was only one way to find out.

Nathanael left the house as soon as he was ready. The cold hit him hard as always, but soon the warmth from his clothes would keep him safe from this frigid land.

“East. East, East, East. Right, okay, this way. Just keep the arrow in this direction. If the map is right, then it should be straight, no going right or left. Easy… Easy… Easty, heh…” he laughed from his own joke.

He needed to keep constant checks on his compass and try not to have his thoughts on something else. It would be an awful end if he got lost on his first trip alone. Nathanael wasn’t going to let that happen, for Etta’s sake.

The first few minutes were tense. Nathanael quickly began to think he was going the wrong way. But his compass arrow never strayed away from his desired destination. He knew he was going the right way, he knew it was in this direction. But he couldn’t stop thinking if he would somehow pass whatever he is supposed to find. And if he could track his way back. It was snowing lightly, so his footprints would fade away in no time.

It was quieter than usual. Only a single pair of shoes crunching the snow. Only his audible breathing mixed in with the silence. Then that slight ringing tone began to cover most of the quietness. This white noise wasn’t the best thing to hear. It was obnoxious, distracting, endless. It scratched the back of his head, disturbing him.

Nathanael never knew that the plains of snow could be so much eerier when alone. This isn’t exactly the same as when he wandered through the forest. Perhaps there are more dangers lurking in the trees, but here the emptiness could make you go easily insane, even without the use of toxic gasses. Perhaps to counter these effects would be to not be alone.

“Then how does Seth do it? How hasn’t he had enough with this… nothingness? White space? Always alone, somehow managing to go through it all alone.”

He brought little to no baggage, only small rations. But just in case he found something of value, he brought an empty backpack. If he was still out when night came, there was nothing he could do to overcome it. Nathanael wanted to act quick, he wasn’t going to spend the whole day or even the next day. Just these few hours should be enough if the end of the map isn’t that far. There was no estimate of when he would find it, there was only hope to find it sooner rather than later.

The skies were ever the same. Grey, no other tones. Full, never a blue to be seen. Not once has he seen the sky above the clouds. The only hint of the oncoming night was the change in brightness, he could never be sure where the sun would be. He didn’t have a watch on him to tell the time, it was all a guessing game.

No shadows, nothing to darken the lands with during the day, not even the hidden sun.

The mountains were far behind him. Nothing was in front. Even when he peered his eyes, he could see nothing afar.

He has done this many times now. Trying to see beyond the plains of snow, but he only has gotten a static void. It feels as if something is there, but there is nothing. It might truly be endless. Trying to see the forest was pointless, it was beneath the cliff, you would only see above it. Apart from the mountains, this was just white space. Bellow him the white board, above him the grey ceiling, and in between these two… empty space. A mix of land and clouds. Though it felt endless, it still wavered as if something was there at the end of it all.

It was beginning to take a toll. This silence, this lonesome. He shouldn’t have gone off alone.

His breathing became ragged, sucking up the freezing wind, letting out hot steam. Don’t tumble, keep going. Don’t get dizzy, don’t get confused in your surroundings. You need to keep going, even if your legs, lungs, sanity begins to break. This is your only chance.

No thoughts of how long it has been, no thoughts of how far. Only thoughts of no arrival, he still hasn’t found whatever he was looking for.

“Did… I miss it?” he asked himself. “No, there’s still some more left. It’s still somewhere there. I need to keep going.”

Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Don’t let that ringing in your ears disturb you. Keep going. Don’t think of your aching legs. Keep going. Don’t lose your only miracle, don’t lose your way. Keep going. Keep going. Just keep going.

Nathanael wasn’t thinking straight. There were too many distractions, too much of nothingness. He didn’t know what to keep his thoughts about. Somewhere of going back, others of Seth’s true intentions, others of Etta, most of the compass. It was circling around him, but he couldn’t let the thoughts of his tool go to the back. He needs all his attention on the one thing that would keep him alive, his miracle.

The view beyond became more and more vivid, yet still indescribable. Only static, an abyss going horizontal, going deeper and deeper in the wrong direction.

He shouldn’t have gone alone. He should have brought Etta. But he would be slower, he needed to do this alone. Yet his sanity couldn’t handle this, and he knew it. It was too familiar, too similar to the air he inhaled back in the forest of hell. Yet there was nothing here that has that similar air, he has breathed in the same, good, healthy air. But he still felt the need to fall and cower, hugging himself tightly, and sleep.

That wasn’t going to happen. He was going to keep going. Falling down now would only say that he lost. And he was glad he didn’t fall.

The view changed. Miraculously, the landscape… was different. There was a bump in the road, literally. A pile of snow made a small hill, just tall as Nathanael. It was all still covered in snow, nothing of the structural kind. But it was clearly different.

Nathanael immediately began to search through it, dumping away tons of snow. He didn’t need to go deep in to touch the ceramic wall of a bunker.

I… did it?

It was unbelievable. He later found the hatch on top, opening it after getting rid of most of the snow. It was truly one of the bunkers.

How? How in the world did he find it? How does Seth ever find anything like this? Did Nathanael really manage to keep the arrow to the east? Just a slight change of the arrow for some time would have made him miss it easily, and he would keep going past it. This was truly a miracle.

A disappointing… miracle…

He knew it was the place as the map pointed out. But the contents inside were nothing but… anxiety-inducing…

There was nothing of value. No tools, no rations, nothing. The shelves, cabinet, table… all empty. Except for a single piece of paper, folded and taped along the wall. Nathanael unraveled it, only to see an eerie, creepy smiley face. Two dots for eyes, a curved line for a mouth, colored in red paint.

A dried pencil lay on the ground. The tip faded with red.

Nathanael’s hope and miracle, died as his eyes stared at the piece of despair.