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Elif looked at the quivering man before her. Any other person would have looked at his clammy skin and his baggy clothing in pity or even disgust, but to her she was the only family she had. She forcefully hugged him, as if trying to expel the fear from both of their bodies. He wasn't an affectionate person but understood what must have been going through her mind, and awkwardly wrapped his arms around her to reciprocate the action.
“Elif, we have to get to the docks, dear. It's the safest course of action to take.” he said. He spoke with a softer voice than usual. Was he talking to her as if she were a child as a way to comfort her? Was he terrified for the both of them and unable to raise his voice? Even he didn't quite know. The stray boulder had completely flattened out one of the frail little tents that her father conducted business in. She should have kept quiet, but her concern and curiosity took over.
“Was anyone… there?”Her father's face, a diagram of wrinkles and grime, deepened and looked much older in an instant. She immediately bit her tongue at her carelessness. “A patient of mine…” he sighed, “she was an older woman with not much time left… but to die such a humiliating death…”
Elif understood that he was forcing himself to keep speaking and nodded sharply, letting him know that it was enough.
Both of them were roughly aware as to where the docks were and how they'd get there yet looked around in confusion. They were like a pair of barn animals who suddenly didn't have a fence around them and weren't sure what to think about it. Especially her father, who must have spent more than a decade following the same cramped routine in his tents. Elif noted that he was trying to keep a straight face, but it was obvious that he was even more clueless than she was. They filled two small knapsacks with basic medical supplies. None of it was particularly cheap, and showing up empty handed felt vulnerable to Elif and shameless to her father. They inspected the tents from the outside with vague expressions, like animals realizing how comfortable things like fences and restrictions could be.
"Elif, don't walk so fast." said her father. While at work he was able to use his duties as a way to shield himself from anything he didn't like. There was a tinge of frustration in his voice, half of it not directed at his daughter but rather at having been placed in a situation where he had to hint at his aging.
Elif saw him grow more and more annoyed and responded with a smirk of all things.
"Hmm?... What happened to me never fetching the bandages fast enough?"Her humorless father shook his head in comic disbelief, something that made her beam with pride. It felt good to joke around for a bit and ignore the tension at hand. They both jogged to the direction of the docks in a hurry. Many others did the same, so not knowing the exact path wasn't a problem for them.
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