A butterfly landed on Revi's shoulder, causing her to return to reality. "Oh, my pleasure." Renata smiled. Eventually the boy's story entered her mind and began to process everything. This time, she felt pity towards him. "What's your name?"
"I'm Lamar . . .  Lamar Menken," he introduced himself.
"And I'm Renata Viglianco. You can call me Revi instead." She offered a handshake.
"I heard your name . . ." Revi wasn’t surprised anymore. She was expecting this because she and her father were one of the topics on the island. ". . . Youʼre the one whoʼs going outside. Arenʼt you afraid? Itʼs dangerous. Look what they did."
Renata just smiled. "If we won't try, then who will?" Lamar just stared at her, he had no reaction. "We can do everything we want. We can try . . . But thereʼs something pulling us not to continue. We are afraid to fail, and if we do not overcome that fear, what will happen to us?" At her words, Lamar fell silent.
Renata sighed. "I will never be one of those people who got a chance to go outside but never came back." She took three potatoes from her box. "Here, take these potatoes. Iʼll give that to you for free. Iʼll ask my dad later if he can do something to help your family. I hope that your mother will be well soon." She handed Lamar the potatoes she had picked.
Lamar was trembling while taking the potatoes from Revi. He beamed. "Thank you . . . Thank you very very much, Revi. I promise . . . Iʼll follow your path."
Revi just smiled as she stood up. "Youʼre always welcome, Lamar, but I need to go. Hoping that weʼll meet again after many years. Goodbye!" Revi waved at him and ran away with the butterfly.
Lamar stood up and then whispered, "I hope you can return . . . Safely." He turned around and started walking to go back home.
There were already quite a few people when Revi came back. Her friends were already there except for Leones. She approached and greeted them but Stellan remained silent.
Vida and Ender said yesterday that they will not be able to come because they have something to take care of. Despite their farewell, Renata still hopes that they will show up.
As time passed by, more and more people were coming to the pier to see the departure of the Vigliancos. Each of them greeted Revi and others even gave a gift, but Leones was still nowhere to be seen.
Felix was already on the ship, looking after their baggage. Their horses had already boarded the ship. They were about to finish the preparation, and then they could depart from the island.
A few more hours passed and Leones had finally arrived. Stellan and Revi had one last conversation and then Revi boarded the ship.
When Renata boarded the ship, it sailed immediately. The Vigliancos bid their goodbyes to their countrymen until they gradually disappeared from their sight.
When they were a little farther away, Renata talked to her father. She told him the story of her new friend, Lamar. She asked him to help her friend's family, especially Lamar’s  mother, if possible. She was beamed when her father agreed and immediately looked after it.
While Felix was doing something, Revi approached one of the ship's crew who was currently idle and just playing dominoes. She silently watched the man as he spoke, "youʼre Renata, right?" Revi didn't utter a word and nodded. "Iʼm Julio," he introduced himself.
Renata just watched Julio build the dominoes. "Going to Madreign means you agreed with the ministersʼ decision. I want to ask you why, or maybe . . . they forced you to agree."
Renata nodded. "When my parents told me the history and the outside world, I started to crave for freedom. Although dangerous, who wouldnʼt want to see how wonderful the world is? The river, trees, forest—who wouldnʼt want to feel free while resting in a peaceful surrounding?" Renata laid her arms down on the table. "I want to know how they live their lives in the outside world while weʼre isolating ourselves on an island, living in fear."
Julio stopped for a moment to build the dominoes. He sighed and gazed at Renata. "Is that the only reason why you want to go there?" He pointed to the ocean. "I doubt it. If youʼre really sane, you wouldnʼt risk your life just to see those."
Renata looked Julio in the eye. "They . . . killed my mom." Its voice was weak but Julio could still hear it. Renata lowered her gaze. "Iʼll make sure that Iʼll return everything they did to me . . . to us. Iʼll be the one to defeat the victors."
Julio sighed again. "Madreese aren't the victors here, Renata," he uttered which made Renata frown at him. Julio resumed building the dominoes. "There are no victors in this world. Our goals are different. We are not fighting for the same thing, we are fighting for something." At what he said, Renata's forehead furrowed even more.
Julio looked at the domino he was holding. He observed it as if it was a diamond. "Madreign is fighting us because theyʼre afraid to be oppressed. Just like us." He placed his hand on the table. "We are each otherʼs oppression, Renata."
Revi averted her gaze and gritted her teeth. "What are you saying? They are selfish. Just that."
Julio continued to erect the dominoes. He sighed and spoke again, "we had a lot of options. We can stay peaceful from the very beginning, but we chose violence . . ." He flipped the dominoes, causing those to keep crashing. ". . . and we will forever choose violence because peace was never an option."
A moment of silence reigned between the two of them as they watched the dominoes in front of them collapse simultaneously. "Fear was the reason why violence existed." The last domino had fallen.
Renata did not give any comment and did not want to comment because until now she still has grief over the death of her mother. When Julio couldn't stand the silence, he spoke, "Renata, what are you fighting for?"
The birds flew through the air. Renata heard them so she gazed above. “Freedom.” As Renata uttered those words, she lost herself. She shook her head when she came back into reality and shifted her stare to look at Julio. "You?"
Julio smiled. "To fulfill my duty." He sighed as he wondered whether to say what was on his mind or not. Eventually, he decided not to say anything and changed the story, "freedom, do you want to achieve that?"
At what Julio said, Revi raised an eyebrow. "Of course! Itʼs my dream. I already told you that!"
Julio just nodded. "I see, but what will you do after you achieve that?" Revi was speechless. "True happiness is not achieving your dreams."
"What?” She frowned at him. Julio just laughed.
Later on, they heard a gong. A signal that lunch was already ready. Renata immediately went to the table and left Julio even though she was still confused by what he said earlier and wanted an answer. Revi was just hungry so she hurried to the dining room.
As they went to Madreign, Renata did nothing but to follow her father or observe the ocean. Within a few hours of sailing, they had finally reached the pier of Madreign.
The Vigliancos were culture shocked after they saw the tall buildings and countless people on the pier. They felt the heat because of the crowd and indistinct chatters.
Before getting off the ship, Renata first gazed at the sky. There she saw a flying eagle. She lost herself again as she uttered these words, “the word shall know pain.”
To be continued. . .