JUST TO KEEP YOU ALIVE (en Inglés) - CANDACE BANKS

Eira returned to the spring under the cover of the morning mist, her hands trembling slightly. Her mother's cough had eased, her pulse steadied. But even as relief filled Eira, guilt gnawed at her. The water she drew nourished one life, yet drained another. She cupped the cool water again, feeling the hum of life weaken beneath her touch. Each sip she gave her mother pulled a fraction of vitality from the spring. It was not yet catastrophic, but it was growing.

The forest around her seemed unnaturally silent. A hawk's cry split the morning air, startling her. She wondered, briefly, if someone had followed her, if a villager had seen her. Her heart thudded, though she told herself it was only fear, nothing more. Eira knelt by the pool, whispering the old words again, coaxing the water into her hands. Life for her. Life for her.

Her reflection shimmered in the water. The eyes staring back at her were determined, desperate-but she also saw a shadow of herself she could not yet name. She was the one taking from everyone, yet she was only trying to save one. The first light of dawn filtered through the trees, painting the water gold. The pool rippled faintly. Eira exhaled. Yet she would not stop-not until her mother's life was safe. The forest watched. The spring waited. And Eira, torn between love and consequence, continued.