Thorns is who will change the future

She held back her anxiety and walked slowly, looking around. Not knowing where to go, she walked along the stone wall, following its curve until she came to the entrance to the cemetery. It was old, with overgrown graves and slanted headstones. The wind rustled the yellowed leaves, which seemed to be just another hint of how long ago time had stood still here.

The robotess's footsteps echoed across the empty cemetery. The darkness thickened, and only rare rays of light penetrated the fog, creating an almost mystical atmosphere. In her mechanical consciousness, this atmosphere caused strange sensations, something akin to melancholy, which she could not fully understand.

She walked along a row of tombstones, but soon her attention was drawn to two monumental monuments at the end of the alley. These tombs stood out from all the others. They were majestic, meticulously carved from marble, and each one was decorated with intricate carvings and bas-reliefs depicting scenes symbolic of the lives of the people they held.

Stopping at one of the tombs, Delia Asia Vieira looked around. In the center was a family plaque with names and dates. She felt her sensors pick up on every detail—carved images of people emerging from their homes, surveying the fields and the city they had built. These were the city's founders. Each family name was a piece of the past, leaving its mark on history.

Without moving, Delia Asia Vieira looked at the stone carvings on another monument, where even more complex scenes were carved. This monument belonged to another family, also founders of the city, but with a more tragic history. One of the bas-reliefs depicted a man pointing to distant horizons, and next to him a woman holding a child. Under this image was written:

"The Thorn family - those who will change the future."

The fog seemed to gravitate towards the place, creating a sense of antiquity and loss that was so strong that even Delia Asia Vieira felt something akin to sadness.

Delia Asia Vieira stood still and thought. She tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Who were these people? What were they to this city that now seemed empty and forgotten? And why did she feel that these tombs were somehow important to her own path?

"Whoever they were," she whispered to herself, "they left a mark that is now faintly visible in this world.

At that moment, her sensors picked up movement in the fog. The shadows of people, or perhaps just a trick of the light? But when she looked ahead, a figure suddenly appeared in her field of vision.

"Who's there?" she asked calmly, looking at the figure.

The figure seemed to be standing at some distance, barely visible in the thick fog. But it did not move.

Delia Asia Vieira stepped forward, her steps quiet, almost silent, as if she were moving on the surface of water.

"Is that you?" she said again, a little louder this time. The figure did not answer.

Unnoticed, she came even closer, and when she was already a few meters from the figure, the fog cleared, revealing it. It was a middle-aged woman, with gray hair, wrapped in a dark coat. She stood motionless, like a stone.

"You... aren't afraid of this place?" the woman asked with a hoarse voice, without turning around. "A place where so many souls have lost their way?"

Delia Asia Vieira watched the woman silently, her mechanical mind trying to understand what was happening.

"I'm not afraid," she replied, though she wasn't sure of her words yet. "I'm looking for answers. And this place seems important."

The woman turned around, her gaze calm, but there was something in it that Delia Asia Vieira couldn't understand. It was something more than just human perception.

"Places like this often hold secrets," the woman said. "Secrets that not everyone should reveal."

Delia Asia Vieira stood still, her system analyzing every word. She knew this woman was more than just a lost soul. She was part of something bigger, something that was perhaps connected to the history of this place and its tombs.

"Who are you?" Delia Asia Vieira finally asked, without looking away.

The woman chuckled, her smile grim.

"I was here a long time ago. But time does not lie. It always returns." She paused and looked at the tombs. "And sometimes it takes those who realize too late what they have done. This place must be forgotten, or it will take someone else.

Delia Asia Vieira felt the tension building in her system. Who was this woman? Why did she sound like she knew more than she let on?

"I have to go," she said, starting to walk back. "I can't stay here."

The woman didn't answer. She just stood there like a stone statue, watching Delia Asia Vieira walk away. It was only when Delia Asia Vieira was already far away that she spoke into the fog:

"Sometimes the answers we are looking for are not the ones we need."

Robotess stopped, but didn't turn around. Her sensors recorded every movement, every sound, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this encounter was part of something much more important than just a walk through a cemetery.

Delia Asia Vieira walked out of the cemetery, feeling her sensors adapt to the changing surroundings. The thick fog began to dissipate, and the misty sky gradually became clearer. She walked past the old brick buildings of a city that seemed almost abandoned. The conversation with the woman in the cemetery echoed in her mind, her words still swirling around in her head like vague whispers.

As she approached the corner, her attention was drawn to a figure standing at the entrance to the city police station. It was a boy. He was young, no more than twelve years old, with tousled dark hair and a serious expression. He was standing on the sidewalk, posting flyers. Flyers about missing persons.

Delia Asia Vieira came closer, her mechanical steps firm and sure. The boy did not notice her approach, absorbed in his work. The sheet of paper with the picture of a woman with bright eyes and her name was in the hands of Peter Reynolds, Katherine's son.