A/N- Hey I'm back, back again. Eh, I don't really have much to say in this chapter, except for a mild warning for swearing and feels. That is all, have a good day, and happy reading! – Diwata
Reviews are highly appreciated! So please leave one if you'd like.
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"Speaking"
"Thoughts"
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece nor its characters, Eichiro Oda does.
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Brielle woke up early, feeling a little bit sluggish from sleep and was rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she slowly got down from her bed, when something caught her eye.
There was another person in her bedroom besides her.
Nervousness surged her entire being the moment she realized that information in a nanosecond.
A mop of the same black hair just like hers, except much straighter was seen on the head of another child, sleeping peacefully on top of a futon laid just a few feet away from her bed.
She had to do a double take before the sudden recollection of everything that had happened yesterday came back like a boomerang.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh I MET ROBIN! AND I BEFRIENDED HER TOO! ASDFGHJJKL!"
She slapped her round cheeks slightly to keep herself together.
"I MET ROBIN OH GOSH! OH MY GOSH! GAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
All of her delayed excitement fell down upon her tiny frame in one fell swoop.
She was pulling off a Bartolomeo type of fangirling with how she was acting, well, internally, that is. Unlike Barto, he was much more open and expressive of his emotions and adorations, Brielle on the other hand, had more control over her feelings.
She had a reputation to uphold, she told herself.
She stared at her sleeping form, observing her features. She could immediately tell that she was pretty, with her straight black hair, long lashes, plump lips, and a high-nose bridge most Filipinos envy.
Slowly, the girl stirred in her sleep which made Brielle jolt in response. She didn't want to get caught staring, that was just weird.
Even if she was a child who could probably get away with it just by pulling a 'mere curiosity' pass granted unto her as a child.
Brielle decided not to go down yet, as she looked at the clock in her room that read 6:15 am. It was pretty late considering if she was in her usual training routine, but since this week had been full of bad stuff, and with the addition of Robin, things had slowed down for a bit.
She took a moment to think about what her next course of action would be.
She hadn't expected to meet Robin so early in the game. She wasn't prepared yet. The thought of even meeting her didn't come across her mind at all.
"I don't know how much I'm affecting the timeline right now, even more so by meeting Robin. Heck, I'm not even supposed to exist! But, still, I'm thankful for the chance to be alive."
The child thought, her face contorted into a look of pure concentration.
"Speaking of Robin, I'm glad that I did meet her, especially after the bombing of Ohara. She must have been severely traumatized. At least somehow I can provide her emotional support."
Brielle concluded, looking back at the said girl with a soft look.
"But how do things go on from now? What would happen next?"
The girl started to worry about the future, which she often does, but she could only do so much to appease her thoughts.
She carefully made her way to her drawer, her most recent hiding place for her journal, and took a pen. She tip-toed back on her bed, careful not to wake the other girl up.
She opened the journal, and on a fresh page, she began to write. Using 'Bulaklak' as a codename for Robin, as she found it appropriate as her devil fruit powers meant 'bloom-bloom' like a flower.
She then jotted down all that she could remember about her life.
It was a tragic one, no surprise there, but like many other characters introduced in the One Piece universe, may it be a good guy or not, everybody had a sad backstory that gets the girl crying every darn time during her previous life.
Following after the events of Ohara, the life that she would be living for the next twenty years wasn't an easy one. It was like a sick game of betrayal and survival.
She had nowhere to go, and all the people she ever went with ended with them wanting to turn her in for her bounty. She always had to watch her back, developing a cold, calculating, and manipulative personality.
But Brielle could understand, with those extreme circumstances, she had no other choice, and she wanted to live, even if the world wanted her dead.
Joining Baroque Works provided her to have some sense of security. Working under Bayawak granted her safety from the World Government and the Navy.
But things started to get better for her once Luffy goes to Alabasta, and eventually saving both the country and herself from the falling debris under King Cobra's underground poneglyph hiding space.
She couldn't deny that her time with them during the Skypeia Arc and Water Seven Arc before the CP9 recruited her, made it possible for her to be able to believe in their friendship to the point that she was willing to sacrifice herself for them.
And at last, the Enies Lobby Arc, where the most heart-wrenching "I WANT TO LIVE!" was heard after countless times of asking her if she wanted to live, and wanting to hear it from her, curtsey of Luffy, and successfully burning the flag of the World Government that shadowed over her, curtsey of Usopp.
She had finally settled into their crew, and their journey through thick and thin continued.
"Ahhhh I wanna cry again." Brielle whispered, reminiscing Robin's story and character development.
Writing the last of her knowledge, she closed her journal, and looked back at Robin, expecting her to be asleep, but to her surprise, and horror, she was staring back at her, with her light blue eyes.
"Good morning, Brielle-san"
Robin said with a slight chuckle, like she was not at all intently staring at her while she was busy writing something on her notebook
"GAH! Don't scare me like that Robin-nee!" Brielle whined, clutching her heart from being scared witless.
"Fufufu I see you're an early bird, what are you writing so early in the morning?" The older girl asked, curious of what she was scribbling down.
"I'm writing on my journal" Brielle replied truthfully, with a straight face, and effectively avoided answering her question.
She couldn't just say:
"Oh yeah, I was just rewriting your whole story, through memory, things are gonna be real tough for the next twenty years, but it's all going to work out in the end."
"Hoooh? That's pretty neat." Robin commented, still curious.
"Mhm, but you can't read it though, it's sort of like my diary"
Brielle said, equally nervous, because she might use her hana-hana powers to spy on her writings, but she had written it in tagalog, so it wasn't a problem, but still she can't help but worry, but at the same time she was hopeful that she would respect her privacy.
"I wasn't planning to"
Robin replied as her curiosity died down, with a small smile on her face, and a hand placed on the side of her face. She was still lying down on the futon on her stomach, swinging her legs back and forth.
Her smile, also made Brielle smile. Seeing her like this, made her happy, that even by her undeserved existence, she was able to make her life a tad bit better than it originally was.
Was she able to smile like this before? To have such a carefree smile even after all the things that had happened just less than a day ago?
This girl was strong, way stronger than her. She could only hope that things would still turn out the way it did for her despite all the hardships, as those molded her into the person she would become.
"Hello? Brielle-san?" Robin asked Brielle, looking spaced out, much like their first encounter.
"Eh?" the girl snapped out from her thoughts and looked at her.
"You're spacing out again, does this happen often?" The older girl asked herself.
"Only when I'm hungry though! Common, Robin-nee, let's go have breakfast, I'm sure mommy's done cooking, I can feel it!"
That earned a laugh from the other girl as she hummed a 'yes' in reply.
After putting her journal away in a safe place, she led Robin downstairs towards their kitchen, and as Brielle expected, breakfast was already set on their dining table.
The two happily sat themselves next to each other, talking about trivial things. Brielle though, was able to sense something off about her mother.
Spending a lot of time together with her during training allowed her to notice the subtle changes in her mood.
And all her Brielle-senses were telling her screamed 'danger'.
Sensing eminent danger, she lowered her speaking voice while talking to Robin, and in return, she subconsciously started speaking quieter to match her voice.
Her father, on the other hand, was clueless to her change, and breakfast progressed as without a hitch, if one could say that.
Alexander was the talkative one of the bunch, asking questions here and there, with the occasional compliments of how delicious the food was, only receiving a shadowed smile from his wife.
After their meal, Melody suggested that the two of them go play somewhere else, and that was the indicator, of what horrors were to unfold.
Her mother wanted Robin and her away from the house, no doubt.
"Ah, I could feel a volcano erupting."
Brielle mused to herself as she lent her bigger clothes to Robin, as both were already showered and ready to retrea—go play outside.
Her clothes fit her well, it was one of her more comfy oversized dresses, and thankfully, it fit her like a glove.
By the time the two were at the doorstep, waving goodbye at her parents, with Alexander looking as bubbly and energetic as ever, Brielle gave one last meaningful look towards her father, and thought,
"Shizz has hit the fan, and she's coming for you. I hope you survive the onslaught, dad, I'll be praying for you."
And with that final thought, the two children left the house.
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"You have exactly three seconds to start explaining before I kick your ass."
An angry Melody exclaimed, with her brows furrowed deep, veins bulging and an immensely deadly aura radiating off of her in waves.
"H-Honey? What do you mean?"
Alexander gulped in response, slowly backing away as his primal instinct.
He did not know what upset her wife this early in the morning. She was perfectly fine during breakfast, so just what flipped her off so much to the point that she was actually cursing?
"Oh no you don't! Don't you dare play dumb with me!"
Melody snarled, holding a now-crumpled paper in hand, inching closer, step by step, cornering her visibly terrified husband.
"Wha? I-I don't- No- I-"
The man stuttered, unable to form coherent words as tongue refused to cooperate with him.
He was unknowingly pushed from the door frame and into the corner of the kitchen, just beside their fridge, meaning:
There was nowhere to run.
"Cat's got your tongue, honey?" Melody asked in a perfectly intimidating tone, effectively scaring Alexander down to his very knees.
It was at this moment, he knew, he fucked up.
A truly ironic sight from a man that stood his ground against a navy vice admiral.
He was sweating bullets, his heart wanted to leap out of his ribcage, and his mind wanted to shut down to avoid this confrontation.
He rarely saw his wife like this, and he wanted to keep it that way, as it was only reserved for him and him alone when he had messed up something so badly, that it would result to something as horrific as this.
When his wife was unhappy, no one was happy.
"Look- Mel- I don't really know what made you upset—I-"
Before the man could finish his sentence, something- the daily newspaper to be exact, was shoved into his face for him to take a good look.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
"SHIT"
"When you came home one week earlier than your supposed leave, I was suspicious, but I didn't ask you because I knew you would tell me the reason sooner or later."
Melody started, turning away from him. She hugged herself, as her shoulders shook along with her voice.
Alexander was speechless.
He had totally forgotten about his whole ordeal, it was foolish of him to think that after challenging a man of his rank and caliber would leave him unscathed.
No way, no way in hell.
Not even a lifetime's amount of luck would save him from his predicament.
His mind went blank.
No, it wasn't because he had forgotten it on purpose, he just didn't want her to worry. He didn't want to involve her in this giant tangled mess that he created.
"I waited. I waited until you could tell me. But I guess being your wife doesn't mean anything to make you trust me enough to tell me what happened."
She looked at him, with hot tears clouding her vision, her earlier anger faded and was replaced with sorrow. She didn't like being left in the dark, especially with matters like these.
She felt like she was being pushed aside and left feeling useless. If she cannot even have her husband confide in her, then what was her purpose?
To just sit tight and look pretty while her husband suffered?
If he had a problem, then it would be her problem as well, and they would figure it out and solve everything together, as a family.
Because that's what families are supposed to do, right?
"Is it too much to ask that you tell me everything?! I would always listen and I would always understand!" Melody screamed at him, her emotions running wild.
It took a few seconds before Alexander finally had the courage to stand up despite his weakened knees, and enveloped his hurting wife in a tight embrace, burrowing his head on top of her golden blond hair.
"I'm…..I'm sorry" He managed to say, in a soft, sincere and apologetic tone.
What he thought to be the best solution: to keep his problems under the bridge, was actually the worst.
How could he blatantly lie and pretend that nothing was wrong? He knew very well how much she cares and worries for her, more so than herself.
The sole reason for him to make such a lack of better judgement?
Fear.
He was scared.
Scared that his actions would harm her in a way that she doesn't deserve.
He witnessed things that he wished he never saw.
Justice, as he once highly believed in, had it its dark side, closed and hidden behind sinister doors.
He had to turn a blind eye and keep his mouth shut towards the mysterious deaths that occurred every now and again during his time there.
He had been ordered to whitewash stories imprinted on newspapers in order to cover their own heinous acts.
All of which were intended to make the tarnishes of the marine ideology disappear and the people who expose it were silenced for good.
How he managed to continue working like that was a mystery.
His previous views of the navy vaporized the moment he was assigned to do such things.
His only motivation left, was his family, and the littlest of hope that something would change the foul stench engulfing the backdoors of justice.
They had a reputation to uphold, and achieving that level of credibility required them to soil their hands whether they liked it or not.
He was not fazed by the usual coverage in his line of work. He had done it many times, and he had gone numb.
The usual stories of families, friends and even mere acquaintances of those people being hunted, kidnapped, and bribed was not an unfamiliar one.
As long as they had ties with other people, they would take advantage of it and use it as a leverage to get them out of hiding.
Even going as far as threatening to kill them in order to attain their objective, and have them surrendering on their knees.
And conveniently, after the goal was achieved, a new 'altered' story would resurface claiming the victims of their dirty work a result of the horrific deeds of pirates who they happened to cross by, further incriminating their reputation.
It was a perfect plan, as expected of them, those dirty bastards.
Gaining the undying support of the public, and hating the pirates even more. They made it seem like everything was in black and white, and that there was no grey area.
Ah, what perfect manipulation.
If those happened to them, then they would not have a reason not to do it to him. There was an extremely high chance it could happen to him and his family.
The last thing he wanted was to put his beloved family in danger.
Not in his lifetime.
That's the reason why he didn't want to tell Melody, but alas, things don't usually go his way.
But maybe, it was for the best.
He couldn't keep it a secret, and the 'truth' would come out sooner or later. He was just helplessly delaying the inevitable.
His warm hug brought Melody into tears even more, she was now sobbing loudly, unable to keep the bottled negative feelings anymore. The floodgates were now wide open.
"I thought we didn't keep each other secrets." Melody asked, in a broken voice.
"I know, I'm sorry….I-I was just scared, Mel. I messed up, and I don't want you to know because I don't want you to worry, but I guess that made you worry even more, I know I'm stupid—I I hope you can forgive me. I-I'll tell you everything."
Alexander said, in a hushed and vulnerable voice, rubbing circles on his wife's back to comfort her.
"Thank you, honey." Melody replied, feeling tired and leaned closer to his touch.
The two went into their bedroom, safe from any curious ears that might hear their conversation. They sat on their bed, and carefully, Alexander explained everything.
From his less than humane part of his work, all the unseen shade of the marines, the incident of Ohara, and the underlying threat—well, more accurately, the blatant threat of the marines that would jump the gun to make another one of their many "unfortunate accidents".
Melody listened to him intently, not commenting anything until he finished his side of the story. He was grateful that she didn't once doubted his words, despite having such a large bounty on his head. She really is one of a kind.
"Oh Alex…it must have been painful for you…I'm sorry"
Melody cried as she hugged him, she rested his head on her breast, rubbing his back like he did to her prior.
He had been trying to stay strong all this time, and having the validation that he wasn't judged and hated despite the stains on his hands, finally gave him the liberty to break down and cry.
He cried, harder than he'd ever done before.
His wife whispered reassuring words, saying that everything would be alright, hugging him close, her warmth felt like a protective barrier that separated him from the cruelty of the world.
It exhausted him, his heavy emotional baggage was lifted from his conscience.
The two stayed like that, and unconsciously fell asleep on the comforting warmth of each other's presence on their mattress.
It had been exactly two hours since they both slept soundly, but their peace was broken by a couple of knocks from the door.
"Mel? Mel are you there? It's me, Lia."
A familiar call came from outside their house. It was Ophelia, who was waiting patiently on their doorstep waiting for a response.
Her call effectively woke the couple from their slumber.
"Ughh…..huh?" Melody blinked her eyes slowly, adjusting to the light that seeped through their window.
"Mel? Anybody there?" Ophelia continued to call out, with the same reserved tone.
"Honey, I think it's Lia…" Alex said in a groggy voice.
"Oh! I forgot she was coming over!" Melody exclaimed, her voice loud and surprised.
Upon the realization, all her sleepiness vanished, and was scrambling to get to the door.
"I'm here, Lia! A moment please!" Melody shouted, effectively gaining the attention of the other woman outside.
"Okay, Mel"
Melody fixed her bed hair and straightened her dress in an attempt to make herself a bit more presentable.
"Wait—honey…what about you? You should hide first, you are technically wanted, and no one knows you've returned yet…"
"I know honey, I'll hide in here for the meantime, you go on ahead downstairs and meet Lia."
"Alright."
She opened the door to welcome Ophelia, but to her surprise, she wasn't alone, she was with her husband, Chiko and on his arms was their son, Byron.
"Oh! I thought it was just you, Lia, I didn't expect you all to be here."
"Excuse us for the intrusion, Mel. It was supposed to be just Ophie and I, but Byron wanted to play with Brie again, saying he hasn't seen her in a while." Chiko explained, scratching his head with his free hand.
"Hi Aunt Mel!" Byron added, accompanied with a smile
"Hi Byron, nice to see you again, and, is that so? Well then, the more the merrier, come inside please."
"Thank you." The three said collectively.
The family entered their home, and sat on one of their couches. Byron was quick to search around the place, looking left and right, searching for his kinda-sister, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Aunt Mel, where's Brie? Is she home?" Byron asked, with a hopeful look in his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry dear, she just went out to play with Ro-"
"Shoot! I forgot about Robin! Isn't the sweet little girl wanted as well? How dare the marines put such a big bounty on her head? What would they think? I'm pretty sure the daily news are already distributed to the entire island! I guess I have to keep her a secret for now…..…"
Melody thought to herself as she cut off what she was about to say, clearing her throat, she explained to the boy again.
"I mean, she went out ahead earlier with a friend, so she's not here at the moment. I'm sorry." Melody explained to Byron.
The boy's face fell from hearing that his friend wasn't there, and what's worse was that she was with another person other than him.
Not that he was jealous or anything.
"Whaaaaaaaaat? But I haven't seen her in ages!" Byron exclaimed, exaggerating his voice and looked like he was about to throw a fit, earning a bit of a stare from his parents.
He had always been a bit reserved like his mother, well, except for when he was playing with Brielle, but this was new, they guessed he just had a stronger attachment to the little girl than they've expected.
"D-Did she…did she forget about me?" The boy said in a sad voice, slowly, tears formed in his eyes and was threatening to fall.
"Oh no! Why would you think that?" Melody asked, surprised at his conclusion.
"Well—sniff—she doesn't come by our house anymore, saying she had been doing stuff! But aren't we friends? Friends are supposed to play with each other and go to their houses! A-And you said she was with another person! I'm her only friend!"
Byron said, showing a bit of childish possessiveness over the said girl, his nose runny from almost crying.
"Oh Byron, she hasn't forgotten about you. She was just having singing lessons with me, and I guess I'm to blame for not getting her to play with you as often, I'm sorry, but, she's allowed to have other friends too you know. It's not nice to keep someone from having friends."
"Byron, son, your Aunt Mel is right, now, I know how you like playing with Brielle very much, but she has to things to do by herself too, but that doesn't mean she's forgotten about you."
Chiko said, facing his son sitting on his lap, with a smile, thinking that he really liked Alex's kid.
"R-Really?" Byron asked, still unsure of their words.
"That's right Byron, don't think of it too much of it, I know Brielle well, and I know she just doesn't go and forget about their friends, and I'm sure you'll be able to play with you all day, soon."
Ophelia added, calming the boy down and reassuring him that his playmate and closest friend would soon be able to play with him again.
"O-Okay then." The boy said, rubbing his eyes using the back of his hand.
"Sorry for the sudden unnoticed visit, Mel, but you see, we're actually here to talk to you about something."
Ophelia stated, her voice turning serious, unlike her usual demeanor. This scared the other woman instantly. Her face blanched and her throat suddenly felt dry.
"O-Oh? Well, what is it then?" Melody asked the two, trying her best to keep her nervousness at check. She had to be careful of their words, as she couldn't afford to get caught in a lie, if push comes to shove.
"But before that, I need to take Byron home first, I've asked my friend to babysit him for a while, excuse me for a moment, Mel."
Chiko stated, ushering Byron to go home in the meantime, and play with his babysitter for the time being.
The two women were left with their own devices, and for the first time ever, there was an unknown awkwardness that loomed over them.
Melody was trying her hardest to keep herself acting as normally as she would on a daily basis, but by trying to do so, only made her act more unnatural.
It was deafly quiet, as the two slowly drank the tea that Melody prepared for them a few minutes earlier, and no one had spoken a word yet, until Ophelia broke the ice.
"I'm sure you've seen the daily newspaper, Mel." She started off, with a calm tone.
Melody froze.
"And…..I don't know what's happening to you and your family….You've stopped visiting for a while now, and every time that I'd try to visit you, you're not home…..and it's not that I'm suspicious of you, it's just that, as a friend…I'm worried about you."
"Lia….I…I'm not trying to avoid you guys, really! I was just teaching Brielle voice lessons, we aren't in the house during that time, because I thought being cooped up in the house was a boring way to teach, so we've been practicing outside."
Melody explained, expertly lying her way out of the truth. It wasn't out of practicality, but of obligation.
No one has to know about their training, and for that reason, she had already rehearsed this generic reply months ago, it was part of her plan.
"Oh, I see, that explains it, I thought you were kidnapped or something like that, I'd even asked the townspeople about your whereabouts, but they haven't seen you leave…well, enough about that…."
Melody could feel the foreboding confrontation, and she wasn't sure if she was ready.
"How would she react? Should I lie to her? But she's Lia! I know I can trust her…but, after hearing Alex's story…I don't think I can…..gosh, I've become paranoid."
"What my husband and I really came here for is, because of Alex…"
"And there goes the bombshell."
Melody anticipated the worst, but it never came.
"I know the newspapers portrayed him as a bad man, but we've known him personally, and I know for a fact that he isn't what the media paints him to be…and, we've never even heard his side of the story, we're just here to let you know that…."
"You can trust us…we don't believe anything that the papers say, there's probably a reason that they're trying to cover up." Chiko said, joining the conversation, Having recently returned from bringing their son back home.
"I-I—Chiko, Lia! You guys!" Melody's voice wavered, hearing them say that they believed in her husband's innocence stated a lot, and she couldn't help but feel touched at their faith in them.
She ran to Ophelia and gave her a tight hug that she returned with the same amount of force, earning a laugh from Melody, and later laughing with her.
Unknown to them, Alexander had been eavesdropping on their conversation, and upon hearing their declaration, and with open trust, he decided to let his presence be known to the two of them as well.
"Thank you for believing in me, Chi, Lia. It means a lot." Alexander spoke, emerging from his hiding spot.
The two were shocked to see him there with them, but was happy and relieved at the same time because he was safe and out of harm's way.
The adults have talked amongst themselves, and after a bit of explaining, the other couple understood the full gist of the story.
Turned out, the two, were actually the representative of the entire town. They themselves were equally worried and flabbergasted about the news, but they knew the man personally to an extent, that they knew he couldn't do such a horrible thing.
They had just been afraid to ask Melody about the matter, fearing that they might rub off the wrong way, and so, they've decided to ask the couple for help, knowing that they were the closest to the Merlin Family, they'll be able to get through them.
Both Alexander and Melody were at awe at the sheer amount of trust that the village had for them, and it truly melted their hearts that they chose to believe him.
But then, there was a serious matter at hand.
As a wanted man, Alexander knew that the marines would, sooner or later surge in numbers and ransack Toroa in search for him.
If marine intel had anything to do with it, he could say it could take a few days, or a week at most before they could start pinning his location.
He knew that they should be ready to flee at the drop of a hat during this week. He did not know how big of a force would come looking for him, but with a bounty as high as his, it could mean a lot of enforcement.
The good thing was, that Chiko told them that, they would help them go undercover for now. The whole village agreed that they do not know a person named Alexander and any of the Merlin Family, in order to protect them from the navy.
There were also people that volunteered to be on the look-out for any marine activity that comes near the island. That way, they could alert the family ahead of time and let them escape at ease, using a boat that one of the townspeople so generously gave.
How this people trusted the man so much, was because of his good nature alone. He had done many good deeds and helped them out during a time of need, especially fending off bloodthirsty pirates that wanted to invade their village.
Alexander was known as a fearsome martial arts fighter that protected the village from harm. Putting the island of Toroa under his protection kept invaders from even going near a two mile radius from them.
Helping him and his family escape from the marines was an act so little to even repay their debt to him.
To say they were more than happy to help was a great understatement.
The whole town began planning for their escape the moment they laid eyes on that dreaded bounty poster.
The couple was moved to tears hearing about what the town was doing for them, all this time they thought they were all alone, thinking that the whole island would turn him in because of a false accusation.
A wave of relief hit them like a tidal wave. They couldn't be more thankful. At least they could be able to sleep knowing that they were safe under the wing of their fellow townspeople.
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Words: 5,381
Date of publication: April 14, 2020