Maria's face was still unreadable as they walked towards the house. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her hair blew into her face on occasion as they walked. Pulling her back off her shoulder, Maria reached into it and pulled out the wrapped box he had given her. Sitting herself on top the porch railing, Maria remained quiet as Sojo continued talking. She was finding it hard to listen. She didn't want to think about why he wasn't around; when he'd left the world had become hell. She wasn't willing to tell him that, or even admit to herself.<br/><br/>Opening the present, Maria's eyes went wide as the fine jewelry that lay inside. "It's beautiful." she murmured quietly, speaking for the first time in a few minutes. She rubbed a finger over the jewels, amazed at how well crafted they were. It would have been nearly impossible to find this kind of jewelry even before the world was hell.<br/>Looking up at him, Maria gave a small smile. "Thank you. I love it." she said as she brought herself down from the railing, her boots clicking softly against the wooden floor. She sighed roughly as Sojo apologized again and again before hugging her tightly. Maria sighed roughly, enjoying the feeling before pulling herself away gently.<br/><br/>"Yea. Everyone's sorry for something. You don't have to apologize." Maria said, fishing another key out from her back pocket this time, Maria unlocked the front door with a soft knock.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">Mama? It's just me...</span>Maria called out softly as she opened the door and walked inside. There was a soft answer from the kitchen and Maria smiled. "I'll be downstairs." Maria called, waving for Sojo to follow her quietly.<br/><br/>She lend him down the hallway to a small door that was almost hidden. It opened to reveal stairs that lead to the basement of the house. Pulling her gun off her shoulder, Maria clicked on the light before putting the weapon in its casket along side a few others. The basement was practically a small armory for the house. Maria blew a strand of hair from her face as she walked around to inspect everything.<br/><br/>"My birthday was just a week after you disappeared." she said, her voice quiet. She didn't sound sad or upset. She was just quiet, speaking in an almost matter-of-fact kind of way. "My father was killed nearly three months after...." she said as she pulled down a hand gun and began dismantling it to clean it off. "When he died, everything went down hill from there." Maria explained with a small sigh. She was quiet then, only making a sound with her brushing the metal parts of the gun. Putting it all back together with practiced ease, Maria placed the gun back where she had found it.<br/><br/>"When you didn't come back..." Maria said, turning around to look at Sojo now, resting her hands against the back counter. Her eyes darkened, and her jaw clenched. "The Demons took over." Maria said with a small sigh. "I don't think it was your fault." Maria said. "It's just the way things happened." she added with a small shrug. She was stronger now then Sojo might remember her being. Of course she was older, and she had definitely grown up much more in the past three years than any other time in her life. Although she looked to be no older than 18, mentally, Maria was probably close to 20 years old.<br/>"What can you remember?" Maria asked quietly. "That day you left?" she wondered. She didn't want to hope too much...but if Sojo was back...maybe he could help fix everything that had happened...maybe he knew a way to send all the demons back to hell...