There was still no sight or sound of any human, animal or bird, not even insects. The other building that was burnt looked almost like a lifeless painting on a huge canvas behind the window.

They tried to make little sounds here and there on purpose just to make the atmosphere seem more alive, because whenever they both stopped moving and talking, the silence made it feel like they were deaf. They decided to leave the building as fast as possible but first look around other rooms to find anything edible.

The two teenagers walked closer to the walls, afraid to make easy targets of themselves in case there were soldiers or marauders somewhere in the building, but it was so empty that they weren't sure what to be afraid of more, to run into someone or to never see a living soul again.

The city outside windows looked torn inside out, damaged pieces of things scattered all over the place. Every time they passed by another window, Mitra was afraid the girl would burst into tears again but she walked silently.

Passing by another window, Anna suddenly pointed at something colorful laying on the sill.

"My poster, here?" Anna went and picked it up. The Incredible Rubbergirl was sporting the happiest smile, laying her chest on a round table, leaning on her elbows and keeping her chin up, while having her body bent backwards so much that her legs wrapped around her shoulders and her feet stood on the table right in front of her own chest. Her face radiated childish happiness in a sincere desire to please her viewers and the hope that they would hire her for a live performance.

"Very beautiful and nicely painted!" Mitra took the poster in his hands, unable to hide his growing inspiration. "Can I keep this?"

"Sure! Do you think you could draw me a new one? This poster is quite dated, it was commissioned from a professional artist over 3 years ago... But I can bend much better now!"

"I'm still learning to draw, but I will try. I will definitely do my best! I would start right away if I could… So what pose do you have in mind?"

"Umm, if I had to do my best too… Maybe I could bend my legs all the way down to kneel on the table and force my shoulders to come out through my legs and put my elbows upon my thighs."

"Wow, the way you described it, I can totally picture it in my head!"

"Don't break your brain, let me just show you!" Anna knelt on the floor, took a couple of long breaths to relax her body, and arched gracefully. Her body bent backwards in that amazing way only contortionists can do, her hands passed between her knees. She rested her chest on her own ankles and shook her arms. "Mitra, please pull me out?"

Mitra, who was stunned to see such a feat right before his eyes, came to his senses and quickly knelt before her, taking her hands and trying to pull them.

"No, let me wrap my hands around your neck," Anna said softly.

Mitra's cheeks reddened as his face came close to Anna's as he did what she told him to. Her arms crossed behind his neck and he already knew what to do next, he put his hands on her thighs and pressed against them, as if doing push-ups. Anna held on tight, and her upper body extended remarkably through her own legs. It was almost an otherworldly feeling to help her do it. She let go of his neck and put her arms over her own thighs, which were now right under her armpits.

"Thanks, Mitra," she took a couple more deep breaths to relax and wiggled a little to get comfortable. "Do you think this pose would make a good poster?"

"It's really incredible… But I think if you crossed your ankles, it would be an even more artistic composition! You'd be kind of sitting cross-legged like you're just chilling, but the rest of your body would be bent in such an incredible way that you'd bend through your own legs and hold your head high, but look like it's completely normal and you're just having a great day."

"Oh wow, I didn't even think about that!! Maybe you could come up with more poses for me and I would try if I could do them!"

"Sure! I never thought a contortionist could be short of ideas, but I guess learning to play the guitar is one thing, but knowing what to play is quite another..."

"Oh yes, I think it's something like that! I mostly try to repeat the poses after other contortionists, but it's very hard to come up with new ones that look good..."

"Don't worry, in art school they teach us about composition, and I like to draw people... My teacher says that I tend to make their poses rather exaggerated and surreal."

"Artists have a very good imagination, don't they? You know... I was just thinking... One day I would like to make up a new performance entirely consisting of the poses that you create for me..."

"Let's start working on this as soon as we get to safety!"

"Mitra, you can pull me a little more..." She extended her hands, indicating that she wanted to grab him behind the neck again.

"Sure, you got some idea?" Mitra took her hands and helped to put them behind his neck.

"Yes, I have an idea." She bent her elbows, pressing his face very close to hers, and then whispered very softly. "Kiss me..."

Their lips and tongues met, and they tasted a new flavor neither of them had tasted before in their lives. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his arms hugged her upper body so tightly, for a moment forgetting the extreme stretch her body was bearing.

The two teenagers couldn't stop making out, and soon Anna was in Mitra's lap, her upper half stretching out through her own legs. It was a divine position, their bodies almost physically couldn't become more compact and close to each other. Anna was doing the best backbend in her life without even realizing it, her thoughts were far away...