Keith checked his belly.
Unlike what he expected, it wasn't even round. It felt unreal. He stepped inside the kitchen to take a few dried fruits, just in case. And the few hidden coins his mother had.
The second he opened the door, the sun was still hidden from his sight. In front of him stood Yotoh that asked with a serious tone.
"Where is your mother?"
Yotoh stared straight into Keith's empty eyes. But he was interrupted by someone from behind.
"Keith! I was worried, why were you away for so long? I need you to prepare lunch!"
Merald was making sign for him to come. She had been tasked by Picco to retrieve the boy as fast as possible.
They went to Picco's house, but Keith told Merald he wasn't hungry at all, and he wanted to rest. By using a simple excuse, he escaped by the window and ran to see Domi. As per usual he knocked five time on the wall of his room, and Domi lifted his head from his bed and peeked at him.
"What do you want?"
He asked, shyly.
"I want to talk to you, I'll be gone soon, I must find my father, I'll go on a journey without my mother for once."
Domi was astonished by Keith's words, he believed his young age gave him courage and ignorance of danger to be alone.
"Wait, come in, explain in detail."
Once inside, Keith told Domi he'd head toward Varanasi, the ancient city. He couldn't speak about everything and lied on most.
Domi was obviously bothered by something. He touched his nose with his hands a few time, and he looked around quite often while Keith explained.
"Your breath reeks more than next room."
An awkward silence fell in the room until Keith said.
"Merald is the worst cook I've ever met, I'm sorry if it bothers you, I'll just step back a little. Anyway, I came to say goodbye. I can't help you find Ublee but I hope you'll find her soon."
Domi knew why the villagers were agitated unlike Keith. The boy was about to go when Domi grabbed his shirt.
"They found her a few minutes ago. Randi had blood marks on his clothes, so Picco searched his home and my parent told me they found the rest of her body tied up in his living room. Still Randi claims to be innocent, this bastard..."
His eyes were watery but his hate was stronger than his sadness. After a deep breath he burst into tears. His accumulated fatigue due to certain nightmares with a terrifying black monster, it had driven him to a state of advanced tiredness.
"Can I go with you? I don't want to see him ever again. I can follow you and teach you things..."
"No Domi, I am going all by myself. You must support your parents, more particularly your father, he acts weirdly."
With a thoughtful expression, Domi said.
"He still can't believe who did that, he knew Randi for years after all."
The two boys exchanges a few words more before parting ways. Keith's ground his teeth the moment he began walking toward the Seoni.
He knew it was Show's doing, but how could the monster know where Ublee was? He was a puppet dancing in his hand and couldn't even think freely without feeling the constant coldness inhabiting his clothes, or without hearing commentaries along his thoughts.
The first step he took in the forest was the hardest.
"You are doing great, don't look back."
Minutes lasted hours. Keith remembered the road and who he met back there.
He spoke about Ned.
"I want you to protect me from him. You are a monster too, but you act on needs, not your own pleasure. It makes tout different from him."
Show spoke back.
"I lived a lonely life. Not looking for someone to complete me nor to pass time, I was too busy looking for afterdeath. Now here we are, together! You are harvesting the fruits of my labour, so if you wish to follow the same path, I'll gladly help."
"Depends if I can uncurse my father one day."
Show's laugh resounded in the forest.
"You mean lift the curse? Maybe."
"Then deal!"
Keith raised a hand in the air, and Show shook it.
"You are such a sweet boy. No wonder why she loved you. Don't mourn on it too much, she had her time of fun, now is ours."
After more than half a day travelling, climbing sometimes their way in the hill to avoid crossing people, they arrived at Seoni. The kid wasn't much physically tired, just mentally extinguished. Yet he had an idea.
Keith folded his shirt on his head to make it look like a hood.
The first place they visited was the market. There was someone Keith wanted to see.
The same man he talked to the first time inside the village was Reis, the fisherman. He found him easily, the man spoke loudly to sell his goods on the place, but he stopped when he saw Keith.
"Hey! You are back! I'm glad to see you this soon. You want some?"
Reis handed out a fruit skewer with a smile on his face. Keith did not move and asked instead.
"Can you teach me how to fish today?"
Reis wasn't expecting such question out of the blue, of course he remembered his wish to teach, but he also wondered why would a kid from another village would do if he refused.
"Sure but not today, the early bird takes the worm, and most of what is left today isn't good to eat, let's go tomorrow morning, have you got a place to sleep?"
There was no one around the kid so he invited him for dinner. Keith was introduced to Reis' wife and his daughter. They were two well-fed girls.
"Keith, here's Tiya, she's one who gave me... this treasure, Avati. Isn't she the cutest?"
Reis gave his daughter a few tickles while talking. Her communicative laugh gave off a warm feeling of tight family.
The fact he encountered a girl as young as Ublee hit on his nerve. Reis saw Keith's unexplained annoyance but avoided the subject. The woman advanced toward Keith and said.
"It's okay if you don't remember my name, just call me auntie. And so, tell me little one, what do you expect to catch tomorrow? Piranhas? A crocodile?"
"We'll try to have a carps or perches to begin with, my love. Don't scare him away, he is my first apprentice!"
'Boy, don't stay mute, just answer in kindness for now, that's how you do when you want something from someone.'
Keith shook his head after his 'other' thoughts talked by themselves.
"I am certain you are the best fisherman in this village, bonded with the most beautiful woman, sharing the sweetest daughter. I'll be glad if I catch anything tomorrow. Thanks for your hospitality."
He bowed to the couple who was surprised with his manners.
While he was in an arranged bed, Keith was griefing. He had done the worst thing he couldn't even imagine and since then he felt only coldness. He didn't get any keepsake from her, no traces of it. Even if there were traces, he was afraid someone else would find them, he was afraid of consequences.
He thought about the dinner. It was still blank, he compared it with his mother. He loved his mother. Mother was his best meal so far.
'Mother sure was tasty. I want her back, I want her again.' He thought before falling asleep.
---
Early in the morning, Reis and Keith went to the river. It wasn't deeper than the man's knees, the stream wasn't strong enough to make one struggle and the weather was calm.
Reis brought with him the net that ornated a wall outside of his house, it was a yellow one with a few holes in it. Then he shown to the kid how to throw it, how to be patient, see fishes under water and anticipate the direction they'll when they were scared.
Both stood still in the water. They did not move an inch for enough time to be ignored by the fishes. Then with a rapid and agile movement, Reis caught one bare handed by its gills.
"This one is huge!"
Keith exclaimed while Reis fought to keep the fish in hand. It was barely as long as a forearm, but it was very flat, wide, and fierce.
"If you want to try, we'll have to wait for some more time, you should have scared them all because you yelled."
Keith gave it a try, just a minute later, he had a small, long fish in his hands. He caught him middle stream, with the help of a hidden hand near the bottom of the river.
Reis was very happy to see how good Keith was.
"Congratulations! You look like a professional now! We'll need a few more days to talk about varieties of fishes here and the places they prefer to live, do you plan on staying for a little extra time with us? It shouldn't be a problem if you catch fish we can sell."
Just like Merald, Reis saw a little kid all by himself, no one to take care of him so far, why not giving him a hand? After all, he had no information about his journey nor his objective, he'll be glad to hear more about it, maybe some attention would help Keith untie his mouth.