Keith spoke. "Those mountains are vertiginous, the donkey won't be able to go there"
"Indeed. The temperature in high altitude can only drop. It won't bother me, but cold can kill the strongest man." Show said.
"That's why my toes feel numb! I can't stand shivering for too long. Please, let's change our route. We'll soon have no more water and the donkey as well." Said Keith, rubbing his hands together.
"If we change our path, we'll have to go back on our steps and follow the shore. As said, if we're not going up there, we'll probably travel for more time. I can check what's behind this mountain, but I need to wait for nighttime, I'll go alone see what's around us as well. Let's camp here.
Between two young trees, Keith spread his leather cloak to make himself a bed. Ants and mosquitoes would still pay him a visit, but it was more comfortable. Sleeping under the sunlight wasn't easy, but with coffin-like eyelids, only the warmth of the sun could bother him.
With the moon's light. Keith looked at the great black mass rolling down the steep. Each of its arms vanished under its body to reappear sprouting above it. It gave off a wheel-like behavior even though the two dim lights kept a steady height all along.
The monster arrived next to Keith with less noise than the wind, not waking up the animal and he announced the bad news.
"There's... An endless amount of white behind the top. The horizon is filled with ups and downs. The vast ridge we're on is barely a step in hell, forget going up, this way is insane. We have to go back. I want you to push your animal's limit at walking during the night. That way we'll avoid people like merchants and the army."
Daytime people would worry about Keith, travelling all by himself. Bandits instead wouldn't. But Show would be able to act if anything happened.
"Meeting dead ends is normal, kid. A delay is nothing when you're on an adventure." Said Show.
The kid was mostly frustrated because of the reason of the journey. He rebuked.
"Yes, but we are going here for you. Technically it is more your journey than mine."
The shadow's gapping mouth appeared, letting out a cubic meter of white powder, as the monster replied.
"Adventure is for people that are alive. Here, that's the white sand at the top. It felt weird moving on it, which is why I brought back some. First when you step on it, the layer shatters and your limb sink into the ground, it is no dirt."
Mister show was intrigued by it, it was his first time taking a closer look to it. As for the kid, it was the same. He touched the thing only to be tickled by its extreme coldness.
He picked up some and the thing melted in his hand, it left a drop of water in his palm that dripped on the ground.
"This thing makes no sense." Said Keith.
"Agreed." Answered Show, if he had eyes, they'd be wide open.
"How come you don't know this thing? Have you not crossed this place to find me? Your place takes so much time to reach it seems impossible to not remember such place."
They departed too soon to see the pile of snow fully melting. The donkey was a little too reluctant to walk, so Keith whispered in its ear.
"I'll eat you if you stop again."
Hearing the boy's low frequency voice, the animal rapidly changed its mind. It resembled a growl, one only a predator could snarl. The few more kilometers were much welcomed. They managed to reach a plain where the donkey could fill its belly.
As a new directive, they moved only during the night. Dusk and dawn were Keith's favorite moments as their colors were never the same. The same could be said for the landscape unlike the almost deserted areas which had nothing as mind blowing.
Mister Show noticed Keith's thin skin. During the past few days, the kid had lost both fat and muscle mass. The monster wondered how the kid's stomach functioned. He wouldn't look any heavier after eating a ton of meat, yet if he stopped the natural diet, he would look weaker by the day.
The monster asked the kid to feed himself regularly, without a mirror, only Keith's vigor would betray his state.
Show thought. 'If his body was nurtured by common food, then what was the purpose of the second diet?' And he remembered the kid's words. 'Can another side of the coin exist? This kid has serious mental issues... To think he already has his own demons. Education isn't my thing after all.'
It took them nearly a moon in total to reach the shore. Behind one last hill, they reached the sea.
The morning activity was chaotic. It contrasted well with the silence of the harbour. From afar, thousand of canoes crowded the sea. That infinite expanse of water, with a darkening blue, it was stunning. Altogether, the fisherman's ballet kept them both dazing for a minute before the donkey got bored and advanced without needing the order.
The foam formed and vanished as fast as bird flapped their wings. The early noises mixed with the sea bird's chirps and the heavy salty air gave of a totally new atmosphere.
They still had money and they needed food, or rations at least. They arrived in a city with a flourishing fish market. The many travellers and merchant merged in a place where seeing the ground was hard.
Keith gave his coat to mister Show, who moved it to mimic a second person hidden beneath a hood.
The earliness of the day allowed the shadow to manifest for a short amount of time during which the kid bought skewers and dried meat. In the corner of a street, the shadow first synchronized its pace with the kid and he then fused with his back. A beggar, few meters away rubbed his eyes before minding his own business.
As there was no ramparts nor city gates, they cut short their stay and kept travelling to the east, keeping the sea on their right. On their way, Keith saw a bird nest, fallen from its cliff. His hunger wouldn't trigger anytime, still he chose to try it out.
He remembered the partridges. How he used to plan his meal meticulously to avoid feeling overwhelmingly hungry. Compared to now he wasn't even sure if he needed any more of the 'wrong meat'. He ate the two black-doted eggs, and finished his meal with the nest itself. It was composed of twigs and dry grass, and a third ingredient that glued most things together.
Like the eggshells, the plants had much unknown textures. The dry fibers and the droppings made a melting pot of new sensations in his mouth. Without the taste and with a powerful jaw, nothing was inedible.
The sand and the dirt that entered his mouth crumbled under his teeth and with each arid swallowing he did, he noticed the slight pleasure only came from the eggs. He understood his own need of organic food. Years ago he tried wood, cloth, grains. There was no more doubts in his mind and he shared the latest information with Show.
The monster kept his thoughts for himself, his hypothesis could disturb Keith more than he was already. The kid had a calm behavior but his mind was a mess.
In the explanation, mister Show ventured in a patchwork of landscapes. One with few green spots and dead trees scattered. Another with water ponds filled with green algae. One with snow and black vertical slates cutting through the ground like scales on a lizard's back.
The sky had a perpetual comet that moved across the sky map. It left a green trail that wouldn't fade away and seemed to cover their path.
After three moons of travel, Keith had good basics concerning his linguistic apprenticeship. His pronunciation was correct but he still had difficulties to structure sentences. His vocabulary grew each days and with mister Show's perpetual talk, Keith could learn even while sleeping.
On their way to the east stood a cliff with no vegetation whatsoever. It towered above a city that spread from caves to the shore. The narrowing road soon made Keith cross many people's way. It was the morning and the city's main districts were hidden in the escarpment.
They had no choice to pass through the city, from the dozen of villages they came across before, this city had a charm that none offered before. Its boats ashore were bigger, they had many colourful sails with drawings on it. Their hull had horizontal strokes and grey rings the size of a plate alike in-depth carvings on both sides.
Every step he took forward made him anxious. Out of pure instinct, he was reluctant to enter it.
A man with a feather hat and a ruffle neck collar passed next to him. His shiny breastplate was eye-catching, yet Keith got surprised because of the man's ride.
'A cow?' The kid thought. Compared to his donkey, the cow was trice as large.
The man got mesmerized for an instant after making eye contact with Keith. He tried to stop his horned bull with a strong pull of his reins. Few meters farther the ride turned around and went next to Keith's. The man's light pale skin and square face puzzled Keith who had never seen someone with this skin tone. The blond beard that covered his chin up to his nose contrasted well with his hazelnut eyes, he spoke with a strange accent.
"Are you lost, son? Chittagong is no playground."