The moment I opened my eyes, the first thing I felt was the pain. It wasn't unbearable. It wasn't prickling, but coupled with hunger and some itchiness in my throat, I felt like a fish out of water.
Slowly my eyes gained clarity and I found myself bound to a tree. The same naked brat, Daney, had some clothes on - a dark and dusty robe that covered his entire body. He was calmly staring at a spark of fire and blowing his breath at it every few seconds. Soon, the dead leaves started burning and he started warming his hands.
A few seconds later, he flashed a smile at me. I couldn't help but find the whole situation even more irritating than it was supposed to be. More and more time passed and gradually, I began to realize that I would need to break the ice, or without any energy or spirit, I would lose my life. What scared me even more than the idea of dying at the time was the thought that I would lose my last breath being bound to a tree in this godforsaken land. I didn't want to experience that sort of despair and lose my last hope like that and hence,
"..hey.. I'm sorry.." I said
"SHUT"
His cold tone of voice and cynical expression seemed out of sorts on such a young face but I needed to coax him instead of expressing my true feelings. When I tried to flatter or coax him, he didn't respond, though, I can swear I saw him flash a mocking smile at me.
Time eventually passed and I started calming my mind thinking of letting the nature take its course as I could not change the situation anyhow.
My eyelids felt heavy and I unknowingly dozed off again. This time, I didn't open my eyes slowly but they were forcefully opened by another hand.
I was lying on a cold hard stone bed in what appeared to be a small medieval cottage with all the items necessary for survival such as water, knife, blade, a C-shaped rusty flint to light up the fire, and roasted meat in close proximity.
Light was coming in from a single source - an old wooden door that would have fallen off on stormy day. I assumed it was the morning of my 14th day in this godforsaken land.
I had lost a lot but atleast there were people around.
I stared dazedly at the coarsely roasted piece of meat of some unknown animal at a stone table not far away from me.
Never in my wildest dreams had I thought that I would dream of half-cooked food one day like this and this wasn't my fault either.
I slowly regained my bearing and looked towards the hand that forcibly opened my eyes and who other than that naked exhibitionist could it be?
I felt lost at his antics and somehow sympathized with my father at the pain of raising young children. Oh, how incomprehensible are their actions? oh, how strange are their antics? I sighed inside my mind and asked
"What do you want?" I asked in a calm and composed tone though my shivering voice betrayed my distress. I began to appreciate my father's discipline more and more as it was practical and effective.
That brat looked confused at first but some time later understood my intentions and pointed towards the food. I didn't need any other indication. With intense adrenaline coursing through my veins, I, or should I say WE, started wolfing down the burnt piece of meat.
I thought I would figure out the motivations behind his actions after eating. As per my expectations, the meal tasted bland and rough.
After we finished eating, the boy flashed another smile at me though this time it felt more sincere and genuine yet when I thought about smiling back, he came near me as fast as a stray cat and headbutted me.
I felt stars in front of my eyes and I thought I would faint again but as I've had too much fainting recently, my body strangely grew used to it and I didn't faint this time.
I gritted my teeth and inquired him again, this time with even more angst in my voice, "What do you want?"
"-.-"
His weird stare and lack of reply made me want to punch him so hard that his teeth left his mouth but his first punch reminded me to remain calm otherwise, it would be my gums lacking teeth and not his.
As I was thinking of blindly dashing off towards the woods, Daney suddenly shook my hands and spoke one word, "Where?"
"Where what?" I replied in dismay.
"Where you come? Tribe?" Speaking more than one word this more, he grabbed my hair tightly. It hurt a little but I understood that if my reply didn't satisfy him, he would headbutt me again.
"I come from the Leer Kingdom. Father told me it's far east of th—" I was in the middle of explaining myself when I felt the stars blurring my vision again as I faced another headbutt. I seemed to hear a faint immature voice explaining in a self-satisfied tone before nausea hit me.
"LIE, east only trees and cliffs. The city is far west. Only Rohanic tribes are allowed to live here. You're not from my fierce Zaputa tribe, so you must be from the dumb Conta tribe or the weak Harita tribe... eh, why are you crying? Are you weak Harita?" Daney seemed confused as he saw me break down and bawling on the floor.
Nausea, discomfort, hunger, and exhaustion manifested themselves in my tears as I was stuck with the realization that without my family and enough strength, I would have to depend on this lunatic for survival. This made me bawl harder until I was stuck on the back of my head with a strong hand and fainted again.
I woke up soon with a splash of water on my face. This time I didn't bother opening my eyes as I just lacked the energy to do so. Suddenly, intense nausea hit me as I felt my head aching and twirling madly. I puked everything I ate a few hours ago with my eyes closed.
Another splash of cold water met my face but I proceeded to ignore it as I lacked the energy to do anything.
My future seemed bleak to me until a voice, a steady and mature one, different from the creepy little child's, made me alert.
"Open your eyes, child."