The orange hue of the flame obscured his vision.
The entirety of the villagers stared at him, and his little frame shook profusely.
Then, his mother picked him up, and...
*Thump*
Anku frowned as the bronze hoe in his hands stirred the dark soil. He began to feel a sharp pain in his head region, and the rest of his senses blurred away.
He closed his eyes tightly and winced from the pain.
For the past few months, vague memories of that night would haunt him periodically. He never remembered anything past his mother carrying him, and whenever he tried to, he would get hellish headaches.
The only thing he knew, was that his life changed forever ever since.
A perpetual coldness permeated at his heart.
He deeply missed the warmth of his parent's embrace.
Anku shook his head and continued tilling the soil, as the hoe in his hands dug into the dirt.
Then, his hands went into the little pouch on the ground and recovered small, roundish seeds.
In a rhythmic manner, he deposited the seeds into the shallow trenches he had dug up, and with his hands, he moved the mounds of dirt beside the seeds back into the trenches and gently patted the soil.
Anku smiled in satisfaction and wiped his forehead, inadvertently staining it brown from the dirt on his hands.
His head also no longer hurt.
Anku jumped around in circles and stretched his legs.
On the wide, old tree that held up his new home, he carved a line into the bark using the hoe.
Other markings ran parallel to the line, and in total, there were forty-two of them. Every day, Anku would mark a new one.
"One, two, three, four, five, six..."
His fingertips felt the shallow gaps in the bark, and as he practiced his counting ability, he suddenly heard his name from above him.
"Anku!"
In response, he smiled and took a few steps back.
Above him, a woman looked down from a balcony in the tree hut.
"Yes, Auntie?" He enthusiastically replied.
He didn't know why, but whenever he did not smile, she looked at him with a sad expression. Over time, Anku began to smile instinctively in order to avoid seeing her face twist like that.
As expected, seeing him smile and reply so enthusiastically, Enheduanna chuckled, and she shook her head and stated in exasperation, "Were you tilling the ground again? I told you that you don't have to."
'Is he still feeling guilty for destroying the garden?' In truth, she also felt furious at the children that day for ruining the herb garden she had taken years to grow, but as time passed, she was rather indifferent to it.
"Heh..."
"Is a patient coming today?" Anku wondered why she called upon him and presented his guess.
Enheduanna nodded and told him, "Yes, can you-"
"Of course, Auntie, I'll go play somewhere else."
Enheduanna gulped in guilt, seeing that he had gotten used to this. She did not want the child to live like this, hidden from the world and everyone else his age, but right now, she had no choice, at least not until he grew up.
She quietly muttered, "Especially not today."
"Huh? Did you say something, Auntie?" Anku looked at his caretaker cluelessly.
She only stared at him without saying a single word, and then, she left his range of vision and went inside the treehouse.
He did not know why, but whenever a patient came by, he always had to leave the surroundings.
'Why can't I go to the village?' Anku pouted, but he left his thoughts inside his own mind.
He forwent his frustrations and made his way towards the forest. The roots of old trees extended everywhere in this forest, and he walked carefully as not to trip on one of them.
The grassy and moldy smell of the forest was now familiar to his nostrils, and he began appreciating the serenity of this place.
The last time he came to the forest, it was with Ura, Gilje, and Hamm, but now, his only companions were the occasional birds and the small fauna.
'Am I still a member of the group?' Anku's mind drifted off to the past.
However, as he walked senselessly, his ears suddenly perked up.
Anku frowned and turned around, examining all directions.
An unusual rustling sound came from a nearby bush. He cautiously stepped back and kept his entire attention on the bush.
The rustle increased in intensity and volume, and then, from the bush, a fearsome animal came out.
Anku burst out into laughter as he saw a brown rabbit trying to bite down on a twig, though it was futile.
The rabbit caught sight of him, and when he moved towards it, it ran in the opposite direction without any notice and then disappeared entirely into the thick flora.
As the surroundings quieted down, his hearing also picked up on minute sounds.
In the distance, a familiar noise provided him with a sense of direction.
It was the symphony of rushing water.
Anku followed the source of the noise for a short time, and then, he halted his steps and looked in front of him.
There, a small stream of water speedily flowed downstream.
Ever since the heavy rains from a few months ago, there was no more shortage of water in the area, and it was as lush as it could be.
His small feet came down on the surface of the stream.
Because of the speed of the stream, one could not see the bottom of it, though it actually only reached his knees.
The water was extremely cold.
Anku then removed his upper clothing and placed it on a mossy rock beside the stream.
Then, he crouched until the water level reached his lower neck.
He liked to submerge himself into the waters of the stream, as he felt clean afterward. As the cold currents enveloped his entire being, he was unconsciously carried off downstream.
Soon enough, the currents slowed down, and instead of the narrow river he was used to, Anku could stretch his body entirely, though he did not think much of it.
"You know, all our water comes from this place!"
That is, until he heard a familiar voice.
Anku immediately woke up from his trance and looked around him.
He found himself in a small lake, blocked by a clearly man-made, small wooden dam. In the distance, shadows neared this area, and the voice he heard was a high-pitched one he recognized very well.
His auntie always warned him against appearing in front of any of the villagers, and though it pained him, he listened to her very well.
In an instant, he rose from the waters and ran towards a nearby tree to hide.
Then, a group of three children appeared in the distance. Anku placed his hands on his mouth and gripped very hard.
"Gilje...Ura...Hamm..." Only murmurs came out of his mouth.
Anku uncontrollably looked over the rounded edge of the tree bark and snuck a glance at his former friends.
The three were playing beside the water.
At that moment, Anku wanted to come out and scream.
He would ask them if they were still friends, and they would say yes, and they would resume playing together as they always did.
However, he had to listen to his auntie.
He didn't want to lose her, it was his deepest fear.
He didn't want to lose anyone anymore.
That night, he lost his whole world.
Why did his parents have to go away?
Why him?
Anku ran away from the scene and followed his tracks upstream.
One of the three children took notice of the running, and for an instant, his eyes glowed.
Gilje rubbed his eyes and exclaimed, "Anku?!"
Ham and Ura looked at him with shock and a finger over their lips.
"Gilje, you know our parents told us we can't say that name anymore."
Gilje rubbed his head and looked at the mass of trees on the opposite side of the lake.
There was no longer anyone there.
He likely just hallucinated.