"Oy! Whaddya doing?! Yer' want to freeze to death in this lousy weather, mate?!" A rough voice woke me out of my trance.
I immediately turned my head to the old man's voice.
I didn't realize that a small carriage had stopped right next to me. Judging by the tone of his voice, the old man had already spoken to me before. I hadn't noticed it at all.
The battered horse pulling the wagon stamped once against the cold and whinnied, while the old man driving the carriage eyed me skeptically from the side. When he saw my facial expression, the man flinched a little.
"Geez, ya don't have to scare me like that. How come such a young and healthy looking boy already has that kinda look on his face? Whaddya up to anyway?" He almost complained.
"I... I think I was about to kill myself..." I only now realized what I was really about to do and was even shocked myself. As if on cue, my hands started shaking. It's like I've been trapped in a dream.
Why... was I about to kill myself?! Didn't I want to flee to escape death?! What was the matter with me? Am I going insane?
"I've heard that many times. People go crazy outside in the cold! My second cousin died like that, I swear to ya. He just sat outside drunk all evening and then just froze to death! He wasn't even four steps from the house!" The man casually told an anecdote.
I didn't answer directly and picked up my clothes from the floor again. It was really freezing cold only in linen pants.
I quickly got dressed again.
"Where ya from, lad?" The old man asked me after a period of silence.
"... from the capital..." I answered curtly, while I put my coat back on. But I still didn't get any warmer. I was still trembling.
Shit, I wouldn't freeze to death here, would I?
"I hadda go in a completely different direction, but if you want I can drop you off at the capital again. Not that ya die on me after all." The man kindly offered.
"No thanks... I... I have to get away from here..." I answered cautiously.
"Are yer a criminal? 'Cause ya don't really look like one, huh?"
"I'm not a criminal.", I assured him with a slight smile, "But I have to... just get away from here..."
"Ah, I get it. Ya probably didn't have a good experience here, I assume? With yer handsome face, I'm assuming you broke a pretty woman's heart or something. Who was it? The city guard's daughter or something? Were ya not good enough for her in her father's eyes?" The man assumed.
"Something like that..." I said and almost had to laugh at my pitiful situation.
"Come on, lad. Get on the ol' carriage. I'll take yer with me for a bit. Ya look like ya could use some help." The old man ordered. I was only too happy to comply with this request.
…
Throughout the carriage ride, the friendly old man told me anecdotes about his life. And I was only too happy to listen. He seemed to really excel at telling stories. Above all, he liked to boast about his little granddaughter, who turned nine this year. He was completely infatuated with her and I thought it was kind of cute that he was so proud of his granddaughter.
The more he talked about her, the more I had the image of a little angel in my head.
It must be nice to have a loving family in this gloomy world, I just thought. I wrapped my coat tighter around me. Somehow everything felt a little warmer again.
I learned that the old man ran an inn near the Ildregan border alone with his granddaughter. The two were apparently the only ones left in the family.
"Ma daughter, may the gods rest her soul, unfortunately died when Mia was born. And The Father, that ol' basterd, just took off, before Mia was even born." The man spat once obnoxiously.
I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so I just offered my condolences.
"Since then, Mia and I have hadda very difficult time. The Inn doesn't run itself and I'm getting ol'er... It would be a fortunate blessing if we could recruit a strong young lad like you..."
Aha, so that's what the man was getting at. I smiled slightly to myself.
"If I can be really useful for you, then of course I'm happy to make myself available." I answered. It was probably exactly what the man wanted to hear. But his offer really suited my situation very well.
"For real?!" The man seemed surprised that his plan actually worked.
I smiled, "Yes, I don't know where to go anyway and I need a roof over my head and some food."
"Exactly! That's what I thought too! It would be a good offer, wouldn't it?" The man said happily and gave me a friendly nudge in the side.
"Definitely." I said with a mild smile.
It would definitely be a start. A beginning for a maybe happier life.