My body reacted instinctively.
I grabbed the boy's wrist just as he reached me and knocked the knife out of his hands. It clattered to the ground, and I kicked it away. The boy screamed and continued attacking me, trying to throw kicks and punches at me, but I evaded him easily.
"Hey, it's okay! I won't hurt you!" I said, jumping away. I held my palms out to show him I didn't want to fight him.
The boy glared at me with frustration, standing protectively in front of the old man. Underneath the anger in his eyes, I detected fear.
How he reacted to my appearance was a little extreme, but it was also understandable. Isolated in that remote settlement, I assumed he didn't have much experience seeing strangers before, if not, none at all.
"I just want to help him," I said clearly, nodding towards the old man. "Is he your grandfather? He's hurt, and I want to help him."
