"Ah finally! Humans. I thought I was the only one."
"I'm Ander, that's my name - at least, the name I gave myself on a whim," I chuckled. "I forgot my real name. Actually, I don't seem to remember anything at all. Three days ago, I woke up with no memory or identity, but with some common sense intact. Right now, for example, I feel hungry and thirsty - and I know what those feelings are. I also realize that my appearance isn't good, even without seeing a mirror. I caught a glimpse of myself in a stream earlier, but it looked a little off. The water wasn't transparent like a normal stream ... it was darker. It has been sunset time since I woke up, but it's gloomy and gives me sad vibes."
Since waking up three days ago, Ander had been walking in this forest or dead forest. It was so cloudy that he couldn't tell what time it was. the trees were so huge that three of him couldn't wrap their arms around them, and they were so tall that he couldn't see their crowns. "It seems that not only the atmosphere is gloomily sad but this forest gives me a horrible feeling. I have a strong feeling that I mustn't stop or turn back, so I've been following my intuition, grateful that I haven't encountered any troubles so far." Ander spoke to himself, as he had been doing lately.
As soon as Ander got out of the forest, he saw a little town: gloomy, sad, and gray - as if it had never seen happier days. That was his first impression, but he wasn't surprised. It had walls, but they seemed like they were about to crumble. While walking towards the city, he saw that people were as thin and weak-looking as him. He sighed in relief "at least I wasn't alone". He walked alongside them in silence, cautiously observing many stalls along the way. But no one was shouting or calling out to each other - everyone was quiet, as if they didn't know each other. He observed the stalls carefully; there was no food or water, just papers, gadgets that he didn't recognize, and cold weapons. Most of the owners were old or disabled.
He noticed a stall that seemed as if the others couldn't see it. They bypassed it, but Ander had another strong feeling that he should go to him. "I am pissed off right now, why should I have all these hints as if led by the nose?"
He walked up to the owner of the stall, an old man with unkempt white hair and an eye patch on one of his eyes; the other eye was green and spirited. Unlike the other people Ander had seen, he gave off the feeling of kindness and fierceness. "How much is this knife?" he asked the old man running the stall. He looked at Ander strangely, and Ander realized he must have said something wrong. He glanced at the other stalls and noticed that everyone was bartering instead of buying things. And what was even more disheartening was that many people were trading with worms or mice - trading whatever they could for food that looked (and probably tasted) disgusting.
Ander looked at the old man again apologetically. "I have no food," he said. The old man looked at him sadly and said, "Haven't you hunted anything? You look starving. Take this." He handed Ander a piece of bread that was fat-soaked. Ander ate it hungrily at first, but soon stopped after realizing how horrible it tasted. "I'll pay you back," he promised him.
"I'm Tomy," the old man said.
I sat next to Tomy and tried to get as much information as possible. He told me that this town was called Chirping Town, and that everyone here was a wanderer. Wanderers were people who had lost their memories, identities, or homes. The old ones worked in the stalls or made weapons, while the able ones went hunting. Besides wanderers, he said there were other people called walkers. Walkers were people who had opened their minds to the Shadow. The Shadow was the world - but Tomy explained that it was more than that. If you didn't open your mind, the Shadow would make your life miserable. This world was full of natural disasters, beasts, strange creatures, and myths - many of which he hadn't encountered yet.
What was weird was that Tomy was in his thirties, but he looked like an old man. When I asked him about it, he acted like it was normal. He told me that if they didn't open their minds, they lived for 40-50 years before dying. I asked him how to open my mind, but he looked at me with a complicated expression and said that if I was favored by the Shadow, it would happen. If not, I'd live wandering at the borders of this world until death.
Tomy also told me that every six months, a Walker would come to collect new walkers and take them across the woods to start their true journey as Walkers. Apparently, when you became a Walker, you had a life span of 100 years and the power to overcome many disasters. I longed for that power right now, but I had four months until the Walker came. I needed to learn how to survive first. Tomy noticed my complicated expressions and promised to help me hunt tomorrow.
As I stood up to leave, looking for a place to rest, Tomy said, "Hey Ander, you seem to have no weapon. Take this with you and be careful." He handed me a long dagger about 40cm long with black stripes on its body and handle. It looked cool, so I took it and left. "Thanks, Tomy. I'll pay you back," I promised him.