In the playroom, the afternoon playtime filled with the chatter and laughter of children, echoing against the wooden walls. The warm light of the sun filtered through the windows, casting playful shadows on the floor. Erten, alone, sat quietly at a small wooden table, his arms crossed while his head resting on his hands. He took a deep breath and sighed, his mind recalled his mother's words from the night before.
* * * * *
Darna sat with her legs crossed on a woven mat inside the nursery's hall, her posture straight yet relaxed. She wore a soft smile as she saw her sleepy son, his hand held by the
"
The little boy's face lit up with joy as he let go of the caregiver's hand and pattered his little feet against the woven mat.
"Hey, buddy!"
The boy sprinted towards his mother. They greeted each other with a familiar and affectionate gesture, touching their temples and the tips of their noses together.
"How was your day?
The little boy grinned, his eyes bright.
"It was good, Oya. How about you?" he responded eagerly.
"I heard something interesting today, do you know what that is?" Darna said with a playful tone.
"What is it? What is it?"
"I heard someone's been causing troubles, he liked to ran everywhere and sneak around unnoticed, do you know who it is?"
The little boy replied, his eyes widened, his ears drawn.
"I'm not causing troubles, I'm just.... I just want to explore. Staying here sucks."
His mother chuckled softly, lifting him up over her head as if he were light as a feather.
"So, you want to go on an adventure?"
The boy chuckled and posed.
"Yes, I want to be a great hunter, like the song!"
"Oh, the Unbroken? That's great."
She then started to playfully shake her son, making him giggles.
"You know you can be a great hunter, I'm sure of it. But..." she paused, bringing him down to rest on her lap.
She explained with a tender smile on her face while poking her son in the stomach, "You have to grow up first and to do that you have to follow the nanai's word. The nanai's words are the nane's words. So you must obey."
"Why do we have to follow what that
"Oh you think that baba is weird?" she said with a chuckle. "Hey, you know, that baba, she's the guide of our tribe, that's why we should respect and follow her."
She lowered her voice to a whisper and chuckled.
"But yeah, she is weird sometimes. Don't tell anyone I told you this, okay."
"Hehehe okay, Oya," the little boy pulled a smile with his plumpy cheek.
"You know, I love that you're adventurous. But remember what I said. You are still a baby, and a baby should stay in the nursery. Look at our hands. Which one is bigger and stronger... "
Darna spread her palms and placed it on the wooden mat, "... mine right? That's because oya have grown, and to live outside you will have to be strong."
"But I am strong too! Grrhh, grrhh," the little boy tried to show how strong he was by squeezing his mom's index finger with the both of his hands. Darna couldn't help but laugh at his funny attempt.
The boy noticed the roughness and callouses on her hand—a testament to her status as a warrior of the tribe. Another thing caught his eye, it was a ring with a with a beautifully polished gemstone embedded in it. The stone was a mesmerizing yellowish-orange, matching his mother's brown hair.
"What is this?"
"Oh it's a keepsake, your
"Oma?"
"Yeah, your oma. Oh, you've never seen him before?"
"I don't think so. What does he look like?"
"Hm, let me see..."
Darna grabbed his face and started examining his features by tilting his head.
"You have his cheekbone, his nose, his ears, the eye color, the hair-"
"He has a black hair too?"
"Yeah, that's why he's so cool! Just like you!"
"Thanks oya, but its not cool staying here? When will I no longer be a baby? I want to live outside too!"
"Hmm, that's for nane' and the caregivers to decide. But usually when you've experienced a full season, you can leave the nursery."
The little boy pondered, a cast of confusion evident through his eyes.
His mother's voice brought him back to the moment.
"How was playing with your friends?"
"Yeah! I have a cool friend and we played catch today."
His mother raised an eyebrow, noticing the singular mention.
"That's great. What about the other kids?"
The little boy frowned slightly, unpleasant memories flashed through his mind.
"One friend is enough for me. It's always fun playing with him."
His mother sighed softly, worried about her son's uniqueness.
"Everyone in the tribe is your friend, the other kids as well. Maybe you should try to get along with them."
The boy pouted, throwing his hands, "But they're too wild!"
With a playful smile, his mother teased, "At least the other kids never tried to escape the caregivers and the nursery, unlike a certain someone. Before you go on an adventure outside, why don't you try to go on an adventure inside the playroom first?"
* * * * *
Erten sat near a window, still contemplating his mother's word. He took a glance around the playroom watching the other children play, "Ugh, should I do it? It's a zoo in here," and took a deep breath.
'I can just talk to them, I've tried it time and time again, it's just... Why does it have to be me?'
He knew he could try to get along with the other kids. But there was something that kept bothering him—the nickname the other children had given him.
* * * * *
Five days ago.
It was a bright morning, and the children were playing cheerfully inside the playroom. Erten and his friend Ball were playing catch as they often did. This time, Onumer and another boy had joined them.
The game was simple: they were tossing a ball to each other, with one person staying in the middle trying to catch it. Ailo was in the middle, running back and forth, trying to intercept the ball. The three of them continued passing the ball while Ailo struggled to catch it.
"Ahahaha, catch this if you can!" said Ball, passing the ball to Onumer.
'Wow, that was so high.' Erten was amazed by his friend's ever-growing ability.
Onumer had the loudest laugh. "Erten, catch it!"
Unready, Erten hurriedly threw the ball, "Ball! Take it, take it, take it!"
"AAHAHAHAH EASY!"
"Urghh, I'll catch it this time!", Ailo growled, furious because of all the teasing.
All of a sudden, Erten could sense something different from Ailo. It's as if something is enshrouding Ailo's body. He also noticed the change of gaze in Ailo's eyes.
Frustrated, Ailo's focus sharpened, determined to catch the ball no matter what. When Ball tossed the ball high into the air, Ailo reacted quickly, as if predicting the ball's trajectory. Not only that, he suprised the others with his unbelievable reaction speed. But the ball sailed overhead towards Onumer.
'Another one in the flock, can I move like that too?' Erten thought to himself, interested.
Onumer ran after the ball, Ailo was behind chasing like a mad dog. Onumer stopped her step, while Ailo was still completely focused on the ball. Then...
Thud!
Ailo accidentally bumped into something, no, someone. The ball rolled underneath the feet of a certain kid. The kid who's always wanted to pick a fight with everyone. The chubby boy.
The boy picked up the ball, staring at it for a moment before his eyes travelled to the group of four in front of him. Scanning them one by one until his eyes met Erten's. A tense silence fell between them as they engaged in a silent standoff.
Erten took a step closer, wore up his 'wise' mask, and asked politely, "Hey, can you please give the ball back?"
The chubby boy sneered, "And if I don't?"
"Well, maybe you can join us if you want."
"Why would I play with a weak freak like you..." he switched his gaze to Ailo, "and him."
"What?!" Ailo was clearly provoked.
Erten's black hair had always made him stand out among the other children. Add that with his shorter and slimmer build with bigger teeth, only made him noticeable even more. He felt his face flush with embarrassment. He knew that he was different, but he didn't expect things to turn like this.
"Just give us the ball back," Erten replied, trying to keep his voice steady.
'Huh, what's with his eyes?' Ball thought, seeing the eyes of his friend starting to reflect more light than it usually does, he stood closer to Erten.
The chubby kid said with a loud voice, "Why don't you play something else? Is it because you're weak like a twig that you can't play anything else? Or is it because you're 'not one of us' that you can't think normally like us? Try to think of another game, Bat Gorbat! Wahahaha," as if making sure the other kids around heard him.
"I am Erten!"
The other kids nearby heard this and began laughing, calling Erten, "Stick Freak!"
"No! My name is Erten!"
"Ahahaha what? Stick Freak? Hahahaha."
"What ugly name is that? Bat Gorbat? Hihihi..."
From that day on, the nickname stuck.
* * * * *
Erten sat by the window, occasionally glancing outside whenever the caregiver wasn't looking. He knew he couldn't trick the caregivers like he had before, but he just wanted to escape this children-infested area. He had walked around and tried talking to the other children, but he was always met with the same taunts—Stick Freak.
Feeling defeated, Erten looked around for his best friend but couldn't find him. Instead, he saw Onumer playing by herself prompting Erten to walk over to her.
"Hey, what you doing?"
Onumer looked up, "Oh hi, I'm building the house for when I become the
"Really? You're more like a
Onumer grinned, puffing out her chest, "Then I'll just be both! I'll be the very most strongest in the tribe!" She laughed.
Erten couldn't help but smiled at her determination, especially that simple logic. Just then, his attention shifted to Ball and Ailo, who were playing catch across the room.
Ailo's agility caught his eye. For a moment, he marveled at Ailo's swift movements. Curious, he called out to Ball. Ball turned just as Ailo threw the ball to him. Catching it with ease, Ball grinned and threw the ball across the room.
"Erten, catch!"
Surprised by the ball's perfect trajectory and accuracy, Erten wondered, 'When did he get so good at this? That's so far away.'
Suddenly, an idea pops in his head. Excited about this new idea, he ran over to the two boys.
"Hey, let's play a new game!"
Hearing this, the two boys' eyes lit up. Erten quickly explained the rules for a game he had just made up. They built makeshift fortresses out of tables and chairs, facing each other. As he was about to explain further, he noticed Onumer still playing alone and invited her to join them.
Onumer eagerly moved over. Now, with even number of people in the group he explained the game: a version of capture the flag with an added twist. They could throw balls at the opposing side to "freeze" them. A frozen player couldn't move until a teammate touched them to "unfroze" the frozen player. If all players on a team were frozen, the opposing team would win. If a team's flag was captured and brought back to the opponent's camp, that team would lose.
Erten was sure his explanation was simple and easy to digest. But what happened was anything but.
"No! You're frozen, you shouldn't move!"
"As if! Gehahahaha."
"Ailo, hold him!"
Instead of following the rules, the other three began wrestling in the area between the fortresses.
"Oh great, what am I even expecting."
Days passed, and slowly they began to understand and follow the rules. Erten felt a sense of pride watching them play the game he had invented. He felt something vaguely familiar with this game but he couldn't quite recall what it is, as it was fading like a fog.
As more days went by, more and more children joined in. The playroom transformed from what was once a chaotic and unorganized play into a more orderly place with all the kids became engrossed in the new game. What started as a two by two game, became five by five, then it grew to include nearly every child. Even the chubby kid, who had once mocked Erten, showed interest, volunteering to be the captain of one team.
Erten explained the rules to every new kid who joined. He helped set up their fortresses and formation, then moved to the side to watch as the referee. Why? Mainly because the number of children in his batch was odd, 37 newborns, and he felt like he was too "mature" to play a "kids' game".
Erten hoped the kids would play as he had taught them. With a loud voice he started counting down, "Go, ro, ir... Naroda!"
The game began, the playroom was once again filled with children screaming and shouting their excitement. Balls were flying over. Some children wrestles, some are playing by the rule, frozen in the middle of the playroom.
At first, Erten enjoyed seeing the game unfolded. But soon, a strange sensation washed over him. Everything seemed to slow down, he could hear loud bangs, every time a ball hit the floor, accompanied by flashes of light and bursts of fire. A glimpse of dark stick-like objects held by shadowy figures appeared in his vision, masking over the children throwing balls from the fortresses, regular bursts of fire coming out from the sticks. The children's laughter and screams echoes as he saw bodies of people falling and flying amidst the chaos.
What should've been fun to his eyes was a terrifying sight in his mind, no, his 'soul'.
When everything flowed back normally, he found himself sitting frozen, eyes wide. He blinked rapidly, in front of him was a ball few inches away from his face.
Thwack!
Ding ding ding ding ding!
The other kids were still playing noisily. Always a fun time in the playroom.