I groggily opened my eyes as the soft rain pattered against my sore frame.

"I am...alive?"

That shouldn't be possible. When bridge collapsed, I distinctly remember the feeling of flaming derbis on my flesh. I remember the smoke clogging my nostrils and the inexcruciating pain of having every cell of your body.

"Hey! Look he's alive."

"Yeah, I can see that. The question us what do we do now?"

"I say ditch him. It would make things far less troublesome."

Different voices entered my ears. I painfully tilted my head in the direction and found two tall figures standing a foot away my fallen form.

"Don't say that, father! Look how young he is. What if something happens to him when we leave?" One of them said. It was a woman in her late thrities judging by her appearance. She was dressed in a light-blue cheongsam with her brown hair tied back in a small bun behind her fair face.

"So? He's not our kid, Xiao Mei. And hence, not our problem." The cold, gruff voice belonged to a man who looked to be in late fifties judging from gray bangs resting on his shoulders. He was decked out in brown tinic, black pants and boots, giving him a more militaristic vibe.

Sadly, that was all I was able to see before darkness clouded my vision once again.

_________________________________________

I jolted awake, clutching my throat firmly as heavy panting escaped my lips.

"Seems like you finally woke up, brat."

My gaze snapped to the familiar voice as I found the old man from the other night sitting beside me with a book in hand. His gaze was fixed on its contents as he continued without looking up.

"Name. Parents. Place. Spit out whatever you remember."

I distanced myself from the old man until my back hit the wall. I nervously scanned my surroundings.

I was currently sitting on a top of a mattress inside a small room with wooden furnishing. It reminded me of the japanese homes I had seen in animes and mangas.

"W-Who are you? W-What is this place? Why've you brought me here?!" I asked the same string of questions any rational person would have. Of course, I got most rational reply for it too.

"Don't know. My house. I didn't want to." The sharp reply made me flinch. This old man spoke like a blunt hammer. "But let's drop this charade, speak up brat or is that mouth of yours only good for gargling rain water."

"What charade? I don't know what you are talking about. I just want to go back home, please..." I sobbed.

"Well, I can't exactly catapult you back home unless you tell me your address first, brat." The old man glanced at me for a few seconds before going back to his book.

"Okay here, I live in...?" I opened and closed my mouth a few times before inadvertently shutting up. I couldn't speak, or rather I didn't know what to speak.

"Alright, address forgotten. Next, parents." The old man said as he flipped to the next page.

"Right, my parents are...." I started before my tongue halted once more. What the heck was going on?! How could I forget my own parents?!

"Alright, parents gone. At least give me a name, brat."

I opened my mouth before willingly closing it. I took a deep breath as I mustered all my thoughts.

My name...

My name...

My name...

I waited for a few seconds before an image surfaced inside my mind. Black clouds veiled the sky, enshrouding the entire world in the blanket of darkness except for a single opening, allowing the brilliant rays of the sun to fall down on a small patch of grass. In the middle of the grassy patch, stood a lone figure. They slowly turned towards me and...

"Ayaan..."

The old man looked up from his book for the first time, his gaze locked with mine as a single brow arched upwards.

"Pardon?" He said. I smiled despite all that I had lost, I still smiled in joy of the one that hadn't abandoned me.

"That's my name. Ayaan."