Episode 5 - The human boy I met by the fence

"I finally made it, but what do I do now?"

Sneaking around the outskirts of the small, bright village, I tried to find an opening in the tall wooden fence surrounding the premises. Running through the dark dessert half-blind had made my spirit overjoyed to find that the flickering lights I had seen belonged to this rural village. I was just wondering how anyone could live here in the middle of nowhere. Come to think of it, what was my 'host body' doing out here too? I hadn't really taken a close look at the appearance of my host body either so I decided it would be best to examine my condition before I did anything reckless.

Looking down at myself, I took note of the fact that my body was indeed, that of a child's. I was wearing a dirty, ragged cloth that was tattered and almost reduced to a rag. My fingers were small and thin, my nails long, dirty, and cracked. For the first time, I realized I wasn't wearing any shoes and that my feet were cut up and bruised. I wonder if all the excitement of a new situation had caused me to lose focus on my surroundings.

"Would anyone even let me in anyway? Well I guess sleeping out here next to the bright lights of the village would be better than being left in complete darkness."

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see a black shadow. I turn my head to see who the shadow belonged to and was faced with a young boy who looked just as I did.

"Follow me." He said, in a voice that didn't suit his small stature. Without another word, he began crawling back through a hole under the gate, scraping his back along the splintering wooden planks.

I followed him carefully, mostly because if I didn't, I would be sleeping out in the cold sand. As I walked behind him, treading lightly on the stone pathway, I reached my hand forward to grasp the sleeve of his tattered clothing.

"Um, where are you taking me?" My question was only met with silence. "Then... what's your name?" Again, silence. The boy in front of me never looked back, he simply kept walking straight ahead.

My hand was still holding on to his sleeve. It made me feel safer for some reason. This boy was the first human contact I had since I regained consciousness in the dessert, so instead of asking questions, I followed him without a word, simply treading quietly with my eyes set on his back. He never tried to shake me off or lose me in the dim lights of town. I smiled to myself. Even though he probably has his own problems to deal with, he still took the time to take me with him. Even though he must have been hurt by the splintering wood after crawling under the fence there was not a trace of pain lingering on his face. I was even smaller and more malnourished than he was so it hadn't been a problem for me to fit under the gate.

Finally, the boy stopped. I found myself in a deserted alley. Trash littered the area and steam from warm water pipes clouded the air. Then the boy spoke.

"Are you from the capital?" He asked, never turning around to face me. Talking to his back, I tried to answer him.

"I don't know," I replied with the truth.

"... What's your name?" he asked.

"I... don't know." Silence, then he turned around to face me.

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