Alec woke from his slumber still hungry—but not starving— with a bit of pain in his arm. However, his body felt better than it had in a while. His mind was still as broken and restless as ever, though.

  Unlike most people, Alec was always immediately aware of his situation and what happened right before he lost consciousness. He was never in a so-called half-asleep type of state. He was either sleeping/unconscious or fully aware, alert, and awake.

  Alec rubbed his eyes and saw a wooden table right in front of the bed. It was a bit longer than the bed-side table, and the color was a little lighter. To Alec’s eyes it was a slightly lighter shade of gray compared to the bed-side table. On top of the table were bowls of soup, silverware, and napkins, with food on top of the plates. Two chairs sat on either side of the table with Puri sitting at the furthest one. Puri was looking at him.

  Alec wasn’t exactly sure how long he had been out, but, looking out the window, it seemed to be late afternoon compared to it being around midday when he was awake the last time.

  Alec stared down the bowl of soup that was on the table. He really wanted it, but at the same time he was wary of Puri sitting there. The fact that he was able to still think rationally like this goes to show that although Alec was hungry, he wasn’t utterly starved like he had been for the past few months.

  “Come now,” Puri said. Alec made eye contact with her and saw that she was giving him an awkward soft smile. “Let’s eat together. I brought in this table and these two chairs just so we could eat together, so please.” She gestured toward the chair on the opposite side of her.

  How’d someone your age haul a table in here?

  Alec’s eyes drifted back to the food on the plate that was in front of the empty chair. Other than that though, Alec didn’t move a muscle. He just sat there conflicted.

  “I promise, I won’t hurt you.” Alec didn’t even look up at her this time. Puri sighed. “I know it’s probably hard to trust someone else, but please, muster what little faith you still have in other people and sit with me for a bit.” Alec looked back up at her but still didn’t move… “We might as well get to know each other if we’re living together.” Alec still didn’t move… “I know you’re hungry.”

  At this, Alec slowly got up and sat down at the table. Of all the things that Puri could do to make Alec crack, of course it was food that finally did the job.

  Puri let out a little chuckle and whispered, “I think I’ve figured out how to crack your shell, even if the cracks are small.” She probably didn’t intend for Alec to hear, but Alec’s exceptional hearing was able to pick up her words really well.

  Alec looked down at the bowl of soup in front of him. Though it was soup, it definitely wasn’t the plain cheap soup that peasants eat. Alec could see the delicious looking noodles and slabs of meat submerged within the broth. It was also clear that it was seasoned with something. Seasoning was a luxury good that was definitely not something a poor person could afford.

  Something dropped from Alec’s mouth, and he looked down to see that it was saliva. He realized he was drooling. He went to reach into the bowl with his hands when something smacked him in the hand.

  “Now, now, this isn’t the slums,” Puri said. “Please. Use the silverware.” Alec realized that the thing that had slapped him in the hand was Puri’s hand from the other side of the table. Alec was surprised at how fast her hand moved.

  She has definitely had some sort of training.

  “Oh, and by the way. You should eat slowly. I get you’re starving, but it’s better for you to eat slowly. If you don’t, I’m taking that bowl away from you.”

  Alec picked up the spoon that was to the right of the plate and began eating the soup slowly. Alec recalled having forks and spoons when he still lived with his parents, Neil and Sessa. However, those were made out of wood while these were actually made out of silver. Strangely enough the wooden silverware was still called silverware.

  “Eat slower,” Puri said, interrupting Alec’s recollection.

  I thought I was already eating pretty slow.

  Alec slowed his eating even more, which took a bit of effort on his part. In doing so, he was actually able to taste and enjoy the meal. Before, he had always horsed the food down, barely being able to taste it, which actually worked to his advantage most of the time. But this time, he was able to savor the delicious flavor of his food.

  Right when Alec thought that Puri wouldn’t speak to him anymore, and they could both just eat in silence, she said “So, where are you originally from? Were you born in this city, or somewhere else?” Puri’s voice still had that awkward softness to it. The same type of voice you’d use when speaking to a child.

  Alec spared her a small glance before returning his gaze to the soup in front of him.

  Why does she care so much? It’s not just her questions, but also her feeding me like this and healing my wounds. What are her motives?

  “Why do you care? Why are ya putting so much effort into taking care o’ me?” Alec asked the questions out loud before he could process what he was doing. It was easy to tell that listening to only slum-bums talk all the time affected his manner of speaking; his words were a lot more crass now.

  Puri had a troubled look on her face and she hesitated for a bit. “It’s because… I can’t just sit and watch a child, who should be happy and should be chasing butterflies with a smile on their face, have a life knowing only the evils of reality.” Alec wasn’t sure if she was being entirely truthful.

  Alec finished a bite of soup and said “So ya sayin’ that yer just doing this out of kindness, and there ain’t nothin’ in it for you? I don’t believe you.” Alec genuinely couldn’t fathom that this was her reasoning.

  “...Well, you don’t have to believe me, but I wish you would. Either way, we should get to know each other better, shouldn’t we? I don’t even know your name.”

  Alec again stayed silent and went back to eating his food. He had no intention of answering her. He deemed it unnecessary. That was what he thought until a realization came to his head.

  Isn’t talking about this sort of stuff how people get closer to one another…? I’m not sure, but if this is the case then answering her questions and asking my own questions about her should be playing her game.

  Alec decided that perhaps the best course of action was to have a conversation with her. However, Alec wasn’t exactly an expert communicator, so this wasn’t going to be smooth sailing for him. When Alec thought of conversation, what he had in mind was simply answering her questions, which wouldn’t exactly be considered an actual conversation to most people.

  “Name’s Alec,” Alec answered simply, his voice as hollow as ever. “I’m from a small town called Fraej”

  Puri’s eyes widened. “Wasn’t that town one of the places where everyone living there supposedly mysteriously disappeared?”

  Her wording spiked something within Alec and before he knew what he was doing, he bombarded her with questions. “What doya mean by one of? Was there more’an two? Why do you say mysteriously disappeared instead o’ slaughtered? Did these attacks all happen at the same time or at different times? What do ya mean supposedly?”

  Puri seemed taken aback by Alec’s questioning. “There have been reports over the last few months of several towns, and at least one city, in the South where all the residents have mysteriously disappeared. About every month a new town or city seems to be added to the list. It’s clear that they’ve been trying to stop this information from spreading, but it’s tough for them to stop the spread of information nowadays with the printing press, so most of the middle class is aware of this situation. Most are playing it off as a rumor, and I myself am not even sure how much of it is true, and which reports are true and which ones are false. Based on your reaction though it must be at least partially true.” Puri seemed to have abandoned her awkward soft tone, at least for the moment, and adopted a more civil and serious one.

  “How many other towns have been slaughtered? Which towns have been slaughtered? What is being done about this? What do you mean ‘at least one city’?”

  Why am I asking these questions?

  Puri still appeared surprised by Alec’s rapid fire of questions. She didn’t answer any of the questions for a moment. She soon chuckled, though, and said “...You’re quite the tough nut to crack, but it seems you have an innate curiosity that is overwhelming for you, so much so that it wins out against your suspicion, distrust, and any other negative feelings you have for me.”

  Do I?

  As expected, Alec’s “conversation” with Puri was more of a questionnaire than anything. What was unexpected, though, was that it seemed that Puri was the one being given the questionnaire.

  “To answer your question…s,” Puri continued, “I’m not really sure. It’s tough to put a clear number, as different reports say different things, but it sounds like at least five. For what they’re doing about this, I’m not sure. My information network is vast, but I don’t know the specific details of what goes on between the nobles in charge of this land. I’d hope that they’re working to solve the mystery, but I wouldn’t put it past corrupt nobles to instead focus on their own reputation and try to make sure this scandal is hidden, though.”

  She doesn’t seem to like nobles very much.

  They had both finished their soup at this point and were simply having a discussion.

  “One thing that you’re saying bothers me, though,” Puri continued. “You keep saying slaughtered, and while that is one theory, the reports say that the residents of each of these towns simply disappeared without a trace. There seem to have been no bodies found anywhere.”

  “I cleary remember wakin’ up after being stabbed and practically swimmin’ in my parents’ blood. I looked ‘round the town an’ everyone was dead, and all things that were useful, like food, were taken.” Alec spoke plainly, as he always does. There wasn’t a tinge of emotion in his voice.

  Puri looked at him with pure empathy in her face. “How horrible. That must’ve been really hard for you.” She went back to her awkward soft tone again. She also reached out to grab his hand, but Alec pulled away almost immediately.

  I genuinely don’t feel anything.

  “However,” Alec continued, “when I walked through da nearby city, which is called Schlezel, the city was empty with no corpses or any sign of bloodshed. Schlezel seems ta match your description.”

  “That’s…concerning, to say the least,” Puri said, her tone turning serious again, this time with a hint of worry. “They must be putting extra effort into keeping that part of the story under wraps…” Her voice then turned into a whisper. “I could spread rumors about this, but many people would probably not believe them, and even if they did, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for them to know this.”

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Puri then went back to her soft voice and sympathetic look. “Tell me. What were your parents like? How was your life before your family was killed?”

  Alec thought for a minute.

  “I have no feelings toward my former parents,” Alec finally responded. He answered a question that she didn’t really ask. “They saw me as a disappointment, and though my father was a bit more open about it, they both despised me. As for how my life was like, it was boring.”

  Alec didn’t really look back on his memories of before he became an orphan. He was sheltered arguably to the point of being abuse. He knew it was partly because his parents were embarrassed of him. He didn’t really have any fond memories; his life was pretty boring. He looked at the few blurry images of his past life far more often. He cherished those images far more than anything else over his last 8 years of life. He wished he could remember more, but Alec discarded the hope of getting his memories back a while ago.

  A long pause ensued. Puri’s eyes went downcast. Alec could tell that she seemed to be at a loss for words.

  Is something wrong?

  Eventually, Puri broke the silence. “You really haven’t experienced being loved at all, have you.” Puri’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper. Alec didn’t understand her words for a second because her voice became raspy. Well, being old, her voice was always a bit raspy, but the raspiness was more pronounced when she uttered that sentence.

  “No, I guess I haven’.” Alec’s tone remained hollow this entire time. Not that I really know what love is though.

  He was telling the truth. He didn’t really know what love was. He knew it was an emotion, a particularly positive emotion at that, but he didn’t know what it felt like. Alec was self-aware enough to know that he was very aloof. Though, he didn’t know that it was to the extent where it was quite concerning. He had no emotions attached to his past life, or to any of the images that he had of it.

  Puri all of the sudden seemed hesitant. Alec thought he might’ve seen the glistening of tears at the edge of her eyes but concluded that he was imagining it. After all, what reason would she have to cry?

  Suddenly, Alec felt a sort of warmth wrap around him. One moment, Puri was sitting in her chair, the next Alec blinked, and Puri was embracing him. It wasn’t the sort of warmth that one literally felt on their body; it was different and indescribable. Alec tried to resist, but his body wouldn’t quite listen to him for some reason.

  Why…?

  Alec was genuinely perplexed, but there was also something else that he felt deep down within himself somewhere: numbness. His body went weak and felt numb. That’s why he couldn’t resist. Alec eventually gave up on trying to get out of Puri’s embrace and simply allowed himself to be hugged.

  Alec and Puri remained in that position for some time. It was completely silent except for the faint sound of their breathing. Alec wasn’t sure how much time passed when Puri finally pulled away. When she did, she immediately turned around and wiped her eyes with her arm.

  So she was crying.

  It was pretty clear that she was trying to hide the fact that she was crying.

  “Rest up,” Puri said, her voice weak and scratchy, almost like she had a sore throat. “I’ll be back in the morning.” She then walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

  …

  Alec couldn’t fall asleep. Or rather, he didn’t even try. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to if he tried anyway. He simply laid in the bed with only his own thoughts to keep him company.

  It kind of feels like living with Neil and Sessa again. It’s the same feeling of isolation and boredom.

  There were two reasons why Alec couldn’t sleep. One was that he wasn’t sleepy. He had just woken up that afternoon after all. That dinner he ate with Puri was practically his breakfast. The second reason he couldn’t sleep was because of the stirring he felt deep down when Puri hugged him. The feeling was small, but he couldn’t get that out of his mind. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. He was confused, not just about something random, but something that had to do with his own state of mind, which unsettled him.

  Alec laid there in bed for seemingly hours, a victim of his own thoughts. The only sign of how much time passed was the amount of sunlight that shined through the window. However, the sun eventually disappeared, leaving no sign at all.

  Eventually, light came through the window again. Alec was still wide awake. Not long after the sun came up, Puri entered the room again.

  “Good morning,” she said softly.

  Alec didn’t respond. He didn’t even look at her. He just continued staring at the ceiling, still thinking about that feeling he had.

  “I’ve brought breakfast.”

  Alec looked down at her after she said that. He saw that she was already sitting at the table in the front of the room. Puri never moved it out of the room when she left the previous night.

  Puri chuckled. “I knew you’d answer that. You’re quite the glutton, you know that?” There was no sign of her sadness from last night. She spoke with the same awkward softness (maybe not quite as awkward today), but that was it.

  Alec stared at the food on the table for a few seconds. The food was a couple of steaming bread rolls with a small bowl of sauce off to the side. Alec could tell that the bread was soft. He began to drool.

  Alec finally cracked when his stomach grumbled and that feeling of your guts constricting when you’re hungry. He got up, sat down, and began eating. Because the meal was bread rolls this time, there was no silverware.

  Alec grabbed a roll, dipped part of it in the sauce, and bit into it. It was even softer than he expected and was of course delicious. The sauce complimented the bread roll very well. Alec had the extreme urge to scarf the bread roll down, but remembering Puri’s words from the previous day, he resisted.

  She sure knows how to make a good meal. I wonder where she learned to cook.

  Alec didn’t voice his question. Yesterday he might have, but today he was too distracted. He still couldn’t let go of that small feeling he had had last night. It still clouded most of his thoughts.

  “So…um.” Puri seemed to want to have a conversation again, as she began speaking to him. “...How did you sleep last night?”

  Alec stayed silent and continued eating his food. Her words didn’t register in his brain. This was due to his distraction.

  Soon after Puri said that, a small amount of sauce dripped onto Alec’s already dirty shirt. Alec seemingly didn’t notice.

  “...Is something the matter? You seem to be in your own world.” There was an edge of worry in her voice.

  Again, Alec ignored her.

  It wasn’t until Puri reached over and slightly pushed his shoulder, that Alec seemed to snap out of it and look up. The fact that Puri didn’t put any effort to move at her normal quick speed, and that Alec didn’t even sense her hand until she touched him, is a testament to how distracted he really was.

  Alec slightly flinched when Puri touched him.

  “What?” Alec asked.

  Alec looked up and saw that she was giving him a very concerning look. It was the same look a mother might give her child when she thinks something is the matter. Though, it’s not like Alec would know what that looked like.

  “You seem distracted,” Puri responded. “I’m worried about you. Is there anything I can do to help you?” Her voice was a little higher. Alec noticed that this happened each time she seemed to get sad or worried. Perhaps there were other emotions that caused her voice’s pitch to slightly rise, but Alec hadn’t seen her in all her colors yet.

  “...It’s nothing.” Alec then grabbed his last bread roll and took a bite.

  A small part of Alec was compelled to answer her, but he ignored that feeling. Alec realized that this feeling was coming from somewhere other than his rational brain, as his rational brain was telling him to deny her completely.

  Why do I feel compelled to answer her honestly? Has the good, warm food caused my guard to be let down?

  Alec wasn’t sure, but he figured that his inner confusion, and all these feelings he was having, were connected to that feeling he had when Puri embraced him.

  Puri simply stared at Alec for several seconds after Alec shot her down. He could tell that Puri didn’t believe him.

  “...I suppose it’d be tough to really be alright, considering you’ve had a hard life, and now you are in an unfamiliar place, forc—living with a person you don’t know.” Her expression changed from worried to sad.

  So you admit that you are forcing me to live here.

  Alec didn’t respond to her. He took the last bite of his bread roll and sat back in his chair. He wanted to sit in silence, but he expected her to ask more questions. Perhaps she would drop her skepticism about how he is feeling, but Alec especially expected her to ask more about his past, like she did a little the night before.

  Puri soon finished her meal, and as Alec expected, she began questioning him again.

  “So, Alec, how old are you?” That was her first question. She seemed to drop her questions about Alec’s feelings, which Alec was thankful for.

  “Eight.”

  Puri continued talking to him. She asked him simple questions like his age and why his irises were white. She didn’t ask any questions about the situation that happened at his home village, which surprised Alec. Though, he was a bit grateful for that, since even he knew that it’d be hard to explain how he was the only survivor.

  Alec kept his responses short and simple, never elaborating. Puri spoke a lot more than he did. She not only asked him questions, but also told a few things about her and a few stories about her life. Though, she didn’t go into anything about her actual background. As for Alec, he asked only two questions, asking where she trained, and about her accent. Alec didn’t notice it at first, but he realized that she spoke with a very slight accent. It was hardly noticeable, and could almost not even really be labeled an accent, but he noticed that her ‘sh’ and ‘th’ didn’t quite sound right.

  Puri avoided both of Alec’s questions. The one about her accent seemed to particularly worry her.

  I wonder if she’s from an enemy kingdom.

  Alec’s innate curiosity was threatening, and he really wanted to push the subject, but he didn’t. It wasn’t like Alec was going to do anything about it if it was true.

  Alec and Puri talked for hours. Puri did step out of the room a few times, but the longest she stayed out was for an hour, and that’s because she was cooking dinner.

  Not only did the two talk, but Puri also taught Alec how to sew and knit. She said that it was not only a generally useful skill, but it was also a survival skill. She explained that if Alec ever got wounded again like the knife cut on his arm, he’d be able to stitch it together on his own if he was able to learn.

  Alec struggled with it a little because you had to be precise, and considering he wasn’t used to having to keep very steady, and his poor eyesight, it was tough for him to be precise. At the end of the day, he was able to perform the basics of sewing, albeit not very good.

  Alec normally wouldn’t have interacted this much with another person, but he saw it as an opportunity to distract his mind from his thoughts. Alec determined that between sitting in isolation drowning in his own thoughts and spending time with Puri, the latter was the lesser of two evils.

  He did of course get sleepy a few hours before Puri left the room for the night, but he didn’t even seem to really notice it.

  Around mid-evening, Puri left the room. “Good night,” she said with a smile before shutting the door.

  Dead silence ensued after she left. Alec thought he might’ve imagined it, but he thought he saw the light in the room get a little dimmer.

  Alec yawned and realized that there was this small mix of a good and sort of somber feeling in his chest. He wasn’t sure why at first, but he connected it to Puri leaving, which only served to make him even more confused.

  What is going on with me?

  This was yet another feeling that he had that he couldn’t understand. These new feelings that he was experiencing were confusing him and putting him in a slight state of panic. He paced around the room for probably around ten minutes trying, and failing, to understand himself.

  This type of worry and unease was new to him as well, which only exacerbated his slight panic. He didn’t even feel this way when his family was murdered and his life turned from shit to shit.

  The only reason he stopped pacing was because he blinked at one point and his eyes stayed close for longer than a simple blink. He got a bit of a head rush and stumbled before opening his eyes again. It was only then that he realized how truly tired he was. He had been up for about a full 24 hours at this point.

  Alec hopped into the bed and fell asleep before he could even pull the comforter over himself.

  If he had tried to go to sleep even just a couple of hours ago, he would’ve been suffocated by his own thoughts, but the way he instantly fell asleep, especially with the new mysterious feelings added on, is a testament to just how exhausted he was. (A/N: The time of this scene would be around 6:00 pm or 18:00).

  Alec didn’t know this yet, but the faint feelings he felt when Puri left the room were slight disappointment and a happy satisfaction.

  Also, Alec had an actual dream for the first time in this life.