The previous situation happened so quickly that I could swear I was reading a "rushed" book. Now, regaining my strength, I can move properly, seeing that I’m still by the edge of the lake as if I were a discarded body. My vision adjusted to the darkness forming from the shadows of the trees surrounding this place.

It was almost nightfall, and I didn’t have the courage to move from the "dead" position since that little creature with red eyes pulled me out of the water, not knowing what it might do if it noticed I was awake.

— Pipipi? — The humanoid creature approached me curiously, as if it had never seen a human being before. Should I risk getting up? I think if it wanted to devour me, it would have done so already.

Slowly, I begin to crawl toward the trunk of one of the countless trees to lean against it, and the little creature, with its antennas, noticing my movement, didn’t seem afraid to get more comfortable near me.

Crawling closer in exactly the same way I had, I could now see up close what looked a lot like a little boy—if it weren’t for his pastel green hair, antennas, the color of his eyes, and his strange straw-like tongue. It was like a perfect mix of human and butterfly, maybe.

— Pipipipi — It didn’t seem able to speak properly, which made me doubt how human it could be, but at least it wasn’t a carnivorous animal. Covered in rags that looked like old curtains, it reeked of rot. Its soft, white hands tried to reach my head in a failed attempt to give me a head scratch. Sitting in front of me, it seemed intently focused on every move I made, making me feel like some kind of exotic animal. I shouldn’t have been able to look it straight in the eye, given how small it was, unless I had also shrunk in size.

I stood up and walked closer to the lake, intending to check my reflection in the water. But instead of seeing an adult, I saw a little girl with long hair and a white dress… The strangest part was that she seemed to be mimicking my movements. When I ran my hands over my face, I realized I had truly become a child again!

The little weird creature beside me seemed interested in the book from before, shaking it and making a mess.

— Wait! Don’t do that, kid. This book might be the solution to my problems, or at least it should be… — I quickly grabbed the book from its hands, the book that had come with me as I fell into this world.

As the voice had said, I no longer seemed to be in the same world I belonged to. Even here, the stars in the sky were in different positions than the ones I knew.

There was no smell of a nearby city and the only sounds I could hear were crickets and the boy’s chirping. I never imagined myself in a situation like this, but in a way I feel prepared for whatever comes my way. Still, the best option right now is to see if I can find anything about this in the book.

With the leather-bound book in my hands, I felt anxious to open it… The first page had its title: The First Steps.

What is this? A book on how to take care of a baby?

"Prologue: Dear traveler, if you’re looking for the solution to your problems in this book, know that you’re a bit mistaken. Your duty in this world has not yet been fulfilled, and the first step is to understand why you were called here. The reason is simple: as you’ve noticed, you’ve also reverted to being a child, 8 years old, and this will allow you to accompany the growth of this creature alongside you. Your first task is to make him human again. Good luck!

P.S.: You will gradually grow every time the boy grows as well.

Signed: Daddy"

But does this damn thing only have one page? I really hope this is just a very vivid dream.

The creature mentioned in the book must be this pile of rags in front of me, with his innocent face, tilting his head like a puppy. I imagine he’s lived in a way completely different from a human… If only I could get rid of his rotten smell, I’d already be a little closer to the goal of humanizing him. I need to get out of this forest and find shelter to protect us.

— Hey, little thing, do you have a home?

— Pi?

— A home, you know, where people usually live, stay, whatever. How does a creature like you even live? — I realized it was pointless to ask about something he didn’t seem to understand. But when I made a triangular roof gesture with my hands, he seemed to think of something upon noticing the shape. Grabbing my hand, he excitedly dragged me through the dark forest, and my bare feet stepped on untouched, soft grass.

— Calm down! — The boy let go of my hand, startled, and then pointed to the final destination of that frantic run. His long, black nails had scratched me a little, but with a pitiful look, he didn’t dare touch me again.

In that greenish landscape, at the top of a peak that met the sea, there was a large stone mansion, just as worn down as the museum, full of cracks and collapsed sections, slowly succumbing to time and constant decay.

— This looks almost decent… decent for a horror movie! — Just seeing the building gave me chills, but at least now we had a place to spend the night.

The way the boy led me here suggested he wasn’t entirely clueless; he must have been living here for a while. Before it got completely dark, I figured we should start climbing this peak straight to the mansion.

…

Even after 20 minutes of walking, the boy, still extremely excited, walked beside me, seemingly checking on me constantly, but I really couldn’t take it anymore.

— We’re almost there… It would be so nice if someone could welcome this cute girl with a cozy afternoon tea…

I hadn’t really thought about that possibility—that there might be more people around, humans or creatures. What would they do if they saw me or this little one by my side and acted hostile?

We were now in front of the mansion’s gate, which was just the entrance alongside a dead garden behind the collapsed wall. The gate wasn’t closed, so we entered easily, and the boy, now ahead of me, led the way as if showing me around his home. Running straight to the entrance of the building, he waved from a distance as if urging me to hurry up. In a way looking at him from afar, he even seemed a little cute… but he still needed a bath.

Entering the mansion, with its white marble floors and walls covered in peeling wallpaper, this place had three floors and numerous rooms, reminding me a bit of Victorian architecture. The wooden pillars and objects were carved with beautiful floral patterns. From the outside, it was clear the mansion was divided into two areas and a stone tower, so I had a feeling I’d have to explore a lot inside.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

My stomach suddenly growled—I was hungry! Rubbing my belly with my hand, I awkwardly looked at the pale boy:

— Do you know if there’s anything to eat here? Bread, fruits, or even potatoes? — My eyes sparkled with the faint hope of actually finding something to eat in a place as abandoned as this, because at first glance, all I saw were butterflies and moths nesting in every corner of this hall.

Since his expression wasn’t well-defined due to his dark sclera, the way he stopped and stared at me so seriously made me think he might have misunderstood or didn’t get the question, but soon after, he smiled and, unnaturally, half-closed his eyes. In an instant, he hopped toward a large door behind the staircase leading to the second floor and tried to open it with all his strength. In the end, I had to help, and the door didn’t seem that heavy after all.

Behind it was a large kitchen, but it was overrun by rats. The smell of rotten food and the rats made me nauseous, and I didn’t have the courage to enter without covering my nose with a piece of the white dress I was wearing.

— I don’t know about you, but I don’t like living in a dirty, messy place. — I looked at him and received a confirming glance in return.

I opened all the windows I could, grabbed a ragged cloth, and wiped down the kitchen counter to remove the dust. As for the rotten stuff, I discovered the boy knew how to separate the food that was still good from what we could throw away, so I left that task to him while I finished cleaning and chasing out the rats (Honestly, I’m disgusted by rats, but considering only I could get rid of them, I had no choice).

The boy had finished separating and putting the spoiled food into a wooden crate. I placed it outside with the idea of reusing it for composting or extracting seeds. That little creature assumed a hostile attitude toward the mice, and with a growl, he finished scaring off the rest of them.

Well, the kitchen wasn’t completely clean. There was no potable water coming from the tap, so I’d probably have to go looking for water somewhere… But for now, filtering and heating it on the brick stove in the kitchen would do for a bath. I couldn’t stand the boy’s smell anymore.

— Boy, do you know where the bigger pots are? Let’s heat up a large amount of water. — The attentive boy went to a small room in the kitchen that was probably for utensils and brought back a cauldron, almost dragging it on the floor because it was so heavy. Placing the cauldron on the ground because he couldn't handle its weight, he tripped and fell headfirst into it. This wasn’t what I was expecting, and I burst out laughing while pulling him out by his legs. As he emerged, he seemed to laugh at the situation too (He didn’t seem upset).

— Hahahaha! I can’t believe you’re so clumsy. Next time, let me handle the heavy stuff. — I gave him a gentle pat on the head and noticed that even though his hair was dirty, it had a soft, silky texture, and the antennas on his forehead swayed like a cat’s tail.

Unfortunately, even though I said I’d handle the cauldron, I couldn’t even lift it onto the stove. I had forgotten I’d shrunk back to being 8 years old.

— This is bad… A cold bath isn’t going to be fun…

— Pipipi! — What was he trying to say? Leading me out of the kitchen, up to the second floor, and into one of the huge rooms, I caught a glimpse of what seemed like a suite or a fancy bathroom inside the bedroom. There was a porcelain bathtub in perfect condition, and the boy turned on the tap, releasing clean, hot water.

— Huh? It doesn’t make sense for the bathroom water to be cleaner than the kitchen tap water, and on top of that, it’s hot! — I said, leaning against the tub and dipping my hand in to check the temperature. This opened up possible uses. The former owner of this mansion must have planned two water systems: one for common uses like cooking, cleaning, and drinking, and another for bathing. Is it thermal water, or is there a furnace still functioning somewhere? I’ll probably have to check later if I can fix the kitchen pipes… I realized I got too immersed in thinking about this, and the tub was already overflowing!

— Turn off the tap! We’re wasting water! — And in the same second, he closed it. He seemed to be reacting very well to everything I said, as if someone had already taught him what each thing was, and he was even smarter for his age than I had imagined.

— Boy, do you know how to bathe by yourself? — I looked at him, who had been sitting on a wooden bucket on the floor for a while, and in return, I got a disapproving look.

— Take off these rags. I’ll see if I can find something else for you to wear. Get in the tub and scrub yourself with this sponge. — I handed him a vegetable sponge I found in the same wooden bucket, along with a bar of soap that I broke in half, giving him one piece to lather up. I’ve taken care of my little cousins before when I stayed at my aunt’s house for a few months, back when my mom was sick, so I’m not embarrassed by this kind of situation. But since it was just the two of us, I wished this boy could be a little more independent.

He got into the tub, and the water overflowed a bit more. After a few seconds in the water, his pale skin started turning red.

— Is the water temperature hurting you? If you want, you can get out and wait for it to cool down. — He refused to do so in front of me, and soon his skin returned to its pale color. It didn’t take long before he wanted to finish the bath, and in the end, he was still dirty in all the hard-to-reach places.

— At least take the bath properly! You need to scrub with the soap and sponge under your arms, your back, and even the soles of your feet! — I said in a stern tone. I grabbed the piece of soap and ended up washing his strange green hair, careful not to touch his antennas. Finally, he was clean! The smell was just ordinary soap, but it was better than rotting flesh, and his skin even seemed to glow after being scrubbed well, his silky hair greener than ever.

— I thought there would be marks, but aside from his pale skin and thin body, he looks perfectly healthy!

I wrapped him in a white towel hanging over the bathroom screen and dried his long hair with a cloth I found in the room. I then looked for something that could serve as clothes for both of us and ended up finding a pair of various-sized pajamas in a wardrobe.

“It shouldn’t be a problem if I use these clothes, right? No residents have shown up so far.”

Apparently, his skin is sensitive, so I specifically chose pajamas made of the softest fabric. In period stories I’ve read, clothes made of silk like these were usually for nobles, so I suppose the person who owned them must have been very wealthy.

I was proud of the work I had done, and luckily, neither of us had caught a cold from getting wet in the lake. That would have been dangerous since we had no medicine or means to take care of ourselves (the afternoon sun ended up being the hottest, drying us off before we even reached the mansion).

Now it was dark, and I had spent all the time during dusk taking care of the boy. The only thing left for us was to sleep, but with everything being dark, I needed to find a light source at least to help us find the bed in this huge, fancy, old room. The moonlight coming through the glass windows illuminated the path to a small table with a lantern, its wick still intact.

— It seems no one ever used this.

With the matches I found in the kitchen, I lit it and guided us to the resting place, but apparently, the creature could see in the dark because even before I lit the lantern, he had already lain down to sleep. I was a bit incredulous that he could do so many things and hadn’t even told me, but it’s not like he could speak.

— You’re really a brat. Why didn’t you help me too? — I was really angry, but there was nothing I could do. I just lay down next to him and was grateful that tonight wasn’t too cold. We didn’t have a decent blanket to use. Then I heard a growl coming from my stomach and remembered just as I had already collapsed on the bed from exhaustion:

“I forgot to eat…”

Lying down, looking at the ceiling, I thought I wouldn’t need to worry since I’d soon wake up from this strange dream. The boy still didn’t seem to have fallen asleep and ended up snuggling up to me like a puppy. Was he cold? So I hugged him and patted his back to lull him to sleep.

It’s strange how he acts. At the same time, he doesn’t seem familiar with human things, yet he tries to behave like one, smiling or even helping. The way he accepted me so easily without any distrust was like an abandoned child trying his best to be useful so he wouldn’t be left alone.

I wish I could have enjoyed this dream more. I’ll wake up very sad tomorrow, but it’ll be a good story to tell my grandfather—about a little boy with green hair and red eyes, with his little antennas, who can only communicate with “pipipi” sounds, and how he stank before I gave him a bath.