“You had one job. One Job!” Mom slammed the exam papers on my desk.

Silence. I couldn’t look at her. No, not because I was ashamed but rather… I couldn’t see her. I couldn’t see her face.

Mom kept on screaming about how I was a good for nothing. How I was only good for studying and how I was ruining my life for not doing that.

“It’s all that boy’s fault. Never see him again. In fact, I’ll call his mother right away and-”

Familiar walls. The same shit green color, exhausting, nauseating. Yet, nostalgic. What was going on? Why was I back? Why? Was it all just a dream then? Everything… a dream?

“Stop!” My mouth opened. The words came out.

What’s going on?

It was almost like I was watching a movie. A movie I wanted nothing to do with. A movie, I wanted to forget and… move on.

“Stop? You’re talking back to me?” Mom stepped back and almost stumbled.

“Yes. I don’t want to study like this. I don’t want to waste my life doing what you want me to do. I want to do what I want!”

She paused for a few seconds before screaming once more. She screamed, and she hit me a couple of times. I didn’t know what she said. No, I didn’t care.

After all, afterwards, I’d stolen dad’s credit card and just ran away.

Ah, now it made sense. I was dreaming… I hadn’t had that dream in a long time. Back when I first left home, I used to have this dream every night. I’d wake up in the middle of the night, all sweaty, all panicking. Yet… now I didn’t feel that panic. Perhaps I’d accepted the fact that I ran. Maybe I shouldn’t have. Maybe I should have just stood up to her and talked things out like an adult. But I was hardly fifteen at the time. I didn’t know right from wrong.

And I didn’t want to talk with that woman. I didn’t want to be manipulated anymore. I just…

Yet. Why?

Why did I feel so shit… Why did I regret it? Could we really not have worked something over? Lately, I’d stopped having that dream, I’d stopped dreaming about that woman, because of Lin. But-

I woke up on a carriage. The horse tugged onwards on the muddy road. Grass and some trees in the distance, nothing else.

There were seven other folks in here with us. Den included. Seats on either side, it wasn’t that crowdy but the seats were just flat stools and not very comfortable. “How long will this last again?” I asked.

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“Till evening,” Den spoke in a matter-of-fact manner.

Sigh.

Well, at least something was happening. And despite the journey being boring as fuck so far… it was still an adventure. And boy did I love adventure. Or so I thought until the boring part got even more boring.

Sigh.

***

When I first went into the city, there were plenty of things that caught my eyes. Particularly the houses. Not typical cabins in the woods but actual houses made of stone or clay; the layout of the city was kind of hectic but mostly symmetrical. And people! Lots of people. Mostly just Southerners but I did see typical humans around too. The moment I wondered none of those people had their balls attached though was also the moment I subconsciously hid my jewels and walked faster.

I thought we’d spend the night here, but Den quickly got us across the town and we boarded a carriage which had been waiting for us. I didn’t even get to taste the local cuisine!

Then again, I wasn’t hungry and just thinking about eating something was making me nauseous, so all good.

The carriage was underway and I’d fallen asleep. And maybe it would have been better if I was still asleep cause I was sighing like hell.

Judging by how the sun was still up and burning, we had at least a few hours before the sunset. I didn’t have much to do so I tried opening my bag and read a book, only to be stopped halfway by Den. “We’re not looking to get robbed,” he whispered.

I nodded and stayed put. Books were absurdly expensive. Granted, I hadn’t come across wicked people in this world so far, but I knew for a fact how greed could change a man.

I sighed and watched the greens. There weren’t that many houses around. The few that were, had people working in the fields. Abundant fields surrounded us. Mostly just wheat. Golden wheat. Almost time for harvest.

In the past, I never really understood how people could live in the rural areas. How people could just live so far away from the city, in such villages and the countryside. I couldn’t. I couldn’t even live away from my phone for a minute, let alone months without internet. Yet, here I was without internet, without my phone, without any technology whatsoever.

“Where are you going kid?” A man asked.

Among the seven Southerners only one was human. And that human just spoke to me. Deep voice. Poking facial hair, and really long wavy hair. But he was built like a tank. Not big or muscular but… but something about him screamed ‘warrior.’

“School,” I said. “What about you mister?”

“School.”

What? Him? He looked at least thirty. “Never too late to learn, I guess,” I said.

He nodded, and looked away, disinterested.

Anyway, I wondered why Den was so quiet and realized, the man had been sleeping. He actually fell sleep quite fast. He was that tired.

“You don’t look alike,” the man said. He wore a rather rugged black leather armor that was full of scuffs and scratches. A large sword rested behind his back. And though he spoke softly, his voice almost boomed.

A powerful presence.

For someone who clearly wasn’t interested, he was sure trying hard. I suppose he was kind of bored. “Yes, I get that a lot.”

“Well spoken for such a young child.”

“Thank you. I get that a lot as well.” I debated whether it was good to give him my name and eventually. “I’m Sol.”

“Alastur.”

And with that our conversation died again. The other passengers often stared at me and the man but never really spoke much.

Awkward didn’t even begin to explain the situation. I kept my eyes on the road, and the greens. Whenever I saw houses and people, particularly children playing, my heart warmed a little. But at the same time, I felt shit. I wondered what my own mother was doing now. She spoke about leaving once I was gone but I doubted she’d leave the woods. The woods was her home and… would she leave?

I didn’t know. But, I wanted to believe, after ten years, when I’d finally go back, when I’d finally come back home, she’d be there, waiting for me. Maybe with her trademark soup ready on the table, and that big damn smile. I almost chuckled just thinking about her.

Hopefully.