“Who am I?” That’s a question Ryan had thought of his entire life. He was confused by the purpose of his existence, because of ever since he could remember he was a beggar child, scavenging for his next meal and not knowing if he would go hungry that day, not even considering the days that came after.

Even though he lived such a life, he was outwardly cold towards everyone and empty inside, yet there was something he always wanted to be conscious of, his identity. His identity was what he wanted to know the most, was he an abandoned child or was his parents murdered before he even had the ability to recognise his surroundings. Even his own name was something that he gave himself and held no significance to him.

“urgh...” Ryan grumbled as he pulled his body up and supported his body with his arms.

“Hm... What’s this soft feeling?... A bed” He looked around and noticed that he was currently seated on a bed inside a room. Ryan was confused and his thoughts were muddled by the new feeling, this was the first time that he felt something so soft and comfortable.

“Clack,” Ryan’s ears pricked and he quickly turned towards the direction and he saw the door open and a tall figure walk in.

The tall figure was wearing a white cotton t-shirt, black woollen trouser and they were covered by a brown cloak. His black hair was short and ragged, covering his forehead. His face was sharp, structured and he had a short unkempt beard, but a fascinating thing about this man was his grey eyes which were similar to Ryan’s very own eyes.

The tall figure walked into the dull room and pulled a wooden chair from a nearby desk and placed it near the bed and sat on it in an awfully lazed manner, while closing his eyes, his face was facing the ceiling.

Ryan sat straight subconsciously and brought his legs closer to his chest trying to make himself smaller than he actually was.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“There’s no need to be so reserved,” The man said with a hint of amusement in his voice, as he moved his head to look at Ryan, a small smile creeping up his face.

“Boy, what’s your name?”

Ryan pulled his legs even closer and did not reply under the grey-eyed man’s gaze. He felt that this man could see everything under his skin with those deep eyes.

The grey-eyed man looked at Ryan and then his eyes widened as if he realised something: “Apologies, where are my manners, I should have told you my name first.” His words surprised Ryan as he didn’t expect this sudden turn of events. “My name is Richard, now boy, what’s your name?”

Ryan slowly raised his head to look at the man and saw that enigmatic smile on his face, yet he still felt that unexplainable aura around him. One word popped up in his brain to explain this personality: Eccentric.

Ryan was slightly hesitant, a street rule that he learnt many years ago was to never carelessly give your name to anyone. After struggling for a bit he replied softly: “Ryan.”

“Ryan... Ryan... What a good name.” Richard said the name twice letting it roll off naturally from his tongue. “Ryan, who gave you this name?”

Ryan was confused but replied: “No one did, I gave it to myself but it doesn’t matter, it holds no significance to me at all.”

Richard was slightly surprised and pondered and stayed quiet not intending to ask him further.

“Why did you bring me here? I have no relations with you and this is probably the first time we’ve ever met, is it not so?” Ryan asked abruptly.

Richard was brought back from his thoughts and gazed at Ryan again. Ryan had dark black hair and his eyes were similar to himself except it was lighter a silver colour. His rosy white skin that should have been soft was tough due to his tough life on the streets yet you could still see how handsome he was.

“Is it not obvious, I saved you because I felt sorry for you, you could say that I saved you because I....”

“There’s no such thing as a free meal and in this case, you wouldn’t save me for any apparent reason.” Ryan interrupted.

A small smile crept onto Richards' face and his eyes squinted as if he was enjoying this.

“HAHAHA!” He roared, “Boy you’re quite clever, I see that the streets have moulded you into a person that does not easily trust, but that’s alright since what you’re saying is true.”

Ryan’s eyes widened and felt a sensation of fear run through his spine. From the moment this man walked into the room he felt as if he was staring at a blank sheet of paper, unable to see through him at all and now he felt a tinge of fear.”

“I did save you for a specific reason.”