Athan was walking along the sidewalk through the streets. The flat light of the sun, hidden behind the clouds, covered the entire kingdom.
Snow fell without ceasing onto a body that had nothing to protect it from the cold.
"I forgot to ask for coins…
I'm really hungry—"
Athan remembered the guard from the other day who had given him a bill.
The first bill he had ever known.
"Oh…
Right, they gave me change from the sandwich I ate yesterday…"
A hollow smile formed on his face, and he began to walk faster.
So distracted that he didn't notice the man standing in front of him until they collided.
"Ugh…
Damn brat, WHY DON'T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU'RE WALKING—"
His voice cut off the moment he looked at the child lying on the ground.
Seeing the boy's eyes, closed, the adult quickly straightened up, shame settling over him for having shouted.
"Tsk…
S-sorry, kid…"
He extended his hand, and Athan took it to stand up.
"Sorry?
What are you apologizing for, sir?"
"Why do you ask?..
Isn't it obvious?..
Well…
Because, uh…
You can't see, right?.."
"And what does that have to do with bumping into you?.."
"Well, you can't look at who's in front of you…"
"'Look'? What does 'look' mean?"
"And how do you want me to explain it if you don't even know what looking is?.."
Athan lifted his head as if he were looking at the man.
"I'm hungry."
"Huh?
And why are you telling me that?"
"I'm hungry…"
"I don't have money, kid. What do you want? I can't invite you to dinner."
"I want to work."
"Hey…
Stop CHANGING THE SUBJECT ALL THE TIME!"
"Can I go with you to your job?"
"I don't have a job. I don't even have a place to drop dead."
"Should we look for work?"
"You talk like some kind of weirdo…
I guess we could look for something…
But you're a kid, no one's going to hire you.
And don't think we're going to be friends, you trash-smelling brat…"
The man pinched his nose.
They began to walk in a straight line.
The man looking for a place that needed workers, and Athan simply playing inside his own imagination.
The snow kept falling without mercy, painting everything white.
"Don't you get cold in those clothes?"
"I really like the snow…"
"Ah…"
"What's your name, sir?.."
"Why would I tell you?..
If I do, you won't leave me alone…"
"…"
"Ugh…
My name's Ivar, and I don't care about your name!
So don't even tell me the tragic story behind it—"
Athan interrupted him, pointing at the air.
"Look, sir, the sky!"
Ivar looked up at the sky.
There was nothing—just clouds.
"There's nothing in the sky!
Are you blind or what!?"
Athan kept pointing at the sky while Ivar ground his teeth, staring at the boy in front of him.
"Stupid kid…"
They kept walking…
And walking…
Looking for a place where they could work…
"Sir…"
"What do you want now?.."
"I want a sandwich…"
"I'll give you a rotten meat sandwich so you'll shut up."
END :D
TKTNE will enter hiatus starting with this episode.
I've been working on this project for some time, and I don't want to discard its potential while I'm still in the process.
While TKTNE is on hiatus, I'll start writing other things to learn more about writing.