"Wow, you got some strong words, kid. You sure you can back them up?" Sango said as they stepped out of the restaurant into the cool evening air, the clamor of dishes and laughter fading behind them.
"Time will tell. Trust me," Tayo replied, his voice brimming with unshakeable confidence.
"So where are we going now?"
"We need to find an inn to stay the night, and we'll leave first thing tomorrow," Sango explained, scanning the dimly lit streets.
"So where are we going to?"
"The Royal Capital—also known as the land of milk and honey," Sango said, his eyes lighting up with ecstasy at the mere thought.
"Wow, sounds like a really nice place," Tayo remarked as they rounded a corner.
There, standing before them, was a one-storey building adorned with moss that curled around its edges like a living decoration—elegant to some, an eyesore to others, depending on one's perspective. The structure glowed faintly under the lantern light, its wooden sign creaking softly in the breeze.
"This looks like a good place to spend the night," Sango said, striding toward the entrance with purpose.
"He seems kinda good," Tayo muttered under his breath.
"Let's go in."
"Good day. How may I help you?" the innkeeper said, her eyes glued to a thick ledger where she scribbled accounts, utterly oblivious to her surroundings.
"We'd like a room, please. How much would that cost?" Sango asked.
"It would cost 1800 ref," the innkeeper replied flatly.
"Wow, that's a lot," Sango said in shock, his brows furrowing.
"If you can't pay, feel free to leave," she said, still not lifting her gaze from the book.
"Alright, we'll take it," Sango decided.
"Okay, here is your key." She tossed it toward him still totally oblivious.
The key landed with a soft clink in Sango's palm, and they ascended the creaking stairs to their room. It was an elegant space, larger than any ordinary chamber—fit for royalty, with two plush beds draped in fine linens. The room boasted everything they needed, from the essentials to the luxuries: a polished oak table, flickering oil lamps casting warm shadows, a basin of fresh water, and even a small window overlooking the slumbering town.
"The room no bad," Tayo said excitingly, his eyes wide with amusement as he took in the splendor.
"For a kid, you make a lot of vocabulary mistakes," Sango teased in a joky manner, chuckling at the grammatical errors.
"Pick a bed so you can get some rest," Sango added in a light tone.
"Okay, I choose the one on the right."
"Okay then, I'm sleeping on the left one."
The beds creaked softly as they settled in, the room falling into a comfortable hush broken only by the distant hum of the town winding down. Sango propped himself up on one elbow, his expression shifting to curiosity. "So kid, I haven't quite understood your story. From where are you really from? Do you know your parents, and do you know why you are dark-skinned?" he asked with a calm tone.
The room was in totally silence ; the one thing resonating was an awkward feeling that permeated the air, thick and unspoken.
"I really don't even understand. Even I myself don't even understand the circumstance behind my existence. I wish I knew more," Tayo said, breaking the awkward silence with a sigh.
"So let me get it straight: what you are saying is that since you've become conscious, you've been locked up in a place where you can't see anything. So how do you know how to speak the little that you know?" Sango asked in a serious tone, leaning forward.
"That's all thanks to the Wiseman," Tayo said excitingly, a spark of fondness in his voice.
"Who is the Wiseman?"
"He comes to visit me over there sometimes, and anytime he comes, he usually reads me a story and talks with me. It is all because of him I'm able to read and even know colors, 'cause he usually brings picture books with him anytime he comes," Tayo explained.
"So you are telling me that this Wiseman fellow was able to enter into the place you were kept in?" Sango inquired, his brow creasing.
"Nope, he never came in. He only read me those books from outside. After all, he was not part of the ones allowed to see me," Tayo said with a slightly dark tone, his gaze drifting to the floor.
"So some people came in with you?"
"No, these people were the real monsters. They only came in to beat the living light out of me until I could no longer think and mark my world their sins won't go unforgiven ," Tayo said with a dark tone, his voice trembling faintly as shadows of memory crossed his face.
At that moment, Sango couldn't utter a single word. He was speechless, trying to comprehend what he had just heard, his throat tight with unspoken empathy. "Can you tell me where the place you were kept at...?"
Tayo fell back onto the bed as he answered the question, his body sinking into the mattress. "No, the only thing I remember was me running toward the great fireball in the sky."
"You mean the sun."
"The what?"
"Never mind. We will work on your linguistics later. Right now, you need to sleep and regain your strength."
"Sango, why are you being kind to me? After all, we are not related in any way, and you still choose to treat me like a sibling. Why?" Tayo looked into the bright blue ceiling as he asked, his voice soft and searching.
"Being kind is a virtue. I believe the world can be a better place if we can understand, sympathize, and forgive people irrespective of their transgressions," Sango said, also looking into the ceiling, his words hanging in the air like a quiet promise.
A hysterical laugh resonated throughout the inn; Tayo couldn't stop laughing, the sound bubbling up uncontrollably. "And I thought I was the weird one. You do know that a world like that isn't possible. But who am I to say that? After all, I'm a walking impossibility."
Sango on his bed couldn't hold his laughter; his eyes were balling out, droplets of tears began to form in his eyes. He was just filled with laugh that he could not control it anymore. The building began to shake to its core due to Sango laughing. "Kid, I can tell you'll definitely put me in a lot of trouble, but I'm Sango, so I'm ready for the wild journey you'll take me on. You'll need to sleep—we will have a long day tomorrow, and we'll be leaving for the Royal Capital the day after. You'll need all your strength, kid," Sango said as he turned off the lights.
Immediately, Tayo fell asleep without a second to waste, his breathing steady in the enveloping quiet.
Darkness ensued the city as it went to sleep, the streets emptying under a blanket of night. Deep in the darkness, four shadowy figures emerged from the wall of an abandoned church at the south of the city, their forms melting into the gloom like whispers of impending storm.