Part 1

It was the first time he had nightmares.

As he tried to escape the seaweed monster that had devoured his fellow cacti, he could not help but to just keep running in the never-ending chase between the monster and him. No matter how much he tried to think there was no other way but to run.

He did not know how much time had passed, but eventually, he was caught by the monster.

“A nature spirit? Here?”  The seaweed monster looked at him with a large and creepy smile as it spoke with a crude and rough voice.

“All alone!” there was no sense of pity in his voice but instead there was laughter. A maniacal laugh that echoed throughout the surrounding.

As the spirit struggled and screamed, the seaweed monster that was grabbing him could not help but laugh at his misfortune.

Fear could be seen from the young spirit’s face as he cried louder and louder until his cries woke him up from his nightmare.

“Oh! Little one you woke up!”

Hearing an unfamiliar voice from his side the cactus spirit couldn’t help but grew nervous as he slowly shifted his view to look at the direction of where the voice came from.

As he peeked slowly towards his sides he noticed a young man with a sharp and clean look.

His appearance although strange had some charm that made one look twice to get a clearer image. It was completely different to the monster he had seen previously.

Although there were some parts that resembled the monster, the overall difference between them was like day and night.

The monster he had seen had messy and long hair, but the person before him had hair that was styled short and neat, although the color was the same as the monster the overall hairstyle was not as hideous and most importantly did not look anything like a seaweed.

Near his ears were dark brown bumps that seemed to have been trimmed of recently, it was neither frightening nor unusual.

His clothes although shabby and dull were worn with an air of elegance that brought a sense of sophistication with him.

“What’s wrong little one?” His voice was calm and soothing, as he expressed his concern over the bewildered spirit.

Puzzled by the sudden appearance of this unfamiliar person the cactus spirit could not help but be concerned as to where the monster that had murdered his fellow cacti had disappeared to.

“Seems like you’ve seen a monster?” The young man glanced nervously at the confused spirit, but the little spirit was unable to respond back to him.

Maybe he can’t speak? A sudden thought came to the young man.

Thinking about how the spirit had been living alone, the thought of that possibility had occurred in the young man’s minds.

Quickly using his head he proceeded to gesture at the little spirit which made the spirit looked curiously towards him.

He pointed at the spirit and then pointed towards his eyes, after which he expressed with his body the action of a monster.

Understanding that the person beside him was informing him of the monster that he had seen before he had fainted, the young spirit quickly nodded frantically at him.

“Haha, what a cute spirit.”

Maybe I can somehow save myself from this awkward situation. Shamelessly the young man thought to himself.

Remembering the horrendous scene he showed to the little spirit he began thinking of a solution. Hesitant on whether it was the right thing to do, he started to calculate the benefits and drawback before deciding.

After finally confirming his decision, the young man, with no shame at all, decided to act on the plan.

He pointed towards the antlers and leftover green hair beside him and with a loud voice, he shouted with vigor. “I have defeated the monster, I have saved you from his atrocious act!”

The young man flexed his muscle as he stood up carrying the antlers as if it was a trophy from a hunt. He then acted out a scene of him slaying the monster.

Ignorant and naïve the young spirit looked towards the person in confusion at first, but with a little bit of thinking the spirit realized what the person was trying to tell him.

After knowing the reason of the monster disappearance the spirit began looking at the young man with respect and awe. Excited by the grand news the spirit began to dance in celebration as he wiggles about around the young man.

“Haha…”

Why does it feel like I’ve done something bad…? Feeling a sense of guilt the young man couldn’t help but wanted to reveal the truth.

However, after looking at the happy-go-lucky spirit, the young man could only bury his thoughts away as he looked towards his antler that he trimmed off and the hair which he had cut.

No... This is better for  both of us… This way he won’t have any nightmares.

After affirming his decision he began to perceive things more positively and joined the little spirit with his dance.

Part 2

Who would’ve thought that after dancing with the little spirit that it would become so attached to the young man. Anywhere he goes the spirit would cuddle up close to him looking forward to whatever he was going to do.

When he took out various items from his backpack, the sparkles in the spirit's eyes could be seen as he looked excitedly at the new toys in front of him.

Could this be what Stockholm syndrome looks like? Why does it feel so wrong to stay here…? Giving a quick glance at the naïve little spirit he could not help but feel so awkward at the situation before him.

Though negative thoughts crept up on him, with a strong will he straight away brushed it to the side.

No I made the right choice. If he was afraid of me it would be too difficult to converse with him. I should make it up to him by teaching him various things. The young man thought to himself as he tried his best to reassure his guilty conscience.

He decided to uphold to his decision as he checks on the items in his bag. He realized that he needed various objects which can help him with his gestures in order to teach the young spirit the language of the land.

“Now listen here little one.” He rummaged through his bag as he simultaneously spoke to the curious spirit.

“It’s unfortunate for you to have been born here alone, but it was also a good thing that I came here.”

After getting all the items that he felt would be useful, he then laid them down on the ground beside his bag.

“Now we are going to be good friends. In fact, we are already best friends!” He smiled towards the confused spirit. However, what he got from the spirit was a puzzled look as if it was listening to an alien.

“Eh? You don’t know what friends are?” Pondering for a while he then stared at the items in front of him.

“Well, friends are like this.”

He picked up two voodoo dolls and pointed towards himself and the spirit to represent each doll. He then made the dolls shake each other’s hand as he proceeded to give the spirit a smile with a thumbs up.

“This is a friend, do you understand?” Looking towards the spirit who was still confused, the young man felt troubled by how difficult it was to convey what he meant.

This is tough... I should reference things to what he already knows… Thinking for a while the young man remembered how the little spirit was quite good at dancing.

With an inspiration, he grabbed the voodoo doll and made them dance together.

“This is what friends are.” He pointed excitedly at his ingenious idea.

He hurriedly pointed towards the spirit and spoke the words “You,” after which he then points towards himself with the word “Me,” spoken out loud alongside his gesture

“Friends.” The young man smiled trying to convey that it is a positive word. “Understand?”

After seeing the two doll dance together the spirit began to realize that the young man was teaching him something. Trying to mimic what the person spoke the little spirit tried his best to formulate the words on its mouth.

“F-fwends?” with nervousness he peeked at the young man where he could see an expression of joy coming out from him.

“Yes! Friends!” jumping in joy the young man celebrated his achievement.

Not knowing what was happening but knew that he had somehow gotten something correct he began to chant the word “Friends” out loud.

“Haha, ok little friend. Let’s teach you more and more words.” He smiled towards the spirit as he calmed himself down.

As the two began to converse with gestures and words, time quickly passed by and soon after the sun began to set.

“Hmpfh, seaweed monster bad and ugly enemy!” The little spirit looked angrily at the antlers as he spoke out the exciting new words he had learned.

“Friend is good, handsome and powerful.” The spirit tried to flex his little chubby spiritual body, but because his shape was completely circular it didn’t look tough at all.

Laughing at the spirit’s action the young man couldn’t help but feel like he had gotten too carried away. However, looking at the pure and naive spirit he was overcome with the impulse to jokingly teach him.

“Friend, why is sun leaving!” The spirit pointed out towards the sunset.

With a look of dread, he could not help but feel a headache coming through as he tried to think of a way to explain to the spirit of the concept of day and night.

“Erm… the sun is sleepy, so he will sleep.”

“When the sun sleep, the night comes.” with the best explanation he could come up with the young man nervously looked towards the spirit.

Seeing the expression of the spirit he could tell that the spirit looked a bit confused. It was no surprise since he himself thought that it was lacking in explanation.

“Uh… wait a moment, you will be able to see what the night is.”

As the two admired the sunset they patiently waited till the sun was completely gone and the dark night covered the sky with millions of stars shining brightly above them.

“This is called the night, little friend.”

Looking above with the spirit he pointed towards the bright lights at the sky. “Those are stars.”

He then shifted his hand towards the large circular glow. “That is the Moon.”

Staring at the clear view of the night sky the young man could not help but smile at the sight of it.

“Beautiful, right?”

The spirit stared at the night sky that was the same as the previous nights that he had experienced. However, beside him, a change had somehow made the scene so different.

 “Beautiful…” with a quiet voice the spirit repeated the word hoping to cherish what he had seen.

Part 3

“Fire! Fire!”

Staring at the fire that was recently made by the young man, the spirit could not help but feel amazed at his friend’s abilities.

As the night settled and the conversation between the two became more and more fluent, the young man could not help but be astonished at the rate of learning the spirit was progressing at.

Every word he taught to the spirit was memorized quickly without needing to be repeated. The only thing he had to do was explain the concept of the words into something understandable for him.

He could feel the thirst of knowledge from the cactus spirit and could not help but respect his little friend’s effort and enthusiasm in learning.

“Now that I think of it, you don’t have a name do you?”

“Name?” The spirit looked at the young man and soon remembered the phrase he was taught. “Friend is Ori, right?”

He had taught the spirit his name which was Orion but told him to call him by his nickname.

Ori smiled at his friend giving him a thumbs up. “Yes, it is.”

Pointing towards the spirit Ori nodded his head to confirm his decision. “I’ve decided. Your name will be Zafar.”

Although surprised at first, the little spirit eventually became excited about having a name of his own.

“Zafar!” he cried out with joy. “I’m Zafar!”

“Haha, guess you like the name huh?” The young man looked towards the dancing spirit with a smile on his face.

“Let me tell you a story of what Zafar means.”

“Meaning? Like Ori’s name?” Trying to remember the explanation he was taught Zafar pondered for a while before he finally remembered.

“Ori means wise right?” Zafar looked expectantly towards his friend waiting for his approval.

“Of course! Remember wise is like me!” shamelessly complimenting himself Ori could not help but feel good as Zafar chanted the words, “Ori is wise!” repeatedly.

“Yeah that’s right, now you want to know what your name means right?” Ori looked mischievously towards his friend.

Seeing the frantic nod of Zafar, Ori could not help but tease the adorable spirit.

“Ahh, I don’t feel like telling. Maybe tomorrow, I think it’s about time to sleep.”

“What?! NO, NO!!!” Bawling his eyes out Zafar begged Ori to teach him one last time.

Looking at the cute spirit crying his eyes out Ori could not help but laugh at the sudden mood swings of Zafar.

“Ok, Ok, I’ll tell you what your name means.”

Hearing Ori’s words Zafar instantly changed his mood from sorrow to excitement making Ori laughed hysterically as he had the urge to tease him again.

“The name Zafar has a very deep root here in Nezkaria.” As he began explaining Ori shifted his views towards Zafar to check whether he remembered his teachings.

“Nezkaria is the land I live in?” Zafar asked to confirm the word he heard.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Ori glanced towards the surroundings. “Nezkaria, the land of the golden desert. The place you were born in.”

Satisfied by his friend’s correct response Ori continued on, “Well in here long ago there was a king called Zafar.”

“A King?” Zafar asked in a confused voice.

“A King is the most powerful person in the land,” Ori explained.

“More powerful than Ori?”

“More powerful than me.”

Zafar couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had always thought that Ori was the most powerful person.

“The world is large Zafar and there are many events past and present that shapes the world.” Ori gestured with his hand a big fat circle.

Looking at the action Zafar tried his best to mimic it by expanding his spiritual body into a bigger shape, but because he was lacking in control his body transformed into a slightly chubbier version.

Laughing at the shape his friend had made he could not help but be satisfied with his naming choice.

The contrast between him and a king is so large it would truly be the best teasing material I have created! With wicked thoughts, Ori looked towards Zafar as he returned to a more serious expression.

“Zafar your name means King, and it is truly a worthy name for the type of plant you are.”

“Plant? Cactus? My body?” Zafar couldn’t understand how the most powerful existence had any relation to the little cactus body of his.

“The Traveler’s cactus is the type of cactus you are identified as.”

“Confused! Confused!” Zafar rolled around on top of Ori’s green hair, it was an action that he had made to show that he wanted to understand Ori’s mind.

Unable to feel the action on top of his head, Ori could not help but laugh at the funny things Zafar does when he gets confused.

Shaking his head to grab Zafar attention, Ori continued to where he left off. “Let me explain.”

“The Traveler’s cactus is known for the crown shaped flower that blooms when they are mature.”

Pointing at the flower of the nearby cactus that was shaped like a crown Ori then shifted his attention towards Zafar’s cactus body.

“I’m afraid your crown has yet to bloom, I’m guessing you are still very young.”

Staring at his own body Zafar felt unhappy by the fact that he did not have a crown. Noticing the pouting spirit Ori pondered for a bit, as he began thinking of a way to please Zafar.

“You don’t need to be unhappy Zafar, this just means you’re still not yet ready to become a King. Instead, why not be a prince.”

“A prince?”

“Yes, it is a title before becoming King. When you become mature and a crown blooms on your head you will be able to claim yourself as King.”

Excitement could be seen in Zafar’s expression. As he gives a little dance he began to imagine his future self with a crown.

“Not so fast Zafar.”

Halting his dance Zafar looked towards his friend as he was puzzled by the serious tone of his.

“A king has a lot of responsibility. Remember a king is more powerful than me!”

Remembering his words Zafar realized the meaning behind it. He could not help but feel ashamed for thinking he had deserved the title.

“Zafar, though I gave you a name that is heavy. It does not mean you need to become it.” Ori laughed at the expression of his friend.

Staring at the stars Ori began to reminisce a certain memory from his past.

“I believe people should live for themselves.”

“Although it’s selfish, trust me Zafar, you will be more at peace with it.”

Zafar listened to Ori’s word but he could not understand the meaning of it.

Realizing that he had spouted some embarrassing words Ori glanced towards his friend to check if he was laughing at him, but the thought of embarrassment got blown away when he saw his friend’s face.

Looking at the fat spirit making such a heavy face as he tried to analyze what he was saying, Ori could not help but laugh towards the cute little spirit’s serious face.

“Don’t think too hard! If you want to be a king, then so be it!”

Standing up slowly and presenting a perfectly executed noble bow towards the little spirit Ori mischievously smiled at his friend.

“Prince Zafar, I await your ascension,” Ori spoke in a language foreign to what Zafar had learned from him.

Though he did not understand, he knew that his friend was making fun of him.

Glaring at Ori, Zafar began to pout grumpily as he started to ignore his friend.

“Hey don’t ignore me, if you do then I’m going to leave.” Zafar teasingly called out.

When he heard the word “leave”, it had truly scared Zafar to the point where he quickly clung onto Ori’s leg following him closely by his side as he tried his best to express his desire for him to stay.

“Alright I’ll stay, I’ll stay.” Smiling at his clingy friend Ori laid down near the fireside as he started to rest his eyes.

Afraid that Ori would leave him, Zafar decided to stay close by his side as he rested his spiritual body beside him. It was the first time he had slept outside his body and it was also the first time he had slept with anyone nearby.

As the silence began to settle Ori began to feel somewhat uncomfortable as he remembered their previous talk.

“Hey, Zafar… you don’t need to be king, instead, why don’t we become adventurers! We could leave and venture-”

Excitement filled Ori’s voice but after he noticed his friend who had already fallen asleep he felt embarrassed from his sudden burst of energy.

“Sheesh, I’m not a little kid anymore… why am I getting excited for…”

Calming himself down, he then laid back down and stared at the stars one last time before resting his eyes.

“I guess I’ll teach him what an adventurer is tomorrow hehe…” with a wide grin on his face he eventually fell asleep.

As the cold wind passed by carrying the familiar sound of silence which this lonely area was known for, a loud snoring sound could be heard blowing away the silence of the night.

At the center of where was supposed to be the desolate land were two friends with huge smiles on their faces as they slept soundly through the night.