The sun rises in the sky, scorching the air in a small rural farm town in the countryside.

A village far removed from the bustling and loud atmosphere of the cities.

Some might even call a world onto itself from the differences between them.

 

In this little world, the sun's light filters through the windows of all its residents.

Shining light into the dark day-to-day work everyone seems to do all around the globe.

The town is no exception, though the coming weeks may challenge that perception for those that live there.

 

As within one room, in particular, it shines onto the occupant in the room's bed.

As the room lights up, the occupant shuffles off the bed, standing to stretch their stiff muscles.

Now out of the confines of the bed, he gets ready for the day, opening the curtain to allow more sunlight into his room.

 

He gets dressed for school with a stubborn but subdued motion as he dresses.

Wearing the school's uniform as they clean up themselves as he gathers the few school supplies he has.

He heads downstairs while checking the time on a nearby clock as he gathers his stuff in a hurry.

 

He quickly leaves the house after giving his farewells to his family hurrying to school.

He goes through his backpack as he heads along the familiar streets.

Once confirming everything is there, he moves on to fixing his stride as he changes to a brisk jog.

 

He makes a quick detour to check up on his friend at their house, a close childhood friend.

A wall that withstood the insults and fights he got into when he ended up in particularly bad binds.

Though he is usually the one alerting her, it looks like Birdie was early today.

 

As he finds her already in front of her house, waiting for him to arrive.

Though compared to his formal style of dress, she wore hers with a relaxed and ready-to-fight atmosphere.

One that the few gangs of the town knew intimately meant she was far from being prey.

 

He softly motions for her to walk with him as she quickly steps in sync with him.

As they walk, they watch the occasional cars go by as they walk at a brisk pace to their destination.

Soaking in the scenery, though it quickly became obvious Birdie had some matters to attend to elsewhere.

 

After a few moments of letting the atmosphere settle after the previous car goes by, she speaks.

"Though I would like to stay longer and enjoy the scenery, I can't." She states with exasperation.

She frustratedly admits as she tosses a rock into the streets ahead, thankfully with no one present.

 

"I have some matters to attend to school before the bell rings, so I will have to go on ahead."

"Will you be safe walking on your own, Mondo?" She asks with a thick layer of concern in her voice.

"Unless someone wants to get into a fight with you, I'll be fine, Birdie. Go on.~" Mondo replies with slight teasing.

 

He waves at Birdie as she waves back, rushing ahead to school to deal with private matters.

Now confident he isn't too far from school, he takes a brisk walk the rest of the way to school.

Though as he walks to school, he notices someone working on the sidewalk gardens.

 

Someone that he did not know or seen around town before.

Mondo was sure of that as strangers were a rarity in these parts.

The town was far from what the city folk would think was a tourist attraction.

 

And Mondo was never one to shy away from starting a conversation.

"Hello, sir. Are you looking to settle in town or?"

The boy inquisitively asking as he stares at the man weeding the grassy area along the road.

 

The stranger was wearing overalls was spotted with dirt and mud coating him on his knees and boots.

Though the elders would likely discreetly state he looks and acts strange for a foreigner, he doesn't have a particularly hostile atmosphere. 

He certainly isn't as volatile or loud as Old Man Grant claimed all outsiders were whenever he got drunk.

 

My words aren't worth much as I haven't met many outsiders compared to the adults.

I certainly haven't met as many as the shopkeeper of the only gas station in town.

That's the job Old Man Grant does and says it's a mark of pride that he still has it all this time.

 

I should try to introduce myself before he notices and I stutter my lines.

As with little difficulty, I can still remember the last time I talked to a foreigner.

Though he was lucky Birdie was there to get the guy to go away, that's one soda he's not getting back.

 

Sighing at the memory of a lost soft drink, he quickly returns to the present with a strengthened resolve.

He straightens his school outfit to get rid of any wrinkles as he breathes in and out one more time.

"Hello, there sir, are you new to our town?" Mondo asks as firmly as he can this time after much practice.

 

Though he clipped his words, he was concise with his words this time.

As he relaxes from the joy of repeating it without stuttering, the stranger responds to his question.

"Yes, I am new to the area. May I know who I may be talking to?" The stranger responds in a monotone voice.

 

Though there is no change in the stranger's tone, Mondo could almost feel an imperceptive change in the place's mood.

A sort of inquisitive prodding nipping at his shirt and his sleeves, trying to inquire who he was.

Mondo quickly shakes his head, believing it to be his active imagination at work again.

 

"I'm Mondo Chandelier, sir. If I may be forthright, what is your name?"

Mondo asks as the foreigner stands up from removing weeds and placing the weeds in a basket.

"That would be a long tale to tell, as my name doesn't quite have an equivalent in English."

 

"So I'll tell you the next best thing folk call me often." The stranger continues speaking.

Mondo listens as he checks the time and decides he got some time to chat before he's late.

"People just tend to call me after what I do, so I guess just call me the Gardener." The stranger, no Gardener, tells Mondo.