When Tendo woke up, he found himself lying on a small bed, a warm quilt was covering his small frame. He tried to remember, What is this place? Why is he here? Where are my mom and dad?

Then all the memories came flashing back to him. His parents telling him to survive, him running into the woods to escape from the bad guys, bad guys trying to kill him, the voice in his head, that tingling sensation, his right hand turning into a claw, and then a man with forest green eyes saving his life. He looked at his right hand but it was no longer a claw.

Did he imagine it? But that voice… that voice seemed so real.

He tried to adjust his blurry vision and looked around into the surrounding. It was a small and cozy room with a glass window facing towards the woods and he could see that it was nighttime. The darkness in the woods looked scary but for Tendo that calmness of the night looked so serene giving him peace of mind. He tried to move his limbs, his body hurts a little bit due to exhaustion but he no longer felt tired.

“Oh you’re awake”; this warm voice was of a man who had saved his life. Tendo looked and found himself starring at the man with forest green eyes.

He was standing at the door holding a bowl in his hand. He was no longer wearing a straw hat. His hairs were dark brown in color covering his forehead and eyebrows. He had beautiful facial features. He was now coming towards the bed where Tendo was lying.

“Kiddo you must be hungry. Here eat something first, then we will talk”; then Tendo noticed that he was feeling very hungry.

The man placed the bowl on the side table and helped Tendo in a sitting position while placing the pillow behind his back. Then he started to feed him porridge a little spoon at a time. The taste was light and edible but not like his mother's cooking. He missed the food his mom made for him. He missed his mom so much. Tears started to fall from his eyes again at the remembrance of his parents.

“Hey, hey, it's ok. Everything will be alright. You are a very strong boy. Look here. You will overcome this ok?”, the man said while wiping the tears from his face.

Tendo knew the man was trying to console him. He tried to control his tears but they kept on falling. He didn’t know what will he do without his parents. There was no one left to take care of him in this world. And he felt so lonely.

“I want my parents”, Tendo said with his small voice.

After some time the man said,

“Your parents are no longer in this world", Tendo looked at him with tears brimming in his eyes. He continued, 

"But I can be your father. I know I can never replace your real parents. But I can take care of you”, the man said by taking Tendo’s small hands in his large rough but still warm hands.

“So tell me about yourself. What is your name?”, the man started feeding him porridge again while making small talk with Tendo.

“My name is Tendo”

“Tendo meaning 'Way of Heaven’. Such a nice name. My name is Asahi meaning ‘Ray of light'"

After hearing his name Tendo thought that his name suites him really well, he came into his life like a ray of sunlight.

Chasing the dark clouds in his life.

Bringing a ray of light, a ray of hope. 

“How old are you?”, Asahi asked.

“I am four years old”

“You are so small. But you look stronger and sharper than your age. Have you joined school yet?”

Tendo shook his head in no. 

“Oh, so do you want to go to school?”

“Yes.”, Tendo eagerly said. He told his parents many times to admit him to school but they always thought that he is very small. 

Tendo really wanted to go to school, make new friends, learn, and work very hard so he could become stronger. He has to survive in this bad world and becoming stronger is the only option he has.

“Ok, we will talk about your schooling tomorrow. Now you take a rest. Have a good night’s sleep. If you get afraid at night while sleeping alone, you can come to my room, it's right in front of this room".

Tendo laid down on the bed. Asahi adjusted the quilt on Tendo’s body and kissed his forehead, just like his mom do to him.

The presence of Asahi assured Tendo that he will protect him from all the bad guys. He had seen how strong Asahi is. He wanted to become stronger just like Asahi. So the bad guys can no longer hurt the people he loves. Just like they did to his parents.

And there was that voice in his head. That sweet voice, he wanted to know who that voice belonged to.

Thinking about this Tendo’s drifted into the dream world where there were no bad guys, he was with his parent and he was so happy….

In the dark woods

Crunch… crunch…crunch

“Who killed him?”, a man with a black mask covering his face pushed the body of a man with an arrow sticking out of his stomach and a face full of blood with a claw mark.

“There are two more.”, another man said from the distance.

“These arrows…”; the masked man said with a surprised expression.

“There is only one person who uses arrows”

A rustling sound was heard from the bushes.

“Who is there?”

A man in full black attire emerged from the bushes.

Half of his upper face was covered by a hood. The lower half was containing a smirk that can surely send chills to the bones.

“Did you kill these people?”, the man with the mask asked.

Both men started to back away.

“We know this is your territory. But we were just following the orders. Besides, that child is a bane for all of us. No one wants him to live and you out of all should also think about it. Without him, in this world, you will be the strongest man”

“Did I ask for your opinion? You killed two people in my territory and were in the middle of killing a small child. How daring you people are…”, the man said in his chilly voice.

“That…that w_was necessary. We did what Sora told us. Do you think you can fight against Sora?”

“I’ll see your boss later. Now I should deal with you two…”

Before he could finish his sentence both people started to run in the opposite direction.

Ten seconds later two horrendous screams reverberated in the peaceful jungle. The full moon was high in the sky. In the light of a moon, a large shadow of a wolf could be seen sitting on the rock staring at the moon.

A howl of a wolf echoed in the woods followed by more howls from all the directions as in answering the first call, stirring Tendo in his sleep.