"Sir, here. Are you sure you don't need any help?" The pharmacy staff said to the kid, who's still clutching his side.

"Maybe a cup of water? I'm kind of thirsty," Ford, the kid who received a punch from Eigh, still squirming in pain, requested. He felt his throat dry after gasping for air for too long. The pain was already gone, but for some reason, he still feels kind of paralyzed by what happened.

Not before a minute was up, the staff came back with a cup of water. He took a sip and said, "Thank you. That helped a bunch."

"No, it's alright. Would it be okay to leave you now? Maybe your friend will be back anytime now for sure." The staff took back the cup after Ford drank it straight. She saw her co-worker giving her a sign for help, and so she had to get back to work.

"Back? What do you mean?" Still huffing, he looked towards the glass cabinet where Eigh was busy looking at the potions that were being displayed.

"She left around two seconds after she.. punched you."

"Whaaaat!?" Whatever negative he was feeling suddenly wiped out. He was able to stand up in a flinch. "Here we go again."

He ran towards the exit and looked around the bustling crowd. Searching for clues to her whereabouts.

It's not that he's worried because she left for a while, but he's afraid of her wanderlust acting up again. She always gets lost when she wanders around, getting curious about the things she sees. Usually, it doesn't go well. One time, she was lost in the forest. Her reason at that time for losing was that she was following a strange-colored Faeroh. But faerohs are a very rare species. But they are much more common in the realm of the divine tree. But that place is just a legend in regards to its existence. But the fact about it being real or not, only time will tell.

Ford went to a walking security officer and asked, "Sir, have you seen a girl around this small walk around here?" The officer was amused by the kid in front of him. The kid used the adjective "this small," pointing around the middle of his forehead. He wanted to laugh at it, but he saw how worried the kid was and took the matter seriously.

"I'm not a very sure kid. But let me think." He looked around to try to remember things, and suddenly something came up to him.

"Is it the kid who had her hair this long?" he asked, showing shoulder-length hair. He remembered that when he bought a donut at a makeshift store, she saw a kid who was walking while looking up. The kid almost hit him, but instead of saying sorry, she just walked past him without any care at all. He told Ford the details he knew.

"I see. Sorry for any displeasure she had caused, Mr. officer. May I ask what direction she was going?"

He pointed toward the east. "She was going in that direction, but it had already been minutes since then, and Central is a big place; do you need some help?"

"No need, sir; I can handle this one. Anyways, thank you so much, sir."

Before the officer could answer, the kid had already left, running in the direction he said.

Ford ran towards the east, following the line of the street. He never thought that the event was a hassle for him; he was more worried about what could happen to her.

A scene appeared in his head—something that has been his nightmare every time she gets lost.

"No, it won't happen again."

Eventually, he reached an intersection exactly at the time when pedestrians on all sides were allowed to cross the street.

He got overwhelmed by the number of people crossing. He needs to calm down and start walking, but the hurry is still evident in the pace at which his feet are striding.

"Gori, have you seen her?" Out of nowhere, Ford spoke as if speaking in the air.

"We've been searching for her even since she crossed this street," a man wearing typical farmer's working attire replied. This man carries a farming tool on his shoulders.

"In what direction did she go after crossing?"

"That's what we don't know. As if she's suddenly become invisible and undetectable. But I'm going to continue searching for her."

"Thank you so much, Gori."

"No worries, young master."

As his voice disappears, so does he magically. His disappearance didn't initiate any reaction from around them, as if he didn't exist at all. It looks like Ford is the only one who knows of his presence.

Ford didn't mind Gori's disappearance; it wasn't the first time he had seen or encountered it. That's just one of the mights of the powerful minority.

As he crossed the street, he wondered: How could someone like him look for Eigh when even someone like Gori failed to do so? But he didn't care. He'd rather do anything than sit back and do nothing.

...

"Marikit, I have to go now. Just like always, I can't leave them that long. Ill be back next winter time. Till then, I got more stories to tell you."

An old man in front of me with a very thick beard stood up from the seat across the table. We were happily chatting about the world, our favorite past time together.

As he stood up, his body hunched, showing signs of aging.

"Can't you stay here? I'd be willing to give more than what we have settled with, and I doubt your bones can handle your lazy ass," I jokingly said. Him, leaving is not a problem for me. But I know for a fact that there will be no next time. He won't be coming back anymore.

The man caressed his back and shoulders.

"You don't have to worry about this old man; I could climb up here; there's no reason for me to be able to come down easily. *Cough* *heavy cough." He covered his mouth and looked at his palm. He put his gloves on hastily and wiped his mouth for some reason.

I know the thing he's hiding. Because I could sense what it was. "Can't we talk about it? Just stay."

He walked toward me and held my face, wiping the tears that slipped down my face, which I couldn't control.

"Marikit, I told you, Ill be back. You gotta believe me. Like always, I have to go down, help them, and get some stories to tell you."

He patted my shoulder and started walking out.

"Till next time, Marikit."

I don't want him to go. I want him to stay.

" No.. no!!! Come back here!! Stay with -."

"ME!!"

As I shouted, the place changed. The interior is the same. I have my makeshift bed in here, the table for 3 people there, and the pathway towards the exit of the room, but it is much darker in here.

That nightmare again.. No, much like... my memory of the past. For me, that memory was like just yesterday, yet very distant. If only I could go back in time. Such a convenient power.

'It's not convenient like you think it is.' a voice rang in my head. That irritating voice. I really hate his smugness. Just because he's much more powerful than me.

"Ugh. Irritating." I stood up from my bed and went to my table. I picked up a mug and filled it with water. I drank it; I could taste something wrong in my water. I spit them out and looked at the mug I used. It's filled with bugs and other impurities.

"How long has it not been cleaned up?"

Now that I see it, there's no one here, just me. Where is that kid, by the way?

"Nieves??" I called out. No one replied.

I went out towards the exit and shouted the kid's name again.

"Nieves!!!"

After a couple of seconds, an after shadow flew in from the horizon and reached where I was in a nick of time.

"Nieves, where have you been, huh???"

...

A cold wind coming from the south blew towards the frozen lake. From a distance, men in thick coats, to battle the cold wind, were working tirelessly. Digging a well in the frozen top layer of the lake. They are digging for fresh water to drink to sell to the tribe, which is very essential to every human.

The lake is not your typical one. It is the only lake or body of water that is frozen in the desert south. This frozen lake leads to the mountain veil on the other side. A week from this point, Eigh and the others will have to traverse this giant lake, which would take half a day on foot to reach the other side and the foot of the mountain.

There is another existence at the lakeside: a kid and an ethereal-looking creature flying above her.

The two seem to be communicating quietly. They're just staring at each other. The kid was kind of hypnotized by its beauty. 

Sadness appeared on the kid's face, and she waved her hand towards it.

"Alright. See you next time!"

The creature flapped its wings and flew so fast that, with the single blink of an eye, it was already gone.

The kid blinked again, and she looked around the place where she was. She looked around and whispered,

"Where am I? What am I doing here?"