The cabin stood defiantly amidst the frost-kissed Enohayean Mountains, its wooden frame creaking from the wind. Within its walls, the air was warm and snug, a stark contrast to the unusual scene of a boy, accompanied by his two stuffed animal companions, waiting for a girl before them to awake from her feverish slumber.

  As the seconds ticked by from a wall-mounted clock, the rhythmic sound constantly breaking the quiet ambience, the girl stirred faintly, her breaths shallow yet steady. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, the wooden interior of the roof above her meeting her gaze. She could feel a sweeping warmth cradling her in the bed, soothing her—the complete opposite to the environment she was used to.

  For a brief moment, she sank into the calm as she waded through her thoughts. The rich brown of the surrounding wooden interior gave off a sense of security, a rather foreign sensation to her. In comparison, the walls, roof, and floor of that oppressively dark room she always woke up in had been lined with frigid gray stones. The cold there seemed to seep from every crevice and into her very soul.

  Loneliness had been her only companion in that hopeless setting—say for another.

  “Curse…” The girl murmured to herself, the first thing popping up in her head being the image of her only real ally in that forsaken place: a shapeless black blob with hovering voids of white for eyes and a mouth. “Friend…” she remembered it whispering, its voice echoing like a lullaby, both soothing and sinister. Its smile stretched unnaturally wide, almost splitting its face.

  Though the girl never registered how creepy it was, why would she? It was the one who taught her almost everything she knew and the only thing that seemed to care about her. To her, that sinister smile was a source of comfort, which is why she agreed to it with no hesitation when it proposed an escape. All it asked for her in return was to “Take my hand…”

  The girl’s head throbbed as she struggled to remember what happened after. Only flashes of moving shadows and flying red came to be—guards lying crumpled, lifeless. Next, their blood staining the walls of her prison and pooling beneath them, spreading like ink on paper.

  The images then shifted again as she remembered standing outside for the first time in her life, staring down at a raging sea. Next thing she knew, the cool touch of the open-air paled in comparison to the icy embrace of the ocean, her body being dragged deeper and swallowed, her vision darkening.

  Then that hand—it had saved her. But no face came to mind, just a vague feeling of acceptance.

  Shivering from the memory of the ocean, the girl snuggled further into the enrapturing warmth of the blue blanket that cradled her, giving herself to the unknown feeling of ecstasy. Only for a short moment though, as she snapped back into consciousness. The realization she was in an unknown place finally struck, leading her to shoot straight up on the bed she layed in.

  Taking survey of the unfamiliar cabin, she eventually met the gaze of a startled, but smiling boy. He sat right beside the bed with two enormous creatures standing behind him.

  As they locked eyes, the boy’s olive-toned and freckled face beamed with an ecstatic smile, creating raised dimples at the cheeks accompanying his brightly shining green eyes. She could see he wore a green stitched sweater, almost the same shade of light green as his short and ruffled hair. However, the thing that intrigued her the most was his right arm, or rather, lack of one.

  To his left, a creature resembling a bear caught the girl's attention, but something seemed off. Standing upright, it sported a light shade of green with a playful blue, vine-like spiral pattern covering its pudgy body. Stitches, like those on the boy's shirt, adorned the bear, especially around areas human joints would be. A wide 'x' stitch formed a mouth on its brown snout. All these physical characteristics created a goofy and cartoonish appearance.

  On the boy's right side stood a fox-like creature, standing upright on its four legs. Similar to its bear brother, it boasted a light green color, a blue vine-like spiral pattern covering its body, and stitches scattered around, including ones forming a semi-circle around its head above the jaw, mimicking a mouth.

  Even though they both sported non threatening appearances, the creatures, with eyes as mere horizontal black slits, still gave the girl an eerie sensation, as if they were keenly observing her every move. Their towering stature in comparison to both her and the boy further creeped her out.

  Coupled with the fact she woke up in an unknown place and her hazy memories of what she was doing before, her fight or flight response inevitably kicked in.

  "Mumu! Nini! Look! She's awake!" The boy exclaimed, turning towards his two stuffing filled companions. "Gosh, what a relief! The past two weeks I honestly didn’t think she’d make it, especially with such a fever and injuries I bandaged. Whew, am I glad sh—!"

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  While voicing his concern for the girl's health over the passing days, the boy's train of thought would soon be interrupted by a sudden thud on the hardwood floor. Looking back to the bed, the girl had disappeared. A quick search, though, led to him finding the girl on the floor, both of her arms raised in fear.

  The girl attempted to flee the unknown place, but her weakened legs betrayed her. This resulted in her falling over the left side of the bed.

  “M-miss! Are you okay? What’s wrong?” The boy said as he reached out his hand, only for the girl to jerk back.

  Now shaking uncontrollably with tears in her eyes, she muttered something inaudible.

  "Um…” The boy hesitated. “I couldn't exactly hear what you said, miss… Either way, we need to get you back onto the bed! Moving too much will undo all of the bandages I put on you."

  As the boy approached and reached out his hand again, the girl muttered again, slightly louder this time, her voice emerging shaky and hoarse. "P-Please… No hurt…"

  "No hurt…?” The boy repeated as he tilted his head in confusion. It was only a moment later did the realization dawn on him. “Eh!? Wait a second, I won’t hurt you miss, I promise. Don't be scared."

  Hearing the boy's calm voice, the girl lowered her guard a bit, revealing her gaunt face. It confused her, as every other time an outstretched hand got ahold of her, she always remembered being taken somewhere. It always ended up being painful. Any time she fought back, she would be zapped or beaten until she complied or fell unconscious. The ones who did that to her on the daily, the ones with black cloaks, their body language exuded hostility.

  This boy, however, was different. He knelt down in front of her, his movements slow and deliberate, as if afraid to startle her further. While she couldn't fully understand him, she could tell he meant no ill will to her. "No… N-No hurt?"

  "Hm, it seems she doesn’t know how to speak… It’s as if she's a toddler, but she looks to be my age. Where did she come from?" The boy thought to himself, contemplating what to say next.

  "Um, y-yes that’s right! Uh… N-No hurt." Taking a moment to point at himself, he introduced himself in hopes of calming the girl's nerves. "My name is Dama—Dama Jinbia—and I mean you no harm. The pudgy bear behind me is Mumu, and his fox sister beside him is Nini! They may look weird, but I promise, they're super reliable and friendly. You're safe here, so please, take my hand."

  It was that phrase again, just like with her friend. Due to her overwhelming fear and confusion however, her fight-or-flight response was in overdrive, causing her to cautiously looked at Dama's outstretched hand.

  Yet, when she looked up and saw Dama’s smiling face, a faint sense of safety crept in—it was a feeling she had long forgotten the touch of.

  Finally taking his hand, Dama squeezed her hand gently and lifted the girl as her atrophied legs struggled to support her own weight. Looking from her feet to Dama's face, she could see it was first written with a mix of saddening concern, but soon was overwritten with a warm smile and eyes that provided nothing but silent support as he helped her regain stability. "Can you walk, miss?"

  Again not fully comprehending Dama's words, the girl attempted to walk towards the bed on her own, only to stumble and fall towards the floor.

  Catching the girl with ease, Dama expressed his concern. "Woah! You have to be more careful; you might have hurt yourself even further, or even reopened some of those wounds I patched. Don't worry, I'll help you."

  Taking her left arm over his own left shoulder, Dama helped the girl back into his bed. As he tucked her back into the bed and ensured her bandages were still intact, he weighed his options on how to confront the situation he found himself in. “Bruises all over her body. Signs of malnourishment. Has trouble speaking. She can't even walk. Overall, her growth in every basic area has been stunted to an extreme… Just what kind of life was she living before?”

  Sitting back on the stool he spent hours upon whilst looking over the girl, Dama continued to ponder, reflexively staring out the circular window beside the front door. “No, I shouldn’t worry about that right now. Whatever happened in the past, I’m glad I at least found her before anything further could happen. I want to—no, I have to help her the best I can!” He said as he pumped his fist in front of him.

  Thinking about it for a short moment though, Dama then leaned forward as he grasped his chin. “But, where do I go from here? Should I take her to Granny Tsubasa? She'll definitely know what to do, but I can’t carry this girl all the way down into Enohay Village, especially in her current condition. If only I had two arms... Maybe I can bring Granny Tsu up here! …Nah, I wouldn't want to bother her too much, that old bird is pretty ancient nowadays. Heh, she’d kill me with the power of a thousand young maidens if she heard me say that. What to do…”

  Unbeknownst to Dama, the girl had turned her attention towards and blankly stared at him. Watching him audibly groan, twist, turn, and scratch his head seemed rather amusing to her, akin to observing a wild monkey. Gazing down at her hands and recalling his introduction, the girl faintly smiled.

  “Da…ma… D-Dama…”

  Perking up, Dama's voice became an octave higher as he replied, “Oh! Y—You said my name! Something wrong, miss?”

  Looking back up from her hands, the sunrays shining on her face, revealing a smile that pleasantly shocked Dama, the girl said one word: "Giona…"

  -

  Next: (Chapter 2) Fateful Encounter: Part 2