A full day at sea, yet there aren't enough fish to trade for dinner. They say I bring bad luck. They want me dead. Sometimes I think maybe they're right.
I walk to the river. The water is clear, but it brings no comfort. My face appears in the reflection—dull, exhausted, hardly human. A tear falls, forming a small circle on the surface. I bring my hands together, scoop up water, and drink it slowly.
As I pour the rest back out, a blinding light flashes into my eyes. I squint, lean closer, and see it—a necklace, caught among the stones at the riverbed. At its center, a black crystal gleams like a night sky scattered with stars.
I lift the crystal necklace toward the sky in front of me, staring at it in awe, curious about the light shimmering from within.
I hesitate for a moment, but curiosity is stronger. My hand touches it.
ARRKKHH—Instantly, my vision is dragged out of my body—to a place I don't understand. The universe spins, light streaks all around me, and my body convulses violently.
I try to pull my hand back, but the grip won't release. I choke back the sound—I don't want to draw anyone's attention.
Then everything stops. The crystal falls. My breath comes in gasps, my body goes limp.
My hand burns and seals at the same time. The stone lies on the ground as if it didn't just try to kill me. I'm shaking so hard it's pathetic. Magic? A curse? Whatever.
Relic shop. Yeah.
---
The bell detonates in my ears when I enter, and put the necklace on the counter.
The old man looks at me like I'm already guilty. I look down. My fingers twitch nonstop.
"Where did you steal this, boy?"
Of course. That's the first thing he says.
"I didn't steal it."
He slaps me hard; my ears ring, before my brain finishes forming a sentence.
"Did you steal it?" His words sound faint.
His breath is rotten.
He wants a different answer. He wants an excuse to throw me harder.
"I SAID I FOUND IT!" I snap without thinking. My stomach growls loudly right after—perfect timing. Embarrassing twice in a row.
He grabs my collar like I'm a stray mutt and screams me out of the shop. Fine. I'm already walking before his last "GET OUT!" stops echoing.
I climb the village hill. Same wind, same sea, same annoying trees. I sit. I wait. For what, I don't know. Hunger bites, but I've had worse.
—DUAAR.
An explosion. Smoke. Fire rising from—no way. The relic shop?
---
The place collapses in minutes. Charred wood, sparks, heat—then something glints in the ash.
The crystal.
I don't think. I tie it around my neck. I leave. I grab my cloak on the hill and go. No one is going to call my name anyway. It feels like I don't even have one. Anymore.
Night shows up fast. Hunger faster. The water tastes strange but I drink because I'm too tired to choose. My body folds in on itself again. Pain everywhere.
I hit the ground.
Blurred.
Light fades.
Sight fades.
Darkness takes everything.
---
Something touches me. Wet. Soft. Sniffing.
I open my eyes. A small cat, start walks to the river. Tail up. Hunting mode.
It make a pathetic noise as it dives in and comes back with a fish.
It sits and eats. It snorts without looking at me.
Fine.
I get up. I can do it too. Maybe. I take a stick, pull a knife from my small waist pouch, and sharpen the tip.
A spear.
I step into the river. Cold. Knees shaking. The cat watches now, like it knows I'm going to fail.
Whatever. Just one fish.
I close my eyes. My vision goes dark. The current goes quiet. Or my mind does. My vision comes… stretches? Bends? I can see around the bend of the river what's coming. The shadow of a fish twisting in water I'm not supposed to see through.
What—why—how—
They're close.
Hold.
Hold.
Now—
I drive the spear down.