The sky was still draped in the deep velvet of pre-dawn when I woke. A familiar urge to seek out the rising sun had me looking out the window, but in this world without clocks, I had no way to mark the time. I decided to just get up and start the day.
My bed was immediately made, my clothes and hair tidied, and I slipped out of the room. My first goal was simple: find water to wash my face. After a quick rinse at a sink I eventually located, I made to leave the house for a morning walk. But the exterior doors were all secured with unfamiliar, intricate locks. I couldn't figure out how to open them.
Frustrated, I returned to my room, hoping to glean some new understanding from the books Maria had given me. One book detailed their alphabet—a frustrating collection of horizontal lines that, to my untrained eye, were almost indistinguishable. The second book was about the known monsters of the town, and the third focused on identified plants. I desperately wished I could read their names, but for now, the pages were just incomprehensible symbols.
I passed the time by simply studying the illustrations of animals and monsters until a sound from outside jarred me back to the present. I hurried out to investigate and found a middle-aged woman in the kitchen. She was the same woman I had seen the previous day with the children.
"Imbag a igat," I greeted her, offering the 'good morning' phrase I had learned from Jess.
"Oohhh ayyiiaa aapooo," she replied, her expression indicating that my pronunciation or perhaps my phrasing was completely lost on her.
"Mangan," she then said, her tone softening.
Finally! A word I understood: "Let's eat."
A wide smile broke out on my face from the pure joy of comprehension. I looked up to see her smiling back, amused by my reaction.
"Miro," she said after we shared a laugh, and then I introduced myself: "Leafe." So, her name was Leafe. She seemed kind; I hoped we would get along.
I was the only one awake besides Leafe, so I spent the next while helping her prepare the food. One by one, the children and the rest of the caretakers arrived. Once everyone was present, we shared a simple meal of bread and fruit. I wasn't particularly hungry, so I ate very little.
After breakfast, I looked for Jess or Maria but couldn't find them anywhere. Since they were absent, I went back to Leafe and helped her clean up the dining area and wash the dishes.
As I finished, I noticed the children gathering outside. A young girl was teaching them to read and write. I stood listening for a while, hoping to pick up a few more words. That's when I discovered their alphabet was extensive, boasting over sixty characters. Though I could only memorize a few letters, I managed to commit the symbols for numbers one through ten to memory—a small victory.
The lesson ended, but still, none of the people I knew had appeared. With nothing else to do, I decided to walk toward the clothing store and see if Jannet, the perpetually loud owner, needed any help.
On my way, I saw four small children, aged about six to ten, walking toward the same store, each carrying a sack full of grass. Where were they using that? Were they playing? With nothing to lose, I followed them.
When we arrived, Jannet met them at the door. The children immediately unloaded the sacks inside, and Jannet handed them money. A way for children to earn money! This was an interesting discovery. Maybe I could try what they did, too. It would be a step toward independence and help me better enjoy this new world.
I walked slowly into the shop and approached her. I was about to point to the sacks of grass when she suddenly let out a shout: "AampAAhhyaaAA!!??"
She sounded angry. Was she always this angry? I just wanted to ask about the grass.
Then, I noticed papers posted on a side wall. They were illustrations of various materials used for making clothes, each with a corresponding price. One of the pictures was of the very grass the children had just brought.
My morning's lesson had paid off! I recognized the symbols for price and numbers. Though I still couldn't read the name of the grass, I understood the concept: it was like a quest. Bring her the material, and she gives a monetary reward.
Swallowing my slight fear from her shouting, I hurried over and pointed directly at the picture of the grass. Seeing what I was indicating, she strode to her desk and grabbed a sack, a knife, and a piece of paper.
"Ohh attan!!" she yelled as she thrust the tools into my hands. I ignored her shouting as I took the tools. "Kitaem atoi!"
I couldn't understand her words, but her finger was jabbing at the paper, which turned out to be a map.
The Gathering Quest
While Jannet explained something incomprehensible, I tried my best to figure out what she wanted. She also pulled a plant from one of the children's sacks to show me exactly what to pick. "Ohh ikkan!"
After what seemed like a flurry of directions and orders, I left the shop. I looked down at the map as I walked. Jannet had mentioned that these plants could be found from the north of town all the way to the east, usually in watery places like lakes or rivers.
It didn't take long to reach the closest location: a small lake north of town. On the far side, I saw children paddling and playing. After a short dip, they went back to work collecting plants. Each child had a small knife tucked into their waistbands, yet they weren't using them to pull the plant out.
They seemed incredibly skilled at uprooting the plants, while I struggled just to find and pull a single one. I walked closer to watch their technique. A child noticed me and approached.
"Nia tah?" he asked.
I held out the picture of the plant. Hopefully, he could show me an easier way.
"D jai," he said, immediately pointing to a plant not far from the lake. It was slightly different from the drawing, but the leaves had a clear resemblance. The child grabbed its stem and effortlessly pulled it out with one hand.
What?! How did he do that with no effort? I tried to pull out a similar plant, but I failed.
The boy then took a piece of bread from his bag and offered it to me. I wasn't hungry and certainly didn't look like I was starving, but when I looked at the other children, they were all carrying a loaf and eating as they worked. I accepted the bread and ate it.
Once I had finished the bread, the child pointed to another plant. I tried pulling it, and this time, it came out easily. Thanks to the child's small act of kindness, I was finally able to collect the plants without a struggle.
Ten Copper Coins
The children and I finished collecting the plants around the same time and returned to town together. We immediately went back to Jannet's store and dropped our full sacks on the side. She inspected each one, and when she was satisfied with the quality of the plants, she went to her table to retrieve our rewards.
She handed out the coin rewards one by one, and I received ten small copper coins.
The sun was setting as we left the shop. The children were ecstatic and rushed to a nearby store. I followed them out of curiosity to see what they would buy with their hard-earned money. Using their ten small copper coins, they bought bread.
Bread? Okay, I decided to ignore their purchase choice and look at the other goods inside. The store mostly sold different types of bread, but there were also leaves, tree branches, animal parts like wolf claws or feathers, and empty bottles. Since I didn't know the prices of anything else, and I would struggle to ask the seller, I decided to follow the children's lead. For ten small copper coins, I bought ten loaves of bread.
As I walked out, I saw Jess carrying wood. I offered him my help, and a loaf of bread, to carry the heavy load. We delivered the wood to a house that was still under construction. After we handed it over, the owner gave Jess his reward—a sum much larger than my ten small copper coins.
As we walked away from the house, Jess said something, and I only caught the words: "Pai attah?" He was pointing at the loaves of bread I was carrying. I pulled out the paper Jannet had given me. He smiled and patted me on the back.
Then, he reached into his own bag and pulled out several papers to show me a few other jobs available in their town. I saw pictures of wood, various plants, fruit, a werewolf, a large chicken, and water. There were also pictures of a 'dorbab' and a 'kabbab.'
"Singab," Jess said, mentioning the name of a new creature since I had been staring at its picture for a long time. They called the large pig-like monster a 'singab.'
It looked like a dangerous opponent, so I quickly pointed to the picture of the wood.
We immediately headed back to the orphanage to eat dinner with the children. We divided our bounty of bread, fruit, and some meat among everyone. After the meal, I helped clean the kitchen and the dishes. The children had already left for the night.
I went to my room. Today was the first time I had earned money, though I had needed the children's help. Tomorrow, I had a new job: working with wood alongside Jess. Even without being able to read the details, I knew we could manage it.
The night was dark, and I was tired. I was excited for what tomorrow would bring, but for now, it was time to sleep.