บท 66: Town

"Yumi, don't forget the apples! Your grandmother said they were ripe by now!" Her mother shouted.

"Yes, mother!" The little girl Yumi went out their door with a wave as she put her basket on the crook of her elbow.

There was a slight drizzle of rain that morning, so she put up her red hood. She had also checked that the bread on her basket was properly covered before stepping out of their porch.

Like usual, she had to deliver these freshly baked breads to her grandmother living alone in the outskirts of town. Yumi's mother had already asked the old lady to live with them, but she still preferred to live alone. As she had said to Yumi several times, she had already spent most of her time for her family. Now, it was time to indulge herself. She might even get a man, as she often joked to her daughter's consternation.

Yumi knew her grandmother just didn't want to take care of the rambunctious children in the house. Especially now that another noisy one added to the bunch.

Yesterday night, Yumi witnessed the birth of her youngest niece. Yumi was eight now, so her mother and eldest sister let her join to watch the activity.

It was scary for her at first. All those 'haze' and cries verging together in that small room. But the happiness that followed when Kit was born was a priceless experience. Yumi's mother even let her be the first one of her siblings to hold Kit.

Yumi was distracted from her thoughts when several townspeople were clamoring to go to the town center. These people's usual morning was spent taking care of the gardens or livestock in their houses. A change, especially in this slightly dreary weather, probably meant there were travellers stopping in their town, either to take a rest or trade with the townspeople.

That was not Yumi's concern though. She was already a little late since she spent more minutes staring at Kit sleeping that morning, then was reminded by her mother of her duties, so she reluctantly stood up to take the basket handed to her and left the house. That didn't mean she was not curious though.

Fortunately, her grandmother's house was near the town entrance where the travellers came from. She also had to pass through the town center to get there. Smiling widely, Yumi secured her basket closer to her body, then increased her pace as she skipped past the other curious neighbors.

This village was small. Just enough for around a hundred people to live in, like all the other towns one or two miles away from it near the desert. Their only boast was that they have a water source in this sparse area, enough to sustain the living of the people in this town.

Therefore, a child could reach the center in just a few minutes of walking or running, or in Yumi's case, skipping. When Yumi finally reach the town center, the area was already full of adults gossiping about the visitors. Not giving up on her curiosity, Yumi craned her head to try to look at the gaps. When that didn't work, she pushed herself through these gaps, careening herself forward despite the hisses of the adults coming from above her head.

Of course, pushing herself carelessly like that made Yumi trip, or maybe she was pushed by those she had bumped into. However, at that time, that didn't matter to her. Her concern was mostly on the basket she was holding onto tightly as she pushed her way, but was not going to be squashed flat if she fell front first. Her mother would really scold her this time.

Yumi's exasperated breath turned into a surprised gasp when suddenly, hands held onto her upper arms, stopping her from falling on the rough ground. After another breath as she put her right hand on the muscular arm still on her shoulders to get her bearings, while securing her basket on her left, Yumi lifted her face to take a look at her savior when she was sure she could stand securely on her feet again.

This time, her puff of air was softer. The man, or rather, the boy who looked like he was only a few years older than her was staring at her, concerned and questioning. Yumi had to take a pause before she could reply breathlessly. "I'm okay. Thank you."

However, Yumi still couldn't take her eyes off him after they had stepped away from each other. It was not surprising as the boy was good looking.

His hair was longer than Yumi's elder brothers, and would have covered his eyes if not for a hair tie clearing off the hair in a partial updo. From the shadows of him bending over slightly, she had noticed that his eyes was dark, but it was actually a lighter hazel. His skin was also a little darker than hers but still fairer than her brothers.

However, his, let's say, handsome visage was not what made Yumi stare longer at this boy. It was not what surprised Yumi the most.

Before she tripped, she had a view of the travellers and the first one she had noticed was not this boy of course, but the dragon beside him. This was the first time she had seen one. She had only heard of it from the stories of the elders, wherein dragons were the bane of nature, especially of natural disasters like the sandstorms in the desert. Her grandmother once told her that they should thank those creatures for keeping their small town safe.

Anyway, the dragon was at the end of the travelling group's line and the boy was beside it. That would mean they were both the farthest to Yumi. How did this boy reached and caught her in time before she fell then?

Despite Yumi's usual active personality, she was still afraid to ask that from the boy. After ensuring that she was fine, he just smiled at Yumi and Yumi smiled back as he walked back to his group.

Sighing, Yumi suddenly remembered her morning duties, so she hastily turned around and excused herself as she tried to push her way again through the townspeople crowding behind her.

___

Ling came back to his group, still with his lips curved up but his brows also curled and forehead creased, thinking distractedly. Like that girl a while ago, his thoughts were also on his actions earlier. Even he didn't realize how he had moved that fast.

When his group entered this town, Ling's mind was still in the midst of that events they had seen in that yellow 'haze' a day ago. It was obvious that Maga were the same, hence, aside from asking if they were fine, Mayari and the rest left them to their quiet.

However, after seeing that smile on the little girl's face, his thoughts were finally clear as he smiled at Maga too. Maga replied by licking his cheek.

As he wiped his face, Ling heard Mayari's call. The rest of the group already went to the town hall to talk to the town mayor, asking for food and lodging for their group, while Mayari waited with Maga.

"Can you finally talk to me?" Mayari asked once the three were separated a few steps away from the crowd.

Maga leaned its head on top of Ling's, as the boy smiled genuinely to the older man. "Yes, uncle. I'm sorry for only thinking on our own when I know you wanted to help us and we're running on schedule."

Mayari only smiled. "Then, do you still want to continue on our way?"

"Yes." The dragon also agreed by trying to nod its head, however, its movement was stopped by the head it was leaning on.

After giving the dragon a scolding look, Ling stepped away from the dragon and just repeated his answer. "Yes, uncle."

He knew that their experience at the 'haze' affected not just his mind. He was naive to think that trying to go through a large amount of 'haze' would be easy when he knew from his hunting experience that it would be composed of deaths. However, if he couldn't get past through that, how could he accompany Maga back to its supposed home past the Limaw Sea, as promised?

That was why he also had to trust Mayari, and explain to him his experience. It might not be as intense as what the older man previously planned for the child as practice, but he was still the best person they could ask about their experience inside the 'haze'.

"Let's get through this day first."