The Stranger
1735 Words
The eyes followed Kael everywhere.
He felt them in the market. He felt them in the alleys. He felt them when he scavenged for food and when he dragged his tired feet back to the shelter. Someone was watching him. He could not see who. But he knew.
A full week had passed since the Day of Summoning. Seven days of hunger. Seven days of cold. Seven days of watching Zephyr hover between life and death. The creature had not gotten worse. That was the only good thing. But it had not gotten better either. It just existed. A breathing corpse that refused to die and refused to live.
Kael was exhausted. His body was thin. His eyes were hollow. His spirit was crushed. He did not know how much longer he could go on. He did not know if he even wanted to.
He was digging through a pile of garbage behind the bakery when he felt it again. Those eyes. Boring into his back. He spun around. His heart pounded. His fists clenched.
A girl stood behind him. She was small. Thin. Her clothes were torn and dirty. Her hair was a tangled mess. She looked like she had not eaten in a week. Maybe longer. In her arms, she held a tiny creature. A mouse. A beast mouse. The weakest kind. The kind that could not fight. The kind that could not protect anyone.
Kael stared at her. She stared back.
"What do you want?" he asked. His voice was harsh. He did not trust her. He did not trust anyone.
The girl stepped forward. She was not afraid. That surprised him.
"My name is Mira," she said. "I saw you at the arena. On the Day of Summoning. I saw what you did."
Kael's face hardened. "You saw me get humiliated. You saw me become a joke. You saw me throw away my future for a defect. Congratulations. You witnessed greatness."
Mira shook her head. Her eyes were earnest. "No. I saw someone brave. I saw someone who did not let the world crush him. I saw someone who chose what was right instead of what was easy."
Kael laughed. It was a bitter sound. "Brave? I am not brave. I am stupid. I made a mistake. I ruined my life. Everyone told me to get rid of the creature. I should have listened."
Mira walked closer. She looked at his face. She saw the pain in his eyes. She saw the exhaustion. She saw the despair.
"I failed too," she said. "My beast is worthless. Everyone told me to get rid of it. They said it was a waste of magic. A waste of space. They said I would never amount to anything."
She held up the mouse. It was small and brown. Its nose twitched. Its tiny eyes blinked. It looked at Kael without fear.
"This is Pip," Mira said. "He is the weakest beast in the world. He cannot fight. He cannot protect me. He cannot do anything useful. But he is mine. He chose me. And I chose him. That means something."
Kael looked at the mouse. Then he looked at Mira. She was young. Younger than him. But there was something in her eyes. A fire. A determination. She would not give up. She would not let the world break her.
"Why are you telling me this?" Kael asked. "Why do you care?"
Mira shrugged. "Because I know what it is like to be alone. I know what it is like to have no one. I have been surviving on my own for months. It is hard. It is lonely. I saw you at the arena and I thought maybe you could use a friend."
Kael shook his head. "I do not need friends. I do not need anyone. I am fine on my own."
Mira smiled. It was a small smile. A sad smile. "You are not fine. You are starving. You are exhausted. You are about to collapse. I can see it. Everyone can see it. You need help. Even if you are too proud to admit it."
Kael opened his mouth to argue. But no words came. She was right. He was not fine. He was barely holding on. He was one bad day away from giving up completely.
Mira stepped closer. "Let me help you. I know the city. I know the hidden paths. The secret places. I know where to find food and water. I have been surviving on my own for months. I can teach you."
Kael looked at her. He looked at the mouse in her arms. He looked at her torn clothes and her hollow cheeks. She was just like him. A castaway. A failure. A nobody.
"Why would you help me?" he asked. "You do not even know me."
Mira shrugged again. "Because you are the only person in this city who understands. Everyone else has beasts they are proud of. Everyone else has families who love them. Everyone else has a future. We have nothing. But we have each other."
Kael was silent for a long moment. Then he nodded. He did not trust her. Not completely. But he was too tired to fight. Too tired to push her away.
"Fine," he said. "Follow me. But if you try anything, I will not hesitate to defend myself."
Mira laughed. It was a bright sound. "Defend yourself with what? You have no beast. No weapons. No strength. You are just as pathetic as I am."
Kael almost smiled. Almost. "Shut up and follow me."
They walked through the city. Mira knew the back alleys. The hidden paths. The places where the guards did not go. She moved like a shadow. Silent. Quick. Kael struggled to keep up.
"How do you know these places?" he asked.
"I have been living on the streets since I was twelve," she said. "My family died in a fire. I had nowhere to go. I learned to survive. I learned to hide. I learned that the city is full of secrets. You just have to know where to look."
Kael felt a pang of sympathy. He had lost his family too. Not to death. To rejection. But the pain was the same. The loneliness was the same.
They reached the abandoned building. Kael pushed open the door. Mira stepped inside. She looked around at the broken walls and the leaking roof. She did not complain. She just nodded.
"It is not much," she said. "But it is dry. It is safe. It is home."
She looked at Zephyr. The creature lay in the corner. Its eyes were closed. Its breathing was shallow. Its scales were dull and lifeless.
"Oh," Mira breathed. "Oh, it is beautiful."
Kael laughed. A bitter laugh. "Beautiful? It is a defect. A useless creature that cannot even stand. Everyone calls it a mistake. Everyone says I should have let them destroy it."
Mira shook her head. She knelt beside Zephyr. She reached out her hand. She touched its scales gently.
"No," she said. "It is not a defect. Look at its markings. Look at the patterns on its scales. They are not random. They are deliberate. They mean something."
Kael stared at her. "What are you talking about?"
Mira pointed at the symbols. The strange symbols that Kael had noticed before. The symbols that looked like writing.
"These are ancient," she said. "I have seen something like them before. In an old book. A book about forgotten beasts. Creatures from before the current system. Creatures that were sealed away."
Kael's heart pounded. "How do you know about that?"
Mira shrugged. "I spent a lot of time in the library. Before I was kicked out. I read everything I could find. I wanted to understand why I had failed. I wanted to find answers. I found a book about Primeval Beasts. Creatures of legend. Creatures of myth. Creatures that the world wanted to forget."
Kael felt something shift inside him. A hope. A spark.
"What happened to the book?" he asked.
"It was taken," Mira said. "The librarian found me reading it. She said it was forbidden. She said I was not allowed to see it. She took it away. I never saw it again."
Kael looked at Zephyr. He looked at the symbols on its scales. He thought about the moonlight. The glow. The power.
"Zephyr is a Primeval Beast," he said. "I know it. I can feel it. It chose me for a reason."
Mira looked at him. Her eyes were wide. "Are you sure?"
Kael nodded. "I read a book too. In the library. It described Primeval Beasts. It described their power. Their history. Their secrets. Zephyr matches everything. It is not a defect. It is a miracle."
Mira sat back on her heels. Her face was pale. She was thinking. Processing.
"If that is true," she said, "then you are in danger. There are people who would kill for a Primeval Beast. People who have been searching for one for years. If they find out what you have, they will come for you. They will not stop until they have it."
Kael looked at Zephyr. The creature opened its eyes. Those golden eyes. They were brighter now. Stronger. It looked at him. It trusted him. It believed in him.
"Let them come," Kael said. "I will protect Zephyr with my life. I will never let anyone take it away."
Mira nodded. She reached out and touched his arm.
"Then I will help you," she said. "I know the city. I know the people. I know how to hide. We can keep Zephyr safe. Together."
Kael looked at her. He did not trust her completely. But he needed her. He could not do this alone.
"Thank you," he said. "I do not deserve your help. But I am grateful."
Mira smiled. "You do not have to deserve it. You just have to accept it. That is enough."
They sat together in the abandoned building. The sun set outside. The moon rose. Zephyr opened its eyes again. It looked at the moon. Its scales shimmered. Just a little. Just a hint of gold.
Kael felt something change. A shift in the air. A shift in his heart. He was not alone anymore. He had Mira. He had Zephyr. He had hope.
And that was enough. For now.
- Writer
