WELCOME TO THE CITY
1969 Words
The SUV rolled steadily down the winding mountain road, leaving the quiet cabin farther and farther behind.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Soft music drifted from the speakers while golden rays of morning sunlight filtered through the towering pine trees. Outside, birds scattered as the vehicle rounded each bend, and thick blankets of mist curled around the mountains like sleeping giants.
Kael remained glued to the window.
Every second brought something new.
The road itself fascinated him.
It stretched endlessly like a smooth black river, perfectly carved through the mountains.
No floating stones.
No crystal pathways.
No glowing bridges suspended in the sky like those of Aerion.
Just...
Black.
Flat.
Orderly.
His eyes followed the white lines painted down the middle.
"..."
Why had humans drawn on the ground?
He leaned forward until his forehead nearly touched the glass.
Harry noticed.
"I think he's trying to solve traffic laws."
Xavier snorted.
"I'd pay money to hear his theories."
Kaycee leaned between the seats.
"I think the road is winning."
Kael slowly raised a finger and began tracing the white line through the window.
Stephanie smiled.
"I've never seen someone this amazed by asphalt."
Stephan kept both hands on the steering wheel.
"To be fair..."
He glanced at Kael through the rear-view mirror.
"...he also apologized to my car yesterday."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Even Kael smiled despite having absolutely no idea why.
Half an hour later...
The forest slowly disappeared.
The mountains became smaller.
Then...
Buildings.
At first only a few.
Small houses with colorful roofs.
Tiny roadside shops.
Children kicking footballs across dusty fields.
Women arranging fruits beneath bright umbrellas.
Kael blinked.
His head slowly turned from one side to the other.
Everything moved.
People.
Animals.
Bicycles.
Cars.
Motorcycles.
He couldn't decide where to look first.
Then...
A motorcycle sped past.
VROOOOM!
Kael physically flinched.
His eyes widened.
He twisted around in his seat so quickly that his seatbelt caught him.
Xavier completely lost it.
"He tried to chase it!"
Kaycee laughed.
"I think he thought it was attacking us."
Harry adjusted his glasses.
"His reaction speed is... impressive."
Stephan chuckled.
"I've driven with toddlers less curious than him."
Kael looked from one person to another.
"...?"
Again...
They were laughing.
At him.
He frowned.
Then crossed his arms dramatically.
Everyone laughed even harder.
Stephanie wiped away tears.
"Oh no..."
"He figured out we're teasing him."
Kael turned his face toward the window with exaggerated dignity.
Refusing to acknowledge any of them.
Kaycee leaned over.
She gently poked his shoulder.
Nothing.
She poked him again.
Still nothing.
One more poke.
Kael slowly turned...
Looked directly at her...
Then deliberately looked away again.
Xavier clapped loudly.
"He has attitude!"
"I respect it."
The scenery changed once more.
This time...
The city appeared.
Not gradually.
Suddenly.
Towering glass buildings rose into the clouds.
Massive electronic billboards flashed colorful advertisements across entire skyscrapers.
Traffic lights blinked red, yellow and green.
Hundreds...
No...
Thousands of people filled the streets below.
Car horns echoed everywhere.
Music poured from open shop entrances.
Street vendors shouted to customers.
Police sirens wailed in the distance.
Above it all, enormous digital screens covered entire buildings, displaying moving pictures.
Kael froze.
Every sound.
Every movement.
Every flashing light struck him all at once.
His breathing slowed.
"..."
This...
This wasn't a village.
This was...
A world.
He had never imagined so many humans could exist in one place.
The SUV stopped at a red traffic light.
Kael pointed outside.
A bus rumbled past.
It was almost the size of a small house.
His mouth slowly fell open.
Then another one passed.
Then another.
Kaycee couldn't stop giggling.
"He keeps getting surprised."
Stephan smiled.
"Wait until he sees an airplane."
Harry nodded thoughtfully.
"We should probably prepare him."
Xavier grinned.
"No."
"Let's not."
Stephanie sighed.
"You people are terrible."
The light turned green.
Traffic surged forward.
Kael continued staring upward.
Glass buildings reflected the sky itself.
People walked while staring into glowing rectangles in their hands.
One woman laughed by herself.
Another spoke loudly despite nobody standing beside her.
Kael looked utterly bewildered.
He gently tapped Kaycee's arm.
Then pointed.
She followed his finger.
The woman was talking through wireless earbuds.
Kaycee realized exactly what he meant.
She couldn't explain.
Instead...
She simply shrugged.
Kael frowned.
So...
Humans talked to invisible people.
Interesting.
He made a mental note.
A loud rumbling suddenly echoed overhead.
Kael instinctively ducked.
Everyone looked up.
An airplane soared across the bright blue sky.
Kael's eyes locked onto it.
His mouth opened again.
The enormous silver machine disappeared into the clouds.
He remained frozen for several seconds.
Then...
Very slowly...
He looked at Stephan.
Then pointed upward.
Stephan smiled.
"It's called an airplane."
Of course...
Kael understood none of it.
Instead, Stephan spread his arms like wings.
"...Whoooosh."
He mimed flying.
Kael stared.
Then looked back toward the sky.
Understanding finally crossed his face.
He nodded.
Then...
To everyone's surprise...
He spread his own arms.
Leaning forward in his seat.
Making surprisingly convincing flying noises.
"...Shhhhhhh..."
"...Woooooosh..."
The car erupted.
Xavier was laughing so hard he nearly slid off his seat.
Kaycee buried her face in Stephanie's shoulder.
Harry actually removed his glasses because tears had formed in his eyes.
Stephan had to grip the steering wheel tighter.
"I can't..."
"I can't drive if you people keep laughing."
Kael looked around proudly.
Clearly convinced he had understood perfectly.
Several minutes later...
The SUV pulled into an elegant neighborhood lined with flowering trees and enormous modern homes hidden behind wrought-iron gates.
Water fountains sparkled in carefully manicured gardens.
Luxury cars rested in polished driveways.
Everything looked clean.
Peaceful.
Expensive.
The gates before them slowly slid open.
Kael leaned closer to the window.
Beyond them stood a magnificent mansion of white stone and glass, with broad steps leading to carved double doors. Balconies wrapped around the upper floors, ivy climbed the walls, and a wide circular driveway surrounded a fountain whose water glittered in the afternoon sun.
The SUV rolled to a stop.
Silence settled over the car.
Stephan switched off the engine.
"Home."
Kael couldn't understand the word.
But he understood the feeling.
This place mattered to them.
He stepped out slowly.
His eyes traveled from the towering pillars to the wide windows that reflected the sky. A gentle breeze carried the scent of blooming flowers across the courtyard.
Then he noticed something that made him pause.
Several house staff had already come outside to greet the group.
They smiled warmly at Stephan and the others.
But when their eyes landed on the unfamiliar young man standing beside them...
The smiles faded into puzzled curiosity.
One maid whispered something to another.
A gardener lowered his watering hose.
The older butler adjusted his glasses, his gaze lingering on the unfamiliar young man standing beside the group.
Silence settled over the courtyard.
For the first time since they had found him unconscious in the mountains, everyone paused long enough to truly look at him.
He appeared to be around twenty years old.
Tall, standing just over six feet, with a naturally athletic build that seemed sculpted rather than trained. He wasn't broad or intimidating, yet there was an effortless strength in the way he carried himself, as though every movement had been perfected over countless years.
His raven-black hair rested in soft, untamed waves, falling just enough to brush against his eyebrows. A few loose strands danced across his forehead whenever the breeze passed, giving him a slightly unkempt appearance that somehow suited him perfectly.
His skin held a warm bronze complexion that seemed untouched by imperfection. There wasn't a single scar, blemish, or wrinkle to be found—as though time itself had simply... forgotten him.
His face was striking.
Not because it fit the standards of ordinary beauty...
But because it almost didn't seem real.
His sharp jawline, defined cheekbones, and perfectly balanced features gave him an appearance that felt almost carved rather than born. There was something timeless about him—something impossible to describe yet strangely difficult to ignore.
Then there were his eyes.
They were a deep sapphire blue unlike anything any of them had ever seen.
Not bright.
Not pale.
But rich and impossibly clear, like looking into the deepest part of an untouched ocean beneath a starlit sky.
Whenever sunlight touched them, tiny flecks of silver seemed to shimmer deep within the irises before disappearing again, almost as though distant stars had been trapped inside them.
No one noticed.
Or perhaps...
No one looked closely enough.
He wore a charcoal hoodie that Stephan had lent him earlier that morning, along with dark jeans and a pair of white sneakers that were still slightly too large for him. They were ordinary clothes—completely human.
Yet somehow...
They looked almost foreign on him.
As if he had learned to wear them by observing others rather than growing up in them.
Every movement he made carried an unusual elegance.
Even standing still.
He never slouched.
Never fidgeted.
Never shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
He simply...
Observed.
Quietly.
Patiently.
His gaze wandered across the mansion, taking in every pillar, every window, every flower bed, every servant moving through the courtyard. His eyes lingered on details most people would never notice, storing each one away with silent curiosity.
He looked less like someone seeing a new place...
And more like someone trying to understand an entirely different world.
There was an innocence about him that made him seem younger than he looked.
When something caught his attention, he tilted his head ever so slightly without realizing it—a habit Kaycee had already begun finding oddly adorable.
His expressions were honest.
If he was confused, he tilts his head.
If he was curious, his eyes followed.
If he smiled...
It was small.
Gentle.
The kind of smile that appeared only when he genuinely felt it.
There was no pretending with him.
No hidden arrogance.
No desire to impress anyone.
He simply... existed.
Unaware that every pair of eyes in the courtyard had found their way to him.
"...He's actually really handsome," Stephanie admitted quietly.
Kaycee nodded almost immediately.
"I was thinking the same thing."
the butler cleared his throat politely.
"Master Stephan..."
"I believe your parents have been waiting for your return."
Stephan's relaxed expression vanished.
"Oh..."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I completely forgot."
Xavier laughed.
"Yeah..."
"They're definitely going to ask about him."
He nodded toward Kael.
Stephanie sighed.
"And we still have absolutely no idea how we're supposed to explain this."
Kaycee looked between them before smiling brightly.
"We'll just tell them the truth."
"The truth?"
Xavier raised an eyebrow.
"You mean..."
"'We found a random guy unconscious in the mountains, he speaks an unknown language, eats enough for eight people, and decided to come home with us'?"
Kaycee blinked.
"...When you say it like that..."
"It sounds strange."
Stephan couldn't help laughing.
"It is strange."
For the first time since entering the gates...
Kael looked at the five of them.
They were smiling again.
Laughing again.
He still couldn't understand a single word they said.
But somehow...
He knew they were talking about him.
He simply tilted his head.
"...Va?"
That was enough.
Xavier burst into laughter.
"He did it again!"
"I swear he's asking for food."
Stephan instinctively hugged the paper bag still tucked beneath his arm.
"No."
Absolutely not."
Everyone laughed as they began walking toward the enormous front doors of the mansion.
kael watched as they entered the mansion and followed suit, the door closed behind them and they all approached the living room.
Unaware...
That somewhere else in the city...
Someone had just seen the same face Kael now wore.
And for the first time in years...
A forgotten memory stirred.
- Writer
