The Silence Between Dreams
830 Words
The next morning, Asura once again walked toward the grassy field beyond the village.
Toward the old tree that stood alone beneath the endless sky.
The tree where their dreams had begun.
The place where four children shared laughter, hopes, and promises beneath dancing sunlight.
A place where the seeds of dreams had quietly taken root.
The wind moved gently through the tall grass as Asura arrived beneath the tree.
One by one, the others appeared.
First Reza.
Then Mira.
And finally Leon, dressed far more simply than before so he could avoid attention from the villagers.
Asura smiled brightly the moment he saw them.
A rare expression that still felt unfamiliar on his face.
Asura:
“I’m going to become a big brother.”
The others blinked in surprise.
Asura’s eyes shone with excitement.
“My mother is going to have a baby.”
For a moment, he paused before quietly adding—
“I’m happy… really happy.”
Mira’s face immediately brightened.
Mira:
“That’s wonderful!”
Leon smiled warmly.
Leon:
“Congratulations, Asura.”
Reza also smiled—
But something about it felt forced.
Small.
Uneasy.
Asura noticed immediately.
Years of observing people had sharpened his instincts far beyond those of a normal child.
Asura tilted his head slightly.
Asura:
“Reza… aren’t you happy?”
Reza quickly looked away.
Reza:
“No, it’s not that…”
He forced out a laugh.
“You just don’t know anything yet… that’s why you’re happy.”
Silence lingered for a brief second.
Then Reza waved his hand carelessly.
“But anyway, I’m happy for you.”
Asura quietly stared at him.
He didn’t fully understand those words.
Not yet.
There were still many things Asura did not know about this world.
Things hidden beneath smiles and silence.
Reza and Mira belonged to the lower castes of society.
But Asura…
Asura belonged to something even lower.
The slave class.
People considered beneath human.
And the world treated them accordingly.
Still…
That day, the four children laughed and played beneath the old tree once again.
As if nothing could ever change.
But time moved forward without mercy.
Days became weeks.
Weeks became months.
And slowly…
Things began to change.
Eight months passed.
The cold winds of winter slowly faded, replaced by warmer days.
Asura’s mother’s stomach had grown large now.
His little sister would soon enter the world.
That morning, Asura once again went to the grassy field beneath the old tree.
But something felt strange.
Only Leon was there.
Asura looked around.
No Reza.
No Mira.
Leon frowned slightly.
Leon:
“They’re late.”
Asura nodded.
Asura:
“Maybe they’re busy with something.”
But deep inside…
Something felt wrong.
Days passed.
Then weeks.
Reza and Mira never returned.
The old tree that once echoed with laughter now felt strangely empty.
Only Asura and Leon remained.
One afternoon, while sitting beneath the tree in silence, Leon suddenly spoke.
Leon:
“Asura…”
Asura looked toward him.
Leon hesitated briefly.
“Do you think something happened to them?”
Asura lowered his gaze toward the grass.
The wind moved quietly around them.
Asura:
“…I don’t know.”
But for some reason…
A strange uneasiness had begun growing inside his chest.
Finally, on the day Asura’s little sister was supposed to be born…
He and Leon decided to search for their missing friends.
The two boys walked through the poorer parts of the settlement, passing broken huts and exhausted workers returning from the mines.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a small worn-down house.
Asura stepped forward and knocked on the wooden door.
Knock. Knock.
After a few moments, the door slowly creaked open.
A thin, weak-looking man appeared.
His face looked exhausted.
His eyes hollow.
Asura spoke politely.
Asura:
“Is this Reza’s house?”
The man stared at them silently for a moment before nodding.
Man:
“Yes.”
His gaze shifted suspiciously between the two boys.
“Who are you?”
Asura answered honestly.
Asura:
“I’m his friend.”
He looked past the man toward the dark house behind him.
“Is Reza home?”
The man’s expression changed instantly.
Cold.
Uncomfortable.
Man:
“No.”
His voice became harsh.
“Now go home.”
Before Asura could say another word—
BANG.
The door slammed shut.
Silence.
Leon frowned deeply.
Leon:
“That was strange…”
But Asura remained still, staring at the closed door.
Something about that man’s eyes…
They carried fear.
Far away, back at Asura’s home—
A loud cry suddenly echoed through the small hut.
The cry of a newborn child.
Asura’s little sister had been born.
At that exact moment, the evening wind swept through the lonely grassy field where the old tree stood silently beneath the fading sky.
The place where dreams once bloomed now felt colder somehow.
As if something invisible had quietly changed.
And deep within Asura’s heart…
A strange unease began to grow.
End of Chapter 5
- Writer
