003 - Small Talks of Lunacy

Jai casually pulled the cart behind him. He walked with vigor, as if he did not just fight eight men trying to rob an older man. Said old man now sitting on the cart he was currently pulling, looking a bit more at ease than before. A small white kitten was on his lap, napping without a care for the world.

They were walking for almost an hour now and Jai had tried making some conversations with the old man. Carefully asking who was he, how the old man currently felt, what was in the cart, or who were those guys. Those kinds of stuff.

The old man introduced himself as Barun. He has a granddaughter named Miria, and they lived in a village called Letush. Letush was a small village that was located southwest of Aeronvein Kingdom.

As he heard the names, Jai contemplated whether his mind was still in a woohoo or not. Letush? Did the man mean lettuce? As in lettuce the vegetable?

And what was the kingdom name again? Ae-what-vein?

He clearly remembered he was in America, and he distinctively remember no Ae-what-vein whatsoever in America. A name of theatrical place like Broadway? Maybe. But then again, the old man mentioned it was a kingdom. Again, possibly, it was a name of a recreational place. But then again, he did just hit his head. All of these might just be his dream. Although it felt too real to be a dream. He shook his head absentmindedly. Whatever.

Accepting that he was temporary a lunatic, he then returned his attention to the old man.

“These are some exchange I did in the kingdom. I was supposed to trade our harvest with some medicines, fruits, fabrics, and some tools. But those bandits wreck some of the fruits. Oh... The children would be upset.”

Jai smiled apologetically, “Sorry I wasn’t able to come on time. If I had, we would have saved more fruits.”

“Oh please don’t say that, child. It was a miracle that you came at all. At least they didn’t get the medicine or other important stuffs.” The old man said with a smile.

A pink hue painted on his cheeks.

They continued on walking and finally met with a more normal ground. Jai could not unnotice that since the one he was stepping on was red and this one was ashen—more like an unattended and unhealthy type of dirt.

He frowned at the change and he couldn’t help but mention it to the old man.

“There was a history in that place.” The old man answered.

Jai waited for a few more breaths for the old man to continue, but the old man stopped there. He turned his head back to see the old man, but the old man only smiled at him. Leave it that then.

They continued on. 

Minutes later, Jai heard a mewl on his back and he suddenly remembered the kitten he brought with him. Without slowing down, he looked back at the kitten, which he found was sitting on one of the fabrics.

It mewled again.

“What’s up kitty?” Jai asked.

The little kitten glanced at him before looking away again.

“Ah, look ahead child.” The old man told Jai.

Jai raised his eyebrows but did as was told and turned his head back. Then, Jai noticed there was a village not that far in front of him.

“Is that your village, sir?” Jai asked with a smile.

The old man exhaled a relieved sigh before answering, “Yes, it is. That is Letush, my child.”

“Great! Let’s go!” Jai pulled the cart harder, earning a gasp and a mewl behind him.

“Slow down, Jai!” The old man exclaimed.

Jai laughed sheepishly, “Sorry...”

As they came near, one of the villagers guarding the small gate waved his hand. Barun waved back at the man and they stopped at the gate.

There were two men at the gate. One of them looked like a middle-aged adult with a beard on his face. The other one looked like a teenager with a single straw partly in his mouth.

The adult smiled warmly at Jai. “Hello, young man. This old man here giving you trouble?”, He gestured at Barun behind Jai.

“Err...” Jai did not know how to react.

The three males laughed at the same time.

“Yes, I believe I had given this kind young man some trouble, Rugard.” It was Barun who replied.

The man, Rugard, chuckled. “Troublesome old man, isn’t he? Thanks for helping him out then.”

“Ahh...” Jai smiled nervously and scratched his head. “It was a pleasure, sir.”

Rugard smiled widely at him.

“Old Barun! How did it go?” The teenager greeted.

Barun sighed. “Well, troubles come and go. The important things are untouched, but I guess the kids would have to share the apples.”

The teenager frowned slightly, “Are you okay?”

Barun patted his stomach lightly to check, then he nodded. “Yes. I’m fine. It does not hurt anymore.”

“Well you still have to get Miria take a look at it, though.” The teenager added with a slight worried look.

Barun nodded with a smile.

Already making sure his friend was good enough to reach home, Rugard turned again to Jai. “Are you gonna stay the night, kid?”

Jai thought for a while. Well his head might not hurt, but any of these did not make sense. He was in a very crowded city in one night—the one that has buildings reaching the sky, then the next thing he knew he woke up in a burned forest with no skyscrapper or tall buildings everywhere. If that wasn’t a good enough sign for him to rest, then he didn’t know what else. He might as well stay the night and see if he couldn’t get his head straight tomorrow.

“Well?” Rugard raised his eyebrows. A polite smile was on his face.

“You might as well stay, child. You said you were lost, didn’t you?” Barun offered.

Jai turned to him nervously. “Uhm... But is it okay? I would be a burden.”

Barun waved his hand. “Nonsense. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have gone home tonight.”

“Ahh... I was around...” Jai trailed.

“I say you better stay. It’s almost late anyway.” The young man joined.

Jai nervously scratched his cheek. Then he heard a mewl. He instantly looked to where the kitten was sitting in the cart—still on top of the fabric.

“Heey~ A kitten!” The teenager exclaimed. “Hi, kitty!”

Rugard gave a hearthy laugh. “We almost don’t notice you. You’re so tiny!”

The small white furball licked its paw and rubbed its forehead, ignoring the cooing of the humans. But then it looked at Jai with an expression.

Jai raised one of his eyebrows, confused. But the kitten kept looking at him. It was almost close to expectance, as if urging him to do something.

Jai blinked. He didn’t know why did he get that vibe from the cat, but he shrugged his shoulder. Staying wasn’t a bad idea. He was just nervous.

Jai looked at the three men again and nodded. “Alright. I’ll stay.”

They responded kindly.

“Let’s hurry to my house, child. My Miria was probably wondering where’s her grandpapa went.”

Rugard snorted. “She’s old enough to—“

“Don’t you dare continue that, Ruru.” Barun cut Rugard’s sentence.

Rugard’s jaw dropped at the nickname, and the young man snickered.

“Come now. My stomach is grumbling.” Barun said rather confidently, clearly trying to tease the bearded man further.

Jai smiled nervously and complied.