As soon as I woke up, I grabbed my hungry stomach and got up. In fact, something strange was going on, from a while ago.
ââŠ..A child?â
My line of vision was very low.
But before I could think of anything else, I was completely possessed by the honey-like smell that popped up in the air.
âSeraâs Bakery.â
Not far away, there was a store selling savory white bread. Inexpensive, soft, warm bread with the smell of cheap butter.
âIâm going to eat that right now.â
My mouth was watering. There was no room for delay. I ran at once and grabbed one on the spot.
It wasnât until I ate it that I came to my senses.
âTen, please.â
After paying for the bread with my pocket money, was on my way back home. With the smell of fragrant bread, unfamiliar memories began to slowly surface to my mind.
âEvelyn.â
Memories surged like zombies waking up after sleeping like corpses. âI am twelve years old.â
The lumps of memories that had been asleep moved around my head as if they were squirming. They were greedily noisy, and following the rule of cause and effect, one came as if pulled by another.
This child was now an orphan since her grandmother passed away. Fortunately, I have a house and some money, and I live in a neighborhood with poor security, but I am living safely because of citizenshipâ.
To be exact, it was a tough situation.
âThe money will run out soonâŠâŠ.but thereâs still some good things.â
Monetary knowledge, speech and writing. Such basic common sense remained regardless of memory Thanks to that, I was able to buy bread. However, the economic situation was not very good.
âI should eat the bread sparingly.â
But, would such carefree worries continue from now on?
Looking back, it is clear that I was in a state where my mind had not returned properly. If we look at the sequence of events that followed, that much can be noted.
It happened on the way home, holding a piece of warm bread. I found a child squatting and leaning against the front door of Evelynâs house.
âWhy is a little kid there?â
âIf I had just passed by then, would something have changed?
The child was very small, and he looked in worse shape than me.
His cheeks, visible through his black hair, were pale, and tired, and everything else but his skin looked black because he hadnât washed in days.
He looked very weak, so I quickly let go of my vigilance. Once I approached him, I called.
âHey.â
Seeing him flinching, fortunately, he didnât seem to have died. If so, is he a child without a home or guardian?
âHow long has he been wandering around like that?â
Feeling a little pitiful, I took a step closer and spoke.
âWhy are you sleeping here? Open your eyes.â
The closer I looked, the more dirt I could see, but the moment the child opened his eyes.
âHuh?â
Surprisingly, none of his grubbiness came into sight
ââŠâŠGolden color?â
His eyes were not yellow, but golden.
Perhaps because he heard my surprised whisper, his golden eyes became cold at once. The kid with a gold, nugget for eyes started to stare at me.
At that terrifying momentum, I lost my words. I looked at the child and spoke awkwardly.
âHey, this is in front of my house.âp
âYou said to come.â
âŠ..Me?
Just in case, I looked at the child without hastily asking back. Memories were coming back from a while ago, but it wasnât perfect.
âIs he acquainted with Evelyn?â
As soon as I stared at him, he frowned. Maybe he was nervous.
âYesterday dawn, in the back alley over there, you told me to come.â
There was a dull alley where his small, skinny finger pointed. Beyond the corner it looked dark and cold, it didnât seem like a habitable space at all.
I saw the child again.
âYou said that to me. If you donât want to freeze to death, come find me.â
A clear voice that rested a little continued to flow out There was a faint groan mixed between the cracked sentences. He frowned and when I opened my mouth to reply, he beat me to it.
ââŠif youâre going to pretend you donât know.â,
His eyes fired such a sharp gaze that it was hard to imagine it came from a childâs eyes.
He might be around 10-years-old. How in the world did you live, in such a short time, to have such eyes?
I didnât know what to say.
At that time, his frighteningly shining eyes touched the bag of bread I was holding for a moment and shook. He took his eyes off the bag right away, as if he didnât see it, but he was biting his lipsâŠ
âYou are hungry.â
What do we do? I bit the inside of my lip hard.
Then I glanced up at Evelynâs house.
It was a house that was all crumbling down. On the way, I remembered that my financial situation was not good. At best, even if I save and spare everything! can, I can only live up to two months.
âButâŠâŠ.
Fortunately, for the child, I was full at the time, and I was naturally generous. Also, I wasnât heartless enough to drive out such a small child into the streets
In the end, I smiled quietly and opened my mouth.
âYes. Thatâs right.â
It may have been because the whole situation was still, like a dream.
<b>For me at least.</b>
âI was a little out of myself and forgot about it.â
I decided to bring the child inside.
âYou forgot?â
âYes. Sorry.â
Well, I thought it would be nice to hear about Evelyn at the same time. My memories were so jumbled up that there were many empty parts in the details.
âI must keep my promises. Come on in.â
The boy looked at me with a slightly bewildered look, and got up without hesitating even once
Come to think of it, I didnât even lock the door because I went out like crazy earlier.â I glanced at the child.
I didnât lock it, but seeing that he was waiting in front of the door, I donât think he was trying to steal anything.
âI havenât even closed all the doors.â
With the door wide open, he slowly locked his feet on the ground and stood by the door, not going in any further.
He had a very cautious look on his face. I felt sorry for his condition, but at the same time it was reassuring, At least he didnât seem like he lied to me.
âLetâs feed him first.â
Putting the bag of bread on the dented table, I spoke to the child.
âHey, what should I call you?â
As he looked through the house, the gaze toward me contained a faint question.
âActually, I banged my head a little hard last night.â
I picked up a few words to use as an excuse and smiled at the child.
âSo my recent memory is a bit empty.â
âYou donât remember?â
âYes. Itâs ridiculous, right? At least Iâm lucky enough to have not forgotten my name.â
I laughed like an immature child, and the boy stared at me with strange eyes. After a while, he opened his mouth.
âRaven.â
âWhat?â I paused.
As soon as I heard the name, I felt strange.
âItâs Raven. What about you?â
ââŠâŠHuh?â
I had to ask him to sit down, but I felt like someone was shaking me by the collar, so I grabbed the table tightly without knowing about manners.
The child approached me with a frown.
The face seen from the front shone even in the midst of the dirt. His looks were so bright it seemed to emanate light, and the name of the person who looked just like that came to mind.
And at that moment.
âWhatâs wrong with you?â
âOh no, itâs okay.â
Like the memories earlier, I was mesmerized by the title of a novel that came to my mind.
âNo wayâŠâŠâ
The situation, the boyâs appearance, his name. Everything was pointing to one thing.
âIf itâs okay, can you answer me? Whatâs your name?â (Raven)
âWhy do you want to know my nameâŠ?â
The young villain tilted his head slightly, hiding his confusion when I asked him back. He shows a person can be cold and beautiful even though they still have baby fat left.