Prologue-

Birds chirping, the smell of grass and tall trees. What more can a camper want? With nothing but a

backpack and the clothes on his back, the camper lives off what he has and what he can find.

"Huuuu~…How did it turn out like this?"

A lone boy stands at a bus stop. Greenery surrounds him. No civilization can be found. The only sign

Man has been there is the black pavement that stretches to either side, far beyond what the horizon.

Everyone feels alone at some point. School kids can feel alone, teens can feel alone, even adults can

feel alone. Just because they feel alone doesn't mean that they stay alone indefinitely.

"So how is it that no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to stop being alone? Even my own family don't seem to care that I'm not home anymore…"

Feelings of hopelessness. Feelings of loneliness. These can drive some to extreme lengths. For him, it drove him to a bus, with a ticket that indicated a city that was far away.

"How did this happen? I only wanted to run away to a new city. Not to some remote forest in the middle of nowhere."

Somebody save me!

As the boy continued to stand there and sulk, a robbed man approaches on his horse.

Hm? Does that horse have a brand on its hide? It's quite unique.

"May I help you..?"

"You seem to be in some trouble. Are you perhaps lost? Or did you by chance run away from home?"

How did he..?

"…"

He grinned. "Ah, seems like I guessed correctly. Tell me boy, why did you run away? No friends?

Family disowned you?"

"Heh. You could say that, old man. I don't have any friends…" I muttered, "Nobody seems to like me…"

"And anyway, my family didn't dosown me. They just ignore me," the boy said proudly.

The old man raised an eyebrow. "You know, that isn't something to be saying proudly."

He reached into his sack. While rummaging for something, the horse started to nudge the boy. His eye hinted at a truth that could not be spoken. All it could was nudge and make neighing sounds.

"Hey, old man. Seems your horse likes me. Does it like something I have or is it just friendly?" he inquired.

He didn't pay the boy any mind to his question. He just waved his hand and said the horse had an eye for good people.

"That's an odd statement," the boy said.

The boy petted the horse while he examined him. The horse was a strong brown steed. Its hooves appeared to have no horseshoes.

Perhaps it does not go through any pavement?

Then the boy examined its brand sign. Oddly enough, its brand was that of a tree and a hermit staff crossed over the tree.

Well, other than it being a brown horse with…wait…its eyes! Why do its eyes have blue eyes like a human's? That's not normal. And its mane has white and black hair strands. Is it dyed?

"Uh…old man, did you give your horse a make-over?"

He didn't look up when he responded, "No, of course not. He was born this way. Are you daft, boy?"

He said this and then he found what he was looking for.

"Ah-hah! Found you! Though you could hide, did you? You know, these apples have a way of hiding even if you have a small sack," he exclaimed.

He tossed the boy the apple." Here this is for you. And for you, Wiseman."

"Wiseman? Is that the horse's name?"

"Of course! Wiseman is the gatekeeper of this forest. You didn't think I was the gatekeeper did you?"

"Uh…no, not really. I just thought you were just a wanderer passing by. Speaking of which, where am I? Where is the nearest town?"

The old man suddenly stood silent and a tiny smile crept up his face. "Why, there's a village right down that way, through the forest. Just go down straight, you can't miss it."

"Huh. Thanks for the information. Is there a place for me to rest and eat there as well?" the boy asked.

"Oh, I'm sure they can arrange something for you. Bunch of friendly fold there, all of them. Treat each other like family."

The boy scoffed at the notion. "Hah, family, huh? Well, at least it will be a nice change of pace."

He started heading out in the direction the old man pointed to, but the old man called out, "Wait!"

"What is it?"

"Why not eat your apple now? It'll be a long trek, so you will need all the strength you can get."

"Okay then. I am hungry."

"Heheh. Good then. A word of advice: If you plan to sleep, try to get to the village before dark. Don't want to sleep the forest. Bad creatures inhabit those parts."

"Alright…if I remember, that is," the boy said mischievously.

As he made his way into the forest, the old man spoke only a single phrase.

"It would appear those nice ladies will have a new resident soon, eh Wiseman?"

"Haha. He sure is spirited. I wonder what mark he will bear?"