"Dart, tell me about the story where my daddy found you and brought you home." Shana pleaded, gazing up at Dart with large brown eyes. The blond-haired boy gave his young friend a nod, even though she had heard it multiple times before. Somehow she couldn't get enough of the harrowing tale about Dart's close brush with death at a mere five years. She was six and Dart was now eleven. He didn't mind telling her, as he really couldn't remember any of the events leading up to that point in time. All he could recall was passing out due to hunger and extreme exhaustion. Everything else after that was foggy and unclear. The only reason he could tell the story was because of Shana's father, the mayor. He told Dart what had happened afterwards.
"Sure Shana," Dart agreed with a nod of his head. The brown-haired lass gave a bounce of happiness before she settled down cross-legged at the very front of the group of youngsters. All of the kids gathered around him had grown up knowing who he was and accepted him as a villager of Seles. The adults were a little harder to convince, at least they were nice enough to take him in. He was forever thankful.
"Five years ago my hometown of Neet was attacked," Dart began ominously, leaning forward. The kids gazed at him wondrously, their eyes growing as big as a full moon as he launched into his account of the story and what he remembered.
There had been a massive black monster that appeared out of no where. The sky had suddenly darkened as if it was going to rain, the villagers had scrambled out of the streets and into the safety of their houses as the clouds grew nearer. Dart remembered his mother ushering him inside, telling him he'd catch his death if he were to stay outside any longer. He could remember playing on the carpet of the living room as the storm began to unleash its fury. Instead of raindrops pattering against the windowpane, it was embers. It didn't take long before multiple houses caught fire and the people within either ran for the hills or perished inside. Dart's memory of his mother becoming hysterical with fear as she quickly wrapped her son up in his jacket and ran out of the back door, her husband close behind. Dart had left his toy train laying on the carpet as their house went up in flames. The streets were littered with debris as the tiny family fled to the outskirts of Neet, climbing a hill that overlooked the village. Dart could hear the echoing screams of agony as people slowly burned to their deaths.
"And then what happened?" A child, a small black-haired lad piped up almost fearfully. It was as if he were afraid of the same thing happening to Seles. Dart hadn't realized he had stopped talking, having gotten lost in his own frightening memories. He dropped his chin to gaze at the youngster, pain filling his eyes.
"After everything was burned to a crisp, I came out of hiding. I tried looking for my parents but all I found was this," he pulled out the small faintly shining red orb from his pocket to show the children.
"It's so pretty." A girl cooed.
"What is it?" One asked curiously, craning their neck to see the object. Dart shrugged. "Not entirely sure, but it's all I have left of my dad. I remember him carrying it around all the time."
"Do you miss your daddy?" Shana squeaked. Dart had almost forgotten about her. He glance down to see her wide-eyed with wonderment and curiosity in her gaze. Dart was about to answer her question when one of the children's mothers approached the group.
"Are you spewing your nonsense again, boy?" She demanded, putting her hands on her hips. Dart whirled around to face the woman, his face dropping. He always hated when the older townsfolk told him that what he had went through was nothing but a dream. When the kids had spotted the woman, they quickly got up and scattered, all except Shana who stayed put.
"You're filling the children's heads with lies. Soon they'll start making up bogus stories of where they came from and we'll have a whole village full of liars." The woman rambled angrily. Dart flinched. He tucked his chin into his chest as the woman scolded him for story-telling. She continued berating him for another minute before grabbing her child's hand and storming away. Shana got to her feet in a huff.
"That's not true!" She remarked, furrowing her brow. "That lady is such a meany."
Dart swallowed back the lump in his throat. He hated being scolded and told that he was a liar. Perhaps if that lady had gone through what he had, maybe she wouldn't be so harsh to him. But there was nothing left of Neet, so it would be impossible to show her. Plus he didn't event know where Neet was. He had no clue how he got to Seles in the first place other than endless walking.
"Don't worry Dart, I believe you." Shana bounced over to him, grasping his hand and tugging on it. "And daddy believes you too."
"I don't know about that." Dart mumbled. Shana frowned. She was silent for a few minutes before she whirled around and climbed up on top of the well, grabbing a hold of Dart's shoulders as she found her balance.
"No one calls my big brother a liar!" Shana yelled at the top of her lungs. Dart winced at the shrillness of her voice. She repeated it over and over until the mayor appeared out of his doorway, cringing.
"What are you yelling about Shana?" He called in between her shouts. She whirled around at her father's voice, nearly falling into the well. Luckily Dart had lightning-fast reflexes and caught her as she wobbled. He lifted her off of the well's edge and set her on the ground in front of him. He watched as Shana ran up to her dad while he followed slowly.
"Daddy, some lady called Dart a liar. He's not a liar, is he." Shana grumbled, crossing her arms and looking to the mayor as confirmation. The man shook his head.
"No, he's not a liar sweetheart. Some people just aren't very nice to him is all. But he's lucky to have a great friend like you." The mayor tickled Shana's cheeks before she looked up at him.
Shana looked Dart dead in the eye, before turning to her father. Her voice was warm. It made Dart's heart flutter with happiness and he smiled down at her.
Her words almost made him forget his troubled past in Neet and rocky beginning in Seles. It brought him comfort to know at least someone cared about him. Even if it came as a six year old little girl with brown hair and brown eyes.
"He's not my friend daddy, he's my big brother."