"Wake up!"

A hushed whisper filled Brolin's ears. It was startling—his body twitched violently for the briefest moment. Then, he settled himself, choosing to sit at the far end of the cage—back pressed up against the cool rock wall of the cave. Eyes trained forward on a soft and expressionless face.

It was the girl.

Her blue-ocean-sea eyes stared back at Brolin. His heart fluttered again like it did before. She must have seen it. The way it beat a little bit faster. The way it made Brolin feel woozy in his head. She smiled and pressed her face in between the iron bars, hands gripping them tight.

"What are you doing here?" Brolin asked, worried that she might be found by the terrible man.

"I came to see you."

Brolin was confused. If she was outside of the cage but still here, then how was she okay? Did the man leave? Did Brolin actually defeat him before the black sucked him in?

"Why?"

She giggled, her face moving slightly between the bars, soft curls bouncing. Eyes focused on his. A flame dancing in anticipation of what came next.

"Because you're my friend," she said softly, "Don't you want to be?"

Brolin went to speak, but then he heard something shift beyond her. It happened so fast, then it was gone. A shuffling of movement. It could have been someone. Or something.

"Yes," Brolin answered, his gaze focusing back on her, "I want to be your friend."

She beamed with a brightness Brolin hadn't ever seen before. Her smile, her presence—the way her eyes opened expectantly. Brolin wanted to fill them up with a warmth greater than the sun. He wanted to hold on to this moment forever. She was infectious. Moving Brolin in a way that made him feel good about himself.

The girl turned away from Brolin and his cage, her face and eyes and brilliant hair still grappling to him. It was like she wanted him to follow her to the ends of the earth but then remembered it was impossible. A tragedy in the shape of a great big question mark.

"What happens now?" Brolin wondered aloud, hands moving to grab the iron bars. She pushed back, just enough for Brolin to smell her scent as the draft picked up. She smelled like flowers. Like lilies or something beautiful.

Her face twitched in a way that felt so right, her expression mimicking a playfulness that the animals back on the farm would show. A familiarity was there. Brolin had asked her what she was doing.

"What?" she replied, "You've never played before?"

"Played? What do you mean?"

"A game…" she cooed, touching her cheeks with both hands.

"I really like games!" Brolin exclaimed weakly, "It's my favorite thing to do on the farm. Like pretend-war!"

"What's that?"

"Oh…" Brolin thought about how he could explain it to her. "It's kind of like Shroown!"

The girl nodded her head and locked eyes with Brolin, "Can you teach me how to play?"

"Sure," Brolin said, running his hands along the iron bars, "Except I'm kind of stuck in here. Can you see if there's a key?"

The girl backed away from Brolin and his cage—her eyes moving with grace and speed, darting away from his direction and onto the cavern floor. She bent over, her hands sweeping through the soot at strange angles and odd rhythms. If this was being compared to a dance, then it was a dance Brolin had never even see. He wanted to question her but at the same time he figured that being quiet was best. It looked like she was focused. There was an intensity imbued with her movements. Something was driving her to search.

Could she have liked him?

The thought did cross Brolin's mind, that maybe she felt that same soft, gooey feeling that Brolin felt in the middle of his body. It elevated him, to a place that only accepted happiness. He grinned, silently basking in the sentiment as the girl continued. Her feet soon kicked up enough dust in the air to start a sandstorm.

"I can't…!" she huffed and puffed, clearly frustrated at her lack of results. Brolin nodded and covered his mouth with his undershirt.

"It's okay," he said in a muffled tone, "We'll find another way."

"How?" The girl ignored the dusty air and walked closer to the cage, "How are you ever going to get out of there without a key?"